Dubai is home to massive skyscrapers, over-the-top hotels and stunning beaches, making it the perfect vacation for anyone who wants a trip to what feels like the future. Plus, you have plenty of great options for flying there. You can fly with Dubai-based Emirates on a number of non-stop routes from the U.S., or book a connecting ticket on a carrier like Air France, KLM or Qatar Airways — and even better, you can do so with your hard-earned points and miles.
Whether you’re looking to cash in your points and miles on your flight to Dubai or your lodgings (or both), we’ll cover the best ways to maximize their coverage. With a bit of strategy in picking the right airline and hotel, you’ll be able to fly to and stay in the Pearl of the Persian Gulf in style.
Booking Air Canada flights to Dubai
Air Canada flies to Dubai International Airport (DXB) year-round from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and seasonally from Vancouver International Airport (YVR). And thanks to the airline’s massive route network to the U.S., it provides an easy way for Americans to fly to Dubai, too.
Air Canada Aeroplan is a good way to book Air Canada tickets to Dubai, as it offers more award space than partner airlines — but pricing is somewhat unpredictable. Air Canada uses dynamic pricing for its flights, meaning prices vary depending on when you book and plan to fly.
According to Air Canada’s award chart, flights in economy, premium economy and business class start at 55,000, 70,000 and 85,000 points respectively on the YYZ to DXB route. Still, in my testing, I could not find award tickets at the lowest levels in premium economy or business class. I was also unable to find award space in any cabin through Star Alliance partner loyalty programs like United MileagePlus.
If you’re lucky enough to find a low-cost award ticket on this route with Aeroplan, you can transfer Capital One miles, American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, or Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book your flights. You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Aeroplan at a 3:1 transfer ratio, with 5,000 bonus Aeroplan points awarded for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred.
Booking Air France and KLM flights to Dubai
Air France and KLM both operate one-stop service from the U.S. to Dubai through their respective hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS). The two airlines both have solid business-class offerings, with Air France known for its catering and KLM for its gin-filled Delft Blue ceramic houses that it hands out to passengers.
You’ll get the best deals booking through Air France-KLM Flying Blue. This program also prices award tickets dynamically, but I’ve consistently been able to find flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to DXB for 35,000 miles in economy, 60,000 miles in premium economy and 90,000 miles in business class. In business class, expect taxes and fees to run between $350 and $450 each way.
Flying Blue miles are among the easiest to earn. You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou points to Flying Blue; many of these programs run limited-time transfer bonuses throughout the year. You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Flying Blue at a 3:1 ratio, with 5,000 bonus miles awarded for every 60,000 points transferred.
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Booking Emirates flights to Dubai
Emirates is the largest airline in the UAE, flying from its DXB hub to 139 destinations around the globe. This includes the following U.S. cities:
- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
- O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Miami International Airport (MIA)
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) (via Athens)
- Orlando International Airport (MCO)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
- Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
It’s known for its ultra-luxurious first- and business-class products with onboard showers, bars and other unique amenities. But as you might expect, award tickets in Emirates premium cabins aren’t cheap. Emirates Skywards charges an exorbitant amount of miles, taxes and fees. It doesn’t publish an award chart, but you can use this calculator on Emirates’ website to see how many miles you’ll need for an award ticket.
From JFK to DXB, expect to pay 30,000 miles and $202.90 in taxes and fees for a one-way ticket in economy and a whopping 138,0000 and $834.90 in business class. As of May 12, 2025, only Emirates elites can book first-class award tickets through Emirates.
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou points to Emirates. However, Emirates will pause transfers from Amex and Chase on May 29, 2025, and Citi will lower its transfer ratio to 5:4 on July 27, 2025. Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to Emirates at a 3:1 transfer ratio, with 5,000 bonus miles awarded per 60,000 Marriott points transferred.
You can also book Emirates flights with Qantas Frequent Flyer. Oftentimes, you’ll get a better deal booking premium cabin award tickets with this loyalty program, and you don’t need elite status to book Emirates first-class tickets. It’s important to note, though, that beginning Aug. 5, Emirates flights will be priced according to the Qantas award chart (rather than the partner award chart), meaning award rates and surcharges will increase for Emirates-operated flights. Here’s a look at current pricing on the JFK to DXB route:
American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One and Citi ThankYou points transfer to Qantas. Marriott points transfer to Qantas at the same rates as Emirates.
Booking Qatar Airways flights to Dubai
Qatar Airways is based in nearby Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH) and offers one of the best business class products in the sky — dubbed Qsuites — that fly to several U.S. cities, including major hubs like JFK, ORD, and LAX, among others. Once in DOH, you can quickly connect to DXB after enjoying one of the airline’s legendary airport lounges, like the Al Safwa first-class lounge.
Generally, you’ll get the best deal when you book Qsuites with The British Airways Club. This program charges 70,000 Avios for a transatlantic leg from the U.S. or Canada to DOH in Qsuites business class. Plus, you’ll pay 5,000 Avios for a business-class leg from DOH to DXB, for a total of 75,000 Avios plus $300 to $400 in taxes each way. The same route costs 37,500 Avios in economy.
British Airways Avios are easy to earn, too. You can transfer from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles, and Chase Ultimate Rewards to British Airways. Likewise, if you have Avios with Aer Lingus, Iberia, Finnair, or another Avios airline, you can transfer them to your British Airways account. Marriott Bonvoy points also transfer to British Airways at a 3:1 ratio, with a 5,000-Avios bonus awarded to 60,000-point transfers.
Booking United flights to Dubai
United Airlines is the only U.S. airline with nonstop service to DXB. The airline runs daily nonstop service from EWR to DXB, and it offers connections in DXB through its non-alliance partnership with Emirates.
We’ve found that your best bet is to book this flight with United MileagePlus miles, where you’ll often find one-way economy tickets for 45,000 miles and business-class tickets for 80,000 miles, plus minimal taxes and fees from just $5.60 on flights from EWR to DXB. However, United awards are dynamically priced, so you may pay more miles on peak dates, and lower pricing may be available to United credit cardholders and Premier elite members. You can transfer Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards to United at a 1:1 transfer ratio or Marriott Bonvoy at a 3:1 ratio, with a higher 10,000-mile bonus awarded for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred.
You can also book these award tickets with Air Canada Aeroplan. On the nonstop EWR to DXB route, expect to pay 55,000 points in economy or 90,000 in business class, plus minimal taxes and fees of under $100 each way. Again, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Aeroplan.
Booking Virgin Atlantic award flights to Dubai
Virgin Atlantic serves DXB and many major U.S. cities from its hub at London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR). Its loyalty program — Virgin Atlantic Flying Club — often offers low prices on economy flights from the U.S. to Dubai. You can find tickets on many dates for as low as 12,000 points one-way, plus under $200 in taxes. Unfortunately, Upper Class and Premium rewards are generally over 100,000 points each way. Note that Virgin Atlantic only serves DXB during the winter season.
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou points to Virgin Atlantic. Likewise, Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 transfer ratio to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, with a 5,000-point bonus awarded for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer to the airline.
Best points hotels in Dubai
Dubai is home to many points hotels that span all the major loyalty programs. We’ve listed some of our favorites below, alongside their points prices:
- Park Hyatt Dubai: 21,000 to 29,000 World of Hyatt points per night
- Grand Hyatt Dubai: 12,000 to 18,000 World of Hyatt points per night
- The Dubai Edition: From 70,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night
- The St. Regis Dubai Downtown: From 83,500 Marriott Bonvoy points per night
- Conrad Dubai: From 39,000 Hilton Honors points per night
- Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah: From 51,000 Hilton Honors points per night
Related: Best Park Hyatt hotels, according to Globalists
Credit cards to bring to Dubai
Traveling to Dubai means you’ll be paying for purchases in UAE dirhams. With that in mind, make sure you bring a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. This can save you 2% to 5% in foreign transaction fees on each purchase — and help you earn credit card rewards toward your next trip.
Related: The top travel rewards cards that can pay for themselves
Bottom line
Whether traveling solo or as a family, Dubai makes for a perfect destination for a warm vacation abroad. And with some savvy applications of your points and miles programs, you can save your wallet some stress on your visit.
