Want to stay for free in some of Dubai’s most fabulous hotels like Atlantis The Palm, Address Downtown Burj hotel, Jumeirah Emirates Towers hotel or The Palace hotel? How about Sofitel City Centre Hotel, Hilton Creek Dubai Hotel Deira or the Le Meridien Dubai Jumeirah Beach Hotel?. Well here are some tips that you can use to make your stay free.
FREE HOTEL STAYS STEP 1: CHECK YOUR CREDIT.
Go to Credit Karma and register. This service is totally free and will not affect your credit rating at all. Once you register you will be able to see your credit rating. You are looking for a credit score of 700 or better. If you’re really far below 700, then this probably isn’t the game for you. Follow the advice at Credit Karma and try to get your score up.
If you’re close to 700 or better, you’re in business.
FREE HOTEL STAYS STEP 2: USE YOUR GOOD CREDIT AND GET SOME REWARDS.
There is a big misunderstanding when it comes to credit cards. Credit cards do not ruin your credit score, they actually help it. It is misusing your credit cards that will hurt you. For us credit cards are not a source for money, but a source for rewards. And so we call them REWARD CARDS.
In the past year I have signed up for 5 different reward cards and my credit score went up 6 points. I will probably cancel most of these at the end of the year and give back 6 points on my credit score, but who cares. The rewards are way worth it.
A while back I found a link for a reward card offer from American Express. The Frugal Travel Guy, who for my money is THE AUTHORITY on credit card rewards, had posted a link on his site that offered 75,000 AAdvantage Miles when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. Both Heidi and I applied for the cards and started off right away with 150,000 AAdvantage miles.
How much is 150,000 advantage miles worth?
Well, a midweek hotel in Miami, Florida in April will start at 5,000 points. More luxurious hotels will start at 15,000 points a night.
So, if you’re on the cheap:
150, 000 American Airlines Miles will get you about 30 Free hotel stays in Miami or similar cities.
More luxurious options will start at about 20,000 AAdvantage miles, so you are looking at:
150,000 AAdvantage Miles will get you about 6 Free Nights of 4-Star Accommodations.
To date, we have racked up about 450,000 points/miles for our trip around the world, and we have only been doing this for about 6 months. We have not incurred any late fees, nor have we paid any annual fees.
FREE HOTEL STAYS STEP 3: TRACKING YOUR REWARD CARDS AND MILES.
This is crucial. If you miss a payment or miss the fine print, you will lose. Of course, there is no reason to lose. Be careful and you will win BIG! Here are some great tools and ideas you can use to help you manage your reward cards and credit.
- Credit Karma is the best, use it to monitor your credit.
I use MILE BLASTER to manage my rewards. It was only $1 when I got it and came with a handy iPhone app. Easy. Upload all your accounts in seconds.
When you get your credit cards, set them all to autopay. I know some people get scared of this, but monitoring your spending habits really has nothing to do with credit cards. By setting up your reward cards to autopay you will never incur late fees or fines. And you will only ever have to worry about one account: Your Checking Account.
Set up a worksheet that includes all the following info for each reward card:
The date the card was issued.
Minimum Purchases and Time Frame required to earn Sign up Bonus.
Annual Fee due date and amount.
Rewards Number.
Login and Password for Rewards Access.
How to get the Best of Dubai
Dubai offers a heady cocktail of year-round sunshine, beautiful beaches, upmarket shopping and impressive tourist attractions. It welcomes millions of visitors each year from around the globe.
When planning your two days in Dubai, it is important to note what time of the year it is. If you are traveling between May and October, you will need to be very mindful of the extreme heat that occurs in the middle of the day. During these months your daily schedule will need to include indoor activities from late morning through to mid afternoon. Don’t worry though, as there are plenty of things to keep you amused, and you’ll be far more comfortable inside, away from the heat.
There’s nothing more romantic than heading to the desert for an Arabian adventure. You can sign up for a desert safari tour where a number of activities are offered. You can do some 4-wheel driving over the sand dunes, before sand boarding down the dunes and then riding a camel, all before dinner! After that, you’ll be able to watch a gorgeous sunset, followed by a sumptuous Arabian meal with belly dancers for entertainment. If this idea really excites you, then you can also choose to spend the night sleeping under the stars.
If you want to do something out of the ordinary, why not ski for a couple of hours at Ski Dubai, located indoors in the Mall of the Emirates shopping center. It is a truly remarkable feat of engineering and a whole lot of fun. You only need to bring with you (or purchase) a hat and gloves. The rest of the ski gear is provided as part of the price. For skiing newbies, you can play on the toboggans and tubes, whereas experienced skiers can snowboard or ski down a number of runs, including a black run.
If you’re happy to get out of bed nice and early, you might enjoy watching the camels being trained for racing at the Dubai Camel Racecourse. The camels are out from 5:30am to 9:00am. They are amazing to watch as they travel at speeds of up to 60km per hour.
Enjoy the atmosphere of the old Emirati buildings by walking through Old Dubai, which is along the western side of Dubai Creek. You’ll love the architecture of the wind towers, which is the traditional way that Middle Eastern buildings are kept cool. Down the alleyways are wonderful galleries, and you’ll also find the Dubai Museum in this area.
The Deira Spice Souk is a market full of exotic tastes and aromas, but it also gives you a sense of what Dubai would have been like a long time ago. You can purchase fresh spices like cumin, cinnamon and cloves as well as henna and khol which were used as traditional Arabian makeup. Frankincense, which was traded centuries ago as a very valuable medicinal commodity, can also be purchased. When Frankincense is burned, it releases a heady and inviting perfume that will make your experience all the more pleasurable.
The best thing about Dubai is that it is forever changing, so each time you go back there will be new experiences for you to try. For an amazing display of light, music and water, get along to the Dubai Water Fountains. Set on the 30 acre Burj Khalifa Lake, the fountain shoots jets as high as the equivalent of a 50 storey building.
Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo offers great fun for all the family and combines the largest viewing panel on the planet, an aquarium tank and tunnel and the new ‘Jewels of Arabia’ showcase, which features aquatic animals and creepy crawlies from local habitats, diverse species from ocean, reef and shore, and a range of informative educational activities.
A sight-seeing essential and the tallest skyscraper in the world, the Burj Khalifa, is located in downtown Dubai and surrounded by hotels and must-visit shopping destinations. There’s also an outdoor observation deck on level 124 which features the ‘Behold Telescope’, enabling visitors to view the surrounding landscape.
Make sure your holiday goes with a splash at the largest water park in the Middle East; set in 42 acres, Aquaventure Water Park is situated at Atlantis The Palm Hotel and Resort. There’s water slides, river rides, 700 metres of private beach and a huge family play-structure to keep the kids entertained.
With a range of hotel accommodation from affordable to opulent, it’s easy to track down some great Dubai hotel deals whatever your budget. Offering excellent value for money and comfortable accommodation, the two star Queens Hotel is located in the Deira district of Dubai, or alternatively blow the budget at Rose Rayhaan By Rotana, a 4 star luxury hotel in Dubai city which is recognised as the world’s tallest hotel, and boasts a stunning outdoor pool and 24 hour service.
Business travelers tend to stay on Sheikh Zayed Road, but these hotels also have extensive services for visitors who are on holiday, and they lie just minutes away from Jumeirah Beach and the best sights of old Dubai.
The old town consists of Deira and Bur Dubai. It’s not as glitzy as Jumeirah Beach or Sheikh Zayed Road, but it has much more local flavor. The best hotels here overlook Dubai Creek, but they’re also the most expensive in the area. For travelers seeking more moderate accommodations, Deira and Bur Dubai offer the city’s least expensive options. Be cautious when choosing other hotels in the area-some are used for prostitution and are simply not recommended.
Just as the guests to Dubai’s hotels seem to come from every corner of the globe, so too do the staff. Service has improved markedly, but the limited English ability and lack of familiarity with Western expectations among some of the staffs occasionally means that service isn’t quite up to par with other tourist hubs. This is more the case with inexpensive hotels than with the expensive, international ones. Nevertheless, you can always get by with English, and for better or worse don’t need to speak a word of Arabic here. As you might expect, you will find a significant difference between the attention you will receive at a five-star hotel and one more modest in quality and price.
Dubai hotels are expensive and unfortunately getting more so, especially for U.S. travelers who face falling dollar value in currency exchanges. Hotel prices tend to drop 30% to 40% in summer (late June to Aug), but Dubai is so hot then you may feel like you should be the one paid to stay during those months. There are occasionally discounts around some of the festival periods, as well. European and other travelers are likely to find the prices a little more manageable, but still high. I strongly suggest that you check Internet promotional rates before booking.
Most hotels will quote rates in dirhams but can easily convert that to dollars, pounds, or euros. Foreign credit cards are widely accepted. All rates are subject to a 10% municipality fee and 10% service charge.
Check this site for updates on hotel deals in Dubai.
