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)
Apr 18, 2018, 7:26 am
#331
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,631
Apr 18, 2018, 7:27 am
#332
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,631
I don't remember, but it could be OK. Departure taxes from new airport terminals in India are quite high. Just ask to make sure they're not charging you a phone booking fee; other than that you have no choice.
Apr 18, 2018, 7:52 pm
#333
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Actually, in my and other folks' experience, no need to book a round-trip ticket or to put any outbound AUH-USA award you find on hold (unless you actually want it, of course). You just search using a round-trip ticket originating outside the USA because for some reason the USA-AUH availability often (or never?) shows up on the EY website if you search for that one-way. Once you've found it yourself, you then contact AA to book that one-way USA-AUH.
In fact, you could find in your RT search at the EY site that there might not even be outbound AUH-USA award availability, but still find USA-AUH award availability.
In fact, you could find in your RT search at the EY site that there might not even be outbound AUH-USA award availability, but still find USA-AUH award availability.
I must be a very lucky person.
Earlier this week - started thinking of flying EY Apartments.
This morning - started reading the first couple pages of this thread.
This afternoon - JFK-AUH only showed when searching AUH-JFK-AUH on Etihad website, one call to EP desk, nothing. (Nothing on EF)
This early morning - EF showed O1 JFK-AUH, first call to EP desk, disinterested agent said all classes N/A as if she didn't bother to check.
Second call to EP desk - seat grabbed and award held in 2 minutes. Total time spent < 20 minutes.
It's EY100 (my desired time and exact date!) departing in a month or so. I sure hope it will be worth it as I canceled a CX JFK-YVR-HKG F award for this!
Earlier this week - started thinking of flying EY Apartments.
This morning - started reading the first couple pages of this thread.
This afternoon - JFK-AUH only showed when searching AUH-JFK-AUH on Etihad website, one call to EP desk, nothing. (Nothing on EF)
This early morning - EF showed O1 JFK-AUH, first call to EP desk, disinterested agent said all classes N/A as if she didn't bother to check.
Second call to EP desk - seat grabbed and award held in 2 minutes. Total time spent < 20 minutes.
It's EY100 (my desired time and exact date!) departing in a month or so. I sure hope it will be worth it as I canceled a CX JFK-YVR-HKG F award for this!
Apr 18, 2018, 8:03 pm
#334
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,631
I know that searching for a RT AUH-<US>-AUH on the EY web site sometimes shows availability for the <US>-AUH leg when searching for a OW on the EY web site won't show it, but I don't know if that corresponds to the ability for AA agents (located anywhere) to see the <US>-AUH leg as available.
Apr 18, 2018, 10:50 pm
#335
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Chennai, India
Posts: 21
Did you call the Indian customer service center? They charge close to 2000INR (~$30) for award booking. This is not the phone booking fee. When I asked why I am being charged this amount, the CS rep said this is mandatory. And she even suggested I call the US number so I can avoid paying this fee.
Last edited by kuMAAr; Apr 19, 2018 at 5:53 am
Apr 19, 2018, 5:52 am
#336
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 3
Success!
I just booked 2 F seats on EY 103 in December.
Saturday ~6pm EST, called the US Call Center (figured it was worth a shot). After a brief hold, the rep came on and saw the same AUH-JFK availability as what appeared on Etihad's site. Placed 2 F seats on hold.
Sunday ~3pm EST, after firming up my plans I called the US Call Center back to ticket the reservation. Reservation went On Request, finally Ticketed Wednesday. I then used the Etihad mobile site to assign seats for my wife and I.
PS: I've been lurking and learning for a while and appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge and experience. Figured I'd use my first FT post to say "thanks" and share a successful data point.
I just booked 2 F seats on EY 103 in December.
Saturday ~6pm EST, called the US Call Center (figured it was worth a shot). After a brief hold, the rep came on and saw the same AUH-JFK availability as what appeared on Etihad's site. Placed 2 F seats on hold.
Sunday ~3pm EST, after firming up my plans I called the US Call Center back to ticket the reservation. Reservation went On Request, finally Ticketed Wednesday. I then used the Etihad mobile site to assign seats for my wife and I.
PS: I've been lurking and learning for a while and appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge and experience. Figured I'd use my first FT post to say "thanks" and share a successful data point.
Apr 19, 2018, 1:49 pm
#337
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: ORD [formerly] + HKG
Programs: CX Diamond, AA exExPlat, BAEC exGold, HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Starriott Titanium, GE
Posts: 2,966
Apr 19, 2018, 3:00 pm
#338
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 2,028
Apparantely with the closure of Fiji the roundtrip trick has gotten difficult, if not impossible, correct?
Looking at IAD-AUH that only shows up on EY search as available in J/F if a round-trip originating in AUH. AA does not see the one-way IAD-AUH. I've called the AU number (which has routed to Trinidad) a few times with no luck. Any tricks I might be missing?
Looking at IAD-AUH that only shows up on EY search as available in J/F if a round-trip originating in AUH. AA does not see the one-way IAD-AUH. I've called the AU number (which has routed to Trinidad) a few times with no luck. Any tricks I might be missing?
Apr 22, 2018, 9:33 am
#339
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: Delta Gold, UA Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 275
Wanted to post a success story. Need to get back to SFO from Africa after a planned Kilimanjaro hike. Saw J availability for two on AUH-LAX. Called the New Zealand #, first agent I got was really helpful and friendly. Was able to confirm the award space and booking easily. Had my confirmation #'s in 10 minutes and was fully ticketed in about 8 hours. Also booked Alaska on the LAX-SFO leg home (which is really a Virgin America plane!) Called Alaska, got my Mileage Plan # added to the reservation (MVP) and was put in the exit row seat. (There was AAnytime J space on some AA planes, but not till later in the night. Getting home quicker on Alaska in economy >>> AA J for 1 hour)
Only weird thing is I was unable to select seats on Etihad's mobile site. Although I gave them a call and got my seats no problem.
Thanks to everyone who compiled all the great info in the Wiki and other tips in the thread. Much appreciated.
Only weird thing is I was unable to select seats on Etihad's mobile site. Although I gave them a call and got my seats no problem.
Thanks to everyone who compiled all the great info in the Wiki and other tips in the thread. Much appreciated.
Apr 22, 2018, 1:55 pm
#341
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,631
Two F seats for 105K? Unlikely. The award chart says 115K for one, and you can get 10K max back per calendar year if you have a Citi platinum card.
Apr 22, 2018, 2:00 pm
#342
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 3
You're right, I should've clarified 105k each. I do have the Citi Platinum card, but didn't think the 10k points back would hit so fast as I just ticketed 4 days ago (First points booking since opening the card). Thanks for your help!
Apr 23, 2018, 7:23 am
#343
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 34
JFK-AUH F, AA Australia/New Zealand/Singapore calls
I tried to book a F ticket for JFK-AUH in early Mar-2019, which just becomes available on EY website.
I called Australia and New Zealand, which is picked up by someone in Trinidad.
Then called Singapore, which is picked up by someone in Australia.
Unfortunately, none of them can see any availability.
I tried Singapore again a few hours later. This time is picked up by someone in Lima, and she found the availability for EY102.
As noted in previous posts, the better timed EY100 is not available even it is shown on EY site when searching AUH-JFK-AUX.
Is there anyone having luck to switch from EY102 to EY100 later? Or EY100 becomes available at a later time (e.g. is it available for Feb.-2019 now)?
Any input will be very appreciated.
I called Australia and New Zealand, which is picked up by someone in Trinidad.
Then called Singapore, which is picked up by someone in Australia.
Unfortunately, none of them can see any availability.
I tried Singapore again a few hours later. This time is picked up by someone in Lima, and she found the availability for EY102.
As noted in previous posts, the better timed EY100 is not available even it is shown on EY site when searching AUH-JFK-AUX.
Is there anyone having luck to switch from EY102 to EY100 later? Or EY100 becomes available at a later time (e.g. is it available for Feb.-2019 now)?
Any input will be very appreciated.
Last edited by jjwang; Apr 23, 2018 at 11:11 am
Apr 23, 2018, 9:49 am
#344
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 696
AA for Etihad Routes First Class
I have a lot of AA miles to use and I would like to experience the Etihad A380 First Class Apartment. But the thing, I just want to stop/make connection in Abu Dhabi airport as not to exit it. Any routes that I can use AA miles to redeem for F with Etihad by just making connection in Abu Dhabi onward to somewhere else? For example, New york - Abu (lay over) - Sydney something like that? It doesn't have to be these destinations.
Apr 23, 2018, 11:54 am
#345
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,466
I have a lot of AA miles to use and I would like to experience the Etihad A380 First Class Apartment. But the thing, I just want to stop/make connection in Abu Dhabi airport as not to exit it. Any routes that I can use AA miles to redeem for F with Etihad by just making connection in Abu Dhabi onward to somewhere else? For example, New york - Abu (lay over) - Sydney something like that? It doesn't have to be these destinations.
I'd suggest looking over the master thread and wiki for booking awards on EY using AA miles...
Booking AA Award travel on Etihad / EY (master thread July 2017 onwards)