Questions and Answers

Hi all,

I am looking to fly for two people from New York City (any airport) to Nairobi, Kenya and then from Mahe, Seychelles back to New York City in first class. I know Emirates flies these routes, along with Etihad as well.

I’m a bit new to point conversion for international flights (i primarily fly JetBlue and Southwest domestically so their partnerships are lacking, unfortunately!), and am seeking help in the best way to acquire the necessary points to book this travel for two (for my honeymoon coming up in December 2018).

I was hoping to have some clarification and advice on the following:

I understand American Airlines points transfer to Etihad under Guest Travel rates (i saw the America-Africa rate for Biz/First, Premium class tickets were 90k points, and roughly the same for Africa-New York – Seychelles is classified as Africa). Would this mean with 180k American Airlines points, I could fly that first class/premium flight from New York to Nairobi, and back from Seychelles to New York? Does this include the full trip, or not including layovers? I know that the flight to Nairobi has a layover in Abu Dabhi, and likewise on the return leg. Would that 90k mile flight redemption for first class/premium be for only one leg of that trip, or the entire trip? I know American Airlines has different mile versions (EQMs for instance), so i was curious if there are only certain points that work for these conversions? My goal is to switch spending/credit cards to earn as many reward points as possible over the next 20 months or so to pay for this flight, and if that is the case for American Airlines, then switching to the AA credit card and maximizing all possible points earned to that 180k seems doable. I just want to ensure I have a comprehensive understanding.

I was also curious that if my understanding of the above is correct (which i hope it is but am not holding my breath!), is the redemption rate similar on Emirates? And what would be transfer partners to Emirates?

sorry for the long post – I am just learning about these programs and trying to ensure my understanding is correct before I venture in this undertaking.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Hi all,

I am looking to fly for two people from New York City (any airport) to Nairobi, Kenya and then from Mahe, Seychelles back to New York City in first class. I know Emirates flies these routes, along with Etihad as well.

I’m a bit new to point conversion for international flights (i primarily fly JetBlue and Southwest domestically so their partnerships are lacking, unfortunately!), and am seeking help in the best way to acquire the necessary points to book this travel for two (for my honeymoon coming up in December 2018).

I was hoping to have some clarification and advice on the following:

I understand American Airlines points transfer to Etihad under Guest Travel rates (i saw the America-Africa rate for Biz/First, Premium class tickets were 90k points, and roughly the same for Africa-New York – Seychelles is classified as Africa). Would this mean with 180k American Airlines points, I could fly that first class/premium flight from New York to Nairobi, and back from Seychelles to New York? Does this include the full trip, or not including layovers? I know that the flight to Nairobi has a layover in Abu Dabhi, and likewise on the return leg. Would that 90k mile flight redemption for first class/premium be for only one leg of that trip, or the entire trip? I know American Airlines has different mile versions (EQMs for instance), so i was curious if there are only certain points that work for these conversions? My goal is to switch spending/credit cards to earn as many reward points as possible over the next 20 months or so to pay for this flight, and if that is the case for American Airlines, then switching to the AA credit card and maximizing all possible points earned to that 180k seems doable. I just want to ensure I have a comprehensive understanding.

I was also curious that if my understanding of the above is correct (which i hope it is but am not holding my breath!), is the redemption rate similar on Emirates? And what would be transfer partners to Emirates?

sorry for the long post – I am just learning about these programs and trying to ensure my understanding is correct before I venture in this undertaking.

Thanks in advance for your advice!