The following is a rough guide on how to book the Etihad Apartment with miles. If you are completely new to miles or if the guide sounds like jargon to you, I highly suggest you start here.
The Etihad Apartment is currently the indisputable king of first class products. Each “apartment” consists of a separate seat / bed combination, and all first class passengers receive a complimentary in flight shower.
With at least 50% more space than its closest competitor, there is no question that Etihad truly re-imagined how flying should be.
With the retail cost of flying in The Apartment reaching over $10,000, it is frequently flown by the ultra-rich and major celebrities.
Fortunately, you don’t need to be Nicole Kidman to be able to fly in the Etihad Suites. Etihad is an airline partner of American Airlines, which means you can redeem your American Airlines miles for travel on the Etihad Apartment!
How many miles will the Etihad Apartment cost me?
Although American Airlines recently devalued its award chart, the amount of miles needed is still quite reasonable for the amazing first class experience you will get in return.
To fly on the Etihad Apartment, you will need to book a flight on Etihad’s A380. Unlike Emirates, Etihad flies the A380 only on a few select routes.
Here is the current list of flights that currently use the A380:
Miles needed are for
one way flights
New York – Abu Dhabi (115,000 miles)
Sydney – Abu Dhabi (100,000 miles)
London – Abu Dhabi (62,500 miles)
Mumbai – Abu Dhabi (40,000 miles)
I don’t want to fly
to Abu Dhabi, can I fly to another destination?
Yes! You don’t have to end or begin your trip in Abu Dhabi. For the same amount of miles, you can fly to any country within the same region as Abu Dhabi. The full list of countries can be found here.
Currently, the best free “add on” flight from Abu Dhabi is to the Maldives. You can also fly onward to Mumbai in the A380, which means you can experience The Apartment on two separate flights!
Credit Cards that
earn AA miles
Starwood Rewards currently has two credit cards, the Starwood Preferred American Express Card and the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card, both of which offer 25,000 miles upon meeting minimum spend. These miles can be converted to American miles.
Since Starwood offers a bonus 5,000 miles whenever you transfer 20,000 miles, you’re effectively earning 34,000 American miles for each card, as long as you spend at least $5,000 on each card.
By applying for both the SPG Personal & Business card alone, your already have more then half the miles needed for a flight from New York to Abu Dhabi!
AMEX – Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card from American Express
 |
25,000bonus miles |
$ 5,000minimum spend |
$ 01st year fee |
Apply now |
Current Offer:
Earn 25,000 AMEX Starwood Miles after you spend $ 3,000 in purchases within 5 months of account opening.
Annual Fee:
$ 95, waived the first year.
Foreign transaction fees: none
Card bonuses:
AMEX – Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express
|
25,000bonus miles |
$ 3,000minimum spend |
$ 01st year fee |
Apply now |
Current Offer:
Earn 25,000 AMEX Starwood Miles after you spend $ 3,000 in purchases within 3 months of account opening.
Annual Fee:
$ 95, waived the first year.
Foreign transaction fees: none
Card bonuses:
Citibank, the main bank partner of American Airlines, currently has three personal cards and one business card that earn AAdvantage miles.
Just apply and meet the minimum spend for both the business and personal version of the AA Platinum card. However, I’d advise you to wait until another increased sign up bonus is offered. One of the major benefits of the AA Citi Platinum Card is a 10% rebate whenever you book any AA award up to 10,000 miles a year.
Keep in mind that while you do need to have a business to apply for a business card, you may qualify if you have any sort of income stream that doesn’t fit the traditional mold of a business.
How to book Award Space on Etihad
Step 2
Under Book flights with Miles, click Book Now.
Step 3
Once you’re on the search page, just enter your origin and destination, travel dates, and desired class of service.
Step 4
The results page will show you different levels of availability. You will see “GuestSeat” and “OpenSeat” availability. Look for Guest First award space.
So for first class you need Guest First availability, for business class you need Guest Business availability, and for economy class you need Guest Economy availability.
If you want to search for available flights across a wide range of dates, the best you can do is click at the “scrolling” calendar along the top of the page. Mileage costs are displayed, so you can easily see whether there’s saver space available for each date.
Step 5
Write down the available flights that fit your schedule. You will need to reference them later.
To book your flight, you simply have to call American Airlines’ AAdvantage help line to book the flight. Here is a sample script:
- You:
- Hi there. I would like to book an award ticket.
-
The agent will probably ask for details such as your name, departure and arrival cities, and the dates that you want to travel.
Once the agent confirms your details, you can continue with the script.
- You:
- First, I would like to fly from [START CITY] to [CONNECTING CITY] on [DATE OF 1st Flight] at [TIME OF 1st Flight]. Flight number [FLIGHT NUMBER] in [CABIN CLASS].
- You:
- I would then want to continue by adding the flight [CONNECTING CITY] to [CONNECTING CITY] on [DATE OF 2nd Flight] at [TIME OF 2nd Flight]. Flight number [FLIGHT NUMBER 2] in [CABIN CLASS].
- You:
- Finally, I would like to end with a flight from [CONNECTING CITY] to [FINAL CITY] on [Date OF Last Flight] at [TIME OF Last Flight] in [CABIN CLASS].
If you have more cities, extend the script as needed.
The agent will then proceed to calculate the number of miles you need for your whole trip. He may put you on hold for a bit. When the agent returns, he will give you the amount of miles needed for your trip. Make sure the total amount of miles is correct.
If the number of miles is correct, you may give the agent your payment details for any small taxes & fees due.
Congratulations! Start packing your bags, for your trip from ___ to ___ is officially booked!
If you find award space on Etihad.com but the agent claims to not be able to see the space, you may need to call the Australian call center instead.
