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Etihad First Class and Etihad Business Class Awards can be booked with Aeroplan points for 2023 dates, a good way to use an Aeroplan Flight Award Certificate if you have an Aeroplan card, as well as get a 10% Aeroplan transfer bonus from Chase Ultimate Rewards for the balance of the points you need to transfer (since each flight rewards certificate is for 50,000 points). The award availability is primarily on the routes between Abu Dhabi AUH and Washington IAD, New York JFK and Chicago ORD, especially March-August 2023. This is particularly useful for getting to the Maldives, one of our clients' favorite private island destinations.
Expect to redeem 85,000 Aeroplan points for Etihad Business Class or 120,000 Aeroplan points per person one way, plus taxes, for the above routes.
Keep in mind that no more than 2 Etihad business class award seats are released for a given day. Etihad first class availability is much harder to find, although we found several days with availability from Washington Dulles IAD to Abu Dhabi AUH:
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We even found 2 seats in Etihad First Class on a quick spot check, there are likely some others:
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Where to Stay in the Maldives
For couples, we highly recommend Cheval Blanc Randheli. While it also is beloved by a few families, since it has a lovely kids' club that our son didn't want to leave, as well as a teen hangout area, the incredible privacy of the villas and the high price point mean that you'll find far fewer families there than at the Four Seasons Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru and many other Maldivian luxury resorts. The Spa is even on its own island, so you definitely won't hear any kids while enjoying a spa treatment or relaxing there.
Our family clients have loved the Four Seasons Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru, Velaa, Joali, and Soneva Jani Chapter Two, among others.
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