Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is relaunching its Etihad Guest loyalty programme in June 2024.
The new program gives members even greater control over their experiences, enabling them to select different benefits to suit their travelling preferences. It also sees the introduction of a new elite Diamond tier to reward the airline’s top flyers. Rewards will also change.
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More rewarding
“We are excited to announce a new era for the Etihad Guest programme with the experience of being a valued member about to reach new heights,” said Mark Potter, Managing Director of Etihad Guest. “The enhancements renew our partnership with our Etihad Guest members around the globe, meaning the more time they invest with us through flying and our lifestyle partners, the more rewarding and personalised their experiences become so that Guests can journey on their terms, not ours.
Etihad has revised the pricing for GuestSeats and reduced the miles required for some of the most popular destinations in both Economy and Business classes.
Examples of GuestSeat price reductions include Abu Dhabi to London in Economy Class down to 30,000 EYG Miles and taxes; Milan to Abu Dhabi in Economy Class down to 25,000 EYG Miles and taxes; Jeddah to Abu Dhabi in Business Class down to 20,000 EYG Miles and taxes; and Abu Dhabi to Istanbul in Economy Class down to 15,000 EYG Miles and taxes.
The other major change is that members will earn the same amount of Tier Miles and Etihad Guest Miles on bookings made from June. Therefore, the higher the fare brand you book, the more Tier Miles and Etihad Guest Miles you earn.
Platinum Tier members will now also get 100 per cent Bonus Etihad Guest Miles when flying with Etihad or any of our eligible airline partners to bring their next rewards closer.
Personalised privileges
Alongside their Core Benefits, tiered members can select from a range of extra privileges for more flexibility. As they progress up the tiers, so does the range of benefits and options.
In addition to their Core Benefits, Guests can select from a range of Custom Benefits to be unveiled closer to the June launch date. Silver members will choose two custom benefits: gold will get four, and platinum will get five.
“And Etihad Guest is delighted to introduce a new elite tier, Diamond, recognising the airline’s top flyers with experiences that truly go beyond,” said Mark Potter. “Diamond and Platinum members will be able to choose their personalised membership numbers.”
“We are also introducing Beyond Benefits for our Gold and Platinum members as they progress through their tiers. These benefits can be gifted to friends or family and include rewards such as Silver or Gold tier status or lounge passes for them to relax in style before their flight, as well as Etihad Guest Bonus Miles.”
Gaining status
To move to a higher tier, Guests will still need to earn a set number of Tier Miles, some of which must now be earned from flying. Tier Segments have been removed, in an effort to simplify the scheme.
All Etihad Guest members will be able to earn and spend their miles on flights with the airline and more than 20 airline partners. This extends the validity of their Etihad Guest Miles by 18 months. There are no other changes to collecting Miles with 150+ partners, including restaurants, hotels, car hire and retailers.
Etihad Guest Miles can continue to be redeemed for a wide range of rewards, whether a free flight, a cabin upgrade, a unique experience or one of 3,500 products in the Reward Shop.
The full details of the enhanced Etihad Guest Programme will be available on etihad.com
6 comments
Unfortunately there are some major downsides to the new programme, which Head for Points outlines.
Thanks for the info Charlie.
A bit more editorial analysis and a little less regurgitated press release would be useful. As Charlie has pointed out, there are some significant downsides already identified in these changes which aren’t mentioned at all here.
That’s fair enough but having been ill with a kidney infection and then straight into two back to back press trips, sometimes there simply are not enough hours in the day. It was write up the oneworld press trip properly or this. There’s only me working full time and some ad hoc freelance writers. Sometimes I just can’t do it all.
Hope you’re feeling better
Michele. You do a great job on limited resources. Get better soon and keep up the great work
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