Etihad Guest will now let you transfer miles to anyone

Etihad Guest has introduced a new option called ‘shareable miles’ to allow members to transfer miles between friends and family.

Who is this good for?

If you find yourself a little short of the miles needed for an upgrade, a reward flight or hotel booking this new option to earn could be useful. Obviously, you will need to find a friend, family member or colleague who is happy to share their miles.

This may also be useful for infrequent flyers who are never likely to build up sufficient Etihad Guest miles to redeem something exciting. It is a great opportunity to gift miles to someone who can make better use of them. Mum, I’m thinking of you! 😁 .

With Christmas around the corner, ‘shareable miles’ is a potentially a great gift option for your Etihad flying friends and family.

How do you transfer Etihad Guest miles?

The minimum number of miles that can be transferred is 1,000 miles. The maximum number of miles that can be transferred per year is 50,000 miles.

To make the transfer log into you Etihad Guest account and transfer the miles here. You will need to have the recipient’s Etihad Guest number available to complete the transaction.

Etihad Guest will add a 10% service fee to the transfer. For example, if you transfer 1,000 Guest miles to your friend, they will receive the full amount. However, 1,100 will be deducted from your Etihad Guest account.

Is there an alternative?

Yes, there is an alternative to paying the 10% service fee.

Etihad Guest offers something called a Family Membership. The family membership allows you to pool and spend all the miles earned by the members of the family account.

Etihad Guest allows you to add up to 9 people to a family account. The eligible categories range from in-laws to step-siblings and even grandparents and domestic help. Etihad does reserve the right to confirm the relationship with anyone you add.

There is no service fee charged for redeeming miles from a family account.

How does Skywards compare?

Emirates Skywards also allows members to transfer miles between accounts.

However, Skywards charges a service fee of USD 15 for every 1,000 miles transferred. That makes it a slightly more expensive option than the 10% service fee charged by Etihad Guest.

Is ‘shareable miles’ worth it?

It is always a good thing to see Etihad Guest adding more ways to spend and earn miles. This is really helpful for friends and family who would like to pool or share miles without the hassle of setting up a Family Membership.