Reminder: Amex Membership Rewards Ending Transfers to Etihad Guest on June 30

Bad news for Etihad loyalists: American Express Membership Rewards will soon end transfers to Etihad Guest. This change will take effect on June 30, 2026. At this time, other loyalty programs that transfer to Etihad have not signaled that they will end transfers.

Here’s what this change means for you — and a look at some award tickets you might want to book before Amex transfers go away at the end of June.

Amex Membership Rewards Ending Transfers to Etihad Guest

Coming soon, Amex Membership Rewards transfers to Etihad Guest will end on June 30, 2026. This gives you just under a week to take advantage of this partnership — as originally announced 3 months ago. Transfers currently process at a 1:1 transfer ratio, meaning that 1,000 Membership Rewards points equals 1,000 Etihad miles.

This is a big devaluation for some travelers. Etihad Guest provides the best award availability for the carrier’s legendary first- and business-class products, including the Apartment first class on the carrier’s Airbus A380 aircraft.

It’s worth noting that you can also transfer Bilt Rewards, Capital One miles, and Citi ThankYou Points to Etihad Guest at a 1:1 transfer ratio. These programs have not announced plans to cut transfers to Etihad Guest as of the time of writing.

Etihad Guest Redemptions To Book Now

While not a member of a major airline alliance, Etihad has partnerships with a handful of airlines. This includes American Airlines, Air Canada, Brussels Airlines, JetBlue, and others. Some of these partnerships offer great redemption rates. And if you have Membership Rewards points, it might be time to lock in these redemptions.

For example, you can use Etihad Guest miles to book cheap domestic tickets on American Airlines and JetBlue. According to the airline’s award chart, flights 500 miles or shorter cost just 6,000 Etihad miles plus $19 in taxes and fees. This can give you big savings on routes popular with business travelers, like New York (LGA) to Boston (BOS), which can get expensive to book during peak travel times.

Longer routes can be a good deal, too. If you’re looking to book a ticket in JetBlue’s Mint business class product, you can book routes to Europe for significantly fewer points through Etihad Guest than through JetBlue TrueBlue. This flight from Boston (BOS) to Dublin (DUB) costs just 60,000 Etihad Guest miles and $32 in taxes and fees.

Booking Etihad’s own flights can be a mixed bag. While you’ll find more award space than booking with partner programs like American Airlines AAdvantage, pricing is dynamic. Expect to spend at least 120,000 miles in business class flying Etihad’s U.S. routes to its hub in Abu Dhabi (AUH) .

Before booking, note that Etihad Guest has some of the strictest cancellation policies of all airline loyalty programs. Cancellations and changes aren’t usually allowed within 72 hours of departure. If you cancel before that, you could lose up to 75% of your miles, depending on your fare type and when you make the change or cancellation.

Final Thoughts

Amex Membership Rewards transfers to Etihad Guest transfers will end on June 30, 2026. If you have Membership Rewards points and want to take advantage of any of the program’s sweet spots, time is running out to transfer your points. That said, keep the program’s strict change and cancellation policies in mind before you book.