Jan 14, 2016, 5:43 am
Last edit by: medellinfein
Booking Award Seats on EY / Etihad Airways Using AA / AAdvantage Miles
Also see: Earning AA Miles EQM / EQD / EQS on EY / Etihad (master thread)
This thread is about how to book Etihad / EY award seats using AA AAdvantage miles, and sharing success stories. This wiki is new, so anyone with 90/90 who wishes to add helpful information is, of course, urged to do so.
NOTE:AA has removed most EY and QR award access from aa.com due to a glitch booking these:
Please see the archived threads for previous experiences:
Also see: Earning AA Miles EQM / EQD / EQS on EY / Etihad (master thread)
This thread is about how to book Etihad / EY award seats using AA AAdvantage miles, and sharing success stories. This wiki is new, so anyone with 90/90 who wishes to add helpful information is, of course, urged to do so.
NOTE:AA has removed most EY and QR award access from aa.com due to a glitch booking these:
From One Mile at a Time (link)
Bottom Line
For the time being you’ll have to call American if you want to ticket AAdvantage awards on Etihad & Qatar that aren’t for travel to & from the US or Canada. It makes sense that American took these awards “offline,” and now it also makes sense why so many passengers have been having issues with checked bags on awards.
Bottom Line
For the time being you’ll have to call American if you want to ticket AAdvantage awards on Etihad & Qatar that aren’t for travel to & from the US or Canada. It makes sense that American took these awards “offline,” and now it also makes sense why so many passengers have been having issues with checked bags on awards.
- You can now search or book awards for travel on EY (Etihad) on www.aa.com.
- You can search award availability on EY's website. Look only for seats on flights operated by Etihad Airways that are labeled as "GuestSeats". You can also search on ExpertFlyer
- Note: You may see more availability if you search on EY's website using itineraries that do not originate in the US. In other words, to potentially see more availability on a USA-XYZ segment, search for XYZ-USA-XYZ. Expertflyer does not report this additional availability (if any), and US-based agents probably will not be able to see or book it (but see further below for Fiji).
- To expand on this point a bit, it seems that even if you only want to fly USA-AUH (or to other foreign destinations, since they route through AUH), due to an EY website quirk you need to search AUH-USA-AUH in order to find available USA-AUH routes.
- You no longer have to call AA to book them. You may need to request the AA agent to look up the inventory one segment at a time in order to find the inventory in their system. OR:
- It is often or even typically the case that for first and business class awards US agents cannot see the award space that you see on Etihad's site. Your best bet, then, is to call AA Australia (+61 2-9101-1948 ) then press 3 - or the New Zealand number (+64 09-308-4014) (actually South African contractor Mindpearl in Fiji) or Singapore (+65 6349-8444) as an alternative - what you need is the specific call center which is actually in Suva, Fiji (I believe it's our old South African agency friend Mindpearl) or, according to recent reports, in Trinidad (since there have been some reports that the Fiji center has closed). You can put the EY segments on hold so you can flesh out the award afterward and/or pay the fees in USD through the US call center, or simply buy it through non-US call center if you think you won't be making subsequent routing changes (such as adding AA connecting flights within the USA) that would incur fees. (NOTE: calls may get picked up by the local Brisbane office, or rerouted to Trinidad or the USA. As noted, there are reports that the Fiji call center has closed, but people have still been able to book some of the time, particularly if they reach the Trinidad center since that seems to be the call center that yields the greatest success in late 2017 and 2018 - with the big caveat that there are at least as many failures as successes in calling there, including repeatedly. To increase the chances of success, you may have to call several times, since for some reason a given customer service representative at a given time won't see availability even if it shows at the EY site, but another CSR at the same center may be able to do so even a few minutes later. It's conceivable that this difference is due to some CSRs knowing how to search for award availability better than others do, but that's simply a matter of speculation at this point.)
- Note: EY award holds only last 72 hours...irrespective of what AA reservation hold email states
- Booking connections via AUH / Abu Dabhi using one award is now allowed.
- Get both AA and EY reservation codes/numbers: Upon booking with AA, make sure to get the EY reservation number as well as that of AA from the AA CSR, as without the EY number it will be difficult or impossible to deal with EY, such as for checking or managing your reservation online. And of course, if there is another airline involved in the reservation as well (such as BA), get its reservation number.
- A handy EY route map is here: http://flights.etihad.com/routemap.
- The applicable AAdvantage miles award chart is the oneworld and partner airlines award chart.
- Award routing rules are in the wikipost of this thread.
- If you find EY inventory from your continent but not your city of choice, as usual you can include any other AAdvantage award airlines in order to complete the itinerary. E.g. LHR-xAUH-DEL-xAUH-CDG on EY connecting to CDG-LHR on BA.
- WARNING: While this trick is great for new bookings (especially if you have patience to get lucky for call to be routed to Fiji office), modifying booking on partner airlines is always risky especially when an overseas center is involved, Your original seats are immediately released and while new reservation is supposedly confirmed, it may actually not the case until ticket desk actually issues ticket after approval of the partner liaison. Weekend/Holidays/Time-Difference can delay issuance of ticket and if something goes wrong, there is always risk of being SOL. (Mistakes by agents are rare but not unheard of).
- SEAT ASSIGNMENTS: You cannot choose seats until after ticketing. Even then, the regular web site will not allow seat assignments to be made for AAdvantage award bookings. The mobile site (which can be reached with either a mobile or a desktop browser) may work in some cases. Calling EY to make seat assignments always works, as long as you can give them the EY record locator, and as long as AA has issued the ticket (which can take a few days, you will get e-mail). Call 1-877-690-0767, press 1 for English, then 2 for First/Business, then 2 for existing bookings, then they will tell you the call is ending - but it's not: they have added "press 1 to speak to an agent", so finally, press 1 to continue the call. After this, you should have someone on the line quickly to help you. They will ask you a series of questions such as "What class are you traveling in?" and "Where are you going?" Alternatively, you can choose your seats on the Etihad website and app by using the EY record locator to find your award itinerary.
- Availability: EY award availability using AA miles can be fairly good, including in business and first class - IF you get past the big, aforementioned challenge of actually booking award seats that the EY site shows as available but that AA agents have trouble finding. But it ebbs and flows quite a bit in at least two respects (in addition to the general rule that the further in advance you seek availability, the better, as well as reports that availability is easier to find from one to three weeks before a flight): 1) availability showing at the EY site and 2) even if availability shows at the EY site, the ability of non-US call centers (especially the "least bad" ones for finding availability, which might have been Fiji and might now be Trinidad) to find that availability. So if the EY site is not showing availability for a given day or week, and if you have flexibility, check other dates. And if availability seems to be particularly constrained across many dates, particularly if you are searching many months in advance, check again periodically to see if this has changed (or arrange an alert via ExpertFlyer, if it provides such a service for EY flights).
- "Baby-sit" your tickets: Though this advice could apply to many award bookings, EY's systems can be glitchy and the airline apparently is going through some financial challenges. So it makes sense to check online or via phone occasionally with EY to make sure everything remains in order, particularly if there have been even minor changes in things like your flight times. And if there seem to be problems, including with checking in online or other procedures, the EY forum here at FT can be a source of useful advice about whether or not those problems are worth worrying about.
- Itinerary: You can use https://www.virtuallythere.com/new/login.html to enter your EY record locator and last name to 1)display your complete itinerary 2)save a pdf 3)add to outlook/ical 4)view ticket # and different times the ticket has been reissued
- AA lounge access: If you book a premium cabin itinerary on EY with domestic connections on AA, you will not be able to access the Admiral's Club during your domestic layovers because EY is not a member of OW.
Please see the archived threads for previous experiences:
- How to: Use AA Miles to Book Award on Etihad / EY (Archive - 2015 and earlier)
- Success stories booking awards on Etihad using AA miles (Archive - 2015 and earlier)
- Booking AA Award travel on Etihad / EY - [2015-17 ARCHIVE]
Booking AA Award travel on Etihad / EY (master thread July 2017 onwards)
Oct 29, 2023, 11:39 am
#2086
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 7
Hi. A couple months back I booked a J award on EY (JFK-AUH-JNB) for January 2024, using AA miles. In July 2023, there was a schedule change for EY 102, which I accepted through AA and AA reissued the ticket. I was then able to pick new seats on EY. A few weeks later, however, I noticed that my itinerary on both EY’s website and app is stating “Your flight has an operational schedule change. Please contact your travel agent to make changes to your booking.” The itinerary is the same itinerary from July with no new changes. I’ve contacted both AA and EY and they both said everything is fine with the reservation. Has anyone encountered this issue and is there anything that can be done, or should I leave it alone? I’d appreciate any thoughts on this. Thanks.
Last edited by emmas; Oct 29, 2023 at 11:47 am
Oct 29, 2023, 5:31 pm
#2087
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 8
Hi. A couple months back I booked a J award on EY (JFK-AUH-JNB) for January 2024, using AA miles. In July 2023, there was a schedule change for EY 102, which I accepted through AA and AA reissued the ticket. I was then able to pick new seats on EY. A few weeks later, however, I noticed that my itinerary on both EY’s website and app is stating “Your flight has an operational schedule change. Please contact your travel agent to make changes to your booking.” The itinerary is the same itinerary from July with no new changes. I’ve contacted both AA and EY and they both said everything is fine with the reservation. Has anyone encountered this issue and is there anything that can be done, or should I leave it alone? I’d appreciate any thoughts on this. Thanks.
Oct 30, 2023, 6:31 am
#2088
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 7
Oct 30, 2023, 6:59 pm
#2089
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Here today, gone tomorrow
Programs: Nothing shiny :-(
Posts: 2,493
I posted upthread about my AAdvantage EY bookings have no checked baggage allowance, without realising there was an existing thread on the subject - Baggage allowance issues / questions for AA redemption on Etihad / EY (merged). I'll post on that thread (spoiler alert: hopefully now resolved) but I thought it useful for there to be a pointer to that thread somewhere in this one.
Oct 31, 2023, 5:54 pm
#2090
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 134
I posted upthread about my AAdvantage EY bookings have no checked baggage allowance, without realizing there was an existing thread on the subject - Baggage allowance issues / questions for AA redemption on Etihad / EY (merged). I'll post on that thread (spoiler alert: hopefully now resolved) but I thought it useful for there to be a pointer to that thread somewhere in this one.
Oct 31, 2023, 7:25 pm
#2091
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Here today, gone tomorrow
Programs: Nothing shiny :-(
Posts: 2,493
I'm encountering the same issue. No baggage allowance on Etihad's website after using my confirmation code to check the reservation. I called AA and asked if they could reissue the ticket to add baggage to the reservation and they said that I get 1 checked bag up to 70lbs. I'm a little concerned because that doesn't reflect in my reservation and adding a 30kg bag through Etihad's website says it will cost $1440 lol.
Oct 31, 2023, 7:36 pm
#2092
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 8
I'm encountering the same issue. No baggage allowance on Etihad's website after using my confirmation code to check the reservation. I called AA and asked if they could reissue the ticket to add baggage to the reservation and they said that I get 1 checked bag up to 70lbs. I'm a little concerned because that doesn't reflect in my reservation and adding a 30kg bag through Etihad's website says it will cost $1440 lol.
Last edited by lkmsdfo344e; Oct 31, 2023 at 7:51 pm Reason: typo
Nov 5, 2023, 8:23 am
#2093
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 8
AA canceled On Hold Etihad reservation with no warning
I've devastated that I went to purchase my family's trip to AUH this morning to find the system says CANCELED. That is it. No explanation. Not even a word as to when the itinerary was canceled.
Since the trip is in two weeks there is no award availability even though the flight shows a lot of empty seats.
My email clearly says I have until 11:59pm CST tonight to purchase the itinerary. I needed the 5 day hold while I moved points. Since those points are now stuck in an AA account I can't use them on another airline. The wait time for AA is 5-7 HOURS to speak to an agent.
When I reached an agent they said the itinerary was canceled at 6:25am CST by Etihad for "lack of tickets."
Apparently a couple days ago Etihad changed their policy to do 120 hours holds on award tickets. And Daylight Savings took one of those hours.
6:25am was exactly 120 hours. I received no warning. No notification. Nothing at all. Just four tickets I was planning on purchasing gone.
An AA agent looked for award tickets but found none. The agent called her support desk who called Etihad who wouldn't do anything to help.
My kids are heartbroken because they were excited to see the area.
Don't believe the emails from AA. If you find a partner award ticket unless you pay for it immediately there is zero chance anyone will help you if their systems don't work or their policies change or their hold times are extreme.
Since the trip is in two weeks there is no award availability even though the flight shows a lot of empty seats.
My email clearly says I have until 11:59pm CST tonight to purchase the itinerary. I needed the 5 day hold while I moved points. Since those points are now stuck in an AA account I can't use them on another airline. The wait time for AA is 5-7 HOURS to speak to an agent.
When I reached an agent they said the itinerary was canceled at 6:25am CST by Etihad for "lack of tickets."
Apparently a couple days ago Etihad changed their policy to do 120 hours holds on award tickets. And Daylight Savings took one of those hours.
6:25am was exactly 120 hours. I received no warning. No notification. Nothing at all. Just four tickets I was planning on purchasing gone.
An AA agent looked for award tickets but found none. The agent called her support desk who called Etihad who wouldn't do anything to help.
My kids are heartbroken because they were excited to see the area.
Don't believe the emails from AA. If you find a partner award ticket unless you pay for it immediately there is zero chance anyone will help you if their systems don't work or their policies change or their hold times are extreme.
Nov 5, 2023, 9:38 am
#2094
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott Bonvoy Titanium| Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 11,257
This is a known issue with partner awards. AA offers 5 days, but the partners may or may not.
While i agree it is frustrating and misleading, the 5 day hold is leaps and bounds better than anything the competition offers. I'll take it as is, warts and all, vs the alternative of it being "enhanced" away.
While i agree it is frustrating and misleading, the 5 day hold is leaps and bounds better than anything the competition offers. I'll take it as is, warts and all, vs the alternative of it being "enhanced" away.
Nov 5, 2023, 11:29 am
#2097
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,588
I've devastated that I went to purchase my family's trip to AUH this morning to find the system says CANCELED. That is it. No explanation. Not even a word as to when the itinerary was canceled.
Since the trip is in two weeks there is no award availability even though the flight shows a lot of empty seats.
My email clearly says I have until 11:59pm CST tonight to purchase the itinerary. I needed the 5 day hold while I moved points. Since those points are now stuck in an AA account I can't use them on another airline.
Since the trip is in two weeks there is no award availability even though the flight shows a lot of empty seats.
My email clearly says I have until 11:59pm CST tonight to purchase the itinerary. I needed the 5 day hold while I moved points. Since those points are now stuck in an AA account I can't use them on another airline.
Of course you can use AAdvantage miles on other airlines. AA has numerous partners, not just EY.
You do not say which city you are starting from, but I'm seeing Economy Class award tickets available the week of November 19 from JFK, MIA, and ORD. Most of these will require a connection, but that's not the end of the world.
When did the "points" you were converting to AAdvantage miles actually show up in your AAdvantage account?
Nov 5, 2023, 11:50 am
#2098
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
AA didn't cancel anything, Etihad cancelled it. There isn't much AA can do. This is not a recent thing with Etihad (it was not changed a couple of days ago). There are lots of reports of this.
Considering that awards are fully refundable, you are right, messing with holds on partner awards is usually not a good idea.
Considering that awards are fully refundable, you are right, messing with holds on partner awards is usually not a good idea.
Nov 5, 2023, 12:06 pm
#2100
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 8
I cleaned out my Marriott account (over 800K points) to get enough AA miles. It has been so painful trying to get this itinerary to come together. Especially since I couldn't book the tickets one at a time because I have children and it wouldn't let me buy their tickets online unless we did it all on one single confirmation number.