18 Best Ways To Earn Lots of Etihad Airways Guest Miles
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Since its first flight took off in November 2003, Etihad Airways has developed a reputation as a leading airline, and it has received the honor of offering the world’s best commercial airline first class: the Etihad Residence.
Known for its modern new-generation fleets, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates serves 81 countries around the world. In the U.S., Etihad Airways serves airports in Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), and Washington, D.C. (IAD).
Members can earn miles in Etihad Guest by utilizing credit cards and a variety of other strategies. Keep reading to learn about maximizing earning Etihad Guest miles as quickly as possible!
Table of contents
Table of Contents
The Etihad Guest Loyalty Program
1. Enroll in Etihad Guest and Earn Miles
Sign up online for Etihad Guest, which is open to residents of any country at least 2 years of age. You can also enroll at check-in or fill out a form in one of the Etihad Airways lounges.
Once the first activity posts to your account, you will receive 500 bonus miles.
2. Fly Etihad Airways
As an Etihad Guest member, the easiest way to earn miles is by booking flights on Etihad Airways. The table below shows the earning ratio for each fare class:
| Fare Class | Earning Percentage |
| Economy | |
| H, B, Y | 100% |
| L, Q, M, K | 75% |
| G, U, V | 50% |
| T, E | 25% |
| Business | |
| J | 200% |
| D, C | 175% |
| W | 130% |
| Z | 115% |
| First | |
| P (Etihad Residence) | 400% |
| F | 275% |
| R, A | 250% |
You can directly calculate how many miles you’ll earn on any flight using the Etihad Airways mileage calculator.
3. Elite Status Tiers
Like many airline loyalty programs, Etihad Guest miles can be redeemed for awards. Tier Miles and Tier Segments, on the other hand, determine your elite status based on the following earning rate:
| Cabin Class | Tier Miles per Mile Flown | Tier Segments per Segment Flown |
| Economy class | 1 | 1 |
| Business class | 1 | 2 |
| First class | 1 | 3 |
Members begin at the Etihad Guest tier and move through the premium tiers (Silver, Gold, and Platinum) during a 12-month rolling qualification period. Each premium tier provides bonus miles that can be redeemed for Etihad Rewards.
| Elite Status Tier | Tier Miles/Segments to Achieve Status | Expires After Remaining Calendar Year Plus | 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 year and 2-month bonus | 20,000/15 | 25% |
| Etihad Guest Gold | 50,000/40 | 1 year and 2-month bonus | 40,000/30 | 50% |
| Etihad Guest Platinum | 125,000/60 | 1 year and 2-month bonus | 100,000/48 | 75% |
See a complete list of benefits associated with each premium tier here.
To contact the Etihad Guest Services Centre, use one of the following email addresses depending on your tier:
- guest@etihadguest.com
- guestsilver@etihadguest.com
- guestgold@etihadguest.com
- guestplatinum@etihadguest.com
Earning Etihad Guest Miles With Credit Cards
4. American Express Membership Rewards
Convert American Express Membership Rewards points to Etihad Guest miles at a 1:1 ratio. That means you can earn Membership Rewards points with an American Express credit card and move them to your Etihad Guest account.
To make the transfer, log into your Membership Rewards account and select Etihad Guest under the drop-down menu of participating airline partners. Transfers are almost instant, which is a plus.
Recommended American Express 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 American Express 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. |
5. Capital One Miles
Capital One miles transfer to Etihad Guest at a 2:1.5 ratio. Instead of redeeming your Capital One miles in the Capital One Travel Portal for cash tickets, you now have the option to transfer them to your Etihad Guest account. Transfers are nearly instantaneous, so you can book your award travel almost as soon as you transfer the miles into your account.
Using Etihad Guest miles can potentially save a ton of miles when looking to book first or business class tickets by using the Etihad Guest award chart compared to 1 cent per point of the cash ticket price using the Capital One Travel Portal.
Make sure you have a Capital One card that has the transferable miles feature. Here are our picks:
Recommended Capital One Cards That Earn Miles (Personal)
| Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card - This card is packed with a lot more benefits and perks. Earn a 50,000 mile sign up bonus (worth $500 toward travel) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. We recommend this as a no-brainer card if you even semi regularly stay at hotels. |
| Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card - This is an excellent card for those looking to earn 1.25x miles per $1 on every purchase. With a 20,000 mile sign up bonus (worth $200 toward travel) after spending $1,000 within the first 3 months and no annual fee, it's a strong choice. |
6. Citi ThankYou Rewards
Citi ThankYou Rewards is one of Etihad Guest’s transfer partners. Simply earn points with your Citi Premier℠ Card or Citi Prestige® Card and transfer them to your Etihad Guest account at a 1:1 ratio.
It takes around 6 business days for the transfer to execute.
7. Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards
You can earn Marriott points and transfer Marriott points to Etihad at a rate of 3:1. Plus, for every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer, you’ll receive an extra 5,000 Etihad miles bonus. Marriott transfers to Etihad Guest take around 5 business days, so keep that in mind.
Recommended Marriott Cards
| 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. |
8. Other Hotel Loyalty Program Conversions
You have the option to transfer miles from several other hotel loyalty programs as well. Here is a list of all transfer ratios:
| Hotel | Transfer Ratio |
| AccorHotels | 4,000:2,000 |
| Hilton | 10,000:1,000 |
| Hyatt | 5,000:2,000 |
| IHG | 10,000:2,000 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 3,000:1,000 with a 5,000 mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred |
| Radisson Blu | 10:1 |
| Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts | 1:1 |
Remember, you can also earn hotel points with hotel credit cards. For instance, the following cards are available to earn points with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton hotels.
| CREDIT CARD | CARD INFO |
|---|---|
| Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card |
|
| Hilton Honors American Express Card |
|
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card |
|
| World of Hyatt Credit Card |
|
Earn Miles Through Partner Travel
9. Fly Partner Airlines
Etihad partner airlines offer the opportunity to travel to even more destinations. These partners allow you to earn Etihad Guest miles for flights as long as you include your Etihad Guest Number when booking your trip. In almost all cases, you won’t earn miles through partner award travel, only on partner revenue flights.
The table below shows the Etihad Guest miles earning percentage for each partner airline. Together they provide a network of more than 3,000 destinations across 6 continents.
| Airline | Miles Percentage | Airline | Miles Percentage |
| Air Europa | 0-150% | Garuda Indonesia | 25%-200% |
| Air New Zealand | 100%-150% | GOL | 50%-150% |
| Air Serbia* | 0%-175% | Hainan Airlines | 50%-200% |
| Air Seychelles* | 25%-175% | Korean Air* | 0%-180% |
| Alitalia* | 50%-300% | Malaysia Airlines | 25%-150% |
| All Nippon Airways* | 50%-150% | Oman Air | 10%-300% |
| American Airlines | 25%-250% | Philippine Airlines* | 50%-150% |
| Asiana Airlines | 0%-200% | Royal Air Maroc | 50%-150% |
| Bangkok Airways | 50%-150% | Scandinavian Airlines* | 50%-200% |
| Brussels Airlines | 25%-150% | SriLankan Airlines* | 0%-200% |
| Czech Airlines | 50%-150% | Virgin Australia* | 50%-200% |
*Many of Etihad Airways’ partners provide some of the same frequent flyer privileges as Etihad Airways, including priority check-in, priority boarding, lounge access, bonus miles, and extra baggage allowances. Some only include partial privileges, while others include the full suite of benefits.
Hot Tip: For more information, check out this in-depth guide to help you know where to credit your airline miles.
10. The American Airlines Partnership
Are you an American Airlines AAdvantage member? Not only can you earn Etihad Guest miles for travel on American Airlines and American Eagle flights, but you can also earn AAdvantage miles on flights marketed and operated by Etihad Airways. So, the partnership goes both ways, which is great.
11. Hotel Partner Stays
The following hotels offer Etihad Guest miles per night, stay, or $1 spent.
| Hotel | Miles/Stay | Hotel | Miles/Stay |
| Agoda | Up to 10,000 miles/stay | Millennium & Copthorne | 500 miles/stay |
| Booking.com | 3-6 miles/$1 | Minor Hotel Group | 1,000 miles/stay |
| Cristal Group | 1 mile/$1 | One&Only Resorts & Mazagan | 1 mile/$1 |
| Danat Hotels | 500 miles/stay | Preferred Hotels & Resorts | 500 miles/stay |
| Dusit Hotels & Resorts | 500 miles/stay | Radisson Hotel Group | Up to 500 miles/stay |
| Fairmont Hotels & Resorts | From 500 miles/stay | Rotana | 500 miles/stay |
| Hyatt | From 500 miles/stay | Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts | Up to 500 miles/stay |
| IHG | 500 miles/stay | Swissotel Hotels & Resorts | 500 miles/stay |
| Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts | 1 mile/$1 and a bonus 5,000 miles for stays 15 nights or longer | Taj Group | Up to 500 miles/stay |
| Kaligo | Up to 20,000 miles/$2,000 | Travel Rewards | From 1,000 miles/night |
| Le Club AccorHotels | Transfer at a 4,000:2,000 ratio | TripAdvisor | Can only earn miles on reviews |
| Marriott Bonvoy | Up to 2 miles/$1 | Rocketmiles | Up to 10,000 miles/night |
12. Rental Car Bookings
Etihad Airways partners with 4 transportation partners to give you plenty of opportunities for earning Etihad Guest miles. The table below includes current offers and links to more information:
| Tier | Avis | Budget | Careem | Conxxe |
| Etihad Guest | 3 miles/$1 | 3 miles/$1 | 1 mile/$2 | 1 mile/$1 |
| Etihad Silver | 3 miles/$1 | 3 miles/$1 | 1 mile/$2 | 1 mile/$1 |
| Etihad Gold | 4 miles/$1 | 4 miles/$1 | 1 mile/$2 | 1 mile/$1 |
| Etihad Platinum | 5 miles/$1 | 5 miles/$1 | 1 mile/$2 | 1 mile/$1 |
It is technically possible to earn Etihad miles with other partners like Hertz, but this is only available to employees of the Government of Abu Dhabi.
13. Book Etihad Holidays
Choose from all-inclusive trips, family vacations, beach holidays, and more with Etihad Holidays and earn Guest miles at the same time. Whether you want to take a tour, safari, cruise, or another trip, there is something for everyone.
Search available destinations and offers at Etihad Holidays and book your trip there. Alternatively, you can call Etihad Holidays at 800-839-9852.
14. Miles Plus Cash
Etihad Airlines allows you to purchase up to 25% of the miles needed for a reward when making a redemption. It can be a great way to maximize your earnings!
When searching for a reward, choose the Miles Plus Cash option. Use the slider on the page to check both the total miles needed as well as the minimum number of miles that must be redeemed. It will display how much it costs to purchase the miles you’re allowed to buy.
By taking advantage of this option, you can pick up miles at a huge saving. For instance, we found Miles Plus Cash offers that allow you to buy miles for as low as 0.9 cents each!
You must book the reward online through the website and not by phone.
Earn Guest Miles While Shopping
15. Etihad Guest Reward Shop
Shop at the Etihad Guest Rewards Shop and earn points for purchases. Just make sure to set the site to your applicable country and currency at the top of the page for accuracy. Then you can filter by category, check out the featured departments, and look for the best deals.
16. Etihad Guest Other Partner Offers
Etihad Guest has a number of other partners that can help you earn more miles. Many of these partners are limited to branches in the United Arab Emirates, so it won’t be applicable for many travelers unless you happen to be based or traveling there.
For example, one unique way of earning up to 50,000 Etihad Guest miles is to purchase a Tesla at the Tesla Dubai Showroom or online. If buying a Tesla is already at the top of your wish list, then you can earn based on the following chart:
| Tesla Model | Miles You’ll Earn |
| Model S or Model X 75D | 25,000 |
| Model S or Model X 100D | 50,000 |
| Model S or Model X P100D | 50,000 |
You can leverage several other spending partners by referencing their complete shopping/lifestyle partner list here.
Special Programs for Earning Etihad Guest Miles
17. Complete Surveys With e-Rewards
Participate in market research surveys with e-Rewards and watch your Etihad miles balance grow. You’ll receive e-Rewards currency for taking surveys, which can then be converted to Etihad Guest miles (up to 8,000 per year). In the U.S. and Canada, the following earning rates apply:
| E-Rewards Currency | Earned Guest Miles |
| $25 | 500 |
| $50 | 1,000 |
| $100 | 2,000 |
To be considered, make sure your communications preferences are set to “Partner Offers” in your Etihad Guest account.
18. Etihad Guest Family Membership
Etihad Guest’s miles pooling program is called Etihad Guest Family Membership. You can combine miles using the accumulated family balance via the head of family membership. That way, you can earn rewards faster and consolidate miles into one organized account.
You can have up to 8 family members including the head of the family. Eligible members are:
- Sisters
- Brothers
- Mother
- Father
- Spouse
- Children
- Grandchildren
- Grandparents
- Parents-in-law
- Stepparents
- Step-siblings
- Stepchildren
- Step-grandchildren
- Nephews
- Nieces
- A household helper (limited to 1)
To find out more about the Etihad Family Membership, click here.
Final Thoughts
Earning Etihad Guest miles can be a breeze if you know all the opportunities that are out there. Hopefully, these strategies have shown you all that is possible.
Now it’s time to start earning miles, so you can redeem miles for Etihad flights and other rewards.
The Economist no longer works with Etihad Guest. It is not listed as a partner anymore https://www.etihadguest.com/en/earn-miles/more-partners.html
Thank you for pointing that out, we’ve updated the post to reflect the change.