Etihad Guest Program : Lock-in these redemptions by 7th March 2023

Rohit

General |

21/02/2023

Etihad sent an ominous sounding email to members about a week ago, informing them of the upcoming changes to its Etihad Guest Program.

Although the email makes it sound like this is a member friendly move and that they are actually simplifying the redemption tables, I don’t think anybody is under any suspicion that this is anything but advanced warning about the impending devaluation of the program.

The new redemption tables will be effective 10th March 2023, but Etihad will be taking their IT systems offline between 8-9 March to make the necessary changes meaning members have until 7th March to lock-in the redemptions at the current prices.

What is changing

At present, Etihad Guest operates individual redemption table for each of it’s airline partners. Further, except redemptions on its own metal which you could book online (and which by the way are totally rubbish), members are required to call Etihad Guest Contact Centre to make redemptions on partner airlines.

Changes are coming to Etihad Guest Program

While you would still be required to call the contact centre for majority of partner bookings even after the changes, redemptions on Virgin Australia and American Airlines will be able to be made online, which is awesome news for Australia based Etihad Guest members.

The bad news I suspect will mainly show up with the so-called simplification of award tables. Under the changes Etihad are introducing, individual redemption tables will be abolished and replaced with a uniform table where pricing will be based on distance and geographical zones across Etihad’s own flights as well as partner airlines.

Earning Etihad Miles

Before I get into some of the partner sweet-spots that savvy points & miles collectors should consider locking-in prior to the devaluation, I briefly wish to touch upon earning Etihad Miles in Australia.

The program is one of the ten transfer partners of American Express Membership Rewards Program and cardmembers are able to transfer points from Amex to Etihad Guest in the ratio of 2:1 (2 Membership Rewards Points = 1 Etihad Mile). Occasionally, we see transfer bonus promotions offering up to 15% bonus miles which improves the transfer ratio a little bit, but not hugely.

Etihad A-350 Business Class Cabin

The only other flexible currency worth mentioning is Citi Rewards Points, which you can transfer in the ratio of 3:1 (3 Citi Rewards Points = 1 Etihad Mile). While the transfer rate isn’t as good as Amex, it is an option. Note that only Citi Prestige cardholders have the option to transfer points to Etihad Guest.

There are no Etihad branded credit cards in Australia, so earning Etihad miles directly on everyday spending is out of question.

Etihad Guest Sweet-spots on Virgin Australia

Like I mentioned earlier, redeeming Etihad miles to fly Etihad is poor value as awards are priced dynamically. This means that a simple Business Class redemption between Australia and Abu Dhabi can cost hundreds of thousands of miles (millions even), unless you can find the elusive Etihad Guest Reward Seat.

The main attraction of the program is how lucrative it can be for redeeming miles on partner airlines, and while redemptions on Virgin Australia will naturally be the focus of most Australians, I would argue that the value of the program goes well beyond that.

Virgin Australia B-737 Business Class Cabin

Lets go through a few Virgin Australia sweet-spots at first, all prices are for one-way travel.

You can fly between Sydney and Cairns in Business Class for 13,800 Etihad miles. The same redemption through Velocity will have you shelling out 35,500 points.
You can fly between Melbourne and Perth in Business Class for 21,800 Etihad miles. Again, the same redemption made with Velocity points will cost you 35,500 points.
For those looking to fly across the ditch, you can fly between Sydney and Queenstown in Business Class for 13,800 Etihad miles.
Further afield, you can fly between Brisbane and Nadi in Business Class for just 21,800 Etihad Miles. The same redemption through Velocity will see you forking out 49,400 points.

Etihad Guest Sweet-spots on Partner Airlines

Etihad offers redemption opportunities on about 20 airline partners. Some of the most prominent names amongst them are ANA, Air Canada and American Airlines. Then you have other partners such as Oman Air and Royal Air Maroc where the redemptions tend to be a lot more niche. You can look up the full list of partners & the redemption charts over here.

Not all of these airlines fly to Australia, but if you plan to travel to Asia, Middle East, Europe or North America, you can get a lot of value redeeming Etihad Miles.

ANA

ANA is Japan’s biggest airlines. Besides operating an extensive network intra-Asia & to North America, they also connect Tokyo with Sydney & later in the year, will be commencing services to Perth.

Redeem Etihad Miles to fly ANA Business Class

You can fly between Sydney and Tokyo one-way in Business Class for 54,000 Etihad Miles.
As a comparison, a Classic Reward flight with Qantas on the same route will set you back 82,000 points. For a Saver Level award With Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program, you will be forking out even more, over 100,000 KrisFlyer Miles.

ANA currently offers up to double-daily service between Sydney and Tokyo (Haneda). Flights between Perth and Tokyo remain suspended for now, but are pencilled-in to commence on 29th October 2023. The initial plan is for 3x weekly flights with hopes to expand it into a daily service in 2024.

AMERICAN AIRLINES

If your travel takes you to the land of Shake Shack & Big Mac’s, Etihad Miles offers some excellent redemption value on North America’s biggest airline.

Redeem Etihad Miles to fly American Airlines Flagship First

You can fly between Los Angeles and New York one-way in American Flagship First or Business Class for just 25,000 Miles. Yes, Business & First Class both cost the same number of miles.

You can redeem Qantas points for the same itinerary, but at 57,000 points for Business & 85,500 points for First Class, they are terrible value 🤦‍♂️

You can also redeem Etihad Miles for American Airlines trans-pacific service between Los Angeles and Sydney. A one-way Business Class redemption is very reasonably priced at just 62,500 Miles and First class at 67,500 Miles although award space on this route is as scarce as hen’s teeth.

OMAN AIR

Oman Air is a small airline based in Muscat. With Middle Eastern giants such as Emirates & Qatar Airways hogging most of the limelight, it would be fair to say Omar Air struggles to register on the radar with the plain vanilla traveller.

From it’s Muscat base, it flies to a number of places in Europe, Indian sub-continent and South East Asia. And while you wouldn’t be able to fly Oman Air out of or into Australia, you could connect on it from places such as Bangkok and Dubai for your onward journey to Europe.

Redeem Etihad Miles to fly Oman Air Business Class

Specifically, there are a bunch of routes where redeeming Etihad Miles could provide you excellent value.

You can fly between Jakarta and Muscat one-way in Business Class for 48,000 Etihad Miles.
You can fly between Mumbai and Muscat one-way in Business Class for just 12,000 Etihad Miles.
You can fly between Muscat and London one-way in First Class for 80,000 Etihad Miles..

In Conclusion

The examples quoted above are just a few of many high value partner redemptions you could make with Etihad Miles. But you are going to have to lock-in your bookings by 7th March 2023 at the latest, as there is a strong possibility they will get pricier when the new simplified chart becomes available a couple of days after that date.

On the positive, it is fantastic that Virgin Australia & American Airlines awards will be bookable online soon. If you have ever needed to call Etihad Guest Contact Centre to make a booking, you would know that’s not a fun process. Sometimes you may find someone really knowledgeable, but in my experience at least, those are exceptions rather than the norm.