Eat Drink Stay Dubai Newsletter 40/w29

Hi Dubai friends,

Welcome to Week 29, Edition 40

So here is this week’s digest of the ‘Dubai news worth knowing’, all in 10 minutes or less of your time.

👇 A few things worth knowing this week 👇

🤯 £88 flight to Dubai?

🤑 Entertainer Price Drop

🛬 Etihad Early Autumn Sale

🏨 Palazzo Versace for sale again?

💳 Emirates/AmEx Transfer Rate reduced.

🗞 Roundup: 99 things to do this Summer in Dubai. Dubai Police Car parade. 3D printed Electric Abras.

If you enjoy this newsletter, have any feedback or suggestions or just way to say 👋, feel free to drop me an email by clicking here

KNOW MORE ABOUT DUBAI

Why You Can Ignore That ‘Fly to Dubai for £88’ “Hack”

T’internet went a little wild this week with ‘news’ about how you can (apparently) fly to Dubai for £88.

Confession: I didn’t bother fully reading the article, just a quick skim was enough to know it was a Hard No from me.

Good news first - the concept of a ‘positioning flight’ can be worth considering, as regular readers will be aware from past editions. It can be a great idea to take a cheaper, perhaps even LCC flight, to a destination outside of UK to fly from as it saves on fare costs and taxes/charges.

There are also several destinations around Europe that are far cheaper to fly from, for example, Dublin, Budapest, Oslo, Copenhagen, Sofia and even Paris. It’s not uncommon to add the cost of the positioning flight and a hotel and still get a lower fare, but of course, there’s the time cost to consider.

Where the “hack” falls down (IMO) is the mention of Wizz Air.

1. In case you’re not aware, they’re widely awarded ‘worst airline’.

2. They have a terrible punctuality record.

3. They make RyanAir look like a Royal Flight.

4. Last but not least, a £55 fare is relatively expensive in the Wizz Air universe.

There are then the contingencies to consider.

• Adding a connection can add another potential for disruption. Whilst this is true of any positioning flight, at least airlines like KLM or Air France will often have better customer service, they’re also likely to be more helpful in getting you on another flight.

• Just pricing fare cost, especially on a LCC like Wizz Air, is only half of the story - think about baggage costs, seat charges and taxes/charges and £55 soon grows.

• Wizz Air are a point to point airline, rather than a ‘through’ hub connecting airline such as Emirates. So if you booked say Budapest to one country and another flight to a further destination, you’d actually have to enter the first country rather than stay airside or in transit. So visas may have to be considered, plus the time and hassle factor eg collect baggage, clear immigration etc.

But most of all, here’s why it’s of no interest to me.

Because it’s actually not that great a deal. That price is a one way fare only, so even if one could return for the same cost that’s £166+. Once all the add-ons are totted up, such as bags etc. an all-in cost of £250+ would be more likely.

There are far other deals around, and on better airlines. If you really want to try positioning flights, I’ve seen flights ex-Italy for £69 on Etihad for instance one-way or even Lufthansa Premium Economy as low as €651 return or Turkish Airlines €336 in economy, both far better than Wizz Air.

So there you have it - great food with Turkish, earn loyalty points/miles and have a nicer flight, or hold your nerve to save a few quid and (literally) fly by the seat of your pants. Up to you ….

ENTERTAINER

Entertainer 2024 Price Drop

Entertainer 2024 have dropped prices, by 250.00 AED and 150.00 AED respectively, for Entertainer GCC 2024 and Entertainer Dubai 2024.

This is likely because we’re now 200 days into 2024, and the 2024 product is valid until the end of 2024.

If you’re not already familiar with Entertainer, it’s a ‘Buy One Get One Free’ app-based lifestyle discount program. It’s particularly good for dining and drinking, given many venues have up to three vouchers, so either two people can use three times for a ‘freebie’ or ‘BOGOF’ or six people use for three ‘freebies’ or ‘BOGOF’s.

Dubai 2024 covers Dubai emirate, Abu Dhabi covers Abu Dhabi Emirate, whilst GCC 2024 covers Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other GCC countries.

If you click to the main product page here, you can click the icons to see which outlets are available, such as cafes, fine dining, bars, hotels etc. Brunches are generally under fine dining ….

How to Get a Further 10% Discount on Entertainer 2024

Use Promo Code EDSD24 for an extra 10% discount, to reduce the prices even further:-

• Entertainer GCC 2024 (was 795.00) to 545.00 then becomes 490.49 AED

• Entertainer Dubai 2024 (was 595.00) to 445.00 then becomes 400.50 AED

For further advice about how to apply the promo code, along with a few tips about what/where to click (and what not), check the second link below.

🔗Entertainer 2024 Product Page

🔗Entertainer Promo Code EDSD24 - How to Use for 10% Discount*

*denotes affiliate link. This is a link to a partner site that may pay me a commission - at no further cost to you - and if so, helps to support me & this newsletter. For more info, please see Disclosure and Policies

FLIGHT DEALS

Etihad “Early Autumn” Sale - Ends Today (18 Jul 24)

A quick reminder that Etihad’s four day sale* ends at midnight tonight, 18 Jul 24, so be quick!

• Valid for travel 01 Sep 24 - 30 Nov 24

🔗Etihad Airways Early Autumn Sale*

*denotes affiliate link. This is a link to a partner site that may pay me a commission - at no further cost to you - and if so, helps to support me & this newsletter. For more info, please see Disclosure and Policies

HOTEL NEWS

Palazzo Versace Up for Sale Again? Deja Vu?

According to Gulf News, Palazzo Versace is for sale by auction with a guide price of 1.35 billion AED.

This could be worth watching, because it’s the second time it’s gone for auction, and there’s already been a bit of drama and uncertainty.

Past editions of the newsletter reported how it was on then off for auction, and another edition flagged up some very attractive deals, albeit with some risk given the news.

EMIRATES

Emirates Reduce American Express Transfer Ratio

Emirates Skywards have reduced their transfer ratio from American Express. Previously 1:1, it will now be 4 Membership Rewards = 3 Skywards Miles. Other airline transfer partners, apart from Singapore Airlines, remain at 1:1 for UK account holders.

🔗Emirates cuts American Express transfer rate

DUBAI NEWS ROUNDUP

99 Things to Do in Dubai This Summer

Check out this great guide from Visit Dubai for ideas of what to do this Summer in Dubai.

🔗99 Things to Do in Dubai This Summer (Visit Dubai)

🔗Dubai Police parade their vehicles

🔗The 15 best restaurants in Business Bay