Advice Needed on Etihad Flight
I booked a First Class flight from JFK to Abu Dhabi for mid-May using 140,000 Etihad Guest miles and $600 in taxes and fees. The miles were transferred from my Amex points. I made the booking about a week before the Iran war began. I called Etihad and they told me a 25% penalty would apply and I would receive my refund mostly in Etihad miles.
Given the current situation, I have a few concerns:
- Is it safe to transit through the UAE right now? My original plan included a three-day stopover in Abu Dhabi for sightseeing, but I’m willing to skip it if necessary.
- Is there any way to transfer Etihad Guest miles back to Amex points, or otherwise reclaim the original points?
- If reversing the transfer isn’t possible, can I use my Etihad miles to reroute to another destination (maybe Etihad had some codeshare flights that I am unaware of)? My final destination is Singapore or Mumbai (either is fine), and I’d ideally like to adjust my itinerary accordingly.
I’d appreciate any advice or recent experiences, thanks in advance!