Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
& Stella Shon
With a degree in media and journalism, Stella has been in the points and miles game for more than 6 years. She most recently worked as a Corporate Communications Analyst for JetBlue. Find her work in ...
60 comments
PR steels
June 28, 2018
Etihad just charged me 30k miles one way from Europe to USA in economy flying American airlines May 1 ( off peak period). I was expecting only 20k miles one way. Could you please comfirm if this is a mistake? Many articles suggest 20k miles one way from USA to Europe during off peak period (Oct 15 – May 15) but is it a different mileage requirement when flying from Europe to USA?
Michael McHugh
June 29, 2018
Hi PR steels
The way I understand the Etihad AA award chart, a OW Europe > U.S. economy flight will be 30k Etihad miles. I am not seeing off-peak pricing from Europe to the U.S.
For flights from the U.S. to Europe either one-way or round-trip in economy, Etihad charges 20k one-way off-peak or 40k round-trip off-peak on the dates that you noted.
I would call Etihad to clarify as I can see how this would be confusing. The Europe award chart states 30k one-way while the U.S. award chart states 20k off-peak. The Europe pricing would seem to conflict with the notes at the bottom of the award chart that state “Between North America and Europe.”
Please let us know what you find out.
John
September 24, 2018
Hi Guys,
Question. HKG is the only aa metal destination for Asia2. If I wanted to fly, say Singapore, does Etihad guest allow flying AA codeshare? For example DFW-HKG on AA metal and HKG-SIN on AA/CX codeshare.
Also, is mixed cabin allowed? How about MPM and routing rules such as backtracking?
Thanks a lot!
John
Stephen Au
September 26, 2018
Hi John,
Sadly, they do not. You must fly on partner-operated flights. Mixed cabins are allowed, but you’ll need to pay for each segment.
Jason Jeffers
September 26, 2018
Does the #1 best way for use on AA have to be on AA metal and limited to the few Asia destinations? Can this method be used to purchase code share partners with AA such as Cathay to Thailand? Can it be mixed airlines, AA DFW-HKG and CX HKG-BKK on the same Etihad award? Thank you for any insight you may offer.
Stephen Au
September 26, 2018
Hey Jason! The #1 way is on AA metal because they use pre-devaluation prices. So if you’re looking for a way to fly business class and don’t care too much about the airline (you just want a bed to lay in and lots of extra space), Etihad is a great way to achieve this. You won’t be able to fly on codeshare partners with AA. You will only be able to fly on partner-operated flights like AA or ANA.
Jason Jeffers
September 27, 2018
Stephen,
Thank you for your response. As a grad school graduation gift to myself, I’m departing this weekend to China for a week and then Thailand for a week, all reward flights. Thanks to this article, I used Etihad to book the OW DFW-PEK in business on the AA 787 at an incredible value of 55k miles. I will be taking the bullet train from PEK to PVG. Then, flying Cathay business PVG to BKK with a BA Avios award. Returning on Singapore Airlines business BKK-SIN-IAH, with a brief stopover in Manchester, UK. Although I’m a bit disappointed I was not able to book SIN first on a different route to enjoy Krug, caviar, cool amenity kit and pajamas, I’m grateful to be flying comfortably. Thank you for your informational article that was a great help for me.
Stephen Au
September 27, 2018
Hey Jason! We love hearing about success stories from readers. It makes us extremely happy that you’re able to take some amazing flights with points!
Jose
January 10, 2019
How do I book a business ticket to Thailand on aa for 55k. I see it has to be on aa metal only. Thanks.
Stephen Au
January 10, 2019
Hey Jose,
Unfortunately, you will not be able to book a business class ticket to Thailand. AA does not fly to Thailand. The best you can do is to Hong Kong, Korea, or Japan. You may want to buy a cheap economy ticket to transfer from Hong Kong, Korea, or Japan to Thailand.
Gene
February 08, 2019
When booking AA business to the South Pacific via Etihad…
Do you have to verify Business SAAver availability with AA first? I assume you have to call Etihad to book, rather than booking online?
Thanks!
Stephen Au
February 09, 2019
Hi Gene,
Yes you’ll need to verify award availability with AA in order to save time. Alternatively, if your dates are pretty broad, you can just call Etihad and give them a range of dates and see what’s available in their system. Thanks for reading.
Gene
February 09, 2019
For booking AA business to South Pacific – do you have to verify Business SAAver with AA first? Do you have to call Etihad to book, rather than booking through them online? Thanks!
Stephen Au
February 09, 2019
Hi Gene,
You will want to verify business SAAver award availability. Alternatively, you can call Etihad Guest directly and ask them to search for award availability for the dates and routes requested. They can then confirm or deny availability for you. Thanks for reading!
Dave Holder
April 15, 2019
I’ve been trying to book BIS-DFW-JFK-LHR all AA metal, with availability showing up as MileSaaver (57.5k) for numerous dates. The call agents at Etihad say they don’t show availability on anything.
I was then told that they can’t book a 2 layover trip for AA awards. Is this the experience for everyone? Seems like a pretty pertinent piece of information if true.
Dave
April 15, 2019
Seems like I can’t book a single connecting flight either on business through Etihad, even though it’s showing up as a MileSaaver award.
Stephen Au
April 17, 2019
Dave, we need some more information to help you. Are you trying to book online?
Dave
April 18, 2019
The flight I was trying to book was on Aug 13.
Flight 5990 BIS- DFW in U
Flight 2292 DFW-JFK in U
Flight 104 JFK-LHR in U
It still shows it as a MileSaaver award for 57.5k on aa.com
It was the Serbia call center I called the couple of times I tried to book it.
Thanks!
Dave
April 20, 2019
The first flight is American Eagle. Therefore not bookable through Etihad. My mistake.
Stephen Au
April 25, 2019
Hey Dave,
This is a new data point, and it is likely true that 2-stop flights are ineligible according to their routing rules. Another way to get around it is by booking individual segments.
Stephen Au
April 17, 2019
Hey Dave,
We would suggest you to call back. This isn’t a hard and fast rule. Try calling the Etihad Serbia call center, which has more knowledgeable call center reps.
Thanks for reading.
Priti Dave
December 03, 2019
Our Etihad miles, 12,000 per person, and we are a family of 4, are expiring in December. Can you use Etihad miles with Mariott?
Jarrod West
December 04, 2019
Hi Priti,
Unfortunately, Etihad miles cannot be redeemed for Marriott stays.
Michelle
January 06, 2020
Hi! Does anyone know if this still accurate? I looked in Etihad’s website and American Airlines is not listed as a partner.
Stephen Au
January 06, 2020
Hi Michelle,
I just double checked. American Airlines is still listed as an Etihad partner.
https://www.etihadguest.com/en/spend-miles/flying/american-airlines.html
Guv
January 13, 2020
It’s been reported recently that Etihad now charges separately for each flight flown on AA (so even one AA-AA connection will not be permitted on a single Etihad Guest redemption).
Can anyone confirm that this is, in fact, the case?
Jarrod West
January 21, 2020
Hi Guv,
Yes, that is correct. AA-AA connections will not be permitted on Etihad Guest redemptions.
Patrick
January 17, 2020
Hello there…with American’s dynamic pricing…can we only book American Biz if it were non-elevated pricing (due to their new dynamic pricing)? For example, I’m trying to fly AA biz from JFK-CDG, and a wednesday shows 57.5K aa miles vs. a Saturday shows 112k miles…can both be booked for 50K Etihad miles (it’s a single segment from JFK to CDG with no connections for both). Thanks!
Stephen Au
January 22, 2020
This is correct. You can only book the 57.5k availability (known as MileSAAver).
AJ
February 03, 2020
It says this article was updated 2 weeks ago but according to my search, Oman Air from SIN-MCT does not exist. Am I correct?
Stephen Au
February 04, 2020
Great point!
Oman Air did offer a flight at one point in time. We removed that route, but keep in mind they might bring it back into service. Thanks for reading!!
AJ
February 03, 2020
Does American fly to Thailand and/or Singapore (like in example #1)? How would I book this for 55,000 miles in business class and 67,500 miles in first class if they don’t fly there?
Stephen Au
February 04, 2020
AJ,
The verbiage there is to provide context on how the regions and zones are split up. Just because an airline categorizes a zone a certain way doesn’t mean they have flights there.
Mona
February 07, 2021
Hi Stephen,
I am trying to use Etihad miles to book AA flights from NRT-SAN in Business class May 21-27, 2021. What is the best way to book this trip?
Do I need to book it separately? How many miles do they require? I have 63,812 miles which will expire soon.
NRT-DFW
DFW-SAN
Thank you for writing a good article.
Jarrod West
March 12, 2021
Hi Mona,
To complete this booking you need to call the Etihad Guest Service Center. You should not need to book it separately as you’ll be allowed one stopover. Etihad requires 50,000 miles for this route per their AA award chart.
Thanks for reading and safe travels!
Mona
April 30, 2021
Thank you so much.
Joe W
February 13, 2020
Can I book AA metal as an Etihad guest via online? Or the only way to book AA flights by calling Etihad reps?
I tried this link https://www.etihadguest.com/en/flightbooking.html#flightbooking
but it does not display the miles as shown in the AA flight award chart.
Also, it seems like local trips could not be booked via Etihad Guest? I tried to search for trips from NYC to HNL, but it could not be done.
Stephen Au
February 18, 2020
Joe,
You need to find partner level availability first and then call Etihad Guest.
Ahmed Radhy
July 20, 2020
I have some guest miles which are going to expire and we are not traveling very soon with all that’s going on around the world. What are the best ways to redeem them and better than losing them?
Jarrod West
July 20, 2020
Hi Ahmed,
How many miles do you have? If you have enough for an award ticket you could book a trip up to 12 months out from today. Hopefully ar that point travel will begin returning to normal. You can also contact Etihad and ask if they will extend the expiration date on your miles due to the Coronavirus.
Jason
October 14, 2020
Looks like ANA and Asiana charge full award fare for infants.
Petr
January 08, 2021
(8) CSA no longer flies from PRG to ICN
Stephen Au
January 19, 2021
Hi Petr,
Thank you for your feedback. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lots of airlines have cut back on these routes. We will have to play it by ear to see when/if Czech Airlines brings back this route.
Thanks again!
Norbu
May 27, 2021
How is segment pricing on AA defined? Does a BA connection in Europe to an AA North America-Europe segment count as a separate segment?
Jarrod West
June 15, 2021
Hi Norbu,
Yes, that the BA connection would count as a separate segment.
Desiree Elablaoui
March 17, 2022
I am trying to book a Royal air maroc flight
JFK TO CMN
But when I call etihad it shows they have no availability all year. But I know this can’t be right. Any guidance?
David
March 25, 2022
Quick question. When booking with EY miles for AA flight from say US to Europe and LHR to US. Is the fees/tax the same as what you would find/quote on AA site itself? So say DFW to CDG is it also $5 fee just like it would be on AA.com? How abouth LHR to DFW on AA flight(not BA), would it be 200 in fee/tax?
When calling EY, they said they cant tell you fee/tax until the flight is booked.
Chris Hassan
March 31, 2022
Hey David,
In my experience, the fees are very similar between the 2 airlines. Taxes will be determined by the departing airport, so you could expect $200+ leaving LHR.
Safe travels,
Chris
miles
May 14, 2022
Does AA still go by saver when looking for availability? Do we look for flights with web saver availability instead?
Also, it says award tickets not valid for codeshare flights. but AA uses Air Tahiti Nui for Paris. Does that mean it won’t work? Thank you
Stephen Au
May 19, 2022
Hi Miles,
You can redeem Etihad miles for AA flights that have Saver availability, as well as Web Saver availability. You’ll need to call Etihad Guest to get these flights booked.
Codeshares are different from partner-operated flights, but you cannot use Etihad Guest miles to book a codeshare American Airlines flight operated by Air Tahiti Nui.
miles
May 22, 2022
Thank you. I usually book to Japan and notice savers for business and first based on the mile qty.
For LAX to CDG, it does say web saver and some astronomical number of miles. Those count?
Also if I go from LAX to DFW to CDG, is there anything special in DFW like CBP or it’s just a normal connection? Thank you
Stephen Au
June 07, 2022
Hi miles,
Those do not count. You need to find saver flights that are priced at 57,500 points or less that are operated by American Airlines in business class.
You must also book nonstop segments, instead of a flight from LAX to DFW to CDG. Thanks for reading!
Rony
July 06, 2022
Hey guys, I’m pretty sure that Etihad is not a GOL partner anymore.
Jarrod West
July 06, 2022
Hi Rony,
Thanks for pointing that out. I’ve just corrected the post.
Michelle
September 02, 2022
Hi,
Was hoping I could get some help. I transferred almost all of my AmEx points to Etihad because they had 2:1 transfer special and have been extremely frustrated with my experience. I was trying to buy a flight via Asiana from LAX to INC and they haven’t had any availability as a partner airline, despite there being seats available directly via Asiana) since even 3 months out. I talked to a rep (which in itself is a tedious process) and checked KAL flights as well and also no avails. Do you find there’s a sweetspot to book a flight in advance or have any tips?
Thanks!
Chris Hassan
September 02, 2022
Hi Michelle,
We share your frustration! Partner awards are very hard to find nowadays across all of the major airlines. Your best bet would be to set some alerts in Expert Flyer so you will know exactly when some are released.
Good luck!
Chris
Brad
September 20, 2022
I flew Etihad business back to the States from India but didn’t associate the flight with any mileage program. Assuming I’m not going to fly Etihad again or gain enough Etihad miles to book award travel, would it make sense for me to go back and associate the flight with my AA account and get the miles added there, or should I open an Etihad account? In essence, can I combine Etihad and AA award miles to purchase award travel, or do all the miles need to sit with one program? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Jarrod West
September 22, 2022
Hi Brad,
Yes, if you don’t have any use for Etihad miles, then it would make more sense to credit to AA. To answer your other question, no you cannot combine Etihad and AA points to purchase award travel. Thanks for reading!
Mike
February 05, 2023
I tried to find the number of miles required for a trip, but the checkbox for miles booking is grayed out. So Etihad does not allow one to check the miles cost without one having the miles deposited? Lame.
Mike
February 05, 2023
OK, miles cost can be checked, but what about the availability of flights?
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