A Guide To Effectively Use Eithad Guest Miles

Born in the year 2003, Etihad Airways has upped the standards of flying and is rated as the world’s leading airline. It is credited with plenty of travel awards, thanks to its world class fleet, wonderful onboard products and Etihad Guest, the loyalty program of the airline.

The frequent flyer of Etihad is not very different from those of other leading airline carriers; exceptions are always there. The airline, however, stands out for being very generous when it comes to earning and redeeming air miles. Along with that, the generous promotions offered all year round makes it all the way more worthwhile. Whether it comes in the form of discounted award tickets or offering more miles on revenue tickets, it is surely worth the effort.

How Does Etihad Guest Stand Out?

With a wide choice to opt for the frequent flyer programs, you need a very sound reason to become inclined to a particular one. Etihad Airways brings forward a whole new concept of air travel through its frequent flyer program. With less restrictions and more flexibility, luxury and hospitability knows no bounds when it comes to flying with any of Etihad’s travel classes.

Etihad Guest offers tailor-made redemption options with a number of benefits for the frequent flyers such as instant rewards under the 1MileRedemption feature.

There are no blackout periods on Etihad Guest. With seats available on all the flights, you can easily book it if it’s still there. You’ll even find last minute seat availability on the lower levels. However, it is best to book early especially when it comes to popular destinations such as the Maldives.

Another unique feature of the airline is that all the seats, be it the very last minute, are always available. Even if that means an hour prior to departure, you still have your chance.

Etihad’s Miles+Cash is another unique feature offered by this frequent flyer program. Through this, you can calculate how many miles you wish to use. The rest of them can be contributed in cash using Etihad’s Miles Cash feature. Miles can even be earned on the actual cash you spend on flights, increasing more of your travel opportunities.

When it comes to Etihad Guest, one mile has a lot more significance than many other leading programs. This is why frequent flyers often find Etihad’s loyalty program to be much more responsive.

Getting to Know the Membership Tiers

Through the Guest program, you can benefit in a number of ways. Membership tiers are one of these. You can only climb up by flying more. Etihad’s tiers are Etihad Guest, Etihad Guest Silver, Etihad Guest Gold and Etihad Guest Gold Elite. Every tier has a specific amount of qualifying miles. A Tier Mile can be earned on any of Etihad’s flights. The higher the class, the more miles you earn. Every tier member enjoys a range of benefits. Take a brief look at each of these.

1. Etihad Silver

The travel experience gets far more special when you reach this level. Silver members earn 25% bonus Guest Miles on every flight. Because you wouldn’t want to miss out on any flight, members are offered a priority waitlist on busy routes. If you book 24 hours in advance, you get a guaranteed Economy Coral Seat.
When you fly in and out of Abu Dhabi, Silver members enjoy access to the Pearl Business Class Lounge and all the luxuries facilities therein. With a dedicated check-in facility, no matter how busy the flight is a 10 kg extra baggage allowance is provided to these flyers. If you fly with Pearl Business or Diamond First Class, you’ll enjoy a complimentary chauffeur service throughout different legs of your journey!

2. Etihad Guest Gold

Once you attain 50,000 Tier Miles, you acquire the Gold member status. The benefits are far more improved here with a 50% bonus Guest Miles on every flight. Gold members enjoy a swift immigration process along with baggage collection. Even on the full flights, 15 kg of excess baggage allowance is granted to these flyers.

No matter what travel class you opt for, flyers get the facility of priority boarding and check-in.

3. Etihad Guest Gold Elite

This lies on top of the membership cycle and certainly is the most supreme in terms of benefits. With a qualifying Tier Miles of 125,000, a 20 kg excess baggage allowance is granted to the members even on fully booked flights. As a Gold Elite member, you get a 75% bonus Guest Miles on each flight.

If you book 12 hours in advance, you are guaranteed a Coral Economy seat. If you manage to book 48 hours in advance, you are guaranteed a Pearl Business Seat.

As a Gold Elite member, you have access to the Diamond First Class Lounge, along with a guest. You also have the freedom to invite other Guest members to enjoy the Gold membership benefits. You can also nominate any other person to carry forward your transactions.

Ways to Earn Etihad Guest Miles

Etihad Airways is one of those carriers that makes it easy to earn miles through a number of ways. One of the obvious ones is through paid Etihad flights. When you plan to fly with Etihad, ensure that you have entered your Guest Miles number because you wouldn’t get mileage credit otherwise. The Etihad awards are based on the distance and the fare type.

Although the airline itself is not part of any airline alliances, its various partnerships make it easy to earn and redeem Guest Miles. Some of these famous carriers include American Airlines, KLM and Turkish Airways.

Credit card spending is surely one of the most fruitful ways to earn miles. Since Etihad is partnered with Citi ThankYou Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards and SPG, you have the option to choose a range of credit cards and add to your mileage credit.

You’d never be short of options for earning Guest miles when it comes to Etihad’s various hotels, car rental and vacation partners. Some of the famous hotel chains include Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt.

To explore more options, you can get familiar with Etihad Dining and Etihad Shopping Portal.

It’s best to keep an eye out on Etihad’s promotions. If you are short of a number of miles, you can always buy them at a great price through the Mileage Club.

Redeeming Guest Miles

Guest Miles can be redeemed in a number of ways, and you can be creative and try your own luck here. Below are some great options for Guest Miles Redemption.

With Etihad, you wouldn’t find any award chart. However, finding reward flights is fairly simple through the airline. You can make use of their Mileage Calculator instead of taking the guesswork out of how many miles you will accrue. This gives you a realistic picture of the miles you need for an award seat as well as upgrades.
Although the chances are relatively slim, you can upgrade to first class using your Guest Miles. However, this won’t be available on all the flights.

Despite not being part of any of the airline alliance, the wide range of partnership means partner awards can also be availed. If you wish to plan an upcoming vacation, Guest Miles can be used to utilize Etihad Holidays. However, if you are just looking for car rental or hotels, it is best to refer to those partners.

There will be times when you wish to be on a travel break. In times like these, you can redeem points on Etihad Marketplace by purchasing gifts and a range of products. Keep in mind that this won’t have the same value as booking free flights.

When miles are approaching its expiry with no other redemption options, you can make a profound difference to this world by donating through Etihad Donation Page.

Etihad Guest in a Nutshell

One of the biggest downsides of Etihad Guest Miles is that the miles are short lived; they expire in two years. This is a short span in consideration with a lot of other programs. A lot of flyers argue that their travel opportunities could have been way superior if the airline was part of any of the major alliances. We might see that happening in the future! When it comes to Etihad Guest, attaining a higher membership status might turn out to be difficult because it requires more flying.

Despite the cons, Etihad Guest still opens door to a lot of travel opportunities and is rated way better in terms of earning and redeeming the air miles.