Etihad First Apartments is the name for Etihad’s amazing first class suites on their Airbus A380 aircraft. Each suite is like a little room with a narrow hallway, a recliner chair, a bench that converts to a single bed, and a vanity station with a mirror and drawers. There is also a bathroom with shower which is shared by first class passengers (but not at the same time). In addition to the incredible physical space onboard, first class passengers are treated to fantastic service and catering. Overall, it is unquestionably an awesome bucket-list experience.
Where to find Etihad First Apartments
Etihad First Apartments are available only on Etihad’s Airbus A380 aircraft. At the time of this writing, Flight Connections shows that Etihad operates the A380 on the following routes from and to their hub in Abu Dhabi (AUH):
- New York (JFK)
- London (LHR)
- Paris (CDG)
- Mumbai (BOM): Ends in January 2025
- Singapore (SIN): Begins February 2025
How to find award availability
Many tools can be used to find award availability (see: Which award search tool is best?). However, since American Airlines miles are currently the best way to book Etihad first class, a simple option is to simply use AA.com to search for first class non-stop awards between the routes shown above and Abu Dhabi.
Note that AA usually only has access to Etihad first class awards within the next 30 days or so, but that’s not true with the route from/to Paris.
Start by running a simple one-way search on any day in the near future. For example, Paris to Abu Dhabi for 12/1/24, shows me this:
As you can see above, this is an A380 aircraft operated by Etihad Airways, so first class seats will be Etihad First Apartments. You can also see that 3 seats are available in first class for 62,500 AA miles plus $126 in fees.
To see a calendar of available dates, click the CALENDAR button, then select nonstop flights, then select first class only. Now you can see that there are 9 days available in December with non-stop first class between Paris and Abu Dhabi. You can now use the arrows to page left or right to view other months:
On the route shown above, Etihad only flies the A380 aircraft, so available dates only show ones where Etihad First Apartment awards are available. On other routes such as to/from London or New York, though, Etihad also operates other aircraft with their regular (still great, but not as great) first class. In those cases, to book Etihad First Apartments, it’s necessary to click into available dates and look closely at which aircraft is flown on that available route.
Practical Considerations
The best way to book Etihad First Class Apartments with AA miles is to book last-minute. I understand that’s not an approach that many people are willing to take for international flights, so here are two other options:
- Book with Etihad miles. Etihad charges more miles than AA but they do let you book first class much farther in advance. Amex, Citi, and Capital One points all transfer 1 to 1 to Etihad. Unfortunately, Etihad has awful cancelation rules, so this option is best for those who don’t mind committing to firm plans far in advance. If that’s you, use Seats.aero or SeatSpy to quickly find decent priced awards.
- Book a back-up “good enough” flight that is freely changeable. Suppose, for example, you want to fly JFK to Abu Dhabi on Etihad First Apartments for some date in the future where there isn’t yet any award availability for that flight. Further, you’d like to make plans for what you’ll do after arriving in Abu Dhabi. In that case, you could book a “good enough” back-up flight. For example, for that route, you can use 70,000 AA miles plus an admittedly outrageous $1,074 in fees to book British Airways business class to Abu Dhabi via London. Then, as the date comes closer and closer, keep watching for the Etihad first class award to open up. If/when it does open (maybe just a day or two before departure), you can change your award to the Etihad flight. You’ll have to pay the difference in miles (that flight should cost you 115,000 AA miles total), but you’ll get back the difference in the cash component (which should be nearly the entire amount).
How to get AA miles
The best way to earn American Airlines miles quickly is with new credit card bonuses. Here are the current offers:
Consumer Cards
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
15K miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate Earn 15K AA miles after $500 spend in 3 monthsNo Annual Fee FM Mini Review: Not bad for grocery spend if you highly value AA miles Earning rate: 2X grocery ✦ 2X AA ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Save 25% on inflight food and beverage purchases |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
50K Miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 50K miles after $2,500 spend in first 3 months $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: 75K miles after $3,500 spend in 3 months (ended 10/14/24) FM Mini Review: Excellent choice for a great intro bonus. Plus it offers the usual collection of perks for flying AA (free checked bag, priority boarding, etc.) Earning rate: 2X restaurants ✦ 2X gas ✦ 2X AA Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: $125 AA Flight Discount with $20K membership year spend Noteworthy perks: ✦ First checked bag free ✦ Priority Boarding ✦ Save 25% on inflight food and beverage purchases |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
75K miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75K miles after $7,500 spend in first 3 months$595 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Good choice for those who need Admirals Club® access and those who value the Loyalty Points boosts at 50K and 90K Loyalty Points earned. Plus, it offers the usual collection of perks for flying AA (free checked bag, priority boarding, etc.) and some handy credits for Avis or Budget rentals and GrubHub. Earning rate: 4X AA ✦ 10X hotels booked through AA.com/Hotels ✦ 10X car rentals booked through AA.com/Cars ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: ✦ First Checked Bag Free ✦ Admirals Club® access for both primary and authorized users ✦ Up to $120 per 12 monthly billing cycles for GrubHub purchases (up to $10 per monthly billing cycle) ✦ Up to $120 back on eligible Avis or Budget prepaid car rentals every calendar year ✦ $10 monthly Lyft credit after you take 3 Lyft rides that calendar month ✦ 10K bonus Loyaty Points after earning 50K Loyalty points through all channels and another 10K bonus Loyalty Points after earning 90K Loyalty Points through all channels ✦ 25% savings on eligible in-flight purchases on American Airlines flights ✦ Up to $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit every 4 years |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
70K Miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 70K miles after 1st purchase and paying the annual fee within 90 days $99 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Up to 75K: 60K miles after first purchase and 15K after adding an authorized user and making one purchase on that card [Expired 2/24/24] Earning rate: 2X AA ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Barclays. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn $99 + tax domestic companion certificate with $20K membership year spend. Noteworthy perks: First checked bag free ✦ Preferred boarding for the primary cardmember and up to 4 companions traveling on the same reservation ✦ 25% off in-flight purchases ✦ $25 wifi credit per membership year ✦ Flight cents: round up purchases to earn more miles |
Business Cards
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
75K miles ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75K miles after $5K spend in first 5 months$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Alternate Offer: There is an alternative offer of 30K + $400 credit that can be found when doing a dummy booking on aa.com. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: This card usually has a great welcome bonus, but if you're looking for a card to keep long term, you'll find better options. Earning rate: ✦ 2X AA ✦ 2X certain telecommunications merchants ✦ 2X car rental merchants ✦ 2X gas Card Info: Mastercard World issued by Citi. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn $99 plus taxes domestic companion certificate after $30K spend Noteworthy perks: ✦ First checked bag free ✦ Priority Boarding ✦ Save 25% on inflight purchases |
Transfer from Marriott
Marriott points can be transferred to American Airlines at a rate of 3 Marriott points to 1 American mile. Note that there is no longer a 5,000 mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points.
Other Ways to Earn AA Miles
Our AA Guide lists a number of other ways to earn AA miles, from hotels to online shopping to Bask banking.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
#1 tip: buy ~1 million AA miles via the Simplymiles promo a couple years ago.