Etihad Guest Loyalty Program Review
Full Disclosure: We may be financially compensated when you click on links to credit card products from our advertising partners, such as American Express, Chase, Citi & Capital One. Opinions and product recommendations on this site are ours alone, and have not been influenced, reviewed or approved by the issuer. See our Advertiser Disclosure for more details. Thanks!
Etihad Summary Table
- Home Country U.A.E.
- Major Hubs Abu Dhabi
- Airline Alliance None
- Points Are Worth 1.5 cents/point
- Signature Lounge Etihad First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi
- Earn Points/Miles Best Ways to Earn Lots of Etihad Guest Miles
- Redeem Points/Miles
- Airline Fees
- Award Chart Link Etihad Guest Miles Calculator
Branded and Partnered Credit Cards
Etihad guest is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy. So while there is no Etihad-branded card in the U.S., you’ll hardly notice its absence.
American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards
American Express Membership Rewards points convert to Etihad Guest miles at a rate of 1,000 points to 1,000 miles.
Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)
| The Platinum Card® from American Express - There's currently a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after spending $5,000 in your first 3 months. This is our favorite card for getting into 1,200+ airport lounges worldwide (including Priority Pass) and we get about $2,700+ in value from the card every year. Plus, get up to $200 in Uber credits annually ($15 per month and a $20 bonus in December) — and up to $200 in annual credit for airline incidental charges (e.g. baggage fees). For rates and fees of the Platinum Card, click here. |
| American Express® Gold Card - We love using this card as it earns 4x points at restaurants worldwide and 4x points at US supermarkets (up to $25,000; then 1x). There's no better card in our opinion if you eat out and/or shop at supermarkets regularly. With a welcome bonus of 35,000 points after you spend $4,000 in your first 3 months and a $100 airfare credit per year, for many this is an easy addition to your wallet. For rates and fees of the Gold Card, click here. |
Recommended Amex Cards (Business)
| The Business Platinum Card® from American Express - Right now, there's a HUGE welcome bonus of up to 100,000 points. Earn 50,000 points after you spend $10,000 and an extra 50,000 after you spend an additional $15,000, on purchases within the first 3 months. We get ~$5,525+ in value per year by leveraging many of the benefits & perks. This is the best business card for lounge access as you'll get into 1,200+ airport lounges worldwide. For rates and fees of the Business Platinum, click here. |
| American Express® Business Gold Card - probably our favorite Amex business card because we earn 4x points across the top 2 select categories that we spend the most money in each month. The 4x points applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year. This means you'll max out at a (whopping) 600,000 points per year. After that, you earn 1x. For rates and fees of the Business Gold Card, click here. |
| The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express - This is a simple card that earns you 2x points on any business purchase, up to $50,000 annually (then 1x). That makes for an easy 100,000 points per year! The card has no annual fee. For rates and fees of the Blue Business Plus, click here. |
Marriott Credit Cards
Etihad partners with Marriott Bonvoy as well, and Mariott points convert to Etihad Guest miles at a 3:1 ratio.
For converting 60,000 Marriott points in a single transaction, you get a 5,000-mile bonus!
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card - Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Get automatic silver elite status each account anniversary year; and a free night award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary. |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card - earn 75,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. A solid card for business owners who will get complimentary Marriott Bonvoy silver elite status. Annual fee is $125. For rates and fees of the Bonvoy Business Card, click here. |
Citi ThankYou Credit Cards
Citi ThankYou Rewards also partners with Etihad Guest.
Citi ThankYou Prestige and Premier cardholders can transfer ThankYou points to your Etihad Guest account at a 1:1 ratio.
It takes a minimum of 3 business days for the transfer to occur.
Etihad Guest Program Overview
Etihad Guest is Etihad’s loyalty program. Frequent Etihad flyers choose it for travel benefits and upgrades.
Instead of joining an airline alliance, Eithad embarked on an aggressive airline investment program, creating Etihad Airways Partners. Unfortunately for Etihad, these investments have not all paid off with Air Berlin collapsing and Alitalia always on the verge. This strategy is in doubt for the future.
Joining Etihad Guest
Joining Etihad Guest is free and easy. Register here.
How to Sign in to Your Etihad Guest Account
Log in to your Etihad Guest account here.
You’ll need your email address or Etihad Guest account number and your password.
Viewing Your Account Activity
Visit the Account Summary page to see all your account activity and manage your account profile and settings.
Mileage Expiration
Etihad Guest miles expire even if you have continuing account activity. Expiration term differs by elite status:
- General members: 2 years
- Silver: 2.5 years
- Gold and Platinum: 3 years
Etihad Guest Program Benefits
Members will start out at Etihad Guest status before flying up to Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
Etihad Guest Elite Status Requirements:
Etihad Guest uses a 12-month rolling qualification period. Each premium tier provides bonus miles, which can be redeemed for Etihad Rewards.
| Elite Status Tier | Tier Miles/Segments to Achieve Status | Expires After Remaining Calendar Year | Tier Miles/Segments to Maintain Status | Bonus Miles |
| Etihad Guest | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Etihad Guest Silver | 25,000/20 | 1 yr and 3-month bonus | 20,000/15 | 25% |
| Etihad Guest Gold | 50,000/40 | 2 yrs and 3-month bonus | 40,000/30 | 50% |
| Etihad Guest Platinum | 125,000/60 | 2 years and 3-month bonus | 100,000/48 | 75% |
Tier Miles and Tier Segments are earned at the following rate:
| Tier Segments | Tier Miles |
| 1 per economy class flight | 1 per mile flown on Etihad Airways |
| 2 per business class flight | |
| 3 per first class flight |
You can earn Tier Segments and Tier Miles on these airlines:
- Etihad
- Air Serbia
- Air Seychelles
- Alitalia
- Jet Airways
- Virgin Australia
Eithad Guest Tier Benefits:
Etihad Guest Silver:
- Priority check-in
- Excess baggage allowance
- 25% discount on mileage upgrades at the airport
- Al Reem lounge access at Abu Dhabi (plus Belgrade and Seychelles) for self only (no companions)
- 25% bonus miles on Etihad flights
- 2.5-year mile expiration
Etihad Guest Gold:
All Silver benefits, plus:
- Priority boarding
- 50% discount on mileage upgrades at the airport
- Business/Premium lounge access for self plus 1 companion
- Fast Track immigration and baggage
- 50% bonus miles on Etihad flights
- 3-year mile expiration
Etihad Guest Platinum:
All Gold benefits, plus:
- First class lounge access for self plus 1 companion
- 75% bonus miles on Etihad flights
See the full chart of tier benefits for details and terms.
Value of Emirates Skywards Elite Status
Let’s cut to the chase: Platinum is all about First Class Lounge access.
Otherwise, Etihad Guest’s elite status benefits are comparable or less generous than many competitors.
Add to that the small number of airlines where you can earn Tier Segments or Tier Miles, and it’s hard to argue for Etihad Guest as a primary program for travelers not based in Abu Dhabi or frequently traveling through there on Etihad’s network.
Etihad BusinessConnect
Etihad BusinessConnect is a free program that lets small- and medium-size companies earn miles for a business account (if they are not large enough to have an existing corporate travel agent or deal with Etihad).
The great feature is that employees still all earn their regular Etihad Guest miles in their personal accounts without change.
Enroll here and start with a 5,000-mile bonus!
How to Earn Etihad Guest Miles
Etihad Guest has travel and retail partners, so you can earn miles from flying as well as everyday activities.
Earn Etihad Guest Miles by Flying Etihad
The Miles Calculator is a fast tool to see how many miles you’ll earn when flying Etihad.
Here is their full earning structure:
| Class | Type of Fare | Earning Percentage |
| Economy | Breaking Deals | 25% |
| Economy | Saver | 50% |
| Economy | Value | 75% |
| Economy | Freedom | 100% |
| Business | Breaking Deals | 115% |
| Business | Saver | 130% |
| Business | Freedom | 175% |
| First | Freedom | 250% |
| The Residence | The Residence | 400% |
Earn Guest Miles by Flying Partner Airlines
Each Etihad Guest partner airline is subject to its own mileage earning and award prices:
| Airline | Miles Percentage | Airline | Miles Percentage |
| Air New Zealand | 100%-150% | GOL | 50%-150% |
| Air Serbia | 25%-175% | Hainan Airlines | 50%-200% |
| Air Seychelles | 25%-175% | Jet Airways | 50%-200% of miles flown |
| Alitalia | 50%-300% | Korean Air | 50%-180% |
| All Nippon Airways | 50%-150% | Malaysia Airlines | 0%-150% |
| American Airlines | 100%-150% | Oman Air | 25%-300% |
| Asiana Airlines | 0%-200% | Philippine Airlines | 75%-125% |
| Bangkok Airways | 50%-150% | Royal Air Maroc | 50%-150% |
| Brussels Airlines | 25%-150% | South African Airways | 50%-125% |
| Czech Airlines | 50%-150% | SriLankan Airlines | 50%-200% |
| Garuda Indonesia | 25%-200% | Ukraine International Airlines | 10%-150% |
| Virgin Australia | 50%-200% |
To fully understand your earnings, you’ll need to know the fare class of your ticket, which is not always easy to obtain. Trying calling the airline operating the flight.
Earn Miles With Credit Cards
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points, Citi ThankYou points, and Marriott Bonvoy points to Etihad Guest.
There is currently no Etihad-branded credit card in the U.S.
Earn Miles With Travel and Shopping Partners
Etihad Guest has many travel and shopping partners where you can earn miles.
See our best ways to earn lots of Etihad Guest miles for ideas!
How to Redeem Etihad Guest Miles
HOT TIP:For a full list of ideas, read our article on how you can redeem Etihad Guest miles for maximum value.
How Much Do Etihad Guest Awards Cost?
Etihad does not have a fixed award chart for its own flights, but you can check the GuestSeat Mileage Calculator to see the lowest price of a specific route.
GuestSeat is similar to “saver” awards at other airlines, but these may not be available. If GuestSeat is not available, there usually are OpenSeat awards, which can be crazy expensive.
Searching for Etihad Guest Awards
You can search for Etihad awards on the Etihad Guest website, but you cannot search online for partner awards.
The Etihad website does not handle connecting itineraries well, so you should search segment by segment for availability and then call Etihad to book. Pricing is additive, meaning each segment prices individually and awards can get expensive fast.
As an example: for travel from New York to the Maldives, you may need to search separately for New York to Abu Dhabi, then Abu Dhabi to the Maldives.
Miles Plus Cash
If you are short on miles, Etihad allows you to purchase up to 25% of the miles needed for an award. When searching for an award, just choose Miles Plus Cash. Use the slider to determine miles needed and price.
You can only use Miles Plus Cash for booking Etihad flights (not partner flights), and you must book online.
Etihad Guest offers perhaps the best value Miles Plus Cash option of any major airline. Other airlines may sell miles at around 1.7-2.5 cents/mile. With Etihad, when purchased in conjunction with an award, you can buy miles for a little as 0.9 cents!
To qualify for Miles Plus Cash:
- You must book online
- You must book on Etihad flights
- You must have at least 75% of the total required miles for the trip already in your account, since you can only purchase up to 25% of required miles
Here’s how it works:
- Search for an Etihad award.
- Select a flight at full miles price and continue to booking.
- You will be presented a slider to choose to purchase from 0%-25% of the required miles. Make your choice and continue.
- Purchase your ticket and enjoy your trip!
Etihad Guest Airline Partner Awards
Etihad has many partner airlines, each with its own award chart; some are zone-based and some distance-based. We have highlighted partners that usually have great values here. Others have very high mileage prices that you’d be better off booking with other airlines’ miles.
Etihad’s airline partners are:
While award flights on Etihad may be booked online, you must redeem miles for partner awards over the phone by calling the Guest Services Center at 877-690-0767. Awards must be booked 14 days in advance.
Troubleshooting Partner Award Booking
Etihad agents can have difficulty seeing partner award inventory, and award inventory generally does not match what you may see from other online sources. Also, many Etihad agents are unwilling/unaware of how to check partner availability or do not have access to the correct system.
Keep calling until you get a competent agent.
Many travelers have success when calling Etihad’s Manchester, U.K. call center instead of the U.S. The U.K. number is +44 (0)345 6081225.
Upgrades
You can use miles to upgrade paid Etihad flights by 1 cabin of service. However, the prices are generally not much less than award tickets, so in most cases, this is a poor value.
Mileage Expiration
Etihad Guest miles expire based on date earned, regardless of activity. Don’t stockpile miles without a plan to use them!
General Etihad Guest members have 2 years from the date of earning before miles start to expire. Silver members get 2.5 years, and Gold members get 3 years.
Changes and Cancellations
Date changes to awards cost AED 100 (roughly USD$27).
Cancellations must be made 24 hours prior to departure. Rather than a cash fee, a 10% mileage forfeit is charged for award cancellations.
The American Airlines Partnership
American Airlines partners with Etihad, and if you have American Airlines miles, many awards on Etihad are cheaper than using Etihad Guest Miles.
Using American Airlines miles, you can fly in the Etihad First Class Apartment from JFK to Abu Dhabi for 115,000 miles one-way.
HOT TIP:Make sure your flight has the First Class Apartment and not just regular First Class. On JFK to Abu Dhabi, you want flights on the A380, not other planes.
You’ll first want to search for award flight availability on etihad.com, and then call American Airlines reservations to book. This saves time rather than having American Airlines agents manually search many dates.
American Airlines agents only have access to GuestSeat awards, not OpenSeat.
Find an available GuestFirst seat if you are looking for Etihad first class award flights.
You may have to reach the American Airlines call center in Australia (or another country) for the representative to see availability for business and first class redemptions.
In this case, you’ll want to confirm that they have the award, but not book it, as that will cause ticketing issues for U.S. customers. Once the award is on hold, call back to American Airlines in the U.S. so they can issue your ticket.
Need help booking? See our step by step guide for booking Etihad first class.
The Korean Air Partnership
Korean Air partners with Etihad as well. This means you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Korean Air SkyPass and then redeem them for Etihad award flights!
Korean requires round-trip bookings on Etihad. The prices are:
| Routes | Economy | Business | First |
| Within Bahrain/Oman/ Qatar/UAE | 10,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 |
| UAE – Iran/Kuwait/Saudi Arabia/Iraq, Yemen | 15,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 |
| UAE – Pakistan/ Kazakhstan/Nepal/ Jordan/Syria/Armenia/ Lebanon/Cyprus/Egypt/ Sudan/North India (Mumbai, Delhi, Amanabad, Jaipur) | 25,000 | 50,000 | 75,000 |
| UAE – South India (Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Calicut, Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Kolkata)/Turkey/Greece/ Seychelles/Ethiopia/ Kenya/Uganda/Libya/ Maldives/Sri Lanka/ Tanzania | 35,000 | 70,000 | 105,000 |
| UAE – Switzerland/Ireland/ Western Russia/Germany/ Italy/France/Spain/United Kingdom/Netherlands/ Belgium/Bangladesh/ Belarus/Serbia | 40,000 | 80,000 | 120,000 |
| UAE – Nigeria/South Africa/Morocco/Algeria | 45,000 | 90,000 | 135,000 |
| UAE – China/Thailand/ Hong Kong/Malaysia/ Singapore/Indonesia/ Philippines/Vietnam | 50,000 | 100,000 | 150,000 |
| UAE – Korea/Japan | 70,000 | 105,000 | 140,000 |
| UAE – U.S./Canada/ Australia | 70,000 | 140,000 | 210,000 |
| UAE – Brazil | 90,000 | 130,000 | 180,000 |
| China – Japan | 40,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 |
| Singapore – Australia | 45,000 | 90,000 | 135,000 |
FAQ
How do I create an Etihad Guest account?
Register here for a free Etihad Guest account.
Where can I find my Etihad Guest number?
Log in to your Etihad Guest account here to see your account number.
Can my business have an Etihad Guest account?
Etihad BusinessConnect is a free program that lets small- and medium-size companies earn miles for a business account in addition to the miles employees earn in their own Etihad Guest accounts. Enroll here.
How do you earn Etihad Guest Miles?
You can earn Etihad Guest miles by traveling on Etihad or completing certain activities with Etihad’s travel partners.
What are Tier Miles?
Tier Miles are needed to earn elite status: Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Members also receive bonus Etihad Guest miles when they reach Silver, Gold, and Platinum (25%, 50%, and 75%, respectively).
What are Etihad Guest miles worth?
Use the Miles Calculator to find out how much awards on Etihad cost. For partner airlines, you’ll need to check out the award chart and rules for each partner individually.
Who are the Etihad Guest partners?
Etihad Guest travel partners range from airlines to hotels to rental car agencies. See the complete list of Etihad Guest partners here.
How long are Etihad Guest miles valid?
Etihad Guest mile validity depends on your elite status, and you cannot extend the life of miles. General members get 2 years, Silver members get 2.5 years, and Gold and Platinum get 3 years.
Can I earn Etihad Guest miles with a credit card?
You can transfer points to Etihad Guest from a wide variety of loyalty programs including American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.
What are Etihad Guest Gold reciprocal benefits whilst flying on American? For example, is it like Star Alliance Gold where you are recognized as an elite member and have additional benefits (priority boarding, extra luggage allowance, etc.)?
Hey Jonathon, Etihad is not a Oneworld partner of AA. They are only airline partners, as opposed to alliance partners like you mentioned about Star Alliance Gold.
Therefore, you won’t be eligible for elite benefits on AA like you would if you had, for example, ANA Platinum transferred to Star Alliance Gold for benefits on United Airlines..
I had to cancel a flight in January 2019, and was promised that in the region of 106,000 miles would be credited to my account within 5 to 7 weeks. 6 months and numerous emails together with hours trying to phone and eventually getting cut off , I have had no explanation as to why they have not been refunded.
Customer care is non-existent and I will cancel all ADCB accounts unless this issue is resolved immediately.
I have to fly to the UK next week and need these miles.
Hello Keith. Please understand that we are not Etihad or affiliated with them in any way. We are Upgraded Points, a blog specializing in providing travel-related and miles/points resources. Sorry for your frustration but you will need to contact Etihad directly. Their UK phone number is +44 (0)345 6081225 or you can email them here: https://www.etihad.com/en-us/about-us/contact-us/feedback/
I got a surprise to find out that even though I had activity on my account, Etihad expired my miles.
Their customer service is shocking and I would advise anyone to stay away and save yourself the grief.