With the American Airlines devaluation occurring on March 22, 2016, I’ve been itching to burn my AAdvantage miles. I’ve had my eye on the be-all and end-all First Class award with American Airlines miles: The Etihad First Apartment.

Etihad currently operates the following routes using their A380 to/from Abu Dhabi:

• London-LHR – 3,432 miles
• New York-JFK – 6,867 miles
• Melbourne-MEL (beginning June 1, 2016) – 7,235 miles
• Sydney-SYD – 7,492 miles

Best Values

The number of miles required for each will vary, along with the flying times:

40,000 miles (goes up to 62,500 miles on Mach 22, 2016)

London-LHR → Abu Dhabi-AUH – EY 12 & EY 20 – 7hr 15min
Abu Dhabi-AUH → London-LHR – EY 11 & EY 19 – 8hr 10min

60,000 miles (goes up to 100,000 miles on Mach 22, 2016)

Sydney-SYD → Abu Dhabi-AUH – EY 455 – 14hr 50min
Abu Dhabi-AUH → Sydney-SYD – EY 454 – 13hr 55min

Melbourne-MEL → Abu Dhabi-AUH – EY 461 – 14hr 05min
Abu Dhabi-AUH → Melbourne-MEL – EY 460 – 13hr 35min

90,000 miles (goes up to 115,000 miles on Mach 22, 2016)

New York-JFK → Abu Dhabi-AUH – EY 102 – 12hr 45min
Abu Dhabi-AUH → New York-JFK – EY 103 – 14hr 50min

As you’ll see, the Australia routes will give you the best bang for your buck if trying to maximize your time in the premium Etihad cabin. The lower the number, the better:

Abu Dhabi-AUH → New York-JFK = ~6.1k miles/hr
Abu Dhabi-AUH → London-LHR = ~4.9k miles/hr
Melbourne-MEL → Abu Dhabi-AUH = ~4.3k miles/hr
Sydney-SYD → Abu Dhabi-AUH = ~4k miles/hr

With that in mind, there’s no contest that the Australia routes are the best use of AAdvantage miles, just 60k will get you nearly 15 hours pampered in luxury:

Award Availability

Typically, Etihad doesn’t release a lot of advance space for First Class on the A380. Or, at least, the seats that have been released get snatched up pretty quickly. In doing many sample searches, more award space is released within 2-10 days of departure. This is okay for a last-minute trip but not ideal given the March 22 deadline to book before the American award prices go up.

Here’s the Etihad A380 First Apartment award space that is available for at least two passengers between June and November 2016. This is a snapshot of what was available around 10 pm EST 12/12; the award space is guaranteed to change. First Abu Dhabi-AUH to Melbourne-MEL:

“GuestSeat” space is showing as available on Etihad.com which means the award space is bookable with AAdvantage miles

Again, the award space that is available for at least 2 passengers from Melbourne-MEL to Abu Dhabi-AUH:

“GuestSeat” space is showing as available on Etihad.com which means the award space is bookable with AAdvantage miles

BOTTOM LINE: Hurry up and book a seat on one of the most luxurious experiences miles and points can buy: The Etihad A380 First Class Apartment. If you book using American Airlines AAdvantage miles before March 22, 2016, you can still realize some significant values.