Smiles Classic Card

What makes this card Islamic

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank builds this card on a Murabahah contract. The bank buys the thing you want, then sells it to you at a stated cost plus a stated profit, payable later.

ADIB calls the product a 'Covered Card', not a credit card. The cover limit is funded one of two ways: (1) the customer's own money, or (2) the cash proceeds of a commodity Murabaha - the customer buys an undivided share of a bulk commodity from ADIB on deferred payment over a 10-year (120-month) tenor, then sells that share to a third party for cash. In substance that second leg is a tawarruq / commodity murabaha; ADIB's own documents name the contract 'Murabaha Contract - Covered Card'. Either way the cover sits in a Short Term Investment (STI) account in the customer's name (the Shari'a certificate calls it a Mudaraba investment account). The Murabaha monthly instalment (profit) is debited every month whether the card is used or not, and is offset by (a) STI profit earned on the daily balance and (b) a discretionary Bonus paid from ADIB's shareholders' funds. Net monthly payment = [Murabaha Monthly Instalment (Profit)] - [STI profit earned + Bonus granted]. The Bonus performs the ibra' function: it waives the profit in full when the cardholder pays the full Present Balance by the due date. The card must be renewed after ten years. The mechanism is certified by ADIB's Internal Shari'a Supervisory Committee against AAOIFI Shari'ah Standard No. (61) Payment Cards and the CBUAE Higher Shari'ah Authority resolutions.

Approved by Internal Shari'a Supervisory Committee, under the supervision of Central Bank of the UAE.

What it costs

Every figure below comes from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s own published documents. Where the bank does not publish a number we say so rather than estimate it.

Annual fee

No annual feeFree for life (Schedule of Charges note 8).source

Profit rate

3.75% a month on the outstanding balance45.63% a year as stated by the banksource

Cash withdrawal

3% of the withdrawal amount, minimum AED 99. Applies to ATM withdrawals, exchange houses, transfer of the card cover to any ADIB account, and MCC 6211 merchants. Cash withdrawal limit is 100% of the cover limit.

Late payment

AED 100ADIB books this as a 'Donation Commitment to Charity in case of Late Payment Event'. VAT is not applicable. ADIB states some part of the amount is retained by the Bank towards actual collection expenses. It is charged only if no payment is made towards the due amount by the cycle date, and only if agreed with the customer and stipulated in the relevant document.

Foreign currency spend

2.3% on top of the exchange rate

Replacement card

AED 75

Takaful cover

Optional Covered Card Takaful: monthly contribution of 0.77 fils per AED 100 of the utilized cover amount. The contribution includes the takaful contribution plus arrangement, distribution and other related service fees, inclusive of VAT where applicable, and is linked to the principal card. Cover is for death, permanent total disability, critical illness and involuntary loss of employment.

What you get back

• 4 Smiles points per AED 5 spent locally
• 6 Smiles points per AED 5 (or equivalent) spent internationally (2 Smiles points in the EEA region)
• 12 Smiles points per AED 5 spent in the Smiles app
• 1 Smiles point per AED 5 spent at Specific Merchants
• 5,000 Smiles points on sign-up
• 10,000 Smiles points as a quarterly bonus, subject to meeting a spend criterion of AED 25,000 each quarter

Other benefits

• No annual fee, free for life
• Redeem Smiles points for flights with 1,000+ airlines and stays at 50,000+ hotels worldwide, and for food and grocery orders, home services, shopping vouchers, device purchases and Etisalat/e& bill payments via the Smiles app
• Balance transfer at 0% profit for 3 months using up to 100% of the cover limit (2% or AED 200 processing fee), or 0% for 12 months using up to 50% of the cover limit (3% or AED 200 processing fee)
• School and university fee instalment facility

Before you apply

• The Murabaha monthly instalment (profit) is debited every month whether or not you use the card. ADIB removes it only via a discretionary Bonus from shareholders' funds, and only if you pay the full Present Balance by the due date.
• The profit waiver is discretionary, not contractual: the KFS says the Bonus 'may' be credited 'at its sole discretion'.
• The AED International Transaction Service Fee (paying in AED at a non-UAE merchant, i.e. dynamic currency conversion) rises from 1.99% to 2.75% effective 10 September 2026 per ADIB's Covered Cards notices page; the 2.75% includes a 1.15% charge applied by Visa.
• Cash withdrawals, exchange-house transactions, transfer of the card cover to an ADIB account, and merchants coded as Security Brokers/Dealers (Visa MCC 6211, incl. National Bonds) earn no miles, cashback or points at all.
• Cancelling the card makes the whole outstanding balance immediately due, plus anything that posts in the following 45 days.
• Spend at 'Specific Merchants' - supermarkets, government services, utilities, education, petrol stations, real estate agents, public transport, Salik, charities - earns at a heavily reduced rate on every ADIB rewards card.
• Smiles points are awarded at ADIB's discretion and derived specifically from shareholders' funds - they are not a contractual entitlement.
• The 10,000-point quarterly bonus needs AED 25,000 of spend in the quarter.
• This is the successor to the discontinued ADIB Etisalat Classic Card; legacy Etisalat cardholders stay on the older 2.99% / 3.09% profit rates.
• The balance-transfer 0% period is itself a discretionary bonus from shareholders' funds, and the processing fee is charged regardless.

Can you get it?

Minimum income

AED 5,000 a monthsource

Age

18 and over

Other conditions

UAE resident. ADIB states a minimum salary of AED 5,000 on this card's own product page, matching the CBUAE covered-card floor. Minimum age 18. Maximum debt service ratio 50% of gross monthly salary (30% for pensioners). Salary transfer not required.

What to have ready

• Original and copy of valid passport
• Original and copy of valid Emirates ID
• Bank account statement (last 3 months)
• Salary certificate from current employer (not more than 30 days old)

Where these figures come from

Last checked against Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s published documents on 2026-08-17. Banks change fees without notice, so treat the bank’s own document as the final word, not this page.

• “ADIB Covered Cards are Shari'a compliant products that help you in paying for your daily expenses. - Covered Cards Key Facts Statement, V15 April 2026, p.1”
• “First Option - Using your own money; or Second Option - Using the cash proceeds which you will receive from selling the commodities you owned by way of concluding a commodity Murabaha sale contract with ADIB. - KFS p.1”
• “In both options, your cover limit will be deposited in the Covered Card's Short Term Investment (STI) Account. - KFS p.1”
• “Monthly instalment amounts equal to the Murabaha monthly profit payable by you are debited from your Covered Card Account monthly over a 10 years period (120 months). - KFS p.1”
• “The deductions of the instalments mentioned above in points 1 and 2 occurs whether you utilize your Card Cover or not because these monthly instalments are contractually due from you to ADIB. - KFS p.1”
• “A Bonus (derived from ADIB's Shareholders' funds) may be credited to you in the Covered Card Account by ADIB, at its sole discretion, on a monthly basis that may, along with the achieved profit of the STI, result in waiving fully or partially the Murabaha Monthly Instalment (Profit). - KFS p.1”
• “As a result, your net monthly payment would be equal to: [Murabaha Monthly Instalment (Profit)] - [STI profit earned + Bonus granted] - KFS p.1”
• “The Bonus derived from the shareholder's funds and STI profit earned may not result in waiving the Murabaha Monthly Installment (Profit) in full if the following condition is met: The payment made on the card by the due date is less than the "Present Balance". - KFS p.2”
• “Islamic contract between you and the Bank, under which the Bank sells to you an undivided common share in a quantity of specific commodities that is owned by the Bank through Murabaha means on a deferred payments over 10 years tenor, where the Murabaha cost and the profit amount are fully disclosed to you. To continue utilizing the card, it must be renewed after a period of ten (10) years. - KFS p.5”
• “ADIB Covered Card Terms and Conditions shall apply which amongst other things that prohibit using ADIB Covered Card for any non-Shari'a complaint products/services as determined by the Internal Shari'a Supervisory Committee of ADIB including but not limited to, alcohol, pork products, gambling, tobacco, casinos, bars, etc. - KFS p.7”
• “ADIB, will not charge profit on accrued profit and extra profit is never added to the total profit amount as agreed in the Covered card Murabaha Contract. - KFS p.7, citing Article (121)(3) of Decretal Federal Law No. (14) of 2018 as amended by Decretal Federal Law No. (25) of 2020”
• “Review was made of the modus operandi of the Covered Card and steps outlined above, the contracts and documentation used in execution, the fees and charges, and they were found to be acceptable as per Shari'a and are in line with the resolutions of the Higher Shari'ah Authority (at the Central Bank of the UAE) and in compliance with the Shari'ah Standard No. (61): Payment Cards and other related Shari'ah Standards issued by the Accounting & Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). - Shari'a Certificate, Covered Card of ADIB, Version 2 (2022), p.3”
• “ADIB's profit shall be as specified in the Murabaha Contract (if there is a Murabaha Contract). The remaining amount of the monthly payment of the Murabaha deferred price (after the set-off between it and the profit generated by the Card Account) shall be the amount to be paid by the Principal Cardholder. ADIB may at its sole discretion give bonus which may result in reducing this amount. - Covered Card Terms and Conditions, clause 15.9”
• “APR = Monthly Profit Rate / 30 x 365. Example: Monthly Profit Rate = 3.75% APR= 3.75/30*365= 45.63% - KFS p.5”
• “The Monthly Profit Rate applicable on new Covered Cards issued from 15 February 2024 onwards. - Schedule of Charges and Fees, note (20), V-44 July 2026”
• “ATM Cash Withdrawal Fee: 3% of the withdrawal amount (minimum AED 99) - KFS p.3”
• “Donation commitment to Charity in case of a late payment event (VAT is not applicable): AED 100. This donation commitment is applied to your Covered Card account in case you make no payment towards the due amount by the cycle date and if agreed upon with the customer and stipulated in the relevant document. Some part of this amount is retained by the Bank towards actual collection expenses. - KFS p.3”
• “Card Replacement Fee: AED 75 - KFS p.3”
• “Non-AED Transaction Service Fee: 2.3% - Schedule of Charges and Fees V-44 July 2026”
• “(5) Added to the Non-AED transactions' wholesale foreign exchange market spot rate that is selected and applied by Visa/MasterCard on the date of conversion in addition to the fee of Visa/MasterCard. - Schedule of Charges, note (5)”
• “Grace Period for Monthly Payment: Up to 55 days from the date of transaction. - KFS p.5”
• “Easy Installment plan or Balance Transfer or any other installment + 5% of the remaining monthly utilized amount of cover amount ("Present Balance") as shown in the monthly statement of the relevant statement period subject to a minimum of AED 100. - KFS p.5, Minimum Monthly Payment”
• “Monthly Contribution Amount related to Takaful Scheme (optional): 0.77 fils per AED 100 utilized cover amount. - KFS p.3”
• “(19) Entitled to four Free Supplementary Cards until further notice. Annual fees will be applied on the 5th supplementary card and onwards. - Schedule of Charges, note (19)”
• “Cash Withdrawal Limit: 100% of the Covered Limit for all the Covered Cards. - KFS p.5”
• “The following eligibility criteria as mandated by the UAE Central Bank will be applied while evaluating the applicant's eligibility for a covered card: 1. Minimum age of the consumer to be 18 years 2. Minimum monthly income of the consumer to be AED 5,000 3. Maximum Debt Service Ratio (total monthly obligations towards financial facilities as a component of monthly income) should not exceed 50% of monthly gross salary (30% for pensioners), 5% of which is related to your minimum Covered Card monthly payment. - KFS p.6”
• “Transfer your balance and enjoy no profit for 3 months!* (use up to 100% of your cover limit) ... A one-time processing fee of 2% of the Balance Transfer amount or AED 200, whichever is higher, applies. Your contractual Murabaha profit amount applies after three months. - ADIB covered card product pages”
• “Transfer your balance and enjoy no profit for 12 months!* (use up to 50% of your cover limit) ... A one-time processing fee of 3% of the Balance Transfer amount or AED 200, whichever is higher, applies. Your contractual Murabaha profit amount applies after twelve months. - ADIB covered card product pages”
• “*At the discretion of ADIB as a bonus paid from the shareholder's funds. - ADIB covered card product pages”
• “4 Smiles points per AED 5 spent locally. 6 Smiles points (2 Smiles points in EEA region)(1) per AED 5 (or equivalent) spent internationally. 12 Smiles points per AED 5 spend on Smiles App. 1 Smiles points per AED 5 spend on Specific Merchants(2) - ADIB Covered Cards Comparison of Card Offering”
• “Minimum salary - AED 5,000 - ADIB Smiles Visa Classic Card product page”
• “5,000 Smiles points upon sign up! - ADIB Smiles Visa Classic Card product page”
• “10,000 Smiles points as quarterly bonus subject to meeting the spend criteria of AED 25K each quarter. - ADIB Smiles Visa Classic Card product page”
• “*Smiles points are awarded at ADIB's discretion and derived specifically from the Shareholders' funds. - ADIB Smiles Visa Classic Card product page”
• “(8) Free for life - Schedule of Charges, note (8)”

• Product page
• Schedule of charges
• Terms and conditions