Etihad Guest

Program overview 

Etihad Guest is the frequent flyer program of Etihad, the national airline of Emirates of Abu Dhabi. Despite the fact that the airline does not belong to any alliance, their frequent flyer program has agreements with many other airlines and presents many opportunities to redeem the miles.

There are generally plenty more opportunities to redeem Etihad points for partner airlines than for Etihad. However, surprisingly they require purchasing 14 days in advance for partner awards. 

Point/Miles Conversion Chart

Pros 

• One of the better airlines, Business and First Class
• Offers good value for classic award redemptions on both Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia
• Families can pool miles

Cons 

• No online search for partner awards
• Partner awards must be booked 14 days in advance 
• 10% of your miles award will be charged for cancellation
• Clunky website, better availability when calling, especially for connections

Excellent for

• American Airlines flights from the US to Europe or Asia start from 50,000 miles in Business and 62,500 miles in First Class. 
• Direct flights from the US to Brussel for 44,000 miles in Business Class one way using Brussels Airlines.
• Air Serbia Business Class for approximately 64,000 miles in Business Class one way.

Insider Tip 

• If you don't have enough miles, you can use the Miles + Cash option. In this case, Etihad allows you to purchase up to 25% of the miles needed for an award. However, this option is available for Etihad flights only.
• In most cases, the price to upgrade a flight for miles is almost the same as an award ticket. Therefore, it is better to book a flight for miles in a higher class instead of upgrading sometimes.
• If you have American AAdvantage miles, many awards on Etihad flights are cheaper than using Etihad Guest Miles.
• The programs are best deals for American and Brussels Airlines operated flights between the US and Europe and American Airlines awards to Asia and South America.  Etihad operated flights tend to be too expensive. Use partner programs or “book travel with points” options through Chase or AmEx to get a better deal for Etihad operated flights.
• Abu Dhabi is the only airport that has US Customs and Immigration inside the airport. When travelling to the US from/via Abu Dhabi, allow extra time to clear immigration and customs for the US flights (at least an extra hour). When in Abu Dhabi on the way to the US, proceed to the US section of the airport and wait in the lounge inside the US section of the airport and not in the general transit area. On arrival to the US, there will be no Immigration or Customs.
• Consider Abu Dhabi as an alternative to Dubai when travelling to the UAE as they are only 2 hours drive apart.
• The Homebase Stopover Strategy works well for Abu Dhabi based travelers.
• The only airline partner frequent flyer program with which you can redeem awards for Oman Air flights.

Do you use this program? Share your experience and tips in the comments below. Your thoughts would be very valuable to us!