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Etihad Guest Frequent Flyer Program
From earning Etihad Guest Miles to redeeming flight rewards, here’s your guide to getting the most out of the Etihad Guest frequent flyer program.
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Etihad Guest is the airline’s frequent flyer program, allowing travellers to earn Etihad Guest Miles which they can redeem for flight rewards, upgrades, hotel packages and more. But how does it compare to other frequent flyer programs?
You can use this guide to discover how you can earn and redeem Etihad Guest Miles, what you need to do to climb the status tiers to enjoy more perks and how the program compares to other popular frequent flyer schemes.
What's in this guide?
How to join Etihad Guest
You can join the Etihad Guest program online and there are no costs involved. You’ll just need to provide your personal details such as your name, date of birth and contact details. You’ll then be provided with a membership number that you can use to earn and redeem Guest Miles. After you’ve signed up, you’ll also collect 500 bonus miles when you take your first flight.
Earning Etihad Guest Miles
Flights
You can earn Etihad Guest Miles when you fly with Etihad and the airline partners such as Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand. You can compare the full list of partnered airlines below.
Air New Zealand
Air Serbia
Air Seychelles
Alitalia
All Nippon Airways
American Airlines
Asiana Airlines
Bangkok Airways
Brussels Airlines
Czech Airlines
Garuda Indonesia
Hainan Airlines
Air Serbia
Air Seychelles
Alitalia
All Nippon Airways
American Airlines
Asiana Airlines
Bangkok Airways
Brussels Airlines
Czech Airlines
Garuda Indonesia
Hainan Airlines
Jet Airways
Korean Air
Malaysia Airlines
Oman Air
Philippine Airlines
Royal Air Maroc
Scandinavian Airlines
South African Airways
SriLankan Airlines
Ukraine International Airline
Virgin Australia
GOL
Korean Air
Malaysia Airlines
Oman Air
Philippine Airlines
Royal Air Maroc
Scandinavian Airlines
South African Airways
SriLankan Airlines
Ukraine International Airline
Virgin Australia
GOL
Want to save on flights with Etihad Airways? Check out our travel coupon codes to secure a competitive deal.
Credit Cards
Although Etihad doesn’t have any direct-earn frequent flyer credit cards in Australia, you can exchange your membership reward points for Etihad Guest Miles if you have an American Express credit card. For example, if you exchange points earned under the American Express Ascent program, you can get 1 Etihad Guest per 1 Amex Membership Reward point. By way of comparison, you’d earn 3 Etihad Guest Miles per 4 Membership Rewards with the Amex Membership Rewards Gateway program.
Compare Membership Rewards credit cards
Hotels
You can also earn Etihad Guest Miles when you book accommodation with these hotels and booking
| Hotel | Earn rate |
|---|---|
| Agoda | Up to 10,000 Miles per booking |
| Club 1 Hotels | 2 Miles per US$1 spent |
| Constance Hotels & Resorts | 1 Mile per US$1 spent |
| Cristal Group | 1 Mile per US$1 spent |
| Danat Hotels | 500 Miles per stay |
| Dusit Hotels & Resorts | 500 Miles per stay |
| Fairmont Hotels & Resorts | 500 Miles per stay |
| Hilton Hotels | Between 100 and 500 Miles per stay |
| Hyatt Hotels & Resorts |
|
| InterContinental Hotels & Resorts |
|
| Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts | 1 Etihad Guest Mile per US$1 you spend |
| Kaligo |
|
| Le Club AccorHotels |
|
| Mandarin Oriental |
|
| Marriott International | Between 1 and 2 Miles for every US$1 spent |
| Millennium & Copthorne | 500 Miles per stay |
| One&Only Resorts |
|
| PointsHound | Between 2 and 15 Etihad Guest Miles per US$1 you spend. |
| Preferred Hotels & Resorts | 500 Miles per stay |
| Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts | Between 250 and 500 Miles per stay |
| Rocketmiles | Between 500 and 10,000 Etihad Guest Miles per night. |
| Rotana | 500 Miles per stay |
| Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts | 500 Miles per stay |
| Starwood Preferred Guest |
|
| Swissotel Hotels & Resorts | 500 Miles per stay |
| Taj Group | Between 250 and 500 Etihad Guest Miles per stay. |
| Viceroy Hotels & Resorts | 1 Mile per US$1 spent in eligible locations. |
Make sure to include your Etihad Guest membership number at the time of booking to earn Guest Miles on your hotel stay.
As well as hotel stays, you can also earn Guest Miles when you submit reviews to TripAdvisor. You can earn up to 1,500 Miles per month for published hotel, restaurant or attraction reviews submitted in the Arabic language. You can also earn up to 150 Miles per hotel review and up to 75 Miles per restaurant or attraction review written in English.
Car rentals
You can also earn Guest Miles if you quote your Etihad Guest number when booking a car rental with the following vehicle hire companies:
| Car rental company | Earn rate |
|---|---|
| Avis |
|
| Budget |
|
| Careem | 1 mile for every US$2 you spent |
| Europcar | 500 Miles per rental |
| Hertz |
|
| Sixt | Between 500 and 1,000 Miles per rented vehicle |
| Conxxe | 3 Etihad Guest Miles per US$1 spent |
| RentalCars.com |
|
| Shift car rental | 1 Etihad Guest Mile per AED$1 |
Shopping partners
There aren’t many merchants partnered with Etihad Guest in Australia. Etihad previously had a partnership with Flybuys, but that ended in July 2017. Visit the Etihad website to compare which retailers, such as Montblanc and Natuzzi, allow you to earn Etihad Guest Miles.
Buy Miles
If you want to top up your account, you can also purchase up to 100,000 Etihad Guest Miles each year via the Etihad Guest website. 1,000 Miles will set you back $20. This could come in handy if you want to upgrade a flight or need a little boost to reach your next reward.
How to claim missing miles
If you forgot to include your Etihad Guest Miles membership number when booking a flight with Etihad or one of its partner airlines, you may be able to claim your missing miles. You can claim missing miles for flights you’ve taken within six months or for flights taken no more than three months before you joined Etihad Guest.
You’ll just need to scan your eligible boarding pass and email it to the Etihad team. If you don’t have your boarding pass, you can fill in a missing miles form online with your ticket details.
How to pool your Etihad Guest Miles with family
If you want to maximise your family’s Etihad Guest Miles, you can also take advantage of the family membership option. You can add up to eight family members to one account, so that your Miles can be shared and enjoyed collectively.
You can create a family account by nominating a “Family Head” and each time a member travels, 100% of the Miles earned along with any Bonus Miles will be credited to the account. However, each member will continue to receive their Tier Miles and enjoy their personal tier benefits, which are non-transferrable.
Climbing the Etihad Guest tiers
Similar to many airline loyalty programs, Etihad Guest frequent flyers can also climb the Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers to take advantage of benefits such as lounge access, increased baggage allowance and increased Tier Miles earn rates. You can climb the status levels as you fly with eligible airlines and earn Tier Miles.
You need to earn a specific number of tier miles and tier segments to reach each tier, so we’ve rounded up these conditions and the benefits you can expect as you ascend the tiers below:
How many miles do I need to reach a tier?
| Etihad Guest Silver | Etihad Guest Gold | Etihad Guest Platinum | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attaining a tier |
|
|
|
| Maintaining a tier |
|
|
|
Your tier level expires after 1 year and your Guest Miles expire after 2.5 years if you’re in Silver status or 3 years for Platinum frequent flyers.
Perks of Etihad Guest Silver, Gold and Platinum status
| Benefits | Etihad Guest Silver | Etihad Guest Gold | Etihad Guest Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier Miles Bonus | 25% | 50% | 75% |
| Guaranteed seat | Yes (for Economy when booked 48 hours in advance) | Yes (for Economy when booked 24 hours in advance) | Yes (for Economy when booked 12 hours in advance or Business 48 hours in advance) |
| Instant upgrades with miles at the airport | 25% discount | 50% discount | 50% discount |
| Lounge access | Yes, you can visit the following lounges:
| Yes, you and a guest can visit Business Class lounges in the Etihad network and Premium Lounges worldwide. | Yes, you and a guest can visit First Class lounges in the Etihad network and Premium Lounges worldwide. |
| Premium check-in | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Priority boarding | No | Yes | Yes |
| Fast track immigration and baggage | No | Yes | Yes |
| 3rd party nomination | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Excess baggage allowance (all cabin classes) | 10kg | 15kg | 20kg |
| Excess baggage allowance piece concept routes on flights to/from Canada and the US |
|
|
|
Redeeming Etihad Guest Miles
Flights
You can redeem your Etihad Guest Miles for Guest Seats with the airline. The number of Miles you’ll need will depend on where you’re flying to and the cabin you choose. You can use the miles calculator on the Etihad Guest website to compare how far you could fly depending on your points balance and location.
You can also use your Etihad Guest Miles to fly with partnered airlines including Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand, which could come in handy if you’re travelling from Australia. For example, you could redeem a Premium Economy flight from Los Angeles to Sydney with Virgin Australia with 60,000 Etihad Guest Miles.
You can redeem your Etihad Guest Miles for flights via the Etihad Guest website. If you don’t have enough Miles to redeem your chosen flight reward, you can also use a combination of Miles and cash to make up the cost.
Flight upgrades
If you’ve already booked a flight with Etihad, you can also use miles to upgrade your booking to a better cabin class. The number of miles required will depend on your current cabin class and destination of the original booking. You should also be aware that upgrades are subject to availability.
Holidays
You can use your Etihad Guest Miles to cover other holiday costs such as accommodation, holiday packages and car rentals. If you decide to redeem your Miles for accommodation, you can choose from 300,000 hotels and resorts (including Hilton, Four Seasons and Hyatt) available through Etihad Hotels.
Products from the Etihad Guest Reward shop
You can also redeem your Etihad Guest Miles for anything from jewellery and electronics to gift cards and homewares from the Etihad Guest Reward Shop. However, using your Miles to redeem products from the Reward Shop doesn’t always offer the best value.
For example, at the time of writing, you could redeem an Apple iPad 32gb for 59,700 miles (roughly worth around $419). Whereas the Los Angeles to Sydney with Virgin Australia (worth between US$2,800 and US$3,400) would set you back 60,000 points. So, make sure you compare your miles and what you could redeem for the same cost before you do this.
With this in mind, using your miles to redeem products from the Reward Shop might be an option you might only want to consider if you don’t have any travel plans coming up and your Miles are about to expire.
How does Etihad Guest compare to other frequent flyer programs?
Now that you know how the Etihad Guest program works, how does it compare to other airline loyalty schemes? To give you an idea, we’ve weighed up some of the features and conditions with Qantas Frequent Flyer and Virgin Australia’s Velocity programs below:
Points expiry
Your Etihad Guest Miles expire after 2.5 years if you’re in Silver status or 3 years for Platinum frequent flyers. Meanwhile, Qantas and Velocity Points only expire if your account has been inactive for 18 months and 36 months respectively. This means you can easily extend the life of your frequent flyer points just by earning or redeeming points.
So if you plan to hold onto your points for years at a time to redeem your ideal reward, the Etihad Guest Mile expiry conditions could restrict you.
Status
Etihad Guest, Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity all allow members to climb status tiers as they earn points. To give you an example of how they compare, let’s look at the perks of Silver status and the status credits earned on a one-way Economy class flight from Sydney to Los Angeles with these programs:
| Program | Status credits/miles earned on flight | Number of status credits needed for Silver membership | Other requirements | Annual requirement to maintain Silver status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etihad Guest | 8,632 | 25,000 or 20 Tier Segments | N/A | 20,000 Tier Miles or 15 Tier Segments |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 90 | 300 | Take at least four eligible Qantas, QantasLink or Jetstar flights in a membership year | 250 Status Credits and take at least four eligible Qantas, QantasLink or Jetstar flights in a membership year |
| Velocity Frequent Flyer | 80 | 250 | Flown to eligible sectors | 200 Status Credits and fly two eligible sectors within your 12-month benefit period |
Status benefits
Now let’s compare some of the perks you can expect in Silver status with the respective programs.
| Feature | Etihad Guest | Qantas Frequent Flyer | Virgin Velocity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonus points | 25% | 50% | Up to 50% |
| Priority reservation waitlist | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Airline alliance | No, but it does have airline partners | Oneworld Ruby status | No, but it does have airline partners |
| Priority phone service | No | Yes | Yes |
| Preferential seating | No | Yes | Yes |
| Extra baggage allowance | Additional 10kg baggage. | Yes | Yes |
| Priority check-in | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lounge access | Yes, access to exclusive Business class lounge, and when flying out of Abu Dhabi, access to the Al Reem Lounge facility | Yes | Yes |
| Family pooling | Yes | No | Yes |
Beyond flights and transferring credit card reward points, there aren’t too many ways you can earn Etihad Guest Miles in Australia. However, if you travel regularly with Etihad and its airline partners, the Guest program could be a great way to reward your spending.
Frequently asked questions
Pictures: Shutterstock
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Ask an Expert
Why can’t I upgrade my booking? I can see that “Looks like that page drifted away”.
Thank you.
Hi Benjamin,
Thank you for getting in touch with Finder.
Please make sure that you’re at the right page when you’re processing upgrade with Etihad Airways and make sure that you have enough Guest Miles if you wish to use your earned points with Etihad Guest frequent flyer. In the event that you need further assistance on this matter, please contact their customer contact centre by visiting their contact us page.
I hope this helps.
Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Jeni
How do I reset my password?
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. 😃
You can reset your password by visiting Etihad Guest’s official website. Click on the Login button found on the upper right hand. You should see the “Forgot password” link. The website will ask you your Etihad Guest number and your email address provided at the time of registration. From there, they will then send you a link to your email, which you can click to reset your password.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
Hello,
Why am I not allowed to spend my remaining miles in the reward shop? At my activities is is said: no rewards available for you?
Thank you & best
Hi Walter,
Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)
The reason could be that you don’t have enough miles or points to make a purchase. If this is the case, you would need to earn more miles. If in case you believe this is an error, you would need to directly get in touch with Etihad.
I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Have a wonderful day!
Cheers,
Joshua
I can see that to get Gold status, one needs 50k miles or 40 tier segments. If I take a one way flight from Abu Dhabi to London in economy v/s business, how many tier segments can I earn? Is there a link to check this?
I take shorter flights but around 3 returns in a month.
Hi Chris,
Thank you for getting in touch with finder.
You can earn from 852 miles up to 3,409 miles when traveling between Abu Dhabi to London depending on your booked class. You may use the Miles Calculator on their official page for calculating miles to earn, spend and upgrade.
If you want to know more about Etihad Guest’s tier and status programme, please refer to this link.
As a friendly reminder, while we do not represent any company we feature on our pages, we can offer you general advice.
I hope this helps.
Have a great day!
Cheers,
Jeni
My status says I have 8400 miles to be Silver, but the miles I have now will expire by June of 2019. Please answer the following questions for me:
1. If I get the 8400 miles from a flight on Etihad, and June of 2019 comes, what happens?
2. I have partner airlines point that I can transfer to Etihad, how will these point be treated. Will they be treated as miles from a flight?
3. As a silver member, I need 20,000 miles a year to retain my status, can I buy the miles or I can only get them through flights?
4. Once I have a silver status, will the miles be set to zero at that point?
Hi Nas,
Thank you for getting in touch with finder.
Please see answers below for your reference. As a friendly reminder, while we do not represent any company we feature on our pages, we can offer you general advice. I still suggest that you contact them directly about your enquiry or call them at 130-053-2215.
1. If I get the 8400 miles from a flight on Etihad, and June of 2019 comes, what happens?
Etihad Guest Miles will continue to expire on the last date of the month in which they were earned. Members can check the validity of the Guest miles for the next three months by two ways:
• Log in to their Etihad Guest accounts online and check the transaction details.
• Subscribe for monthly e-statements.
Your reward card lets you spend your miles at over 30 million outlets worldwide so there’s plenty of opportunity to use them before they expire.
2. I have partner airlines point that I can transfer to Etihad, how will these point be treated. Will they be treated as miles from a flight?
Earn miles with their partners. Points varies on the airline, and the number of miles you’ll earn will depend on the class of booking.
How you’ll earn miles with the partner airlines?
1. Provide your Etihad Guest number when you make a booking.
2. Present your Etihad Guest card during check-in.
3. As a silver member, I need 20,000 miles a year to retain my status, can I buy the miles or I can only get them through flights?
You can earn miles by spending with any of our non-airline partners across multiple categories including shopping, leisure & lifestyle, financial partners and telecommunications.
4. Once I have a silver status, will the miles be set to zero at that point?
If you have attained an Etihad Guest Tier Status after 30 September 2017, your Tier status is valid for one year for Etihad Guest Silver Members, Etihad Guest Gold and Etihad Guest Platinum Members.
I hope this helps.
Have a great day!
Cheers,
Jeni
I have points with Korean air Sky can I transfer them over to Etihad Air points
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for your inquiry
Points or Miles earned from Korean Air cannot be transferred to another Airline membership. However, you can use or redeem these points by booking your tickets online. For online redemption and more information about the specific point requirements of flight, please visit Korean Air’s website and log on to your account.
Hope this information helps
Cheers,
Arnold
I see PointsPay has changed to Etihad Rewards cards – does anyone know why this isn’t available to Australian customers?
Hi Hayley,
Thanks for leaving a question on finder.
Yes, unfortunately, the Etihad Reward Card option is currently not available in Australia. We also do not have info why is this so. Although aside from Rewards Card, you can explore other ways of redeeming your miles as mentioned above or you can check the official website of Etihad for more details and options.
Cheers,
Joel
I have a gold status with Etihad and it is expiring in April 2018. How many tier miles do I need to keep it?
Hi Jane,
Thank you for your comment.
To maintain a tier level, you have to earn a designated number of Tier Miles within 12 months from the tier upgrade month. To maintain (renew) a tier, you need to earn the following number of tier miles in the January to December period prior to tier expiration:
-Etihad Guest Silver – 20,000 Tier Miles
-Etihad Guest Gold – 40,000 Tier Miles
-Etihad Guest Platinum – 100,000 Tier Miles
In case you failed to earn the required number of Tier Miles, your tier will be downgraded to the next lower tier level. For example, you have not earned 40,000 Tier Miles during your qualifying year, your account will be downgraded to Etihad Guest Silver.
Please note that an account can only be downgraded one tier at a time. I hope this helps.
Regards,
Jhezelyn
How I can add mileages in my account
Hi Syed,
Thank you for contacting finder. We are a comparison website and general information service, we’re more than happy to offer general advice.
As with most frequent flyer programs, you earn Etihad Guest Miles by clocking miles on Etihad Airways or its airline partners, or by spending money at any of its partner establishments. Etihad Guest also offers one or two more unconventional options for earning your Miles, which we’ve outlined here.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Danielle
Hi Pravin!
Thanks for the comment.
You can log in to Etihad Guest Online account to start redeeming your miles for different rewards such as seat upgrades, baggage allowance, rewards and PointsPay.
Hope this clarifies.
Cheers,
Jonathan