12 Best Ways To Redeem Etihad Guest Miles for Maximum Value [2024]

Key Takeaways

• Etihad Guest Miles can be redeemed for flights on Etihad Airways and partners like American Airlines and ANA, with better value typically found in premium cabins.
• Some redemption options include American Airliness first class, Brussels Airlines business class, and ANA business class.
• You can boost your Etihad Guest Miles by transferring points from programs such as American Express Membership Rewards and Capital One Miles.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways is famous for its lavish planes and luxurious cabins such as the Etihad First Class Apartments.

Etihad serves more than 60 destinations around the world, including many U.S. cities like Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Even if you don’t fly Etihad often, you can earn Etihad Guest miles using credit cards and other strategies. Although Etihad Guest is probably not the first program you think of when booking award tickets, the program does have good redemption opportunities.

The Best Ways To Boost Your Etihad Guest Miles

Etihad Guest is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards. All these transferrable rewards transfer at a 1:1 ratio.

Etihad Guest is also a transfer partner of Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a rate of 3:1. Plus, for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points that you transfer, you’ll receive a bonus of 5,000 Etihad miles.

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Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

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Pros & Cons

Pros

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Cons

• $695 annual fee (rates and fees)
• Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)

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• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
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This is the best card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants (worldwide), order take-out and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!

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Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

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UP's Bonus Valuation*:

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$325

APR

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Why We Like This Card

The American Express^® Gold Card is a game-changer.

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Pros

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Cons

• $325 annual fee (rates and fees)
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Card Highlights

• Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
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The Capital One Venture X card is an excellent option for travelers looking for an all-in-one premium credit card.

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Etihad Guest Award Chart for Etihad Flights

The Etihad Guest program has undergone significant changes over the years. When you redeem Etihad Guest miles for Etihad Airways flights, you follow a distance-based award chart according to this table:

However, it is worth noting that this award chart displays introductory pricing. Etihad has an award calculator that shows how many miles you need for a redemption.

For example, if you want to redeem Etihad Guest miles for an economy flight from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to New Delhi (DEL), which measures 1,418 miles in distance, you’d expect to redeem 13,000 miles each way. However, this is just the introductory pricing, often costing significantly more miles.

Hot Tip:

Using a tool like Great Circle Mapper is an excellent way to calculate the distance between 2 airports.

Etihad Guest Award Chart for Partner Flights

Although Etihad is not a member of any major airline alliance, it has individual partnerships with over 50 airlines.

Etihad has a unified partner award chart for all partner flight redemptions. If you want to redeem Etihad Guest miles for any partner-operated flights, follow this award chart:

For example, to book an economy class ticket on Royal Air Maroc from Washington, D.C., (IAD) to Casablanca (CMN), which spans 3,830 miles in each direction, you’d redeem 45,000 Etihad Guest miles one-way.

The 14 Best Ways To Use Your Etihad Guest Miles

Although the Etihad Guest frequent flyer program has undergone recent changes, it is still popular among points-earners. Here are some of our favorite redemptions.

1. Fly American Airlines in Business and First Class

Let’s begin with Etihad partner American Airlines.

Etihad’s award chart for travel on American Airlines is actually better than American Airlines’ own award chart. For its flights, American uses dynamic pricing, making it difficult to know how many miles are needed for a redemption.

You have some good options by flying American with Etihad miles, according to the distance-based award chart above.

Here are example redemptions we have in mind:

• Charlotte (CLT) – London Heathrow (LHR) one-way in business class for 80,000 miles
• Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) – Madrid (MAD) one-way in business class for 100,000 miles
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD) one-way in first class for 200,000 miles
• New York (JFK) – Athens (ATH) one-way in business class for 100,000 miles

The main challenge here is finding award availability, particularly on routes operated by the 777-300ER featuring Flagship First and business class. If you are flexible with your travel dates, finding award availability will be significantly easier, especially closer to departure.

2. Off-Peak Economy to Europe, South America, and Asia on American Airlines

You can utilize Etihad Guest miles for outstanding value by flying on economy class tickets aboard American Airlines.

Here are a few great flights:

• Charlotte (CLT) – Dublin (DUB) one-way in American Airlines economy class for 45,000 miles
• Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) – Santiago (SCL) one-way in American Airlines economy class for 60,000 miles
• Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) – Shanghai (PVG) one-way in American Airlines economy class for 75,000 miles
• Miami (MIA) – Buenos Aires (EZE) one-way in American Airlines economy class for 60,000 miles

3. Book Business Class to Europe on Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines offers an excellent business class product on flights between the U.S. East Coast and Brussels (BRU).

You can fly from New York (JFK), Toronto (YYZ), or Washington, D.C., (IAD) to Brussels (BRU) in business class for 80,000 miles one-way. Economy seats cost 45,000 miles one way.

Award availability can be challenging to find, but this is an excellent way to redeem Etihad Guest miles and is worth the time it takes to find award space.

Bottom Line: You can book Brussels Airlines awards between the eastern U.S. and Brussels for 45,000 miles one-way in economy and 80,000 miles one-way in business.

4. U.S. West Coast to Tokyo on ANA in Business Class

One of the best value ways to redeem Etihad Guest miles is for U.S. West Coast flights to Japan. You can book a one-way business class ticket between Seattle (SEA) and Tokyo (HND or NRT) on All Nippon Airways (ANA) for 100,000 miles in business class. You can also fly in economy for 60,000 miles one-way.

You can also fly between Tokyo and San Francisco (SFO) or Los Angeles (LAX). However, this one-way award is 120,000 miles in business class or 67,000 miles in economy. This is because these flights fall in the next distance band.

5. Fly Around Eastern Europe on Air Serbia

Flights within Europe on partner Air Serbia start at 6,000 miles in economy. From Belgrade (BEG), you can fly to destinations such as Budapest (BUD), Vienna (VIE), and Venice (VCE) for just 6,000 miles.

It is worth noting that many of these flights can be cheap when paying cash, so it’s important to compare the cash price to the award cost.

6. Fly to Casablanca With Royal Air Maroc

Another excellent Etihad Guest redemption is on Oneworld airline Royal Air Maroc.

You can fly nonstop between Casablanca (CMN) and New York (JFK) or Washington, D.C. (IAD) for just 45,000 miles in economy or 80,000 miles in business one-way.

However, flights between Miami (MIA) and Casablanca (CMN) fall in the next distance band, costing 60,000 miles in economy and 100,000 miles in business class each way.

7. Fly on Oman Air in Business Class

Oman Air is among the best airlines in the world. It also has a specific route that is an excellent redemption using Etihad Guest miles:

• London (LHR) to Muscat (MCT) in business class for 80,000 miles one-way.

Oman Air’s business class may not be as internationally known as Etihad, but it’s worth looking into.

8. Bali to Australia on Virgin Australia in Business Class

Virgin Australia operates flights between Bali (DPS) and Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), and Brisbane (BNE). All these flights fall under the pricing of the 2,501-to-3,000-mile distance band and can be booked for 34,000 miles in economy or 60,000 miles in business one-way.

This is an excellent redemption, as the cash fares on these flights can be quite expensive.

9. Hop Around Australia and New Zealand on Virgin Australia

Etihad Guest’s award chart for Virgin Australia flights is perfect for short, expensive flights across Oceania.

For example, you can fly between Brisbane (BNE) and Hamilton Island (HTI) for just 12,000 miles in economy. You can also fly between Sydney (SYD) and Ayers Rock (AYQ) for just 15,000 miles.

Hot Tip: Certain Western Australia routes, including from Perth (PER) to several popular diving destinations, are served by Virgin Australia Regional. Etihad may not be able to book awards on these flights. Try alternate programs such as Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

10. Australia and New Zealand to the Pacific on Virgin Australia

Getting to and from the Pacific islands can be pretty expensive when it comes to cash fares. Typically, it also requires a lot of miles as well. However, Etihad Guest does provide immense value on certain routes.

You can fly between Brisbane (BNE) and Vanuatu (VLI) on Virgin Australia for 5,000 miles in economy.

You can also get to other Pacific Islands, such as Fiji, Cook Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea. However, award pricing varies by where you are flying from.

11. Fly Air Serbia Business Class From New York to Belgrade

From Belgrade, Air Serbia offers 2 nonstop flights to the U.S., to Chicago (ORD) and New York (JFK).

A business class award can be booked from either city to Belgrade for 100,000 Etihad Guest miles. You could also book an award in economy for 60,000 miles.

12. Access Enhanced Etihad Premium Cabin Availability

Like many other award programs, Etihad releases extra premium cabin availability to its Etihad Guest members. At times, this may be the only way to fly in aspirational Etihad cabins such as Etihad First Class Apartments.

For example, if you’d like to book a high-season vacation aboard Etihad first or business class in December, you’d have much better luck redeeming Etihad Guest miles, as you can expect to find more award space. However, this comes at the cost of more miles.

Here are some great example redemptions you can make:

• New York (JFK) – Abu Dhabi (AUH) – Malé (MLE) for 220,000 miles in Etihad Airways first class or 110,000 miles in business class
• Chicago (ORD) – Abu Dhabi (AUH) – Johannesburg (JNB) for 110,000 miles one-way in Etihad Airways business class
• Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Abu Dhabi (AUH) for 220,000 miles one-way in Etihad Airways first class or 110,000 miles in business class

Final Thoughts

Although the Etihad Guest program is unfamiliar to many, it provides several excellent ways to redeem Etihad miles. We’ve outlined what we feel are among the best ways to use Etihad Guest miles, but the best redemptions for you depends on your travel goals.

Etihad’s distance-based award charts can provide immense value, especially on short-haul flights with high cash prices. Some of the program’s greatest values come from redeeming flights with some of its many partners.

However, Etihad Guest does release more award availability to its members. This may be an excellent way to redeem miles to fly in premium cabins on Etihad.