Etihad Airways is known for its lavish first & business class products and incredible experiences. For instance, they were one of the first airlines to offer the "shower in the sky" where you can literally take a shower on the plane while in a massive "Apartment" suite. Pretty cool!
However, with some huge changes set on the horizon, we wanted to highlight Etihad's sweet spot redemptions prior to the devaluation coming soon.
What Is Etihad's Current Award Chart?
Etihad Airways has two, simple distance-based award charts that determine the price of its award tickets:
Flying On Etihad Metal
BRAND
Distance Range
Economy
Business
First
0-500
7,000
20,000
40,000
501-1,000
11,000
25,000
50,000
1,001-1,500
13,000
30,000
60,000
1,501–2000
17,000
45,000
90,000
2,001–2,500
22,000
50,000
100,000
2,501–3,000
27,000
60,000
120,000
3,001–4,000
32,000
70,000
140,000
4,001–5,000
37,000
75,000
150,000
5,001–6,000
45,000
100,000
200,000
6,001+
60,000
110,000
220,000
Based on this chart, booking Etihad Airways from JFK to AUH (Abu Dhabi) in business class (~6,867 miles) would cost 110,000 Etihad Guest miles in each direction.
Flying On Partners
BRAND
Distance Range
Economy
Business
First
0-500
6,000
10,000
14,000
501-1,000
12,000
20,000
27,000
1,001-1,500
15,000
30,000
40,000
1,501–2000
23,000
40,000
54,000
2,001–2,500
28,000
50,000
67,000
2,501–3,000
34,000
60,000
60,000
3,001–4,000
45,000
80,000
107,000
4,001–5,000
60,000
100,000
134,000
5,001–6,000
67,000
120,000
160,000
6,001+
75,000
140,000
200,000
Based on this chart, booking an American Airlines transcon from JFK to SFO in business class (~2,600 miles) would cost 60,000 Etihad Guest miles in each direction.
How To Earn Etihad Guest Miles
Etihad is a 1:1 transfer partner with several major card issuers: AMEX, Capital One, and Citi. You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Etihad at a 3:1 ratio, but that's not really worthwhile in most cases.
Here are some of our favorite cards to quickly accumulate Etihad Guest miles:
Etihad Guest Transfer Bonuses
Occasionally, some card issuers will have some type of transfer bonus with Etihad Guest. These bonuses can be extraordinarily valuable, especially if you have a specific redemption in mind. Keep an eye out on this table that highlights active transfer bonuses as they come and go!
BRAND
Transfer Partner
Transfer Bonus Details
End Date
Etihad Codeshare Partners
Since Etihad is technically an independent airline not part of of the big three airline alliances (Oneworld, Star Alliance, Skyteam), it has its own set of unique partners across the board. What makes this particularly exciting is that since its not bound to an alliance, its codeshare partners span across many different alliances:
- Air Canada
- Air Europa
- Air France
- Air New Zealand
- American Airlines
- ANA
- Asiana Airlines
- Avianca
- Bangkok Airways
- Brussels Airlines
- China Eastern
- Egyptair
- EL AL Airlines
- Garuda Indonesia
- Gulf Air
- ITA AIrways
- JetBlue
- KLM
- Korean Air
- Kuwait Airways
- Lufthansa
- MEA
- Oman Air
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian
- Saudia
- Sri Lankan Airlines
- SWISS
- Turkish
- Virgin Australia
American Airlines Business/First Class Flights
This might prove surprising, but booking some American Airlines business/first class flights will prove cheaper through Etihad than booking on AA directly. Looking at AA's award chart (below) for one-way trips originating in North America, estimated starting values for certain routes are more expensive than using Etihad miles:
BRAND
AA Region:
Economy
Premium Economy
Business/First
Europe
25,000
50,000
75,000
Hawaii + Alaska
20,000
40,000
60,000
Asia + Middle East + South Pacific
35,000
60,000
95,000
For instance, flying from DFW to MAD (~4,965 miles) would cost at minimum, 75,000 AA miles. But, given AA's dynamic pricing, that number might swing wildly. However, given the distance band, Etihad will always charge exactly 100,000 miles for that route. Notably, Etihad miles are easier to come by than AA miles and can also have transfer bonuses. Here are some additional exciting example routes:
- MIA to MAD (~4,424 miles) in AA Business Class: 100,000 Etihad miles
- JFK to FCO (~4,277 miles) in AA Business Class: 100,000 Etihad miles
- LAX to LHR (~5,456 miles) in AA Business Class: 120,000 Etihad miles
- CLT to LHR (~3,992 miles) in AA Business Class: 80,000 Etihad miles
The most challenging part is actually finding availability, as AA only releases a small subset of its Flagship routes to partners.
West Coast US To Japan On ANA Business/First Class
With Etihad and ANA's partnership, you can redeem Etihad miles for a fair price to fly to/from Japan via the West Coast (e.g. SFO, LAX, SEA).
- SEA to HND (~4,803 miles) on ANA Business Class: 80,000 Etihad miles
- SEA to HND (~4,803 miles) on ANA First Class: 107,000 Etihad miles
- SFO to HND (~5,160 miles) on ANA Business Class: 100,000 Etihad miles
Since SFO/LAX to Tokyo just barely crosses over the 5,000 mile threshold, the price jumps up significantly. Finding ANA availability is not typically easy and requires some luck + effort.
Fly To Korea With Asiana Airlines
While Asiana Airlines & Korean Air business class awards are not typically easy to find, it's still worth highlighting some of the opportunities with Etihad miles:
- LAX to ICN (~5,994 miles) on Asiana/Korean Air Business Class: 100,000 Etihad miles
- JFK to ICN (~6,906 miles) on Asiana/Korean Air Business Class: 120,000 Etihad miles
Unfortunately, neither airline releases significant partner availability, so your best bet is to set alerts with Roame and watch for updates carefully!
Fly Business Class To Europe On European Carriers For 80k Miles One Way
Etihad has a surprising number of European partners: Lufthansa, Brussels, Air France, ITA Airways, SWISS...
Given its award chart, for many flights into Europe, between 3,001–4,000 miles, you can fly one way for just 80,000 Etihad miles. Comparing this to United, which charges at least 80,000 one way to/from Europe as well, Etihad miles are far easier to accumulate via credit cards and may even be subject to transfer bonuses.
Consequently, in theory, you could book these flights starting at 80,000 Etihad miles (which all go under 4,000 miles):
- JFK <> CDG on Air France Business Class
- BOS <> CDG on Air France Business Class
- JFK <> FRA on Lufthansa Business Class
- IAD <> BRU on Brussels Business Class
- JFK <> ZRH on SWISS Business Class
Fly On Etihad Business Class 4,000-5,000 Miles Long For Just 75k Miles
One of the sweet spots from Etihad's chart when flying on Etihad metal is for business class routes flying between 4,000–5,000 miles. Unfortunately, no route from the USA to AUH meets these criteria, as those all fall into higher pricing buckets.
- AUH to KIX (Osaka) on Etihad Business Class: 75,000 Etihad miles
- AUH to MNL (Manila) on Etihad Business Class: 75,000 Etihad miles
- AUH to CGK (Bali) on Etihad Business Class: 75,000 Etihad miles
Conclusion
Etihad Airways has two, simple distance-based award charts that help shape its pricing across all of its routes. However, while prices are a bit expensive, there are some opportunities to get significant value out of your Etihad miles. Some distance bands are more favorable than others and it's important to know when to leverage your miles where possible so that you can maximize the value of your hard earned points and miles.
Get the free daily email of the latest award flight deals.
