Originally Posted by
Efrem
Most programs have first class awards. (If any don't, perhaps someone who knows of them will post here.)
The main one that doesn't is Delta. Some airlines restrict first class (and/or business class) awards to their own mileage program. Singapore does this on their long haul flights (everything from the U.S.). Lufthansa does this for first class but they do release to partners within 2 weeks of flight date.
Originally Posted by
Efrem
Several AA partners fly to Male (MLE), including British Airways from London and Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong. You'll need 45,000 miles per person for an economy class ticket, 67,500 for business class and 90,000 for first.
AA's official partner award chart is here. Other programs may require different amounts of miles.
Lots of ways to get to MLE with AA miles. Avoiding BA is best due to fuel surcharges, and with so many options should be do-able. AA will only allow you to route through Europe on a U.S.-Middle East award (MLE is considered Middle East). So your main options are:
BA via London
QR via Doha
EY via Abu Dhabi
which would all be 67.5k in business or 90k in first each way.
Cathay Pacific is a little more complicated as AA will not allow you to transit HKG when flying U.S.-MLE. You can, however, do one of these with separate award bookings (+ sign between the separate bookings):
JFK-HKG 55k J / 67.5k F + HKG-MLE 22.5k Y / 30k J (no F on this route)
or
JFK-HKG 55k J / 67.5k F + HKG-MLE 12.5k Y BA Avios
or
JFK-HKG-CMB 55k J / 67.5k F + CMB-MLE 4.5k BA Avios (economy) - this one is particularly intriguing if you wish to spend some time in Sri Lanka, as an overnight stay would be required I believe (HKG-CMB arrives at 11pm), and it's the cheapest route in terms of miles. You could stay in Sri Lanka as long as you want - since these are separate itineraries, there are no restrictions on how long your "stop" in CMB is. CMB-MLE is a short hop (<500 miles), so paying extra for premium cabin isn't worth it anyway IMO.
Originally Posted by
Efrem
Booking well in advance helps here, so it's good that you're planning early. Award flights become available about 11 months out. Many flights have very few award seats allocated. They often go quickly.
Agreed. Also, one advantage of AA miles is you can change the date of travel or routing without a fee as long as the origin and destination airports remain the same. You can also upgrade in class if a better class opens up and AA doesn't charge a fee. So you may find business class available; you should grab it if you like, then keep an eye out for first class. Even if the dates change or the routing changes, you can switch to the first class itinerary for just the additional mileage cost. For example, you may see JFK-ORD-AUH-MLE available in business and book it. If JFK-AUH F (or J) opens up, you could switch to it. Cathay in particular opens up a lot of award space within days of travel date, so this is a nice feature.