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It’s very simple, you just need a couple hints.
One of the most highly regarded and elite airlines in the sky is Etihad, and their best classes of service, Business and First, are really in a rarified air 😉 All it takes to put this monkey in a seat are some AAdvantage Miles…
You can redeem miles from the U.S. to Middle East at the following rates:
But a real sweet spot is between Europe and the Middle East.
Let’s take a look at some of the products that they offer!
The Business Studio
I’ve flown it a couple times.
Here’s a Promo video.
First Class
- on the 787 and the A380
THE FIRST APARTMENT!!!!
My Mom and Dad were lucky enough to fly this bad boy from Abu Dhabi to London as part of my Mom’s Surprise 75th Birthday Trip. This first class is only featured on their flagship A380.
I MEAN!!!!! These products are no joke.
First class, even without the Apartment, is offering a suite product. The best part though, on flights like – AUH to LHR ( London) on the A380, you can snag one of the apartments for the same price as first class.
So what do we look for and how do we do it?
- Call AA and ask for dates that accomodate your travel plans
- OR my fave option is using the Etihad site and look for Guest Seat avail
Like so:
Once you see that availability, you call up the AA 800-433-7300 and request the flights you need.
Now, if you need positioning flight, that will be included in the total price of the reward from North America to the Middle East as long as it has SAAver avail as well.
The only other thing to remember is that Etihad is a partner of American but not One World, so if you have a lot of Avios or other One World partner currency it won’t work, it’ll only work using AA points or that another independent partner of Etihad.
We’ve reviewed these insane products. Wanna read?
- Miles in the Business Studio from Washington D.C. to Abu Dhabi
- Check out my folks in the Apartment from Abu Dhabi to London
- Miles in the Business Studio on the A380 from Abu Dhabi to London
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.Â
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travelâ„ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travelâ„ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:Â
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.Â
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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