What are the benefits of Etihad Guest Silver status?

What are the benefits of Etihad Guest Silver Tier status? 

Silver is one of four main tiers in Etihad Guest, the loyalty programme of Etihad Airways. This post outlines the main benefits of holding Etihad Guest Silver Tier status. 

Silver is the first elite tier that provides any significant status perks. It is the minimum most people flying Etihad should aim for. It is relatively easy to acquire, especially for residents of the UAE. You can read about the requirements to earn Silver Tier status here.

How do benefits on Etihad Guest work?

Etihad Guest is a little unusual in that status benefits are divided into three categories. The three categories are:

• Core Benefits
• Custom Benefits
• Beyond Benefits

Core Benefits are offered automatically to every member with a particular tier status.

Custom Benefits are personalised benefits. Once a year, members can select their favourite benefits from a menu of options. Silver Tier members can choose two perks, Gold Tier members can choose four and Platinum Tier members can select five benefits.

Beyond Benefits are perks that become available to select when members hit certain Tier Mile thresholds between tiers.

Core Benefits for Etihad Guest Silver Tier

The Core Benefits for Silver members are:

• Free wifi chat messaging onboard Etihad Airways flights
• Earn 25% Bonus Etihad Guest Miles on Etihad Airways flights and a handful of airline partners 
• Access to a dedicated check-in counter at Abu Dhabi Airport and Business Class check-in worldwide
• Option to buy back status for 75,000 Guest Miles

Custom Benefits for Etihad Guest Silver Tier

Silver members have a choice of two benefits from a list of four. The current list of options is:

• Reserve one standard economy seat for free
• Access to the Business Class Lounge at Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH) for self-only 
• 10% discount on excess baggage fees
• Reward shop vouchers (x2)

Beyond Benefits for Etihad Guest Silver Tier

There are no Beyond Benefits for Silver Tier Members.  

You can find the complete list of Etihad Guest Silver Tier benefits on Etihad Guest here. 

Status benefits on partner airlines

Etihad Airways is not part of a global airline alliance, so you do not automatically get elite benefits on a collection of other airlines.

However, there are a handful of airline partners that do recognise Etihad Guest Tier status. You can discover the full details of which airlines offer benefits to Etihad Guest elites here.  

How do these benefits compare?

The most significant perk is access to the Etihad Airways Business Class lounge at Abu Dhabi Airport. Globally, it is rare for the lowest tier of an airline loyalty scheme to include lounge access. The benefit has also improved with the move to the new Terminal A. Previously, Etihad Guest Silver Tier members only had access to a third-party lounge. 

The free seat selection in Economy will also help if you regularly fly on the cheapest economy fare. You could save up to AED 150 per leg on flights between Abu Dhabi and Europe.  

The next tier above Silver is the Etihad Guest Gold Tier, which has significantly more perks.