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Guides
Guide to Etihad Guest: Redeem reduced GuestSeat fares, upgrade to The Residence and more
Kyle Olsen is the former points and miles reporter at TPG. He specializes in maximizing points and miles, elite status and credit cards so readers travel more comfortably and at a lower cost.
Richard Kerr is a veteran naval officer and founder of the Award Travel 101 Facebook community. He’s one of the foremost experts in points and miles strategy, featured in Forbes, US News, Money Magazine, Kiplinger Personal Finance and presented at #SXSW 2017. Richard has visited over 45 countries, lived in England and Japan, and spends his spare time dissecting loyalty program award charts to maximize the value of points and miles. Richard holds a BBA in International Business and has his wife and two small children in tow for his travels as often as possible.
also contributed to this story
March 10, 2024 • 9 min read
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Quick summary
Etihad Guest is Etihad Airways' loyalty program, offering redemption options on Etihad and over 20 partner airlines despite not being part of a major alliance.
Recent changes include a consolidated partner award chart and reductions in GuestSeat award rates for Etihad-operated flights, especially in premium cabins.
Short-haul partner awards have seen significant mileage increases, while long-haul and economy partner awards remain largely unchanged.
Etihad's most luxurious offering, The Residence, can now be booked as an upgrade from first class using miles or cash.
What to consider
Some partner award rates, particularly for short-haul business and first class, have increased sharply after the latest devaluation.
Award availability and pricing can fluctuate, so always verify before transferring points or booking.
Redeeming miles for hotels or car rentals yields a lower value, around 0.7 cents per mile, compared to TPG's valuation of 1.2 cents each as of June 2024.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed tables showing updated award rates and step-by-step guidance on maximizing Etihad Guest miles for premium travel experiences.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Though Etihad is not part of the three major airline alliances — SkyTeam, Oneworld and Star Alliance — the carrier has individual partnerships, making its loyalty program valuable for award redemptions. Plus, its luxurious three-room suite known as The Residence on its A380 aircraft is a dream-worthy splurge for any traveler.
In March 2023, Etihad's loyalty program, Etihad Guest, introduced a consolidated award chart for partner flights. With all partners following a single award chart, the sweet spots we formerly loved instantly disappeared. Then, in February 2024, Etihad announced major changes to its award redemptions in addition to silently devaluing its partner award chart.
Let’s look at what you need to know about Etihad Guest to decide if it’s a program worthy of your hard-earned transferable points.
How to earn Etihad Guest miles
KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY
There are many ways to earn Etihad Guest miles. Here are some popular options.
Earn with a credit card
Etihad doesn’t have a U.S.-based cobranded credit card. For a quick influx of Etihad Guest miles, you can transfer rewards from the following programs at a 1:1 ratio:
In our tests, transfers from these programs to Etihad Guest are generally instantaneous.
Remember, for fully transferable Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou Rewards points, you’ll need to have select credit cards, like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, and the Citi Prestige® Card.
The information for the Citi Prestige has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Earn by flying
You can earn Etihad Guest miles by flying Etihad or any of its 24 partner airlines. Its North American partners include Air Canada and American Airlines.
You’ll earn at least 1,000 miles per night stayed at over 300,000 hotels. A three-night weekend stay in July at the Kimpton George Hotel in Washington, D.C., earns 8,900 miles.
TRAVELREWARDS.ETIHADGUEST.COM
If you book this way, be prepared to not receive IHG One Rewards elite status benefits. You also won't earn points and elite nights when booking through Etihad Guest. Because of this, we generally don’t recommend booking this way.
On the car rental side, you’ll earn at least 250 miles per rental day, but don’t expect to earn rental car rewards or elite benefits if you book through Etihad Guest. Compare rental car prices to ensure you’re getting a competitive rate.
The loyalty program has an award calculator for Eithad, American Airlines and Virgin Australia flights. Often, the award rates shown on the calculator are far less than what you’ll actually need to spend for an award flight.
Redeeming on Etihad
In February 2024, Etihad reduced GuestSeat fares by up to 30% on economy, business- and first-class award tickets. Most notably, you can now book a first-class ticket from New York to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Etihad's 787-9 plane starting at 160,000 Etihad Guest miles. However, if you're looking to fly on Etihad's A380 plane, which features ultra-luxurious first-class Apartment seats, a one-way ticket will cost you at least 200,000 miles.
Here’s a look at Etihad’s published one-way award chart, including the recent changes the introductory mileage rates underwent in February 2024.
Zone
Distance
Economy (before Feb. 22/now)
Business (before Feb. 29/now)
First (before Feb. 29/now)
1
0-500
7,000/5,000
20,000/15,000
40,000/30,000
2
501-1,000
11,000/10,000
25,000/20,000
50,000/40,000
3
1,001-1,500
13,000/13,000
30,000/30,000
60,000/55,000
4
1,501-2,000
17,000/15,000
45,000/35,000
90,000/80,000
5
2,001-2,500
22,000/20,000
50,000/45,000
100,000/90,000
6
2,501-3,000
27,000/25,000
60,000/60,000
120,000/110,000
7
3,001-4,000
32,000/30,000
70,000/70,000
140,000/120,000
8
4,001-5,000
37,000/37,000
75,000/75,000
150,000/135,000
9
5,001-6,000
45,000/45,000
100,000/95,000
200,000/140,000
10
6,001-plus
60,000/60,000
120,000/120,000
220,000/160,000
Remember, the above chart shows introductory mileage rates. For example, we've found wide-open availability flying from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport (AUH) in Etihad's 787-9 first class for 160,000 miles.
If you're looking to fly in Etihad's Apartment first-class seats, make sure to check the details of your flight to confirm you're flying on the A380. We've found one-way award flights starting at 200,000 miles, but keep in mind that on some days, the amount of miles needed to fly in these seats can cost up to 1 million miles.
Redeeming on partner airlines
According to Etihad's website, members can directly book an award flight on American Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Air Canada, Air France, KLM, Royal Air Maroc and Virgin Australia through Etihad's site using miles. For other partner airlines, bookings can be made through the airline's call center.
In 2023, Etihad began using the following single partner chart for all partner flight redemptions.
Distance (in miles)
Miles needed in economy
Miles needed in premium economy
Miles needed in business class
Miles needed in first class
0-500
6,000
7,500
10,000
14,000
501-1,000
12,000
13,000
20,000
27,000
1,001-1,500
15,000
19,000
30,000
40,000
1,501-2,000
23,000
25,000
40,000
54,000
2,001-2,500
28,000
31,000
50,000
67,000
2,501-3,000
34,000
37,000
60,000
80,000
3,001-4,000
45,000
49,000
80,000
107,000
4,001-5,000
60,000
62,000
100,000
134,000
5,001-6,000
67,000
74,000
120,000
160,000
6,001-plus
75,000
90,000
140,000
200,000
However, Etihad silently released a new partner award chart that shows an increase in one-way business- and first-class award tickets. Remember, this chart shows introductory one-way rates, so the miles needed could be significantly more. Check out the 2024 partner award chart below.
ETIHADGUEST.COM
Etihad increased its business and first-class award prices for most of its short-haul flights. For example, in 2023, flights in first class that were under 500 miles would start at 14,000 Etihad Guest miles. Now, with the latest devaluation, first-class flights under 500 miles start at 35,000 miles; this is a 150% increase. Luckily, long-haul flights, as well as economy and premium economy partner flights, did not increase in price.
For those looking to book The Residence, which features a private bedroom, a separate living area and an ensuite shower room, Etihad members can now upgrade their first-class ticket on the A380 and book this three-bedroom suite with either cash or miles.
Before transferring your miles to Etihad Guest, you’ll want to confirm award space availability and pricing.
Other redemption activities
You can redeem Etihad miles for hotels and car rentals. While your redemption rate may vary, expect around 0.7 cents per mile if you use this option. That’s significantly below TPG’s valuation of Etihad miles at 1.2 cents apiece.
Other uses of Etihad Guest miles include online raffles and Pointspay purchases. Pointspay lets you redeem miles for online shopping. Note, though, that many of the participating merchants are located in Abu Dhabi.
Depending on the day of travel, you can redeem your miles for access to Etihad's business-class or first-class lounge at AUH, though you’ll have to speak with the lounge staff for pricing and availability.
Lastly, you may be able to pool up to 50,000 miles each year at no cost. This can be helpful when you have multiple family members with Etihad Guest miles and want to consolidate miles into one account for an award ticket.
With the changes Etihad made to its program by reducing GuestSeat fares by up to 30% on economy, business- and first-class award tickets, members can try to maximize their Etihad Guest miles on popular long-haul flight routes, such as New York to Abu Dhabi.
If you want to fly in Etihad's luxurious first-class Apartment or book an upgraded ticket in The Residence, be ready to spend a lot of miles for its world-famous product and hospitality.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
