Back when there was 1x 787 and 1x 380 for JFK, the 787 flight used to be 160k in F and the 380 used to be 200k, both for Guest Seats.

I got the upgrade call from Etihad to get Residences at a "special discounted price". They quoted me an unusually high original price of ~6700 CAD and a discounted price of ~5400 CAD, which is the exact same price that it has been on MMB for weeks (this is for 2 pax). Needless to say, I did not take it. If they actually did offer a discount, like they used to, I may have taken it.

May I know how soon your flight is? I would like to get an idea of when these calls are made. Thanks.

Around 2 weeks out. Called from a UAE number.

AMEX would still be an EY ticket number though where as AA awards are an AA ticket number which definitely won’t allow EY to touch the ticket unless IRROPS are involved a day of. I don’t know the answer but I think these are different things and an AMEX EY ticket may still be able to be worked on by EY but a confirmation from anyone would be a better datapoint

No upgrade to Residence possible if you have an layover???
 

Hello

I need some help from the community.

I have booked the following flight in business: FRA - SIN. This flight has two legs (FRA - AUH and then AUH - SIN). Then I bid for an upgrade. There is no First Class on the first leg (FRA - AUH). For the second leg I received an email confirming First Class.

I immediately called the Etihad CS to get an upgrade to Residence for the second leg. The CS agent told me that this was not possible. I would have to cancel the entire flight and rebook completely. First a single flight from FRA - AUH in Business and then AUH - SIN in First. Only then would it be possible to upgrade me from AUH - SIN to the Residence.

Is that really the case? I just can't believe it!

Thx a lot for your answers!

I'm not exactly sure of the answer, but this would be a double upgrade which could be the reason?

When I've had two F sectors, but one is downgraded to J because the aircraft no longer has F Etihad classes it as a Downgrade without penalty, but it's still a F through fare. Your issue could be that you're not on a F fare, but an upgrade fare type.

Data Point:

Booked Etihad apartments from AUH to YYZ in November for two passengers at 400000 miles (transferred from AMEX) plus $1239 in taxes.
At the time AMEX business platinum had a welcome bonus of 250000 MR points with a $20000 spend and $500 rebate for a flight of $2500 or more on any airline.
Upgraded to the residence for $3989.65 and applied the $500 rebate and an $80 rebate from Rakuten (2%) for a total of approximately $3400. Not to bad for a 14 hour flight in the residence!

Very nice planning! Enjoy the residence!

I used the 40 percent bonus from C1 to book for 286k C1 miles for March 2026 for AUH-YYZ. Didn’t upgrade it yet though.

I wasn’t paying attention and Etihad had a 15x Rakuten bonus in May. Would have loved to have gotten that 15x multiplier. Only seen it at 4x since then, have been holding out on the upgrade hoping it comes back.

My main question is did the upgrade get the multiplier? Rakuten says flights only in the T&C so wasn’t sure if the upgrade counted. If so how long did it take to post? If it didn’t get the multiplier I’ll go ahead and book the upgrade to make sure we don’t miss our chance.

We will and thanks!

I missed the 15x multiplier as well. Unfortunately, I believe it only comes up once per year. I did qualify for the 2x multiplier but only after several e-mails to Rakuten. The e-mail from Etihad after the upgrade is processed states "Thank you for purchasing extras for your trip". However, the actual e-ticket (which I sent as an attachment) does not specify the upgrade and only shows the fare and taxes so it may be processed as a flight. I believe that Rakuten with only reimburse after the flight. In my account, it shows Etihad airlines - $80 as pending.

Maybe only somewhat relevant to this thread, but I got to shower in the Residence bathroom last week because the other shower was out of order. Thankfully nobody took the upgrade even though we were 7/9 in F. I managed to grab some pics of the seat and bedroom as well.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...74b0b317c.jpeg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5dc54b3d8.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d033a999f.jpeg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...eb9927a5f.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...32b4664ba.jpeg

How do you check availability of The Residence, especially using Amex and MR?

Dummy booking through Etihad. Try making a First Class booking, and if it's available, you should see an offer to upgrade to the Residence.

You can also use seats.aero if you have a subscription. It shows the Residence as blocked if empty and unavailable if booked. I just booked the residence for an upcoming SIN-AUH flight on points. As soon as it ticketed, I was immediately offered the upgrade to the Residence which I booked on the spot.