[Expired] [Award Alert] Business Class to Ethiopia From 65K Miles

If Ethiopia has been on your bucket list but the 13-hour flight is too much to handle in economy, we’ve got great news: We’ve found a bunch of award availability in business class for as low as 65,000 miles each way.

With plenty of dates and U.S. cities involved in this alert, booking your flight should be an easy task. But these seats could go quickly, so we recommend booking sooner than later.

Let’s take a look at the details.

Award Deal: Details

The birthplace of coffee is beckoning you, and you can fly there in Ethiopian Airlines‘ lie-flat business class.

While not the most groundbreaking product, it can be great for those looking for nonstop flights from the U.S. to Addis Ababa, and it’s always easy to find.

• Class: Business
• Route: Washington, D.C. (IAD) to and from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ADD)
• Cost: From 65,000 points plus $44.62 per passenger
• Travel dates: February, March, and November 2026
• Award deats: Up to 4 passengers on some dates

The easiest way to find these flights is to use a tool like seats.aero. It lets you compare numerous routes and dates at once to find something you want to book.

To narrow your search, type your desired airports into the search field. Anything that shows in green is a nonstop flight.

If you’re feeling confused about why the search results show that you’ll need to book through United at a price of 88,000 points, or 80,000 points if you’re a United cardholder, allow us to explain.

While you can book through United if you’re currently flush with United Airlines MileagePlus miles, or even one of its transfer partners like Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can actually knock the price of this award booking down to just 65,000 miles and $44.63 in taxes and fees when you book through another Star Alliance partner: ANA Mileage Club.

While you will pay a little bit more in taxes than booking through United, in our view, it is well worth it to save 15,000 to 23,000 points.

Economy seats are available from both programs, starting at 45,000 miles with United (if you have a United credit card) or 35,000 miles through ANA.

How To Book

To book these flights on Ethiopian Airlines, you can use the ANA Mileage Club miles or United MileagePlus miles.

You can earn ANA miles in multiple ways, and you can also boost your account with transfers from Amex Membership Rewards or Marriott Bonvoy.

If you don’t have ANA miles, you can book through United. If you have a United credit card — such as the United℠ Explorer Card, United Quest℠ Card, or United Club℠ Card — you can book these flights for 80,000 miles per person, rather than 88,000.

If you need to boost your balance, you can transfer to United from Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

No matter which program you choose, you have plenty of transfer partners to choose from. You also can boost your balance with multiple United Airlines credit cards or the ANA Card U.S.A. Plus card.

Final Thoughts

Flying to and from Ethiopia is a long journey, so being able to book a lie-flat business-class seat with points and miles is a great way to make your trip more enjoyable without breaking the bank.

If you’ve been waiting to book a flight to Addis Ababa, now is the time.