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Emirates free 5* hotel
Emirates is offering a complimentary stay at the world’s tallest 5-star hotel, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai. Until 21 July 2024, travellers who purchase an Emirates return ticket in First Class or Business Class will be able to enjoy a two-night stay at the 5-star luxury hotel. Customers booked in Premium Economy Class or Economy Class can enjoy a complimentary one-night stay.
Boasting two iconic towers standing at 355 metres, the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai is the world’s tallest 5-star hotel, providing visitors with stunning views of the city’s skyline. Centrally located beside the Dubai Water Canal, many of Dubai’s attractions are less than a 10-minute drive away, such as The Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, The Dubai Fountain and Dubai Opera.
This special offer is valid for all return tickets to or stopping over in Dubai for more than 24 hours, for customers traveling until 15th September 2024.
Obviously, the weather in Dubai at this time of year is not only hot but also humid, which you may not expect from a desert nation. However, accommodation prices are much cheaper, and the city is quieter as well. Pools are usually temperature-controlled, and you can even ski in Dubai year-round!
You need to book at least 96 hours before arrival and can book a flight as normal via Emirates.com or a travel agent. Once tickets have been issued, passengers simply need to email [email protected] with passenger details to confirm their stay at the JW Marriot Marquis Hotel Dubai. The complimentary stay will be booked on your arrival date, either on the outbound or inbound portion of the journey according to your preference. If the hotel is not available, Emirates will book a room at a hotel with a comparable star rating. The minimum stay in Dubai is 24 hours and you will receive the hotel confirmation by email within 96 hours.
You can find the full terms and conditions here.
British Airways double Avios on flights
BA regularly has double Avios promotions, but the latest one is only for flights to the US. If you are considering booking a flight to the US, it could be worth trying to do it within the offer’s time frame, especially since Avios recently moved to revenue-based earning and the BA sale is still on for a few more days.
Executive Club Members can collect double Avios on any flight or holiday to the USA with BA and 2 Avios for every £1 you spend on hotels or car hire as part of a package holiday with British Airways Holidays. Don’t forget the Double Tier point offer, which applies to stays or car hire for five nights or more (it doesn’t have to be the entire length of the trip). You can get the bonus on up to 10 flights (each leg counts as a flight).
To get the bonus, you must register before you book on this page. Then, you need to book your BA flight or holiday before 16 August 2024. However, you have a long time before you have to travel, as you must travel before 25 June 2025.
You can find the full details on the offer page here.
BA redemptions on AA and Alaska increase
Rather ironically, British Airways increased the price of Avios redem options on both American Airlines and Alaska last week on the 4 July. Airlines don’t have to give any notice of these type of valuations but I think that morally they should.
The prices only increased at the end of 2023, and it is now not transparent how much a flight with a partner airline costs. Previously, they were all one price; now, the chart has disappeared, and they are all different prices. When you search for Avios flights, it will show availability on partner airlines, so if you can find a date with availability, you will be able to see the price that way.
This was also not a small increase we are looking at. For example, flights of 651-1,150 miles now cost 16,000 Avios in economy which is an increase of 5,000 Avios or 32,000 Avios in business which is an increase of 11,500 Avios.
It does not appear that the low taxes on these flights have changed (economy taxes can be less than $10) which is good news and flights over 3000 miles have also stayed the same.
Here are the new Avios prices for American and Alaskan:
| Flight Distance | New Pricing |
| Less than 650 miles | 12,000 Avios in economy 24,000 Avios in business |
| 651 to 1,150 miles | 16,000 Avios in economy 32,000 Avios in business |
| 1,151 to 2,000 miles | 18,000 Avios in economy 40,000 Avios in business |
| 2,001 to 3,000 miles | 20,000 Avios in economy 50,000 Avios in business |
Again, this is a good reason not to hoard Avios. Using a credit card with Amex Membership Rewards is one way to avoid this issue, as you can keep the points until you need them and then transfer them into many different schemes, making you less vulnerable to big changes like this.
5 comments
As one comment Michele, in the second paragraph of the article on BA Avios you say that to earn the double Tier Points offer the minimum of 5 days for hotel or car hire must be for the entire length of the trip. I think that this is a slip on your part, as you have previously explained that the 5 day minimum must be within the outside dates of the trip, but needn’t be for the whole length of the trip.
I know that this is the case, as I achieved double Tier Points twice last month. The trip to Ireland was extended to 5 days to earn the double points. The outside dates of the trip to Canada covered 12 days, but the car hire was only for 7 days within that period. The double Tier Points arrived quite promptly in both cases.
Was just coming to make the same point here. I was concerned that perhaps I had missed that the terms of the double tier points offer had been changed recently, but looking at the linked page above, you can still book 5 days car-hire or 5 days accommodation as long as the dates fall within the flight dates as Clive says. They needn’t be booked for the entire trip.
sorry it should have said doesn’t have to be booked for whole trip. Fixed now.
Fixed now thanks.
Sadly UK citizens living outside the UK are excluded again.
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