Etihad Awards Now Bookable With American Miles

I know many TPG readers have amassed nice sums of AA miles through the many Citi deals and I suspect many more will be accrued as we approach December 1, which is the last day to accrue miles from non-flying methods for Million Miler qualification.

That said, this week AA announced that you can now use your AA miles for flights on Etihad Airways. If you aren't aware, Etihad is a United Arab Emirates carrier that is known for 5 star service - especially in first class.

While this redemption option isn't for everyone, it's a new option nonetheless and a great gateway to exotic destination like the Maldives and Seychelles.

Etihad flies to the following destinations - I've bolded the ones that are on my short list of destinations. AA is not currently charging fuel surcharges, so this is a great alternative to British Airways if you are trying to go to the Middle East/Africa.

Ben at One Mile at a Time does a great job describing how to search award availability, so check that out for more information.

North American Gateways: Chicago, New York, Toronto

Destinations: Alexandria, Almaty, Amman, Astana, Athens, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangkok, Beijing, Beirut, Bengaluru, Brisbane, Brussels, Cairo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Chengdu, Chennai, Chicago, Chittagong, Colombo, Damascus, Dammam, Dhaka, Doha, Dublin, Erbil, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Karachi, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lahore, Larnaca, London Heathrow, Male, Manchester, Manila, Melbourne, Milan, Minsk, Moscow, Mumbai, Munich, Muscat, Nagoya, New Delhi, New York, Paris, Peshawar, Riyadh, Seoul, Seychelles, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tehran, Thiruvananthapuram, Tokyo, Toronto.

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