I booked MIA-BCN on 5/31. Easy to book.

I transferred the remaining MR points while talking to the very nice agent,
as soon as he got the availability.

Only problem was that the agent didn't know where Miami is.

Taxes are a little higher than it would be on Alaska, $27.90 per ticket instead of $19. It seems that it could be because they build the fare with a $1.00 base fare instead of $0.

I called around 8:00pm EST and reached Abu Dhabi call center.

Getting ready to book the return flight.

Partner awards on AA should at minimum meet the AA award rules. So you'd likely have more detailed and accurate answers on the AA forum.
As far as the stopovers, their choice is restricted primarily by rules (not the total number). If I recall it correctly, when a direct route exists, then a segmented route should not increase the flying distance by 25% or more. Each segment must also take you closer to the destination. Domestic stopovers must be under 4 hours, and international under 24 hours. In general, if you find a MileSAAver award route on AA.com, it should be a good start for the EY partner award request.

You can have 2 one-way awards with any origin and destination. Other than that, no open jaws allowed.

I hope you do post a follow-up detailing your experience with Etihad agents, as this should be of great interest for this thread. Good luck with this project!

I read somewhere once to call the UK call center. What phone number did you call? Thanks

edit: Manchester, not London

How many EY miles did it cost, what was the routing, biz or econ, 1 way or return ?

2x MIA-BCN, economy, non-stop, one-way, off-season, 20,000 EY miles + US$27.90 per ticket

The US number 1-877-690-0767, then 1-2-1 as mentioned on TPG by Richard Kerr.

I knew about people having a better experience with Manchester, but the agent I talked to was very nice and competent.

EY miles expiration terms
 

Does anyone know if Etihad miles ever expire?
I couldn't find any relevant info on their website.

You didn't find the relevant thread to ask either.

Many thanks

I just called for availability for PG BKK-MLE oneway in economy, and the agent says there are 6 seats left. TAxes are $US80+, for those interested. I didn't go through with the booking, but just would like to share that the agent was able to look up availability without problems. He didn't say which call center he's from, but he had a clear Indian accent.

Is that with Bangkok airlines ? What was the quoted miles required ?

Just booked my return tickets:

2x DUB-ORD-MIA, on American Airlines, economy, one-way, 30,000 EY miles + US$70.66 per ticket

I called the US number and reached the Manchester call center. I talked to a very nice, patient and knowledgeable agent.

It took about one hour to complete the booking.

I already had 40,000 miles in my account to cover the cost of 2 off-peak tickets on AA back from Europe to the US. SURPRISE... off-peak 20,000 miles award is only from the US to Europe, not Europe to the US (it's on the chart)! So I had to transfer more Amex MR points while on the phone, to complete the booking.

Very positive experience again, and I would not hesitate to book award through Etihad in the future.

If it were me, I would have pushed hard to get them to honor the off peak price, pointing out that the footnote below the award chart specifically lists off peak periods for between North America and Europe. Emphasize the between.

Consistent with this link:

http://www.etihadguest.com/en/spend-...ngkok-airways/

I was surprised by this news as well, so had to take a look.
Indeed, the off-peak period is both ways. But the redemption rates are not the same both ways. The table out of Europe does not have a separate column for the off-peak period. So unfortunately there's no basis to dispute the agent's quote here.