Do not put a salary-switch reward into your spending budget just because you opened the account. Campaign entry, qualification and payment are different events. A paid reward can also carry conditions which allow the bank to reverse it later.
This Scorecard checks the relevant terms on 5 November 2026. It adds a payout record to our same-salary reward comparison, not a new bonus ranking or a prediction of your payment date. The campaign summaries below reuse our verified timelines; they are dated examples, not confirmation that you qualify. Use the current tracker before acting.
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Which date are you writing down?
| Record | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Campaign entry deadline | When the required opening, enrolment or first-salary event must happen. Check which event the bank names. |
| Qualification completed | When the required salary credits, activation, savings or eligible product/spend conditions have actually been met. |
| Processing window | What starts the bank’s payment clock. It may not be the opening date or first payday. |
| Keep-the-reward conditions | What could forfeit an unpaid reward or reverse one already credited. |
These records are a checklist, not extra bank rules. Confirm the applicable events for your own offer and application route.
Emirates Islamic: completing the salary test comes first
Payday to payout
Bank’s campaign end: . The payout has its own timetable.
- Open or enrol
Enrol in the campaign. You must not have transferred salary to Emirates Islamic or Emirates NBD in the previous six months.
- Meet the conditions
Receive employer salary in three consecutive calendar months. New account holders must receive their first salary, use their debit card and register for EI+ within 60 days of opening. The optional card bonus has its own spend test.
- When it pays
Emirates Islamic processes the account reward within 60 days of meeting the conditions. It uses the lower salary from months two and three to set your band.
- Keep the reward
The bank may reverse the full salary reward if you miss more than three consecutive calendar months in the 12 months after the payout month.
An optional Covered Card adds its own retail-spend clock; it does not replace the account conditions. Ask the bank to confirm which parts you have completed before treating a processing deadline as overdue. Emirates Islamic’s terms also require eligibility at fulfilment, so do not assume opening the account settled the whole question.
FAB: a monthly test, not one upfront payday
Payday to payout
Bank’s campaign end: . The payout has its own timetable.
- Open or enrol
Use an eligible FAB conventional current account. Existing FAB customers must not have transferred salary to FAB in the previous 12 months. Your first qualifying salary must arrive by the campaign deadline.
- Meet the conditions
Each month, grow your eligible balance from the previous month-end by at least 20% of that month’s salary, or spend at least 20% on a qualifying new FAB card. You only need one route.
- When it pays
FAB credits cashback within 45 calendar days after each qualifying month ends, for up to 12 months from your first qualifying salary.
- Keep the reward
A missed month is not paid later. Closing your account before payment forfeits the unpaid cashback.
Keep a separate record for each salary month: employer credit, qualifying savings increase or eligible card spend, and cashback credited. The FAB terms do not make a missed month payable retrospectively. A total headline reward is not evidence that the full amount is already owed to you.
DIB: do not mix the joining bonus and fee reversal
The DIB XTRA terms give the joining cashback a bundle/spend timetable. The separate home-finance valuation-fee reversal is linked to the finance and first qualifying salary instead. Copying one deadline into the other benefit’s row can produce the wrong expected date.
Ask DIB which benefit applies to your exact bundle and what event starts its clock. Our calculator keeps home finance unpriced; a possible fee reversal is not proof of a cheaper finance deal.
Before payroll moves
- Save the exact offer and terms for your application route, plus any enrolment acknowledgement.
- Ask payroll when the first employer credit can reach the new account; distinguish that from the day you submit the instruction.
- Ask the bank to identify the qualifying event, processing window and any continuing salary or product requirement in writing.
- Track actual credits and completed conditions. If a payment appears late, query it against that record rather than the account-opening date alone.
Use the salary-transfer calculator for a conditional reward comparison. Keep the payout record alongside it: the amount, the timing and the right to keep it are separate parts of the decision.