Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The QE2 cruise ship is now bookable in its new life as a Dubai hotel

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

Whilst not strictly miles and points related, I thought this was an interesting story which would appeal to a lot of readers.

Those of you with long memories may remember that the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship was sold to Dubai, via the Dubai World holding company, back in 2008.  Her final voyage ended in Dubai and the liner was handed over.

QE2 floating hotel Accor Mgallery Dubai

The timing, of course, was terrible.  The financial crisis hit Dubai very hard and plans to turn her into a floating hotel hit the buffers.  For many years the ship sat in the port, still requiring a full-time crew of 40 to keep it operational.

The market finally turned and conversion work began.  On 18th April, the QE2 will reopen as a hotel via a ‘soft launch’ ahead of a formal reopening in the Autumn.

You can find out more, and book, on the QE2 website here.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

best hotel loyalty promotions

Hotel offers update – May 2025:

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 15th July 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This would convert into 25,000 Avios or into 40 other airline schemes. It would also get you at least £300 of Marriott hotel stays based on our 0.5p per point low-end valuation. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

Want to buy hotel points?

  • Marriott Bonvoy is offering a 30% to 50% bonus (varies by individual) when you buy points by 16th July 2025. Click here to buy.
  • World of Hyatt is offering a 20% bonus when you buy points by 21st July 2025. Click here to buy.
Category

General

Comments (42)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Anna says:
    17 Apr17 April 05:16

    I’ve just booked a CE flight & hotel package to Rome so it’ll be nice to check out the new lounge.

    Rob, I’ve booked the Hilton Garden Inn for this trip, so does that mean I’ve forfeited all my HH gold perks by booking via BA?

  • Mike says:
    17 Apr17 April 05:19

    QE2 location is not great. Too far from anything and the timings are best-case scenario…which means add more time. Gallery of pictures doesn’t look inviting. Did a dummy booking for June and got something like AED600 with taxes per night. Way too high given other options. Would pass on this -even for nostalgic purposes.

  • Simon says:
    17 Apr17 April 06:50

    I was in the Plaza Premium (via LoungeKey) next door yesterday and it was the best lounge experience I’ve had for a good while…..

  • Stuart says:
    17 Apr17 April 07:40

    Off to Rome in June so will be checking this out!

  • Boi says:
    17 Apr17 April 07:46

    OT: what is the most (points) effective way to top up Revolut?

  • Richard says:
    17 Apr17 April 07:57

    OT: Does anyone have any experience of purchasing travel cash through one of the new Curve debit cards? Will it come up as a cash withdrawal, or an ordinary transaction? (I’m planning to purchase my travel cash from WeSwap, who take debit card — wondering if I can generate a few points along the way.)

    • Keith says:
      17 Apr17 April 08:44

      The twice I’ve tried it have both been rejected; mine is a new Curve card however.

      • Richard says:
        17 Apr17 April 10:21

        Well mine is also a new Curve, so I guess I’ll just put it on my usual debit card then.

    • Rebecca says:
      17 Apr17 April 09:08

      I realise this isn’t what you’re asking, but I did a withdrawal in Germany on my curve card after linking it to my Lloyds Avios m/c and switching currency to Euros and came up as a purchase in Euros at the airport. No charges and earnt some avios!

    • Doug says:
      17 Apr17 April 10:25

      Since you mentioned, I need to report that HSBC Premier card is now considering curve cash withdrawn as cash withdrawn and charging interest on top. I wasn’t sure if the interest charged on my card was due to curve or revolut, but the CS confirmed it is curve. I have now upgraded to the debit card version and i will report back next month.

    • Anna says:
      17 Apr17 April 11:07

      I’ve topped up my Cash Passport using Curve linked to my Lloyds Mastercard. So far no interest or other charges showing on my statement.

  • Chris says:
    17 Apr17 April 08:01

    The mixologist idea sounds like a 15 minute wait just for a glass of wine whilst a couple of watery yet colourful cocktails are ‘mixed’ by a Tom Cruise wannabe.

  • Tim M says:
    17 Apr17 April 09:52

    My last trip on the QE2 was Southampton to New York in January 2006. It was the first leg of the World Cruise, complete with Salvation Army band sending us off from in the fog from the quay. Obviously under-sold, we paid a little under £300 including the flight back to Heathrow. I can’t see any such bargains on the horizon for the stationary QE2.

    • Louie says:
      17 Apr17 April 12:10

      Wow. Bargain of the century. We did our first cruise on the QE2 to the fjords, splashed out for Princess Grill as she was running up to retirement at the time. Loved her, pure class. Will always regret not doing QE2 out and Concorde back (or vv) from New York. It was planned for a big birthday but fate intervened.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 50,000 bonus points (worth 50,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 20,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!