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)
Jul 3, 2019, 4:03 pm
#1171
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: DCA/IAD/WAS
Programs: MAR AMB, WOH Explorist, AA EXP, UA 2P
Posts: 2,138
Data point: Put on hold MLE-AUH-JFK today I-O class via the Australia call center. At first, the agent said there was only one seat on the longhaul when she started with the MLE-AUH sector on the record. Upon some minor prodding ("it shows two online, hmm, well I'll just take the one"), she was able to make it work by getting the AUH-JFK sector then adding the other. 👍
I imagine a married segment or POS issue - I wonder why the system lets them get around it so often.
ETA - The itinerary showed on AA.com, though I got the error message.
I imagine a married segment or POS issue - I wonder why the system lets them get around it so often.
ETA - The itinerary showed on AA.com, though I got the error message.
Last edited by iadisgreat; Jul 3, 2019 at 4:10 pm
Jul 4, 2019, 9:00 am
#1172
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
OK, has anyone been able to get this. I am getting different answers from the Trinidad and Peru offices.
AUH - JFK - YVR on EY and CX F for 115K AA ?
This is definitely a valid routing sold by EY. I was just on the phone with EY and they will sell this routing as one ticket. AA is saying it is not and is priced as 2 separate tickets.
AUH - JFK - YVR on EY and CX F for 115K AA ?
This is definitely a valid routing sold by EY. I was just on the phone with EY and they will sell this routing as one ticket. AA is saying it is not and is priced as 2 separate tickets.
Really? EY doesn't want to make the space easily available to US passengers. Using point of sale restrictions was an easy and effective way to do that.
In general, do you think that AA and other airlines want you to be able to use your miles for free flights? Sure they want to to collect miles. That makes them money. Using miles costs them money. They are rewarded for making money and punished for spending it. A nearly perfect business is one in which you sell a service and then not be required to provide it.
Of course I hate the situation as well but its not some unique and hidden motivation.
In general, do you think that AA and other airlines want you to be able to use your miles for free flights? Sure they want to to collect miles. That makes them money. Using miles costs them money. They are rewarded for making money and punished for spending it. A nearly perfect business is one in which you sell a service and then not be required to provide it.
Of course I hate the situation as well but its not some unique and hidden motivation.
Jul 4, 2019, 9:11 am
#1173
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 115
If you look at even a small sample of posts in this thread, you should see many reports of problems booking EY award space via the AA web site. Read the Wiki and follow the advice. Check for availability using EF or EY web sites, call AA.
A true stopover is 24 hours or longer. That cannot be done on one award. A connection up to 23:59 is not technically a stopover and can be booked as one award.
A true stopover is 24 hours or longer. That cannot be done on one award. A connection up to 23:59 is not technically a stopover and can be booked as one award.
Jul 5, 2019, 7:34 am
#1174
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 268
I had a similar issue (one-way ticket).
Turned out a little "glitch" in the EY website (I think this might be in the Wiki,not 100% sure) was that once I put in a round trip itinerary, it would show up.
Jul 5, 2019, 7:38 am
#1175
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 115
Oh, and it's BOS - AUH - MLE
Last edited by NewbieRunner; Jul 5, 2019 at 11:08 am Reason: Consecutive posts by same member
Jul 5, 2019, 7:47 am
#1176
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 268
Are you getting this message:
"Sorry, there are no flight or seat available for the dates or the cabin class you selected. Please choose a different date or cabin class. "
I did some random searches (seems EY changed their website and it won't let you search for Guest awards any longer unless you actually have EY points). I can only select the option for Cash bookings now.
Maybe I'll try without logging in.
Oh, interesting:
If I input:
BOS -> MLE
as a round trip the EY website (logged in or not) says:
miles booking not available for this route
If I put:
JFK -> MLE
Then it can be booked.
Is there some odd restriction that BOS isn't allowed to be booked with award points?
Strange.
"Sorry, there are no flight or seat available for the dates or the cabin class you selected. Please choose a different date or cabin class. "
I did some random searches (seems EY changed their website and it won't let you search for Guest awards any longer unless you actually have EY points). I can only select the option for Cash bookings now.
Maybe I'll try without logging in.
Oh, interesting:
If I input:
BOS -> MLE
as a round trip the EY website (logged in or not) says:
miles booking not available for this route
If I put:
JFK -> MLE
Then it can be booked.
Is there some odd restriction that BOS isn't allowed to be booked with award points?
Strange.
Jul 5, 2019, 8:36 am
#1177
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
The main issue with a BOS-MLE search would be that EY doesn't seem to fly to Boston from Abu Dhabi
Jul 5, 2019, 3:33 pm
#1178
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 115
Just went to etihadguest.com and did a search for a booking for Frankfurt to Abu Dhabi and no difference to how it was before. Can search availability without even logging in
The main issue with a BOS-MLE search would be that EY doesn't seem to fly to Boston from Abu Dhabi
The main issue with a BOS-MLE search would be that EY doesn't seem to fly to Boston from Abu Dhabi
Are you getting this message:
"Sorry, there are no flight or seat available for the dates or the cabin class you selected. Please choose a different date or cabin class. "
I did some random searches (seems EY changed their website and it won't let you search for Guest awards any longer unless you actually have EY points). I can only select the option for Cash bookings now.
Maybe I'll try without logging in.
Oh, interesting:
If I input:
BOS -> MLE
as a round trip the EY website (logged in or not) says:
miles booking not available for this route
If I put:
JFK -> MLE
Then it can be booked.
Is there some odd restriction that BOS isn't allowed to be booked with award points?
Strange.
"Sorry, there are no flight or seat available for the dates or the cabin class you selected. Please choose a different date or cabin class. "
I did some random searches (seems EY changed their website and it won't let you search for Guest awards any longer unless you actually have EY points). I can only select the option for Cash bookings now.
Maybe I'll try without logging in.
Oh, interesting:
If I input:
BOS -> MLE
as a round trip the EY website (logged in or not) says:
miles booking not available for this route
If I put:
JFK -> MLE
Then it can be booked.
Is there some odd restriction that BOS isn't allowed to be booked with award points?
Strange.
Last edited by NewbieRunner; Jul 6, 2019 at 10:37 am Reason: Merge consecutive posts by same member
Jul 6, 2019, 10:09 pm
#1179
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 45
Success story: Just successfully booked an all apartment trip CDG→AUH→SYD on EY 32/454 for 2 pax for 115K AA miles via AA website. No calls to AA in USA or Australia or anywhere else were necessary, though this may not be surprising since none of the flights involve segments that touch the USA or any other partner airlines that would cause the flights to not show online.
I closely watched availability and have a few notes:
1. Availability that was going to be released generally showed up as available on the Etihad Guest website at exactly 1AM EST 319 days before departure, and was able to be booked by AA by 1:30 or 1:45 EST or so. Any routing that did not show up on the Etihad Guest website as available would error out if it showed as available on AA.
2. For a few days that I checked EY 32 specifically seemed to open around 317.5 days out sometimes, so if it doesn’t open right away keep checking for a few days as it may open a little bit later.
3. Etihad did have married segment logic for some days, with AUH → SYD on EY 454 not available in first class despite CDG→AUH→SYD being open.
4. Flights ticketed within 15 minutes of purchasing, which could be due to the 3 days I had it on hold before purchasing. Was then easily able to choose adjoining 3K/4K apartments by calling the number in the wiki.
I closely watched availability and have a few notes:
1. Availability that was going to be released generally showed up as available on the Etihad Guest website at exactly 1AM EST 319 days before departure, and was able to be booked by AA by 1:30 or 1:45 EST or so. Any routing that did not show up on the Etihad Guest website as available would error out if it showed as available on AA.
2. For a few days that I checked EY 32 specifically seemed to open around 317.5 days out sometimes, so if it doesn’t open right away keep checking for a few days as it may open a little bit later.
3. Etihad did have married segment logic for some days, with AUH → SYD on EY 454 not available in first class despite CDG→AUH→SYD being open.
4. Flights ticketed within 15 minutes of purchasing, which could be due to the 3 days I had it on hold before purchasing. Was then easily able to choose adjoining 3K/4K apartments by calling the number in the wiki.
Jul 7, 2019, 12:58 am
#1180
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,315
Success story: Just successfully booked an all apartment trip CDG→AUH→SYD on EY 32/454 for 2 pax for 115K AA miles via AA website. No calls to AA in USA or Australia or anywhere else were necessary, though this may not be surprising since none of the flights involve segments that touch the USA or any other partner airlines that would cause the flights to not show online.
I closely watched availability and have a few notes:
1. Availability that was going to be released generally showed up as available on the Etihad Guest website at exactly 1AM EST 319 days before departure, and was able to be booked by AA by 1:30 or 1:45 EST or so. Any routing that did not show up on the Etihad Guest website as available would error out if it showed as available on AA.
2. For a few days that I checked EY 32 specifically seemed to open around 317.5 days out sometimes, so if it doesn’t open right away keep checking for a few days as it may open a little bit later.
3. Etihad did have married segment logic for some days, with AUH → SYD on EY 454 not available in first class despite CDG→AUH→SYD being open.
4. Flights ticketed within 15 minutes of purchasing, which could be due to the 3 days I had it on hold before purchasing. Was then easily able to choose adjoining 3K/4K apartments by calling the number in the wiki.
I closely watched availability and have a few notes:
1. Availability that was going to be released generally showed up as available on the Etihad Guest website at exactly 1AM EST 319 days before departure, and was able to be booked by AA by 1:30 or 1:45 EST or so. Any routing that did not show up on the Etihad Guest website as available would error out if it showed as available on AA.
2. For a few days that I checked EY 32 specifically seemed to open around 317.5 days out sometimes, so if it doesn’t open right away keep checking for a few days as it may open a little bit later.
3. Etihad did have married segment logic for some days, with AUH → SYD on EY 454 not available in first class despite CDG→AUH→SYD being open.
4. Flights ticketed within 15 minutes of purchasing, which could be due to the 3 days I had it on hold before purchasing. Was then easily able to choose adjoining 3K/4K apartments by calling the number in the wiki.
Jul 8, 2019, 9:55 am
#1182
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,652
This may be the new "snag" in calling AU now that EY is bookable online (even though YOU can not see availability, nor can the US call center).
Jul 8, 2019, 10:39 am
#1183
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
EY is indeed now an airline for which the $60 fee is applicable now that online purchase is now available ; no reason to expect that it will be removed
Jul 11, 2019, 7:57 pm
#1184
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Note that the EY award search doesn't work right if you look for a route they don't fly or a cabin that's not offered on the route.
I doubt the hold time had anything to do with it. My guess would be that web site bookings don't go through the normal manual review that agent bookings get.
Jul 13, 2019, 6:09 am
#1185
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 139
Thanks everyone within this thread for the help. I called Australia to book the following (US could not see the Etihad award even though it was on the AA Website...): TLV to AMM (Royal Jordan) in J and then AMM to AUH (Etihad on 787) in J..then an overnight layover...AUH to JFK (Etihad) in F the next morning. Two tickets at 115k each...Going to use the free extended layover/overnight policy Etihad has for free hotel that night. Call took 20 minutes. Going to have to add an infant manually. Putting my war paint on.