Etihad Guest transfer bonus on conversion through July 2016

Etihad Guest has to be one of my favourite programs in the loyalty space. Why? Because in India, they have one of the best redemption charts for Jet Airways, domestic as well as international. And you can redeem their miles on so many other carriers as well in the Etihad Airline Partners universe and other places (American Airlines, Brussels Airlines and others). Over the years, I’ve used tonnes of Etihad miles for my flights.

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Now, Etihad has come out with a new promotion, where on select transfer partners, you can get a 25% bonus miles on converting your miles from various programs to Etihad Guest miles. Here are the list of transfer partners.

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The value of most of the hotel loyalty programs to Etihad Guest looks very bad to me, and I’d advise you against transferring your hotel points to Etihad Guest.

Citibank stands out!

Citibank is the only bank in this promotion, where transfers will earn you a bonus. Over the years, Etihad Guest has offered 20-25% bonuses, such as 2014 and 2015. This promotion is back here this year, with a 25% bonus. Card members from the following countries qualify.

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As a reminder, 1 Citi Prestige point (India) converts to 4 Etihad Miles, and 5 during the promotion period which lasts till July 31, 2016. 2 Citi PremierMiles India transfers as 1 Etihad Mile, and 1.25 Etihad Miles during this promotion. The bonus miles will post within 15 days of the transfer being completed. It usually takes 3 days to convert points to Etihad Guest miles.

Bottomline

This is a good promotion, for those of you with Citi credit cards, and if you use Etihad Guest miles, this is a great time to transfer some points over to Etihad Guest. These promotions from Etihad don’t come often for transfer bonuses, about 1-2 times a year, so you never know when is the next time this happens.

Are you going to transfer some points over to Etihad Guest using this promotion?

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About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

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Comments

  1. Just spoke to a senior citibank exec he says that they still do not have any info on this and any points transferred will be on the customers own risk. This is what his backend team has told them.

  2. Hey Aj – Why do you feel Etihad is great for international redemptions? Post their recent devaluaiton, haven’t they become more expensive as well as the high tax component? Can you share some sample routes for using Etihad miles which have worked really well for you or you think are great redemption options (non domestic)?

    • @Shivani, I’ve noticed in a few cases I’ve used their International redemptions, that the # of miles required is lesser than JP, and the taxes are the same as JP. For instance, 9K EY miles for BOM-KTM, along with a choice of going direct or via Delhi, as compared to 12K on JP, but only the direct option. Also, 19K on BOM-HKG, while it was 24 or 27K on JP. Double for J class. I don’t book EY when my plans are not firm more than 14 days out, or when I am in doubt that my plan may change.

      • Thanks. What about the tax component since in JP now that has almost become negligible but EY still there is substantial. That is where my concern stands out

  3. Ajay – I think you and your readers should reconfirm this promotion by calling Etihad. Based on your post about similar promotion 2 years ago I transferred my citibank premier miles and Etihad didn’t give me any bonus after changing terms restricting the bonus only to middle east issued citibank cards.

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