What is the best airline to fly to Africa?

Our favorite luxury airline to fly to Africa if cost and price aren’t prohibitive is Qatar Airways! It has tons of routes from the United States to its hub in Doha. From there you can make a simple hop all over the rest of the Middle East and North Africa.

Are there any direct flights to the Middle East or North Africa?

Yes, there are plenty! Currently, these carriers offer nonstop routes: American Delta Egyptair EL AL Emirates Etihad Airways Kuwait Airways Royal Air Maroc Qatar Airways Royal Jordanian Airlines Saudia United

How do you get to the Middle East or North Africa from the U.S.?

You can either fly nonstop or book a connecting flight. Either way, you have tons of options. You can fly nonstop on Emirates to Dubai, on Etihad to Abu Dhabi, on Qatar Airways to Doha, on Kuwait Airways to Kuwait City, on Saudia to Saudi Arabia, on Royal Jordanian Airlines to Amman, on EL AL to Tel Aviv, or on any of the Big 3 U.S. carriers to Tel Aviv. United also flies to Dubai and Amman. You can also fly nonstop on Egyptair and Royal Air Maroc to Cairo and Casablanca, respectively. And if you’re booking a connecting flight, you can fly on Air France, Lufthansa, SWISS, British Airways, and many more via their respective hubs.

How long is a flight to the Middle East?

A flight from the U.S. West Coast to the Middle East can be as long as 16.5 hours in length. A flight from the U.S. East Coast to the Middle East is usually around 12 to 14 hours long, depending on where you’re exactly you’re flying to.

What are the best ways to fly to the Middle East or North Africa with points and miles?

The best ways to fly to the Middle East are aboard QSuites with Qatar Airways Avios or American Airlines AAdvantage miles, using Aeroplan points for Star Alliance, Turkish Airlines business class booked with ANA miles, Lufthansa first and business class booked with Avianca LifeMiles, Royal Air Maroc business class booked with Etihad Guest miles, British Airways business class booked with Asia Miles, or Air France-KLM business class booked with Flying Blue miles.

Best Ways To Fly to the Middle East & North Africa With Miles

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is one of the world’s most interesting places. And while there are a few countries ridden with internal strife there, this area is truly one of the most culturally significant and historic in the world.

Known for expansive deserts and ancient Arabian history, the Middle East and North Africa comprise of unique countries that should definitely be on your radar.

What’s more, plane tickets from the U.S. to the Middle East or North Africa are often incredibly expensive.

So that’s why we’ll be showing you the best ways to use your points and miles to fly to the Middle East and North Africa! We’ll highlight the best ways to fly here with all 3 alliances, as well as some of the best non-alliance options.

Let’s get started!

Table of contents

Nonstop Flights Between the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa
Best Programs To Use To Book Flights to the Middle East and North Africa
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

Nonstop Flights Between the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa
Best Programs To Use To Book Flights to the Middle East and North Africa
Final Thoughts

Nonstop Flights Between the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa

Numerous airlines offer nonstop flights to the Middle East and North Africa. We’ve broken them down by airline; in total, 12 airlines offer nonstop flights to MENA.

Here are the foreign airlines operating nonstop flights to the Middle East:

EL AL
- Boston (BOS) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- Miami (MIA) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- New York (JFK) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
Emirates
- Boston (BOS) – Dubai (DXB)
- Chicago (ORD) – Dubai (DXB)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Dubai (DXB)
- Miami (MIA) – Dubai (DXB)
- New York (JFK) – Dubai (DXB)
- Orlando (MCO) – Dubai (DXB)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Dubai (DXB)
- Seattle (SEA) – Dubai (DXB)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Dubai (DXB)
Etihad Airways
- Chicago (ORD) – Abu Dhabi (AUH)
- New York (JFK) – Abu Dhabi (AUH)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Kuwait Airways
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Kuwait City (KWI)
- New York (JFK) – Kuwait City (KWI)
Qatar Airways
- Atlanta (ATL) – Doha (DOH)
- Boston (BOS) – Doha (DOH)
- Chicago (ORD) – Doha (DOH)
- Dallas (DFW) – Doha (DOH)
- Houston (IAH) – Doha (DOH)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Doha (DOH)
- New York (JFK) – Doha (DOH)
- Miami (MIA) – Doha (DOH)
- Philadelphia (PHL) – Doha (DOH)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Doha (DOH)
- Seattle (SEA) – Doha (DOH)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Doha (DOH)
Royal Jordanian Airlines
- Chicago (ORD) – Amman (AMM)
- Detroit (DTW) – Amman (AMM)
- New York (JFK) – Amman (AMM)
Saudia
- Los Angeles – Jeddah (JED)
- New York (JFK) – Riyadh (RUH)
- New York (JFK) – Jeddah (JED)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Riyadh (RUH)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Jeddah (JED)

Here are the U.S. airlines operating nonstop flights to the Middle East:

American Airlines
- Miami (MIA) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- New York (JFK) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- New York (JFK) – Doha (DOH)
Delta Air Lines
- Atlanta (ATL) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- Boston (BOS) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- New York (JFK) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
United Airlines
- Chicago (ORD) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- Newark (EWR) – Amman (AMM)
- Newark (EWR) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- Newark (EWR) – Dubai (DXB)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Tel Aviv (TLV)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Amman (AMM)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Tel Aviv (TLV)

Here are the airlines operating nonstop flights to North Africa:

Egyptair
- New York (JFK) – Cairo (CAI)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Cairo (CAI)
Royal Air Maroc
- New York (JFK) – Casablanca (CMN)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Casablanca (CMN)

As you can see, there are plenty of options you can book. The general rule of thumb should be to fly on the most direct route to the final destination. So for example, if you want to fly to Morocco, it’s probably a good idea to figure out the best ways to redeem points on Royal Air Maroc.

If there are no nonstop flights to your final destination from the U.S., there are plenty of connecting flight options, including on airlines like Air France, KLM, British Airways, Turkish Airlines, and much more.

There are many nonstop routes you can book from the U.S. to the Middle East or North Africa, but the number of 1-stop connecting flights is almost uncountable.

Best Programs To Use To Book Flights to the Middle East and North Africa

Let’s go through all of our favorite ways to use points and miles for flights to the Middle East and North Africa, starting with Aeroplan!

Air Canada Aeroplan

United Polaris reclined passenger watching IFE — You can book award flights to the Middle East and North Africa with Aeroplan points. Image Credit: United

Aeroplan is a great option for those looking to fly to the Middle East or North Africa. As a Star Alliance partner, you’ll be flying with the likes of United, Turkish Egyptair, Lufthansa, and Swiss.

Air Canada operates on a distance-based award chart, which means you’ll pay a fixed price based on how far you’re flying. If your routing is under 4,000 miles in distance, here’s how much it’ll cost you in points to fly to either the Middle East or Africa:

Cabin Class	Aeroplan Points Cost (One-way)
Economy	40,000
Premium Economy (Air Canada flights only)	60,000
Business	70,000
First	100,000

Here are a few example redemptions you can make:

Boston (BOS) – Munich (MUC) – Dubai (DXB) one-way in business with Lufthansa and Emirates for 70,000 points + ~$73 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Cairo (CAI) one-way in Egyptair economy for 40,000 points + ~$85 in taxes and fees
New York (EWR) – Tel Aviv (TLV) one-way in United Polaris for 70,000 points + ~$95 in taxes and fees
San Francisco (SFO) – Tel Aviv one-way in United Polaris for 70,000 points + ~$98 in taxes and fees
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Istanbul (IST) – Amman (AMM) one-way in Turkish Airlines business for 70,000 points + ~$62 in taxes and fees

Here are the steps to book:

Navigate to aircanada.com.
Enter your city pairs — be sure to check that you’re using points!
Find availability for your dates.
Select the flights you’d like to book.
Pay!

Earning Aeroplan Points

Aeroplan points are some of the easiest to earn thanks to the program’s strong partnerships with card issuers. You can transfer over from Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Chase Ultimate Rewards at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy points also transfer over, but at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer.

All Nippon Airways Mileage Club

Turkish Airlines Boeing 787 9 Business Class Seat 8A — Turkish Airlines business class. Image Credit: Greg Stone

ANA Mileage Club is an incredible frequent flyer program that offers amazing round-trip pricing on Star Alliance flights, particularly in business class.

This means that you’ll probably redeem the fewest points to fly to MENA with ANA Mileage Club, though there are 2 caveats:

You must book a round-trip flight (no one-ways)
Almost all fuel surcharges are passed on

You should avoid all of the European airline partners, including Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines — otherwise, you’ll need to spend an additional $800+ each way out-of-pocket!

Not to worry, as both Turkish Airlines and LOT Polish boast lower fuel surcharges than their partners. Follow this award chart to book your round-trip flights from North America:

Cabin Class	ANA Miles Cost (Round-trip)	Turkish Airlines Taxes and Fees	LOT Polish Taxes and Fees	Egyptair Taxes and Fees
Economy	65,000	~$571	~$488	~$563
Business	104,000	~$747	~$713	~$581

ANA also categorizes Morocco as part of Europe and Russia 2 (Zone 7), which means you can follow this award chart:

Cabin Class	ANA Miles Cost (Round-trip)	Turkish Airlines Taxes and Fees	LOT Polish Taxes and Fees	Egyptair Taxes and Fees
Economy	55,000	~$571	~$488	~$563
Business	88,000	~$747	~$713	~$581

As you can tell, it’s pretty difficult to avoid fuel surcharges entirely — and even the taxes and fees in economy are egregious, which is why you’d want to leverage ANA Mileage Club for business class only.

Here are a few example redemptions you can make:

Atlanta (ATL) – Istanbul (IST) – Marrakesh (RAK) round-trip in Turkish Airlines business class for 88,000 ANA miles + ~$747 in taxes and fees
Chicago (ORD) – Warsaw (WAW) – Tel Aviv (TLV) round-trip in LOT Polish business class for 104,000 ANA miles + ~$713 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Warsaw (WAW) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in LOT Polish business class for 104,000 ANA miles + ~$713 in taxes and fees
Miami (MIA) – Istanbul (IST) – Muscat (MCT) round-trip in Turkish Airlines business class for 88,000 ANA miles + ~$747 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Cairo (CAI) round-trip in Egyptair business class for 104,000 ANA miles + ~$581 in taxes and fees
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Cairo (CAI) round-trip in Egyptair business class for 104,000 ANA miles + ~$581 in taxes and fees

You can book all of these flights directly online; while we wouldn’t recommend searching for availability on ANA’s website, you can perform the search on a partner site like united.com and then navigate to ANA’s website when you’ve located availability.

Here are the steps:

Find availability on united.com.
Write down the flight information you’d like to book.
Visit ANA’s website.
Click on ANA Mileage Club on the top-right side of the website.
Under the Flight Awards section on the left-hand side, click International, followed by Award Reservation.
Enter your ANA Mileage Club login information.
Enter the flight information and click Search.
Transfer your points to ANA Mileage Club after confirming availability.
After receiving the transferred points, complete the reservation by paying for taxes and fees using a credit card.

Earning ANA Mileage Club Miles

ANA Mileage Club is transfer partners with 2 transferrable rewards programs: Amex Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex transfers at a 1:1 ratio and takes around 3 business days, while Marriott transfers at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus when you transfer 60,000 points and takes around 7 business days.

Hot Tip: Your mileage may vary, but you may be able to hold an award reservation while your points are being transferred by calling 800-235-9262.

Recommended American Express Cards (Personal)

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

Qatar, QSuites, 11F & 11E, Boeing 777 — Everyone wants to try out Qsuites! Image Credit: Alex Miller

Qatar Airways switched its Privilege Club currency over to the Avios program in 2022, making a huge splash as its award seats became suddenly much more available. This was amazing news for travelers, as its Qsuites business class product is one of the best around. Even better, it’ll cost you just 70,000 Avios one-way to fly from the U.S. to Doha (DOH), its hub.

Boston (BOS) – Doha (DOH) one-way in Qsuites for 70,000 Avios + ~$8 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Doha (DOH) one-way in Qsuites for 70,000 Avios + ~$8 in taxes and fees
Miami (MIA) – Doha (DOH) one-way in Qsuites for 70,000 Avios + ~$8 in taxes and fees
Seattle (SEA) – Doha (DOH) one-way in Qsuites for 70,000 Avios + ~$8 in taxes and fees
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Doha (DOH) one-way in Qsuites for 70,000 Avios + ~$8 in taxes and fees

Booking Qatar Airways business class is super easy; follow these steps to get this dream ticket reserved!

Visit Qatar Airway’s website.
Log in to your account (you may need to have some Avios in your account to complete a search).
Enter your route information.
Select your desired flights.
Book your award.

Earning Qatar Airways Avios

Avios are some of the easiest currencies to earn since the currency is interchangeable between British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and Qatar Airways. This means you’ll find transfers from all the main transferable currencies, including Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy!

Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, and Citi all transfer almost instantaneously at a 1:1 ratio.

Lastly, Marriott transfers at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points. Transfers from Marriott usually take around 3 business days.

Hot Tip: British Airways has also dropped its pricing to match Qatar Airways’ flights, which means these can be booked via the British Airways site just as easily!

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

If you’re a business owner, see our list of the best Chase business credit cards.

American Airlines AAdvantage

Qatar QSuites A350 Seat View — Qatar Airways Qsuites is possibly the best business class in the world. Image Credit: Alex Miller

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention American Airlines AAdvantage for 1 reason — those aforementioned Qatar Airways Qsuites. Before Qatar switched over to Avios, American Airlines was the absolute best way to book these flights. If you’re looking for an alternative to booking with Avios, American Airlines miles are still an excellent way to book these fabulous business class seats.

Here’s how much it’ll cost for one-way flights between the U.S. and the Middle East:

Cabin Class	AAdvantage Miles Cost (One-Way)	Qatar Airways Taxes and Fees
Economy	40,000	~$8
Business	70,000	~$8

And here’s how much it’ll cost for one-way flights between the U.S. and Africa:

Cabin Class	AAdvantage Miles Cost (One-Way)	Qatar Airways Taxes and Fees
Economy	40,000	~$8
Business	75,000	~$8

Here are the countries that fall into each region:

Middle East	Africa
Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates	Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Melilla, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Given all of this information, here are a few fantastic redemptions you can make:

Boston (BOS) – Doha (DOH) – Alexandria (HBE) one-way in Qatar Airways Qsuites for 70,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$8 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Doha (DOH) – Khartoum (KRT) one-way in Qatar Airways Qsuites for 75,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$8 in taxes and fees
Miami (MIA) – Doha (DOH) – Cairo (CAI) one-way in Qatar Airways Qsuites for 70,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$8 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Doha (DOH) – Tunis (TUN) one-way in Qatar Airways Qsuites for 75,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$8 in taxes and fees
Seattle (SEA) – Doha (DOH) – Salalah (SLL) one-way in Qatar Airways Qsuites for 70,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$8 in taxes and fees
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Doha (DOH) – Casablanca (CMN) one-way in Qatar Airways Qsuites for 75,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$8 in taxes and fees

And if you are considering different partner airlines like Royal Jordanian or Iberia, here are a few options you can book:

Chicago (ORD) – Amman (AMM) one-way in Royal Jordanian business class for 70,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$6 in taxes and fees
Detroit (DTW) – Amman (AMM) – Cairo (CAI) one-way in Royal Jordanian business class for 70,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$6 in taxes and fees
Miami (MIA) – Madrid (MAD) – Algiers (ALG) one-way in British Airways business class for 75,000 AAdvantage miles + ~$487 in taxes and fees

These bookings can be made directly on American Airlines’s website:

Visit American Airlines’s homepage.
You’ll see a search box in the middle of the screen.
Check off the box that says Redeem miles.
Toggle One way or Round trip.
Enter your city pairs, number of passengers, and travel dates. Click Search.
Select the flight that matches your needs, redeem your AAdvantage miles, and use a credit card for taxes and fees.

Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

American Airlines AAdvantage miles can be earned from credit cards in 3 main ways:

Spending on Citi’s and Barclays’s co-branded credit cards
Transfers from Bilt Rewards
Transfer from Marriott Bonvoy

Bilt Rewards transfer to American Airlines at a 1:1 ratio. American Airlines also transfers from Marriott Bonvoy, which transfers at a 3:1 ratio with an additional 5,000-mile bonus after transferring 60,000 points.

Transfers from Marriott to American Airlines take around 2 business days to complete.

Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards

Etihad Guest

Royal Air Maroc Business Class Seat — Royal Air Maroc’s business class. Image Credit: Royal Air Maroc

One of the sweet spots of North African travel is aboard Royal Air Maroc, which is the flag carrier of Morocco.

Specifically, Etihad Guest offers some astonishing award redemption prices for nonstop flights between the U.S. and Morocco!

On any nonstop flight aboard Royal Air Maroc that’s longer than 2,000 miles in distance, you’ll redeem just 44,000 Etihad Guest miles in business and 22,000 miles in economy!

These are for one-way flights, and Etihad Guest prices these flights on a per-segment basis. Here are a couple of fantastic example routes you can book:

New York (JFK) – Casablanca (CMN) one-way in Royal Air Maroc business class for 44,000 Etihad Guest miles + ~$201 in taxes and fees
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Casablanca (CMN) one-way in Royal Air Maroc business class for 44,000 Etihad Guest miles + ~$201 in taxes and fees

To book these tickets, you’ll want to find award space on American Airlines’s website, then call Etihad Guest to confirm the ticket.

Visit American Airlines’s homepage.
On the homepage’s search box, toggle the checkbox that says Redeem miles.
Enter your travel information and click Search.
Then, a series of flight options should appear. Sort the options to look for nonstop flights only (Royal Air Maroc is the only airline operating these nonstop routes) and write down the flight you’d like to book.
Call Etihad Guest at 877-690-0767 to confirm the reservation and pay for taxes and fees with a credit card.

Earning Etihad Guest Miles

Etihad Guest miles are surprisingly easy to earn — this frequent flyer program is transfer partners with American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex and Citi transfer at a 1:1 ratio almost instantly. Capital One transfers at a 1:1 ratio but may take up to 36 hours to process.

Lastly, Marriott transfers at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus when you transfer 60,000 points. Additionally, Marriott takes around 3 business days to transfer to Etihad Guest.

Recommended Citi Cards

Hot Tip: While we do not profile Etihad first or business class or Emirates first or business class in-depth here, check out our detailed guides for the best ways to book these classes with points and miles!

Avianca LifeMiles

Lufthansa B747-8 First Class Cabin - Cherag Dubash — Lufthansa first class is a glorious way to fly in style to your destination. Image Credit: Cherag Dubash

One of our favorite airline loyalty programs of all time is Avianca LifeMiles.

Sure, its online award booking capabilities are incredibly inconsistent, but it is actually one of the most underrated programs and serves a critical purpose: booking Star Alliance premium cabin flights without fuel surcharges.

Avianca LifeMiles has a few things going for it:

LifeMiles are incredibly easy to earn
The redemption chart is reasonable
There are absolutely no fuel surcharges that get passed on

If we put all of these factors together, LifeMiles is one of the best ways you can book Lufthansa first class, SWISS business class, and other premium cabin products on European airlines.

Hot Tip: Keep in mind that Lufthansa first class is usually only bookable up to 15 days before departure, so you’ll likely need to be a last-minute traveler to book this coveted first class product.

Cabin Class	Avianca LifeMiles Cost (One-Way)	Taxes and Fees (One-Way)
Economy	42,500	~$38
Business	78,000	~$38
First	105,000	~$38

If you happen to be booking a mixed-cabin itinerary, your mileage price will actually be a bit cheaper, due to the fact that the pricing is based on the percentage of the whole itinerary you’re flying in each cabin.

As you can also tell, there are no fuel surcharges passed on — there’s usually a small award booking fee, but this is included in the $38 amount above.

Here are a few example bookings you can make:

Chicago (ORD) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Djerba (DJE) one-way in Lufthansa first class and business class for 99,500 LifeMiles + ~$38 in taxes and fees
Denver (DEN) – Munich (MUC) – Marrakesh (RAK) one-way in Lufthansa business class for 78,000 LifeMiles + ~$38 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Copenhagen (CPH) – Beirut (BEY) one-way in SAS business class for 78,000 LifeMiles + ~$38 in taxes and fees
Miami (MIA) – Zurich (ZRH) – Cairo (CAI) one-way in SWISS business class for 78,000 LifeMiles + ~$38 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Vienna (VIE) – Tel Aviv (TLV) one-way in Austrian Airlines business class for 78,000 LifeMiles + ~$38 in taxes and fees
San Francisco (SFO) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Hurghada (HRG) one-way in Lufthansa first class and business class for 97,800 LifeMiles + ~$38 in taxes and fees

Hot Tip: One of the biggest complaints about LifeMiles is that the search engine doesn’t always display all the bookable options that another website like united.com might. Unfortunately, the customer service hotline isn’t very helpful, either.

Here’s how you can book your ticket on LifeMiles:

Visit LifeMiles’s website.
In the top-right corner, click the flag icon to change the site language to English.
On the English homepage, click Log in in the top-right corner.
Enter your login details.
On the redirected page, you’ll see a ribbon at the top of the page. Click the button that says Travel.
You’ll see a search box. Enter your trip details, and click Find Flights.
After searching, click on the travel dates you’d like to search.
After completing the search, choose the flight options you’d like to book.
Complete the booking and use a credit card to pay for taxes and fees.

Earning Avianca LifeMiles

Avianca LifeMiles, as we mentioned earlier, are very easy to earn.

Currently, LifeMiles has transfer partnerships with Amex Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Brex, Capital One, and Citi transfer at a 1:1 ratio almost instantly. Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred and takes around 1 business day to complete.

You can also often purchase LifeMiles with huge bonuses, making your cost per purchased mile around 1.0 to 1.4 cents each!

Recommended Capital One Cards

United Airlines MileagePlus

SWISS Air business throne seat — SWISS offers lavish throne seats in business class. Image Credit: SWISS

United Airlines’s MileagePlus program has been devalued many times over the years. However, in spite of all these devaluations, it’s still an attractive program to keep in the back of your pocket.

That’s because United Airlines offers an easy booking process, no fuel surcharges on almost all flights, ease of accruing points, and access to Star Alliance’s vast route network.

Although we touched on a few ways to redeem points for Star Alliance flights above (i.e. ANA Mileage Club and Avianca LifeMiles), there are quirks with these programs, namely the passage of fuel surcharges and absence of all possible flights during the search process.

So if you’re willing to spend more points and are looking for a seamless, headache-free frequent flyer program, United MileagePlus will be your best bet. This is particularly true for Chase credit cardholders.

United uses a dynamic award pricing scheme, which means that your plane ticket will be priced according to a range of numbers, not a set value.

Specifically, United’s lowest-priced awards are called Saver awards, and they’re priced as follows on flights between the U.S. and the Middle East:

Cabin Class	United Miles Cost for United Flights	United Miles Cost for Partner Flights
Economy	42,500 to 100,000	46,750
Business	75,000 to 180,000	93,500
First	N/A	N/A

Here’s what MileagePlus award tickets look like on flights between the U.S. and North Africa:

Cabin Class	United Miles Cost for United Flights	United Miles Cost for Partner Flights
Economy	40,000 to 100,000	40,000
Business	80,000 to 200,000	80,000
First	N/A	143,000

Here are some great example redemptions you can make:

Miami (MIA) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Dammam (DMM) one-way in Lufthansa first class and business class for 143,000 United miles + ~$5.60 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Brussels (BRU) – Nador (NDR) one-way in Brussels Airlines business class and Egyptair business class for 93,500 United miles + ~$5.60 in taxes and fees
Newark (EWR) – Tel Aviv (TLV) one-way in United Polaris from 75,000 United miles + ~$5.60 in taxes and fees
San Francisco (SFO) – Tel Aviv (TLV) one-way in United Polaris from 75,000 United miles + ~$5.60 in taxes and fees

To book your flight using United MileagePlus miles, simply follow these steps:

Go to United Airlines’ homepage.
In the search box, check off the box that says Book with miles.
Enter your flight details.
Click Find flights.
Choose the flight you wish to book.
Enter the traveler information, redeem your miles, and pay for any taxes and fees.

Earning United MileagePlus Miles

United miles are some of the most popular in the U.S. and Chase and United’s co-branded credit card offerings allow you to earn United miles directly.

However, perhaps a better way to earn United miles is through Chase credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards, which you can transfer at a 1:1 ratio to United.

Simply put, Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards offer better bonus categories like dining and travel, which you can maximize and then transfer to United MileagePlus.

United is one of Chase’s airline transfer partners, which transfers instantaneously at a 1:1 ratio. Another transfer partner is Marriott Bonvoy, which transfers at a 3:1.1 ratio with a 5,500-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

British Airways Boeing 747 Club World Business Class Main Deck Middle — British Airways business class comes with great award availability but high taxes and fees. Image Credit: Greg Stone

One of the most valuable Oneworld frequent flyer programs is Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles. With decent award redemptions and clutch transfer partnerships, we’ll show you why you should never disregard Asia Miles.

Cathay Pacific is a Oneworld partner, which means your redemptions will be limited to Oneworld airlines for the most part, unless there’s a specific non-alliance partner airline that Asia Miles works with.

The main partner airlines that are relevant to the Middle East and North Africa are Qatar Airways, American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, and Royal Jordanian.

Asia Miles passes on fuel surcharges, which isn’t pleasant, particularly for British Airways and American Airlines flights.

Still, if you’re looking to book Qatar Airways Qsuites and don’t have hundreds of thousands of American Airlines miles, Avios, or Marriott Bonvoy points sitting around, Asia Miles will be your best bet.

Best of all, Asia Miles provides access to up to 360 days of advance award availability, compared to 330 and 331 days from some other airlines offering award seats to MENA. In other words, utilizing Asia Miles gives you up to 1 extra month to look for award availability.

Since Asia Miles uses a distance-based award chart and doesn’t readily publish it, your best bet to figure out how much your trip will cost in miles is to visit the Asia Miles flight awards site and price it out from there.

It can cost anywhere from 61,000 to 90,000 miles in business class, depending on what flight you book. Here are a few example redemptions you can make:

Boston (BOS) – London-Heathrow (LHR) – Marrakesh (RAK) one-way in British Airways business class for 61,000 Asia Miles + ~$760 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Madrid (MAD) – Casablanca (CMN) round-trip in Iberia business class for 150,000 Asia Miles + ~$974 in taxes and fees (Asia Miles doesn’t permit one-way award bookings on Iberia)
New York (JFK) – Amman (AMM) one-way in Royal Jordanian business class for 75,000 Asia Miles + ~$212 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Amman (AMM) – Kuwait City (KWI) one-way in Royal Jordanian business class for 75,000 Asia Miles + ~$284 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Tel Aviv (TLV) one-way in American Airlines business class for 75,000 Asia Miles + ~$680 in taxes and fees
San Francisco (SFO) – Doha (DOH) – Jeddah (JED) one-way in Qatar Airways Qsuites for 90,000 Asia Miles + ~$513 in taxes and fees

To book Asia Miles awards, you’ll want to first search for award space on a partner airline’s website, such as American Airlines or British Airways.

Visit American Airlines’s website.
On the homepage, check off the box that says Redeem miles within the search box in the middle of the screen.
Choose One way or Round trip.
Enter your city pairs, number of passengers, and travel dates. Click Search.
Find a flight itinerary with availability that you’d like to book. Write down the flight details.
Visit Asia Miles’s flight redemption website.
You’ll see a search box. Fill in the search box. Click Search.
Enter the travel dates and number of passengers.
Complete the booking, redeem your Asia Miles, and pay for taxes and fees.

Earning Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Earning Asia Miles is easy — this frequent flyer program has transfer partners in Amex Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Brex, Capital One, and Citi all transfer to Asia Miles at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy transfers to Asia Miles at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus after transferring 60,000 points.

Amex is generally the fastest, with transfers processing within a few hours most of the time. Brex and Citi take around 1 business day, Capital Ones take around 36 hours, and Marriott Bonvoy takes the longest at 5 business days.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Air France business class is chic and luxurious. Image Credit: Air France

The very last loyalty program we’ll talk about is Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

As the sole SkyTeam program in this guide, we’ll be leaning on this program heavily to book business class awards to little-known cities and countries, particularly in Northern Africa.

Flying Blue generally follows a region-based award chart for partner flights, passes on all fuel surcharges, and has access to SkyTeam airline partners like Air France, KLM, Saudia, and more. For flights on Air France or KLM, you’ll notice a dynamic award pricing scheme.

You can price out an award ticket by scrolling down to the Miles Price Estimator, and filling out the calculator.

Here are a few example redemptions you can make:

Houston (IAH) – Amsterdam (AMS) – Bahrain (BAH) one-way in KLM business class for 95,000 Flying Blue miles + ~$418 in taxes and fees
Las Vegas (LAS) – Amsterdam (AMS) – Cairo (CAI) one-way in KLM business class for 95,000 Flying Blue miles + ~$418 in taxes and fees
Los Angeles (LAX) – Amsterdam (AMS) – Dubai (DXB) one-way in KLM business class for 95,000 Flying Blue miles + ~$418 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Paris (CDG) – Agadir (AGA) one-way in Air France business class for 55,000 Flying Blue miles + ~$252 in taxes and fees
San Francisco (SFO) – Paris (CDG) – Tangier (TNG) one-way in Air France business class for 65,000 Flying Blue miles + ~$252 in taxes and fees
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Paris (CDG) – Oran (ORN) one-way in Air France business class for 56,500 Flying Blue miles + ~$252 in taxes and fees

Here are a few nonstop flight redemptions you can book aboard Saudia:

New York (JFK) – Jeddah (JED) one-way in Saudia business class for 115,000 Flying Blue miles + ~$41 in taxes and fees
New York (JFK) – Riyadh (RUH) one-way in Saudia business class for 115,000 Flying Blue miles + ~$41 in taxes and fees
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Jeddah (JED) one-way in Saudia business class for 115,000 Flying Blue miles + ~$41 in taxes and fees
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Riyadh (RUH) one-way in Saudia business class for 115,000 Flying Blue miles + ~$41 in taxes and fees

Once you’re ready to book your Flying Blue ticket, follow these instructions:

Visit Air France’s U.S. site.
In the top-right corner, click Log in and enter your account credentials.
You’ll be redirected back to the homepage. Click the Book with Miles button at the top left of the search box.
Choose Round trip or One-way from the dropdown box.
Enter your departure and arrival airports.
- For certain minor cities like Agadir, you may need to call Flying Blue to book your award ticket at 800-375-8723.
Choose your travel dates, number of passengers, and cabin class.
Click Search flights.
Find the flight option you like, redeem your miles, enter your traveler information, and book the ticket.

Earning Air France-KLM Flying Blue Miles

Flying Blue miles are among the easiest to accumulate.

This frequent flyer program is transfer partners with every major transferable currency, including Amex Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Brex, Capital One, Chase, and Citi transfer almost instantly at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus after transferring 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.

Final Thoughts

Whew! There’s a lot to take away from this guide, but the biggest takeaway is that there’s no “one size fits all” frequent flyer program to help you fly to the Middle East or North Africa using points.

Ultimately, it’ll depend on which airline you prefer to fly, what route you’re taking, what type of flexible points you earn, and what level of luxury you’d prefer to take.

ANA Mileage Club has best-in-class business class tickets when booking round-trip, as long as you can avoid fuel surcharges.

We hope that you’ve found this complete guide useful in helping you plan your next trip to MENA!

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® card, click here.

2 comments

Angelo April 10, 2022
Hey there,
I can’t seem to get Qatar Airways via AAdvantage website… the itinerary only sends me through London to Cairo, all on British Airways managed flights. Any tips on how I can try and use AA points/site for the Qatar flight, NYC to Cairo?
- Stephen Au April 13, 2022
  Hi Angelo,
  Not all dates will have Qatar Airways availability since it’s a much more “in-demand” business class. The best thing to do is be flexible and search for as many dates as you can. Thanks for reading!

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Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

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Air France-KLM Flying Blue

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Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

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