While some employers will look down upon an online, or distance degree, many do not. Someone who is experienced at hiring will understand that someone who obtains a degree from a reputable distance learning school has very valuable life skills, such as time management, prioritizing tasks, and really wishes to be a lifelong learner. When I hire, I do look at this and realize that this person is most likely going to be an asset to my organization!
The biggest challenge is finding an distance learning school which is reputable in your industry. I cannot comment on University of Phoenix as I am not familiar with them. I am very familiar with Athabasca University here in Canada which does have an excellent reputation, has a brick and mortar campus, and is partnered with many Universities to deliver educational programming. Their credits transfer very easily to other Canadian universities. Ease of credit transfer (read: acceptance!) is very likely your best judge of school credibility!
I hope that this helps!