Etihad Kills Off Incredible 36,620-Mile Round-Trip Business-Class Award
The Etihad Guest program offered one of the industry's best awards to Europe — just 36,620 miles round-trip between New York (JFK) and Brussels (BRU) on Brussels Airlines. If you had the time (and patience) to call an Etihad agent to book the award for you, it was an incredible deal. Sadly, however, the carrier has dramatically upped the cost of awards overnight.
One upside to Etihad's devaluation is that you can now book one-way awards, which wasn't possible before. Award prices are based on distance — economy awards range from 5,000 to 29,000 miles one-way, while business awards will run you anywhere from 9,000 to 48,000 miles one-way. While 88,000 miles round-trip for a business-class flight between JFK and BRU is still a decent deal, it's a huge increase from the previous 36,620 miles required. Also of note is that Etihad added Washington, D.C. (IAD) to its award chart — great news for Washington-based flyers as the city wasn't previously on the award chart.
If you don't have any Etihad Guest miles and would like to book an award, you can transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou or Starwood Preferred Guest. Amex points typically transfer instantly, while ThankYou points and Starpoints can take much longer to transfer (even up to two weeks in some instances).
H/T: View From the Wing
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