Set for Takeoff: An unforgettable 5-star getaway from Phoenix to Dubai for two

Set for Takeoff is a weekly series that highlights the best ways to plan post-pandemic getaways using points and miles.

Dubai is welcome to American travelers as long as you have a negative COVID-19 test in hand. While cash fares can be steep, you can explore this dazzling city of deserts and skyscrapers with minimal out-of-pocket costs by utilizing your hard-earned points and miles. Reader Adney Koga recently reached out about booking an award trip to the Emirati city this fall:

My wife and I are eager to plan a trip to Dubai from October 1-10 this year. Our home airport is PHX, and it's just the two of us. This will be our first trip in 7 years without our kids, so we’re really looking forward to it.

Adney and his wife possess a combination of Chase Ultimate Rewards points, American Airlines AAdvantage miles, United MileagePlus miles, and American Express Membership Rewards points.

Current points portfolio

Adney and his wife have a strong points and miles balance. With a combined total of approximately 260,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, 202,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles, 78,000 United MileagePlus miles, and 188,000 American Express Membership Rewards points, they have ample resources for two round-trip business-class tickets to Dubai and a nine-night hotel stay.

• 260,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
• 175,762 American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
• 26,433 American Airlines AAdvantage miles (wife).
• 77,711 United MileagePlus miles.
• 62,876 American Express Membership Rewards points.
• 125,126 American Express Membership Rewards points (wife).

Flight costs to Dubai

Route: PHX-DFW-DOH-DXB

Required miles: 140,000 American Airlines miles + $45.40

Sadly, Adney and his wife will find that there are no direct flights from Phoenix (PHX) to Dubai (DXB), and the one-stop options are quite limited. They can expect to face at least two layovers, leading to a travel time of around 24 hours each way. Although Adney hasn’t mentioned their preferred cabin, given the lengthy journey and their mileage balance, I recommend they opt for premium-cabin travel. After all, it's a trip to Dubai, and they deserve a luxurious arrival.

Considering Adney's substantial American miles, I suggest they use those first. They can derive significant value from them before any potential devaluation later this year. With plenty of transfer partners available through Chase and Amex, devaluation risks for those currencies are lower.

American Airlines collaborates with several airlines that operate flights to Dubai, including British Airways and Royal Jordanian. However, for maximum comfort, they should consider Qatar Airways. Nonstop flights between Qatar and the UAE were halted for over 3 1/2 years, but resumed in early 2021 as diplomatic ties improved.

Qatar provides one of the top business-class experiences, especially on Qsuite-equipped aircraft. Each Qsuite is designed for maximum privacy, featuring sliding doors. If Adney and his wife choose two center seats in an odd-numbered row, they can even transform their seats into a "double bed."

American Airlines AAdvantage requires 40,000 miles each way for economy and a competitive 70,000 miles each way for business class. This means Adney can secure two one-way business-class tickets without needing to use his wife's miles. Additionally, the taxes and fees are approximately $20 per person, even for business class.

How to redeem points for this award

Booking flights on Qatar Airways with AAdvantage miles is very simple and can be done online. Just visit aa.com, input your route (PHX-DXB), select your travel dates, and tick the "Redeem miles" option.

On the search results page, you can filter your options by cabin class. If there’s no award availability for your chosen dates, American offers a useful calendar search tool. Alternatively, consider subscribing to ExpertFlyer (part of TPG's parent company, Red Ventures) and set alerts to receive notifications when award space becomes available. Fortunately for Adney, there’s a good amount of award space in October. Remember that while some awards may be priced as business class, they could include one or more segments in economy. If this occurs, an orange message will indicate, "The class of service you searched may not be available on one or more flights."

Once you've chosen a flight, you'll need to log into your AAdvantage account to finalize the booking. The taxes and fees for this ticket will be approximately $20 per person.

How to accumulate enough miles for this award

Adney has more than sufficient AAdvantage miles for this award to Dubai. However, if you're trying to replicate this itinerary and require additional miles, you can easily do so by acquiring a cobranded American Airlines credit card:

• AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard: Earn 65,000 miles after spending $1,000 within the first 90 days. Additionally, receive 10,000 miles when an employee card is used for a purchase.
• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: Earn 65,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first four months of opening the account.
• AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard: Earn 60,000 bonus miles plus a $99 companion ticket after making a purchase within the first 90 days of account opening.
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Temporarily earn 75,000 miles after spending $3,500 on purchases in the first four months of account opening.
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard: Earn 50,000 miles after spending $5,000 within the first three months of account opening.

The details for the Citi AAdvantage Business Platinum Select, AAdvantage Aviator Red, and AAdvantage Aviator Business cards have been independently sourced by Dinogo. The information provided here has not been reviewed or endorsed by the card issuer.

Airfare details from Dubai

Route: DXB-YYZ-PHX

Required miles: 156,000 Amex points + $25.54

For the return journey, I suggest they redeem their Amex points using Avianca LifeMiles. As a member of the Star Alliance, Avianca allows booking a one-stop return with Air Canada through Toronto (YYZ) or a multi-stop return connecting in Europe and the U.S. with airlines like Lufthansa and United. All these airlines provide similar inflight experiences in business class, featuring lie-flat seats and multi-course meals.

LifeMiles generally requires 42,500 miles each way for economy and 78,000 miles for business class on this route. The advantage of this program is that it permits choosing different cabin classes for each segment. Therefore, if Adney’s itinerary includes a short flight, they might lower their costs by opting for economy on that leg.

How to redeem points for this award

Although LifeMiles isn’t particularly known for exceptional customer service, it does allow direct booking of partner awards through its website. Once you've transferred the necessary points to LifeMiles (more on that later), visit the LifeMiles "Travel" page, enter your route (DXB-PHX) and the number of travelers.

Next, you will be prompted to log into your account and choose your departure date from a calendar view.

After that, you can select your flights and cabin classes. As previously mentioned, LifeMiles allows for different cabin selections for each segment (if availability permits), which could help you save some miles.

How to accumulate enough miles for this award

The fastest and simplest method to earn Avianca LifeMiles is by transferring points from a flexible points program. Fortunately, Avianca partners with all major transferable points programs, except for Chase Ultimate Rewards. This means you can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio from Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One miles, and Citi ThankYou points. While Adney cannot combine his Amex points with his wife's, they can transfer points between each other’s LifeMiles accounts by being authorized users on each other's cards.

Although Adney and his wife have sufficient points to book their flights, you can enhance your transferable points balance by applying for these top offers:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening.
• Citi Premier® Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
• Citi Prestige® Card: Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

The details for the Citi Prestige card have been independently gathered by Dinogo. The information on this page has not been reviewed or endorsed by the card issuer.

Hotels in Dubai that you can book with points

Dubai boasts an abundance of luxurious hotels that can be booked using points. Since Adney doesn't favor a specific hotel chain, his best bet would be to book a World of Hyatt property using points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards.

From budget-friendly Hyatt Place locations to opulent Park Hyatts throughout the city, here are some of the top choices:

• Andaz Dubai The Palm: 20,000 points per night.
• Grand Hyatt Dubai: 15,000 points per night.
• Hyatt Place Dubai Baniyas Square: 5,000 points per night.
• Hyatt Regency Dubai: 8,000 points per night.
• Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights: 12,000 points per night.
• Park Hyatt Dubai: 20,000 points per night.

With 260,000 Ultimate Rewards points, Adney has sufficient points to book his nine-night stay at the luxurious Park Hyatt or Andaz. Among the two, the Andaz boasts a more favorable location, situated right by the beach near Dubai's iconic Palm Islands, with convenient access to the Mall of the Emirates and other attractions. It's worth noting that when Hyatt introduces peak and off-peak pricing this year, the rates for these hotels may decrease to 17,000 points per night or rise to 23,000 points. A prudent strategy would be to secure the current standard rates while available and then consider rebooking if Hyatt reduces the points required for your chosen dates.

How to reserve a Hyatt hotel using points

Booking a Hyatt hotel with points follows the same process as paying with cash. The only distinction is that you need to check the "Use Points" option during your search.

You can also toggle between paid and points rates while choosing your room. For extended stays, consider utilizing World of Hyatt's new Pay My Way feature. However, unlike some other hotel chains, Hyatt does not provide a free fifth night on award bookings.

How to accumulate World of Hyatt points

Since Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, Adney has more than enough points to cover his entire stay. If you're aiming to replicate this itinerary but lack sufficient Ultimate Rewards points, you can enhance your Hyatt balance by acquiring the World of Hyatt Credit Card, which offers up to 60,000 bonus points. You'll receive 30,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening your account, plus up to an additional 30,000 bonus points by earning two bonus points per $1 spent on purchases that typically earn one bonus point (on up to $15,000 spent) during the first six months.

Additionally, you’ll gain Hyatt Discoverist status and the opportunity to earn extra elite status credits through card spending.

Alternatively, enrolling in another Ultimate Rewards-earning card from the Chase Quartet is a great option.

Conclusion

As demonstrated, despite all the glitz and glamor, Dubai is an incredibly redemption-friendly destination. With points and miles, Adney and his wife can travel there in business class and enjoy nine nights at five-star hotels with minimal out-of-pocket expenses. Their itinerary is also easy to replicate if you're considering a similar journey. Just remember to plan ahead, as securing award availability to Dubai can occasionally be tricky.

If you have a specific destination in mind and need assistance with your points strategy, send us an email to be featured in the next edition of Cleared for Takeoff.