How Etihad Restricts Partner Award Availability

Etihad Airways has a great inflight product in first class and business class, and historically it has been pretty easy to redeem points for these experiences. In particular, Etihad partners with American AAdvantage, Air Canada Aeroplan, and Air France-KLM Flying Blue, meaning you can redeem these points currencies for travel on Etihad.

Unfortunately over time, redeeming partner miles for travel in Etihad premium cabins has become increasingly challenging. In this post I wanted to cover the trends that we’re seeing when it comes to Etihad award availability, as there are constantly updates. A few months back we saw the introduction of a new 30-day rule on premium cabin redemptions, and now I’m seeing an additional restriction.

Let me share how I view the current state of things, as it’s kind of complex.

Etihad first & business class awards with partner miles

Historically, Etihad has generally made the same saver level award seats available to members of its own Etihad Guest program, as to members of partner programs.

That’s no longer the case, and the exact situation seems to vary depending on the partner program that you book through. So let’s talk about what you can expect when trying to redeem those currencies for travel on Etihad.

Redeeming American AAdvantage miles on Etihad

Historically, American AAdvantage has had access to most Etihad saver level award availability. Now, there have long been some quirks with these redemptions, with some awards being bookable online, and some awards requiring ringing up a foreign American Airlines call center to get access to the space. That seemed to be more a technological and point of sale restriction, rather than intentional blocking.

However, that has changed over time, so here’s the current reality of things:

• American AAdvantage has access to most of the GuestSeat availability that Etihad Guest members have access to
• American AAdvantage seems to have access to Etihad GuestSeat availability for first class and business class, but only within 30 days of departure
• Recently, Etihad seems to be blocking nonstop first class award availability between the United States and Abu Dhabi through AAdvantage; so if you want to fly Etihad first class, you’ll have to fly between Europe and Abu Dhabi
• Most award availability that American AAdvantage has access to is bookable directly on aa.com, and American’s foreign call centers no longer have access to extra award space on Etihad

We really are seeing Etihad continuing to add restrictions here. First AAdvantage members had access to all the same saver award space as Etihad Guest members. Then we saw a 60-day rule on premium cabins. Then we saw a 30-day rule on premium cabins. And now we’re seeing first class blocked entirely between the United States and Abu Dhabi, best I can tell.

Redeeming Air Canada Aeroplan points on Etihad

For several months now, Air Canada Aeroplan hasn’t had access to a vast majority of Etihad premium cabin award availability. It’s still possible to redeem Aeroplan points for travel in Etihad economy, but there seems to be virtually no premium cabin award space.

This lack of availability applies both through aircanada.com and through Air Canada contact centers. While we’ve been told that the partnership with Etihad will continue, it’s anyone’s guess if/when we see premium award seats again. The whole situation is quite strange. So for all practical purposes, don’t plan on redeeming Aeroplan points for Etihad premium cabins, at least for the time being.

Redeeming Air France-KLM Flying Blue points on Etihad

In late 2023, we saw Air France-KLM Flying Blue add award redemptions on Etihad, which is exciting. Flying Blue is somewhere between Aeroplan and AAdvantage when it comes to the usefulness of redemptions. Flying Blue has access to the same Etihad award space as AAdvantage, except you can’t use Flying Blue miles for travel in Etihad first class.

What’s going on with Etihad award availability?

While it’s hard to know exactly what’s going on here, or how it will evolve, I do have a few observations.

Etihad’s own frequent flyer program, Etihad Guest, seems to have changed up how it releases award availability in general. Back in the day, Etihad would be generous with making first and business class seats available as awards at the last minute, when a cabin had a lot of unsold seats. That’s no longer consistently the case, even through the Etihad Guest program.

Perhaps this is actually what I found most frustrating. For example, between the United States and Abu Dhabi there are no longer save business class award seats available, whether booking through Etihad Guest or a partner program. This is the case even in situations where the cabin has lots of empty seats close to departure.

Then there are the different situations with each partner program in terms of what award space they have access to.

In the case of Etihad awards with Air Canada Aeroplan points, clearly there’s something going on between the two airlines. I don’t know if it’s a function of negotiating pricing, a technology limitation, or what. But Aeroplan seems to just not have access to Etihad premium space, for whatever reason.

The situation with American AAdvantage miles is different, though. AAdvantage has access to Etihad premium award space, but only in the 30 days leading up to departure. On top of that, Etihad is now blocking premium cabin availability between the United States and Abu Dhabi altogether, which is super frustrating.

I suspect this is part of Etihad’s management trying to overhaul the Etihad Guest program and make it more profitable and engaging. There’s something to be said for trying to get people engaged in the “native” frequent flyer program, rather than engaged in a partner frequent flyer program.

As a consumer, I of course love when partners have access to all award space, since I like taking advantage of award arbitrage opportunities, and booking through the programs that offer the best pricing. But if I ran a frequent flyer program, I’d probably similarly try to take additional action to encourage direct bookings, since it’s potentially much higher margin, and also has more upside in terms of engagement with the airline.

However, I think Etihad is going to the extreme here, both in terms of how little space it makes available in business class to its own members, plus outright blocking availability in first class between the United States and Abu Dhabi.

Bottom line

Etihad has changed how it releases award space. Air Canada Aeroplan doesn’t have access to any premium Etihad award seats, Air France-KLM Flying Blue doesn’t have access to first class award space, and American AAdvantage has access to premium Etihad award seats within 30 days of departure (except in first class between the United States and Abu Dhabi, which is a major caveat).

On top of that, Etihad has generally changed how it releases award availability, even to its own Etihad Guest members. Etihad releases fewer award seats to its own members than in the past, especially last minute. I don’t see any business class award seats within 30 days of departure between the United States and Abu Dhabi, which is frustrating.

What do you make of the current Etihad partner award space situation?