Etihad Guest to revamp loyalty program
Fewer miles needed for most redemptions, but also a big change to cancellations.
Posted:
February 22, 2024 - 9:00 pm
What we'll be covering
Changes are afoot for Etihad Airways, with June 2024 seeing a relaunch of its Etihad Guest frequent flyer program. And while history tells us that loyalty program evolutions tend to reduce their value proposition for members, this isn’t so much the case here.
Indeed, these changes will see a new redemption table with lower rates in Economy and Business Class in some bands (though there are some minor increases as well). There’s also no change to the number of miles you’d earn from Etihad flights, making it easier to reach those redemption goals.
Also on the cards are new benefits for status members. Etihad will also introduce a new tier, Diamond, for the airline’s top flyers. Here’s what we know about the upcoming changes, so far.
Fewer miles are needed for some GuestSeat awards
Mark Potter, Managing Director of Etihad Guest, tells Point Hacks that the enhancements will ‘renew our partnership with our Etihad Guest members around the globe.’ Around 70% of Etihad’s routes will see a decrease in the miles needed.
Today, we have revised the pricing for our GuestSeats and reduced the miles required for some of our most popular destinations in both Economy and Business classes to provide our members with more rewarding opportunities when booking flights.
Members will [still] earn the same amount of Tier Miles and Etihad Guest Miles on bookings made from June.
– Mark Potter, Managing Director of Etihad Guest, 22 February 2024
Mark is keen to highlight some examples:
- Abu Dhabi to London: Economy down from 32,000 miles to 30,000 miles
- Jeddah to Abu Dhabi: Business down from 30,000 miles to 20,000 miles
Using the updated Miles Calculator on the Etihad website, here’s some of the new pricing on most Etihad routes:
| Example destinations | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bahrain, Damman, Doha, Muscat, Riyadh | 5,000 (↓ 29%) | 15,000 (↓ 25%) | 30,000 (↓ 25%) |
| Jeddah, Karachi, Kuwait | 10,000 (↓ 23%) | 20,000 (↓ 33%) | 40,000 (↓ 33%) |
| Ahmedabad, Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Islamabad, Lahore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Tel Aviv | 13,000 (↓ 24%) | 30,000 (↓ 33%) | 60,000 (↓ 33%) |
| Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Istanbul, Kochi, Kozhikode, Male, Mykonos, Santorini, Thiruvananthapuram | 15,000 (↓ 12%) | 45,000 (no change) | 90,000 (no change) |
| Athens, Colombo, Kolkata, Nairobi, Seychelles | 20,000 (↓ 9%) | 50,000 (no change) | 100,000 (no change) |
| Milan, Munich, Nice, Rome, Vienna, Zurich | 25,000 (↓ 7%) | 60,000 (no change) | 120,000 (no change) |
| Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beijing, Brussels, Casablanca, Copenhagen, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Guangzhou, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Malaga, Manchester, Paris, Phuket, Singapore | 30,000 (↓ 6%) | 70,000 (no change) | 140,000 (no change) |
| Jakarta, Manila, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai | 37,000 (no change) | 80,000 (↑ 7%) | 160,000 (↑ 7%) |
| Tokyo | 45,000 (no change) | 100,000 (no change) | 200,000 (no change) |
| Boston, Chicago, Melbourne, New York, Sydney, Toronto, Washington DC | 60,000 (no change) | 120,000 (↑ 9%) | 220,000 |
The change in redemption rates for Etihad flights is positive overall. All the shorter routes see a drop of up to 33% in premium cabins. But for long-haul flights, Business and First sees a bump in the miles needed of up to 9%.
As part of the changes to Etihad Guest, it seems its own members will have greater access to GuestSeats for most of the year. Australian Frequent Flyer reports that partner programs will now only be able to access Etihad Business and First Class reward seats from 30 days before departure.
Etihad Guest Miles will continue to remain valid for a period of 18 months. Your Etihad Guest Miles balance will continue to be extended when you fly with Etihad or any of their partner airlines.
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New status perks, elite status tier
Tier Segments will be trimmed – members will need to qualify based on elite flying miles alone. Etihad will also award Tier Miles and Etihad Guest Miles at the same rate, taking into account the selected fare brand, the destination and the class of travel. The higher the fare brand, the more miles earned.
Current Platinum members will have an even loftier goal to strive for. Diamond will become the airline’s highest public tier, ‘recognising the airline’s top flyers that go truly beyond,’ says Mark. In addition to flying enough miles, Diamond tier members will also need to meet a US$150,000 spending target with Etihad.
Etihad’s Silver members and higher will soon receive a pick of ‘custom benefits’ in addition to their core benefits. Launching from June 2024, Silver will get a choice of two benefits, Gold members will get four and Platinum members, five. Details of these new perks are below (with Diamond’s benefits still yet to be announced).
New Etihad Silver benefits from June 2024:
| Etihad Silver Benefits | |
| Eligibility | Earn 20,000 Tier Miles in a year (at least 10,000 from Etihad/partner airline flights) |
| Core Benefits | – Earn 25% Etihad Guest Bonus Miles – Dedicated check-in at Zayed International Airport – Priority boarding – Complimentary Wi-Fi Chat package – Guaranteed Economy seat booked 48 hours in advance |
| Custom Benefits | You can choose two of the following benefits: – Etihad Business Class lounge in the Zayed International Airport – Complimentary seat selection – Additional 25% discount on baggage – Two carbon offset vouchers |
| Beyond Benefits | n/a |
New Etihad Gold benefits from June 2024:
| Etihad Gold Benefits | |
| Eligibility | Earn 40,000 Tier Miles in a year (at least 20,000 from Etihad/partner airline flights) |
| Core Benefits | – 50% Etihad Guest Bonus Miles – Business Class check-in – Priority boarding, fast-track immigration, and priority baggage – Complimentary seat selection for you +1 – Complimentary Wi-Fi Chat package – 25% off our Wi-Fi Surf package – Guaranteed Economy seat booked 48 hours in advance – Dedicated Contact Centre |
| Custom Benefits | You can choose four of the following benefits: – Business Class lounge access for you and a plus one – One-piece complimentary baggage – Two complimentary chauffeur services in UAE – Complimentary chauffeur service in UAE on GuestSeats in Business or First Class – One complimentary refund on your GuestSeat booking – Two complimentary Home Check-in in the UAE – Four carbon offset vouchers |
| Beyond Benefits | These benefits can be gifted to friends or family if you reach 75,000 Tier Miles: – Two Business Class lounge passes – Silver Tier Status nomination – 10,000 Etihad Guest Bonus Miles |
New Etihad Platinum benefits from June 2024:
| Etihad Platinum Benefits | |
| Eligibility | Earn 100,000 Tier Miles in a year (at least 40,000 from Etihad/partner airline flights) |
| Core Benefits | – 100% Etihad Guest Bonus Miles – First Class check-in – Priority boarding, fast-track immigration, and priority baggage – Complimentary seat selection for you and three guests – Complimentary Wi-Fi Chat and Surf packages – Complimentary chauffeur service in UAE on GuestSeats in Business or First Class – Guaranteed Economy seat booked 24 hours in advance – Guaranteed Business Class seat booked 48 hours in advance – Dedicated Contact Centre – Gold Tier Status Nomination – Six months membership freeze – Custom Etihad Guest membership number by redeeming your Etihad Guest Miles |
| Custom Benefits | You can choose five of the following benefits: – First Class lounge access for you and a plus one – One-piece complimentary baggage – Two complimentary upgrades on eligible routes – Complimentary extra legroom seat, for you and three guests – Complimentary change to an earlier flight on the same day – Two complimentary chauffeur services in UAE in Economy – Two complimentary refunds on your GuestSeat booking – Four complimentary Home Check-in in the UAE – Six carbon offset vouchers |
| Beyond Benefits | These benefits can be gifted to friends or family if you reach 175,000 Tier Miles: – Three Business Class lounge passes – Three priority passes for Priority check-in, boarding, and priority baggage – 20,000 Etihad Guest Bonus Miles |
It can be a long slog to go from Gold to Platinum, and now, Platinum to Diamond. Etihad will also introduce a selection of ‘Beyond Benefits’ which are essentially mid-tier perks for those who are part-way between upgrading to a higher status tier. These will include giftable Silver or Gold status to a loved one, as well as lounge passes.
Changes to award cancellations and points expiry
An update to the program that is likely to be a sore spot for travellers is a new award cancellation policy.
The previous rule was a flat 10% cancellation fee for GuestSeat bookings (reward seat redemptions made with miles). The new policy is tiered based on when you cancel and ranges from 25 to 75%:
- More than 21 days before departure: 25% fee
- 8 to 21 days before departure: 50% fee
- 24 hours to 7 days before departure: 75% fee
- Within 24 hours of departure: No refund
This is a massive change to the flexibility of GuestSeat bookings. For reference, frequent flyer programs in Australia charge a flat fee (in cash or points) of up to 6,000 points to cancel.
As mentioned earlier, Etihad Guest mile expiry has also been updated to only be extended when you fly Etihad and its partner airlines, rather than earning miles from on-the-ground sources as is the case with most other frequent flyer programs.
Summing up
Etihad Guest isn’t a program you might instantly associate with as a frequent flyer in Australia. Despite that, Australia ranks within the top five countries of Etihad Guest membership, says Mark.
He explains that while the typical Australian traveller might find it easier to rack up Velocity Points, Etihad’s point of difference is its broad range of over 20 partners not easily bookable with miles in Australia, including Korean Air and Garuda. He also tells us Etihad Guest is looking to increase partnerships with on-the-ground retailers globally.
During our one-on-one chat with Mark, we also ask him how the co-operation between Etihad and Virgin Australia is going, in light of Virgin Australia also partnering with gulf rival, Qatar Airways.
We are proud to continue to partner with Virgin Australia and Velocity Frequent Flyer. The partnership continues to allow members of both programmes to earn and redeem across the airlines respective networks, as well as enjoy premium customer benefits like lounge access and additional baggage.
This will continue as part of the exciting new changes being announced to the Etihad Guest Programme.
– Mark Potter, Managing Director of Etihad Guest, 22 February 2024
Whilst there is a big range of new benefits that loyal frequent flyers will appreciate, the change to miles expiry and GuestSeat cancellation policies may send less-frequent travellers and points collectors offside.
Featured images courtesy of Etihad. This article updates as more information becomes available.
Etihad Guest to revamp loyalty program was last modified: February 26th, 2024 by
We were notified of the changes a day early and spoke to Mark – at that point, we were given the press release and wrote the story based on that to go out Thursday night. The website was only updated with all the information on Friday when I was on leave, so I’ve not had the opportunity to update the article with the finer details. This has now been updated. Cheers.