New First Class vacations discovered to the Middle East, India, the Maldives, the Seychelles, South Africa, and more

Vacations are important. They give us a chance to recharge after we’ve been working hard in the throes of everyday life. They give us a unique change of place and offer the opportunity to explore a new perspective on life. And perhaps most importantly, they help us build connections with the people we love the most in this crazy world.

So, when FCF can get you and your loved ones off on a vacation, we take it seriously, because we know what it means to you. It applies to us too.

And a First Class vacation? Now you’re talking.

The Only Problem:
You often can’t find more than one seat with miles in First Class!

When you do get the chance to go on a vacation — and that’s no small task of calendar massaging — you have the problem of finding seats using miles for the whole family or group. We call it the family curse. It’s hard enough finding space for yourself, let alone your offspring, mate, or friends. And it can end up being very expensive.

Sell the Family Silver?

Happily, no. You now have an opportunity to get tickets using your miles at the lower price levels on Etihad, which currently operates a B787 with First Class flights from Geneva, London, and Washington, DC, to Abu Dhabi, and a B777 from Paris to Abu Dhabi. They also operate Business Class on two-class A350s and B787s (no First Class, in other words) from Chicago, New York, and Toronto to the Middle East.

Seat Spotters

Here’s the big news flash: We found First Class seats for two on the Washington, DC-Abu Dhabi route using 130,000 Air Canada miles each way (which you can get via points transfers with Amex, Capital One, and Chase). While not very cheap, we are talking First Class so at least consider it for the all-important outbound night flight. More on Horses for Courses.

Meanwhile, partner American Airlines has much less availability (although cheaper price at 115,000 miles one, if you can find it) and partner All Nippon doesn’t show any award seat availability.

So you’re saying, “Bennett, you were just talking about families and now you’re talking about two seats?” First, two can make a family, but yes, the gist of this report is more than two. The thing is, seldom do I see four First Class seats available, though British Airways is the occasional exception. Usually, you only see one First Class seat available with miles on airlines like All Nippon, Japan, Singapore, and Emirates, although there are exceptions too. So let’s get strategic.

How to have a family gathering on miles

If you need a bunch of seats, let’s say four to eight, my advice is to get two in First and the rest in Business. (More on the good Business Class availability in a minute.)

When you’re traveling far away and you have, say, a party of four traveling to the same destination, you could split up the party in different ways and still enjoy First Class. Here are some examples:

Split your trip by day of travel:

Monday: Two travelers in First Class
Tuesday: Two travelers in First Class

And say: ”See you there!”

Split your trip by cabin:

Put two travelers in First Class and two in Business Class

And say: “How’s the weather back there?”

Etihad in First

An Etihad First Class experience starts at home with a knock on the door: “Chauffeur!” From there it’s straight to the airport with priority check-in and the First Class lounge. In Abu Dhabi’s First Class lounge, you can get your clothes pressed while you take a shower and relax.

Don’t Live in Washington or Not Flying to Abu Dhabi?

No Problem!

Get Free Tickets to Washington, DC

When booking Etihad flights with Air Canada or American miles, you can get free connecting flights for no more miles (connecting flights may be in economy).

Example of a Free Connecting Flight from St. Louis:

Not flying to the Middle East? No problem…

Etihad flies to over 60 destinations across

No Miles? No Problem. Part 1
Transfer Points

Transfer your miles to Air Canada from Amex, Capital One, or Chase; to American from Citi; to Etihad from Amex, Capital One, and Citi.

While this isn’t a cheap ticket, keep in mind that these First Class tickets can often easily go for $15,900 to $29,308+. Oh, and something else to keep in mind…

First Class memories are priceless.

Comparing First Class Cost on Etihad’s Washington, DC to Abu Dhabi Route

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No Miles? No Problem. Part 2
Buy Miles / Points

As you can see in the chart below, there are several ways to get miles and points if you don’t have any to transfer. You can buy Amex Points at 2.5 cents each and transfer them to Etihad or to Air Canada to get a First Class round-trip ticket to save 50%-58%. Or save 78% when buying miles with Air Canada when on sale at their lowest 1.3 cents per mile or save up to 74% with American when its miles can be had for 1.8 cents each. Sample savings below on Washington, DC-Abu Dhabi round-trip:

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Here’s a First Class availability (at the time of analysis) treasure map to get your vacation ducks in a row. Remember availability may change by the time you read this.

First Class Availability Washington, DC to Abu Dhabi Using 130,000 Air Canada Miles, One-way (Transfer Amex, Capital One and Chase Points)

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Beyond Abu Dhabi: The Real Deal

You can book Etihad First Class with Air Canada miles from Washington, DC, to Abu Dhabi for 130,000 miles each way, or book all the way through to places like Johannesburg, the Maldives, New Delhi and the Seychelles for only 10,000 more miles, each way, though flights beyond Abu Dhabi are usually in Business Class. While these prices aren’t very competitive to the Middle East, for travel to more distant exotic destinations, you can get the most value.

SWEET REDEEMS IN FIRST CLASS TO ABU DHABI AND BUSINESS CLASS BEYOND

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Etihad in Business Class

No Miles? No Problem. Part 1 Transfer Points

You can buy Amex Points at 2.5 cents each from Air Canada for Etihad's Washington, DC, to Abu Dhabi route and save 30%.

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No Miles? No Problem. Part 2 Buy Miles / Points

Get a Business Class round-trip ticket to save 62% when buying miles with Air Canada when on sale at their lowest 1.3 cents per mile or save up to 61% with American when its miles can be had for 1.8 cents each. Sample savings using Washington, DC-Abu Dhabi round-trip:

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Business Class Availability Chicago, New York, Toronto and Washington, DC to Abu Dhabi - Using 90,000 Air Canada Miles, One-way (Transfer Amex, Capital One and Chase Points)

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Travel Beyond Abu Dhabi For Less Miles

You can book Etihad Business Class with Air Canada from Chicago, New York, Toronto and Washington, DC for 90,000 miles, or book all the way through from Chicago to Bangkok and Jakarta; from New York to Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore; from Toronto to Bangkok, Jakarta and Mumbai; from Washington, DC to Bangkok and Jakarta for 87,500 miles each way, for example.

Etihad Business Class Chicago to Abu Dhabi for 90,000 Miles One-way

You can travel to other destinations beyond Abu Dhabi for just a bit more, see the chart below.

Etihad Business Class Chicago-Abu Dhabi-Bangkok for 87,500 Miles One-way

Etihad Business Class Cost Beyond Abu Dhabi

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Etihad Business Class availability using Air Canada miles from Chicago

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Etihad Business Class availability using Air Canada miles from New York

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Etihad Business Class availability using Air Canada miles from Toronto

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Etihad Business Class availability using Air Canada miles from Washington, DC

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Bookings are easily made on aircanada.com. Or, with American, which has less availability than Air Canada, where you need to call.

Bonus Tip: If or when you do call American, for some reason, Etihad’s best availability is not shown on the American Airlines website — nor by its U.S.-based call center agents. So, it’s best to check by calling the AAdvantage international call center. Seems weird, but we found it to work best:

American Airlines UK: +44 207 660 2300
American Airlines Germany: +49 69 2999 3234
American Airlines Singapore: +65 6349 8444
American Airlines Hong Kong: +852 3057 9197
American Airlines Australia: +61 2 9101 1948

[["Mileage Program","Cost in Miles","Taxes R/T","Transfer Points"],["Etihad","272,500","$1,100","Amex, Capital One, Citi"],["Air Canada","260,000","$156","Amex, Capital One, Chase"],["American","230,000","$60","Citi"]]

[["Point / Mileage Program","#colspan#","Miles Required","Cost in $ When Buying Miles on Sale","Potential Savings","Link to Buy Miles Page"],["\n\nBuy Points from Amex / Transfer to:","Etihad","272,500","$6,813 ","$7,988 / 50%","\n\n<a href=\"https://www.firstclassflyer.com/buy-american-express-membership-rewards-points/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Amex Buy Miles</a>"],["#rowspan#","Air Canada","\n260,000","$6,500 ","$9,244 / 58%","#rowspan#"],["Buy from Air Canada","#colspan#","#rowspan#","$3,380 ","$12,364 / 78%","<a href=\"https://buy.points.com/marketing/aeroplan_kilo/index.html#/en-CA\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buy Miles with Air Canada</a>"],["Buy from American","#colspan#","230,000","$4,140 ","$11,700 / 74%","<a href=\"https://www.aa.com/aadvantage-program/buy-gift-transfer/en_US/home/buy\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buy Miles with American</a>"]]

Months in black at least one seat available; in blue at least two seats. Remember to use the data as a guide since availability can be volatile...

[["Mileage Program","Cost in Miles","Taxes R/T","Transfer Points"],["Etihad","240,000","$1,100 ","Amex, Capital One, Citi"],["Air Canada","180,000","$156","Amex, Capital One, Chase"],["American","140,000","$60","Citi"]]

[["Point / Mileage Program","#colspan#","Miles Required","Cost in $ When Buying Miles on Sale","Potential Savings","Link to Buy Miles Page"],["\n\nBuy Points from Amex / Transfer to:","Etihad","240,000","$6,000 ","No Savings","\n\n<a href=\"https://www.firstclassflyer.com/buy-american-express-membership-rewards-points/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Amex Buy Miles</a>"],["#rowspan#","Air Canada","\n\n180,000","$4,500 ","$1,983 / 30%","#rowspan#"],["Buy from Air Canada","#colspan#","#rowspan#","$2,340 ","$4,143 / 62%","<a href=\"https://buy.points.com/marketing/aeroplan_kilo/index.html#/en-CA\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buy Miles with Air Canada</a>"],["Buy from American","#colspan#","140,000","$2,520 ","$4,059 / 61%","<a href=\"https://www.aa.com/aadvantage-program/buy-gift-transfer/en_US/home/buy\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buy Miles with American</a>"]]

[["\n\nTo Abu Dhabi From:","Outbound","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month"],["Chicago","July, Aug. to Oct., Nov., Dec., Jan.","Aug.","","June, Aug., Oct., Dec.","Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov.","Sept., Nov."],["New York","March, April, July, Aug., Nov., Dec.","July, Sept., Oct., Dec., Jan.","Sept., Oct.","June, July, Aug., Jan.","Nov.","Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec."],["Toronto","Dec., Jan.","","","Sept. to Nov., Dec.","",""],["Washington, DC","March, April, May, July, Aug., Dec.","Aug., Sept., Oct., Dec.","Sept. to Nov.","May, June, July","June, Aug., Sept., Dec.","Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec."]]

Months in black at least one seat available; in blue at least two seats; in green at least four seats. Remember to use the data as a guide since availability can be volatile...

[["From / To via Abu Dhabi","#colspan#","Cost in Miles One-way"],["\n\nChicago","Bangkok","\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n87,500"],["#rowspan#","Jakarta","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Kuala Lumpur","#rowspan#"],["\n\n\n\nNew York","Bangkok","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Jakarta","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Kuala Lumpur","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Singapore","#rowspan#"],["\n\nToronto","Bangkok","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Jakarta","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Mumbai","#rowspan#"],["Washington, DC","Bangkok","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Kuala Lumpur","#rowspan#"]]

[["From / To via Abu Dhabi","#colspan#","Cost in Miles One-way"],["New York","Johannesburg","\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n110,000"],["#rowspan#","New Delhi","#rowspan#"],["Toronto","Kuala Lumpur","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","New Delhi","#rowspan#"],["\n\n\n\n\n\nWashington, DC","Johannesburg","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Male","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Mumbai","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","New Delhi","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Seychelles","#rowspan#"]]

[["From / To via Abu Dhabi","#colspan#","Cost in Miles One-way"],["New York","Sydney","\n\n\n\n115,000"],["\n\nWashington, DC","Jakarta","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Melbourne","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Sydney","#rowspan#"]]

[["\n\nChicago via Abu Dhabi To:","Outbound","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month"],["Bangkok","Sept., Oct., Dec.","Aug.","Sept., Oct., Dec.","Sept.",""],["Jakarta","Aug., Sept., Oct., Dec.","","Aug., Sept. to Dec.","Oct., Dec.","Nov."],["Kuala Lumpur","Aug.","","Aug.","",""]]

[["\n\nNew York via Abu Dhabi To:","Outbound","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month"],["Bangkok","July, Sept.","","","Sept.","",""],["Jakarta","Aug., Sept.","July","","Aug.","",""],["Kuala Lumpur","July, Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec., Jan.","Oct., Jan.","Sept.","Aug., Sept.","Sept., Oct. to Dec.","Dec."],["Singapore","Jan.","","","Sept. to Nov., Dec.","Dec.",""],["Johannesburg","July, Sept.","","","","",""],["New Delhi","Sept.","July","","Aug.","",""],["Sydney","Oct., Nov.","","","","",""]]

[["\n\nToronto via Abu Dhabi To:","Outbound","Return","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 to 8 Days Per Month","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month"],["Bangkok","Dec.","Dec.","Dec."],["Jakarta","Dec.","Dec.","Dec."],["Mumbai","Dec.","Dec.","Dec."],["Kuala Lumpur","Dec.","Dec.",""],["New Delhi","Dec.","Dec.","Dec."]]

[["\n\nWashington, DC via Abu Dhabi To:","Outbound","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month"],["Bangkok","July, Aug., Oct., Nov.","Sept.","","Sept.","Oct., Nov.","Dec."],["Kuala Lumpur","Aug.","","","June, Aug.","Aug.",""],["Johannesburg","May","Sept., Oct., Nov.","Sept., Oct.","","Sept., Dec.","Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec."],["Male","Aug., Sept. to Nov.","","","Aug.","Sept., Nov.","Sept., Oct., Dec."],["Mumbai","Dec.","Nov.","May to Oct., Nov.","","","May to Dec."],["New Delhi","March, May, July, Aug., Dec.","","Sept. to Nov.","May, July","June, Aug.","Aug., Sept. to Dec."],["Seychelles","Aug.","","","Aug. to Oct.","Aug., Nov.","Dec."],["Jakarta","July, Oct.","","","Nov.","May, Aug., Oct., Nov.",""],["Melbourne","Nov.","","","Oct., Dec.","Oct., Nov.","Nov."],["Sydney","Oct., Nov.","","","","",""]]

Get the Family Packing: Smart Ways to Fly Etihad First Class for Two or More Travelers from All Over the U.S. to All Over the World