Free Upgrade to Etihad the Residence

Alright, before we get into this deal, I want to let you know that it won’t be a deal for 99.99% of you reading this (myself included).

However, if you do have some fuck-you-money lying around and want to splurge on the trip of a lifetime “saving” a stash of cash on the retail price… this might be it!

Etihad The Residence At First Class Price

If you don’t know what the residence is, it’s 2 people private suite with separate bedroom, personal bathroom (including shower) and a “living room” on-board the Etihad A380, it’s even more luxurious compared to the Etihad Apartment (first class).

The whole thing comes with dedicated butler service, 2 nights free stopover at a luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi and chauffeur service. Of course, in Abu Dhabi you will have your own private lounge, so you don’t have to see any of those peasants flying in first-class; imagine that!

The Deal

American Express has done a deal with Etihad where you can buy a first-class ticket with Etihad and get a guaranteed complimentary upgrade to The Residence.

Book by 31 August 2019, for trips completed before 27 July 2020.

To book this deal, you will need to call the Amex Platinum Travel (1800 673 760) team since it can’t be done online.

The Catch

The deal can be had on flights departing from Sydney too: Abu Dhabi, London, Paris or New York.

You also need to book for 2 people to get the upgrade to the residence for both of you. It’s also only available to members who have an American Express Platinum Card (now with a massive sign up bonus of 150,000 points!!) or the black Centurion Card.

The Price

I called up the Amex Platinum Travel team and checked which prices are available for this promotion.

I was slightly hopeful because Etihad offers sale fares of $10,500 return in first-class pretty much year-round from Sydney to Paris (which actually isn’t that bad for the level of product you receive).

Unfortunately, first-class saver fares are not eligible for the promo, and you need to be booked into the P fare (which is the booking code for The Residence) which has been reduced in price to around $18,731 return per person.

So to experience the Etihad Residence will cost you around $37,000 for 2 people return from Sydney to Paris.

While this is an insane amount of money for most of us, it’s actually a bargain if you look at the regular price of this ticket which is in excess of $55,000 for 2 people. A modest “saving” of $18,000 which you can put towards the purchase of your Hermès Birkin bag.

How many points will you earn?

Since American Express books you in the P class fare bucket, you will earn 400% more miles as opposed to the 250% boost regular first-class tickets get.

According to (my favourite site) Where to credit, this will net you a healthy 172,120 Etihad Guest miles (for 2 people) which works out to 86,060 EY guest miles per person.

Worth it?

Sure, to most of us this is an insane amount of money to spend on flights, However, if you’re already paying within this range for first-class tickets; this might be the once in a lifetime type of thing you splurge on (if you’re remotely into aviation & luxury travel). I think if this upgrade were available on the regular first-class sale tickets we’ve seen around the $10k mark, this offer would be much more attractive.

Experiencing this level of luxury on a commercial airliner will soon be a thing of the past with the A380 being discontinued.

I guess we could ask the following question: If you could go back in time and book a flight on the Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde, would you do it?