Etihad Apartments & First Class To The UAE
With Etihad Guest reducing some award rates and Amex Membership Rewards offering a 20% transfer bonus to Etihad, this seemed like the perfect time to flag some first class award space.
Please keep in mind that Etihad recently added some brutal cancellation fees, so keep that in mind if you plan to book.
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Now, let's get into it!
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The Etihad Apartments on An Aribus A380
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Straight To The Points
Routes: JFK-AUH
Operating airline: Etihad
Class of service: The Apartments/First class
Dates: April - December 2024, January - February 2025
Seats available: 2
Cabin layout: 1-1 (A380); 1-2-1 (B787)
Book with (per person, one-way):
- Etihad Guest:
- The Apartments: 200,000 miles
- First Class: 160,000 miles
Taxes/fees (per person):
- From JFK: ~$544
- From AUH: ~$663
Bank transfer partners:
- Etihad: Amex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
Current Airline Transfer Bonuses
Best Card Offers
Let me know if you book!
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Eithad First Class on a Boeing 787
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Flight Experience
The Apartments
Etihad's Apartments are arranged in a 1-1 cabin layout. Your seat is separate from your bed. Personally, I like the rear-facing window seats (3A and 3K). Plus, there's an inflight shower. You can expect caviar, champagne, and a very nice meal. With only 9 seats in the cabin, the service is also quite impressive.
First Class
Etihad's first class on the Boeing 787-9 is arranged in a 1-2-1 cabin layout. You can expect caviar, champagne, and a very nice meal. With only 8 seats in the cabin, the service is more personalized than you'll find in business class.
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JFK-AUH
April: 22, 24-30
May: 1-20, 22, 24, 26-31
June: 3, 4, 6-10, 12, 13, 24, 25, 27
July: 1, 2, 4-6, 8-11, 13-18, 21-31
August: 1-24, 26-31
September: 1-13, 15-20, 22-26, 29, 30
October: 1-3, 6-10, 13-17, 20-25, 27, 28, 30, 31
November: 3-7, 10-13, 15, 17-19, 22-28
December: 1-8, 25-31
January: 1-30
February: 1-27
AUH-JFK
April: 25, 28, 29
May: 1, 2, 5, 12, 17, 19-29, 31
June: 1, 2, 5-12, 24-27, 29, 30
July: 1, 2, 4-7, 9, 11-15, 17-24, 26-31
August: N/A
September: 6-21, 23-30
October: 1-27, 29-31
November: 1-6, 9-13, 15-30
December: 1-16, 18, 19, 21, 23-26
January: 16-31
February: 1-28
March: 1, 2
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Total cost for two one-way award tickets.
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Best Ways To Book
Etihad Guest: The Only Way To Book Early
Etihad is only releasing premium cabin award space to partners within 30 days of departure. That means Etihad Guest is your only option to book early, but miles are easy to earn as you can transfer from Amex, Capital One, and Citi.
While Etihad Guest's award rates aren't great, the current 20% transfer bonus offered by Amex makes it less painful. With 20% transfer bonus, you'll only need to transfer the following points:
- The Apartments: 167,000 Amex points -> 200,000 Etihad miles
- First Class: 134,000 Amex points -> 160,000 Etihad miles
Yes, the taxes/fees are on the steep side, but the flights are listed at 12 hours 30 minutes on the outbound and 14 hours 45 minutes on the return. That's more than enough time to get your points/money's worth!
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How To Book
You'll need to search with Etihad:
- Select One way or Round trip
- Select number of passengers
- Select class of service
- Enter origin and destination
- Select date(s)
- Select Pay with miles
- Click Search flights
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Final Thoughts
While I'd love to see award space available to American AAdvantage and Air Canada Aeroplan, Etihad has restricted premium cabin availability to partner programs. That leaves us with Etihad Guest.
However, with the Amex 20% transfer bonus, the points required isn't terrible and it gives you a chance to fly The Apartments for 12+ hours!
Happy booking!
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