Welcome to The Expat Flyer’s FAQ series on Etihad Guest. This is the ultimate guide to answering the most common questions expat flyers ask about Etihad Guest.
What is Etihad Guest?
Etihad Guest is the loyalty programme of Etihad Airways. Members can earn miles which can be redeemed for award flights on Etihad and their airline partners.
Members can also accumulate Tier Miles and Tier Segments, which count towards status and other perks when flying with Etihad and several other airlines.
Is Etihad Guest free to join?
Yes, there is no fee to join Etihad Guest. In fact, Etihad will give you a welcome bonus of 500 Guest Miles after you take your first flight with them.
How do I join Etihad Guest?
You can sign up online to join Etihad Guest.
Where can I find my Etihad Guest number?
You can find your Etihad Guest number in several places. If you have never flown with the airline before, the easiest way is to check the Welcome email sent to new members.
In your email provider, search ‘Welcome Etihad Guest’ plus your last name and scroll down to the first email you received from Etihad Guest. Your Etihad Guest number will be in that email.
Alternatively, if you have flown with Etihad, your Etihad Guest number will be on your e-ticket receipt or in Manage my booking.
How do I add an Etihad Guest number to an existing booking?
You can add your Etihad Guest number to an existing booking online. Log in to Manage my booking on Etihad and click on ‘Edit Guest Details’. You can add or change the Etihad Guest number for all passengers in the reservation.
Alternatively, contact Etihad Guest by phone or email.
What is Etihad Guest Miles?
Etihad Guest Miles is the currency of the Etihad Guest programme. Etihad Guest Miles can be earned and spent in many different ways.
How can I earn Etihad Guest Miles?
Etihad Guest Miles can be earned in four ways.
- Flying on Etihad Airways.
- Flying one of Etihad’s 36 airline partners, including Oman Air, Virgin Australia and Alitalia.
- Spending on Etihad Guest co-branded credit cards issued by banks in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and India.
- Spending with Etihad Guest’s hotel, car rental and shopping partners.
How can I use Etihad Guest Miles?
Etihad Guest Miles can be used or spent in a number of different ways:
- Award flights on Etihad Airways
- Award flights on 22 airline partners, including ANA, Oman Air and Air New Zealand.
- Upgrades on Etihad Airways flights.
- Holidays booked with Etihad Holidays.
- Hotel stays and car rentals
- Donated to one of five good causes Etihad supports
- Shopping at the Etihad Reward Shop.
- Convert to cash with a reward card.
While there are many ways to use Etihad Guest Miles, the best value is usually to use them for flights or upgrades on Etihad or one of their airline partners.
Can Etihad Guest Miles be transferred?
Yes, you can now transfer your miles to any other member of Etihad Guest. A 10% service fee will be added to the transfer.
It is also possible to pool miles through a Family Membership. Etihad Guest allows you to include up to 9 people in a Family account, ranging from in-laws to step-siblings and even grandparents or your domestic help.
Do Etihad Guest Miles expire?
It depends. Different rules apply based on your Tier Status.
Etihad Guest Platinum member’s miles never expire.
For everyone else, Etihad Guest miles expire after 18 months of inactivity on your account. However, any eligible transaction such as earning, spending or buying miles will extend their validity for a further 18 months.
One simple and low-cost way to stop miles from expiring is to donate miles to charity through the Etihad Guest Rewards online shop.
Can I buy Etihad Guest miles?
Yes, you can buy Etihad Guest miles. There is an annual limit of 100,000 per year. Platinum tier members of Etihad Guest can buy up to 150,000 miles per year. Etihad also runs frequent promotions with bonuses on offer ranging from 20% all the way up to 60%. The annual cap is also often lifted during promotions.
You can also buy miles by boosting the miles earned on flights taken in the past year. MilesBooster lets you purchase up to three times the Etihad Guest miles you earned on flights you have actually flown in the last 12 months.
Check here to see if there are any current bonus offers available.
Can I transfer other points to Etihad Guest?
Yes, points can be transferred from 24 partners to Etihad Guest. The current partners are:
- ADCB Touchpoints
- AMEX Membership Rewards
- Boubyan Bank, Citibank
- Commercial Bank of Dubai
- Emirates NBD
- Emirates Islamic Bank
- Etisalat Smiles
- Global Miles
- Hilton Honors
- HSBC
- Al Hilal Bank – Joud Rewards
- Joyalukkas, World of Hyatt
- IHG Rewards Club
- Le Club AccorHotels
- Marriott Bonvoy
- FAB Stars
- Radisson Blu
- Shangri-La
- National Commercial Bank
- Hana Members
- Ping An WanLiTong
- Cathay United Bank.
Etihad occasionally offers bonuses on points transfers to Etihad Guest. Check this page for any current transfer bonuses.
What are Etihad Guest Miles worth?
This is a complex question to answer. Generally, miles and points sites give Eithad Guest Miles a valuation of between 1.2 to 1.5 cents (USD).
However, expats in the UAE who hold a co-branded credit card may be able to get significantly more value for their miles by taking advantage of perks such as companion vouchers, upgrade vouchers and upgrade discounts.
How can I claim missing Etihad Guest Miles?
You can claim missing miles online. You will need to be logged in to your account in order to complete the form.
However, this form does not always work, particularly if you have paid for an upgrade with either cash or miles. In that case, contact Etihad Guest by email at retroclaims@etihadguest.com including all of the details requested on the online form. Make sure also to include the details of your cash or miles upgrade.
To claim miles for flights taken before you joined Etihad Guest, you must email retroclaims@etihadguest.com and include a copy of your boarding pass and Etihad Guest number.
How do I redeem Etihad Guest Miles?
You can redeem Etihad Guest Miles online or via the call centre. Awards bookings on partner flights can only be redeemed by calling Etihad.
How many Etihad Guest Miles do I need to fly?
Use the Etihad Guest Miles calculator to determine how many miles you need to fly to a particular destination in each cabin.
How many Etihad Guest Miles do I need to upgrade?
Use the Etihad Guest Miles calculator to find out how many miles you need to upgrade on a particular flight.
What is an Etihad Guest seat?
An Etihad Guest seat is a standard award booking. These are fixed-price awards with set benefits and luggage allowance. This type of ticket will usually require the fewest miles to book.
Etihad has now made it possible to book any fare using Etihad Guest Miles. The underlying cash price of the ticket determines the number of miles required. Occasionally, this means that tickets requiring fewer miles than a standard Etihad Guest Seat award will be available. These tickets will also have different refund and change rules and baggage allowances. Check the fare rules carefully to see which option best suits your needs.
What are Etihad Guest Tier Miles?
In addition to Guest Miles, you also collect Tier Miles when you fly with Etihad Airways. Tier Miles count towards earning Silver, Gold and Platinum status in Etihad Guest. You will need 25,000 Tier Miles to reach Silver, 50,000 to Gold, and 125,000 Tier Miles to attain Platinum status.
Tier Miles are calculated on the Guest base miles for a flight. There is a cabin bonus when travelling in Business or First Class.
What are Etihad Guest Tier segments?
In addition to Tier Miles, you will also earn Tier Segments when flying with Etihad Airways. Tier Segments are an alternative way to earn Silver, Gold or Platinum status in Etihad Guest.
You will need 15 segments to reach Silver, 30 to Gold and 48 to Platinum. Tier Segments are beneficial for people who travel frequently but mainly on short or medium-haul flights.
You will earn one Tier Segment for every flight in Economy, two segments for every flight in Business Class and three Tier Segments for every flight in First Class.
What is Etihad Guest Silver?
Etihad Guest has three elite levels, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Etihad Guest is the first of the elite levels. Each tier receives a different collection of benefits and perks.
What is the Etihad Guest SBI card?
The Etihad Guest SBI Card is a payment card issued by SBI Bank to residents of India. Cardholers can earn Etihad Guest Miles on their spending. SBI is currently offering a Welcome Bonus of 2,500 Etihad Guest Miles and complimentary Silver status in Etihad Guest.
Holders of the Etihad Guest Premier SBI Card can also earn Etihad Guest Miles on their spending. SBI is currently offering a Welcome Bonus of 5,000 Etihad Guest Miles and complimentary Gold status in Etihad Guest.
How do I delete an Etihad Guest account?
To delete your account, contact Etihad Guest by phone or email.
Any other questions?
Please let us know in the comments below if any other questions should be included in this Etihad Guest FAQ.
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When I want to book a flight with my Etihad guest, I am asked for my loyalty number.
What is this loyalty number and where can I find it?
Is it the same as the guest number?
When I use my guest number it is not accepted.
Kind Regards
Kai Brendes
Yes, the loyalty number is the same as your Etihad Guest number. You can find it on your monthly email statement or most of the marketing emails sent from Etihad Guest.
Are you trying to book a flight yourself or someone else? Since the tech upgrade earlier this year it has not been possible to book flights online for other people using Etihad Guest Miles. The only way to do this is to call the contact centre.
I need to do small change in my name.How can I do the same?
Please let me know.
Thank you!
Speak to an Etihad agent using the local number and they should be able to help. Contact details available here: https://www.etihad.com/en-ae/help/contact-us
Is it possible to redeem guest miles on economy seat upgrades – for instance, from a standard economy seat to an Economy Space seat? As there doesn’t seem to be a way to do it on their site, unless I’m missing something.
Good question. Yes, you can use Etihad Guest Miles to book Economy Space seats. For redemption tickets you can do this online as part of the booking process. For cash tickets, call the contact centre after making the booking and they’ll be able to help book Economy Space seats with Etihad Guest Miles.
I returned back to the UK from Abu Dhabi on the 11th Nov only to find that I have been reduced from a silver member to bronze but my points are still at over 65000 can you tell me why.
Hi Stephanie,
Etihad Guest has two types of miles: Guest Miles, which can used to book reward flights, and Tier Miles, which determine elite status in Etihad Guest.
When you fly with Etihad, you earn both types of miles. For example, flying to London from Abu Dhabi earns between 851 to 3,403 Guest Miles in Economy (the exact amount depends on fare type).
That flight to London would also earn 3,403 Tier Miles. You must earn at least 20,000 Tier Miles annually to maintain Silver status.
To check your Tier Mile balance, log into Etihad Guest and click on the Account Summary tab. The top number you’ll see is your Etihad Guest Miles balance. Below that, towards the right, you should see your Tier Miles balance. That is the critical number for determining status.
I suspect the 65,000 miles you see are Guest Miles, not Tier Miles.
You would need to fly four return flights in economy between London and Abu Dhabi to regain Silver status.
Alternatively, a number of cards in the UAE offer fast track to Etihad Guest Gold and Silver status. The full list is here:
https://theexpatflyer.com/get-etihad-guest-elite-tier-status-quickly-with-these-bank-cards/
Hello,
Do you earn miles when you book an staff ticket? Even if the traveler doesn’t match with the guest name?
Hi Enrique,
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Staff tickets booked for friends and family are not eligible to earn either Etihad Guest Miles with Etihad or Skywards Miles with Emirates/flydubai.
Hi, I have Etihad bronze guest membership card. Can I pay with Etihad miles when I am booking for an Emirates flight?
No, Etihad Guest Miles can only be used to book flights on Etihad Airways and 22 airline partners. Unfortunately, Emirates is not one of the 22 partners. You can find the full list here: https://www.etihadguest.com/en/spend-miles/flying.html
Can i put my loyalty number in booking my friends ticket and collect the miles?
Unfortunately, not. Miles can only be earned by the passenger flying. However, it is possible to pool miles in a Family Membership which can included up to nine extended family members. Full details in this post: https://theexpatflyer.com/etihad-guest-family-membership/