Data Point JFK to BRU
Just wanted to add a datapoint.
I was able to book two tickets as follows. Availability in August/September 2017 is quite tight--only a couple days available all month for business class tickets. I was allowed after asking to book the outbound trip in business and the inbound trip in Economy, hence the odd number of miles below. It sounded like economy availability was pretty decent, however.
Total Etihad points required: 29,291 x 2 = 58,592
Total fees paid: $93.86 x 2 = $187.72
My net points value comes out to $0.084 factoring in transfer bonuses. Those were all CC sign-up bonus points anyway, so I'm feeling pretty good about this.
JFK -> BRU RT
Out on August 26 - Business
Back on September 5 - Economy
Fare classes I and X respectively.
I was told that the economy tickets are not eligible for upgrades.
I called the Manchester, UK, phone number given by TPG using Skype. My total time on the phone was about an hour. The agent had to put me on hold several times in the process. After the first round of searching and hold, the agent seemed to be able to very quickly see availability.
I have all the ticketing information in my email and it is correct. Does anyone know if I'll ultimately be able to select seats, meals, etc.? Also, I assume not, but there no chance of squeezing some United miles or something out of this is there?