Fly Etihad Business Class using AA miles

Etihad Air which is UAE’s National Carrier offers twice daily non stop service from JFK to Abu Dhabi with hundreds on connections to many parts of Asia, Far East as well as Europe.

For 67,500  American Airlines miles plus $5.60 in taxes you can book a one way business class ticket from JFK to Anywhere in South East Asia or the middle east, a ticket which could cost you as much as $8000.   

Keep in mind AA.com will almost never offer partner airlines other than British Airways on their website, which I like to avoid because of the exorbitant taxes BA charges(up to $850 per ticket).  For this reason you will need to speak to an AA customer service rep over the phone(you now get billed $40 for phone bookings).  Many a times you will need to call over and over till you can get a rep who is persistent to find you a flight.  Sometimes you will have to mention to the rep that they need to look for Etihad as most times they will look up AA or BA and offer you something on BA which will cost you taxes and fees that you couldn’t imagine.

They have a great 1-2-1 herringbone configuration on their business class cabin ad seats are designed for optimum privacy on their 777 configured aircraft.

If you apply for the AA Advantage Credit card from Citi there is a 50,000 mile sign up bonus(at present) after spending $3000 in the first 3 billing cycles.  This means you can already earn 53,000 after the minimum spending.

I charge everything to my credit card even if it is a $2 cup of coffee as it all adds up with points.  Look out for bonus points many cards offer such as 2X if charged on an American Airlines Ticket or inflight.  

Etihad offers a full flat bed, and a great selection of French and California Wines.  There is almost always an Indian meal option on their flights from JFK to Abu Dhabi along with many continental choices. Their on demand IFE is also very good with lots of updated Hollywood and Foreign films.