Redeeming Flying Blue Miles on Etihad
Air France-KLM and Etihad Airways announced an expansion of their partnership to now allow Flying Blue and Etihad Guest members to earn and redeem miles across the respective programs. I always get excited when a new redemption opportunity appears. After all, additional options are hardly ever a bad thing. And here, redeeming Flying Blue miles on Etihad offer some good options.
How to Book Etihad with Miles
Etihad offers a great business class product that is unfortunately not very easy to book. This is in large part because Etihad is not a member of any airline alliance. Until now, one of the easiest and cheapest methods to book Etihad awards was via American Airlines. However, American is not a transfer partner with any of the major card issuers. Air Canada Aeroplan is another good option for booking Etihad awards, though availability is less reliable than on American.
Redeeming Flying Blue miles on Etihad changes that though. Now, with Etihad now bookable via Flying Blue, travelers can use any major transferable currency to fly the United Arab Emirates' national carrier. That is because Flying Blue is a promiscuous transfer partner and is an option with all major banks. This is an excellent development for award travelers.
Cost of Redeeming Flying Blue Miles on Etihad
The cost of redeeming Flying Blue miles on Etihad is quite reasonable. The price for flights between the US (JFK or IAD) and Abu Dhabi (AUH) is 84,500 miles one-way in business. Even though Flying Blue awards incur fuel surcharges, the cost is quite reasonable at under $200 out of the US.
Although American charges fewer miles (just 70,000 one-way in business), the ease to generate Flying Blue miles play a huge role here. And, not to mention the regular transfer bonuses from Chase, Amex, and others. With just a 25% transfer bonus, this flight drops to 68,000 Flying Blue points.
At this time, first class redemptions on Etihad are not available through Flying Blue. However, given that Flying Blue has recently added first class redemptions on a couple of partners, I would not be surprised to see this opportunity show up in the future.
Lastly, it's nice to see that Flying Blue's flexible cancellation policy of just €50 also applies to Etihad bookings.
Pay Attention to Bookings with Multiple Segments
Flying Blue appears to charge per segment, so if your flight includes a connection, you will be charged the sum of both legs individually. This also means that if you want to spend some time in Abu Dhabi, there is no advantage to booking a stopover instead of splitting your trip in two, since the pricing will be the same.
Let's say you want to fly from New York (JFK) to Muscat, Oman (MCT), for example. Flying Blue charges 6,000 miles one-way in business class between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Muscat (MCT). So to fly all the way from JFK, you will pay 90,500 (84,500 + 6,000):
What About the Other Way, Redeeming Etihad Guest Miles on Flying Blue?
There is less reason to be excited about redeeming Etihad on Air France-KLM. Flying Blue is a transfer partner with all the major banks and offers good redemption rates on its own. Etihad, on the other hand, does not have as many transfer partners and has an unimpressive award chart. This means travelers are better off transferring points to Flying Blue to fly on Air France or KLM instead of transferring to Etihad.
Booking Etihad Award Flights: ToP Thoughts
Having another option to book Etihad awards with transferable currencies is a welcomed development. At first glance, availability on Flying Blue is in line with what American shows (the same can't be said about Aeroplan). This means American Airlines' website remains the easiest resource for searching Etihad award availability. Once you find availability for your dates, switch to Air France's or KLM's website to complete your booking.
Are you excited about redeeming Flying Blue miles on Etihad? Let us know over in the ToP Facebook Group.
