Like I mentioned three years ago, and then last week, Etihad Guest has been in the process of developing cards for the Indian market, where they partnered with SBI Card for the initiative. The new Etihad SBI Card was launched last night, and as usual, we were there to cover the launch from the ground. The evening was graced by officials from SBI Cards, Etihad Airways, and Shilpa Shetty Kundra.
For Etihad Guest, which has over 500,000 members in India, this is their first co-brand credit card outside of their home market and perhaps a sign that they are ready to flex their muscle again.
Etihad Airways operates 147 flights a week from 10 airports in India, which is a good spread to start with for the Indian flyers, apart from the fact that they are the only USA Pre-Clearance facility in the Middle East, which many times makes me pick Etihad Airways over other airlines due to the Preclearance facility.
Let’s jump in straight into the product, before talking about the other stuff. The Etihad Guest SBI Card product range is going to be available in two variants, the Etihad Guest SBI Card and Etihad Guest SBI Premier Card. For the first time in India, an airline is throwing their weight behind their credit card product by offering companion tickets free.
Etihad Guest SBI Card
Welcome Gifts: The Etihad Guest SBI Card offers complimentary Etihad Guest Silver Tier Status along with 2,500 Etihad Guest Miles upon first card swipe after the approval of the credit card. You also get a free wi-fi voucher on your first Etihad flight booking on this card, which is valid for flights which operate the Panasonic GCS system and gives you 180 MB data free. The card costs INR 1,499+ GST, and you can spend INR 3 lakhs on the card in a year to get a fee reversal for the second year.
The Silver status is granted for six months, and you can earn it for another six months by completing two flights on Etihad Airways within the first six months. This offer is only for the first year of the card holding. The Silver Tier Status gets you a bonus of 25% miles on flying Etihad and crediting to your Etihad account.
Regular earning: In terms of regular spend, you get 3 miles per INR 100 spent on Etihad.com towards booking tickets. For your spends outside of India, you get 2 miles/INR 100 spent and for spends inside the country you get 1 miles/INR 100 spend. You earn one tier miles for every INR 50 spent on the card, which means you can retain the Silver Tier on spending INR 12.5 lakhs on this card.
You also get 5,000 bonus Etihad Guest miles on INR 5 lakh spends, and a +1 Companion voucher for mileage redemption tickets when you spend INR 10 lakhs on the card. Regarding lounge access, you get domestic lounge access twice a quarter with Visa.
Etihad Discount: When you book directly with Etihad Airways, you get 3% discount on Economy Class and 10% discount on Premium Cabin travel. Discount is valid for travel originating in India.
Introductory offer: When you buy your tickets on Etihad’s website, you get up to 8% discount on Economy class tickets and upto 10% discount on Business Class and First Class tickets. This offer is valid for bookings must be made before March 31, 2019, and outbound travel between April 4, 2019, and April 25, 2019. The discount offer is valid for travel originating from Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kozhikode, Kochi, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram.
Etihad Guest SBI Premier Card
Welcome Gifts: The Etihad Guest SBI Premier Card offers complimentary Etihad Guest Gold Tier Status along with 5,000 Etihad Guest Miles upon first card swipe after the approval of the credit card. You also get two free wi-fi voucher on your first Etihad flight booking on this card, which is valid for flights which operate the Panasonic GCS system and gives you 180 MB data free. The card costs INR 4,999+ GST, and you can spend INR 5 lakhs on the card in a year to get a fee reversal for the second year.
The Gold status is for six months, and you can earn it for another six months by completing two flights on Etihad Airways within the first six months. This offer is only for the first year of the card holding.
Regular earning: Regarding regular spend, you get 6 miles per INR 100 spent on Etihad.com towards booking tickets. For your spends outside of India, you get 4 miles/INR 100 spent and for spends inside the country you get 2 mile/INR 100 spend. You earn one tier miles for every INR 50 spent on the card, which means you can retain the Gold Tier on spending INR 25 lakhs on this card.
You also get 1,500 bonus Etihad Guest miles on INR 1.5 lakh quarterly spends, and a +1 Companion voucher for mileage redemption tickets when you spend INR 8 lakhs on the card. Regarding lounge access, you get domestic lounge access twice a quarter with Visa, and international lounge access four times a year with the Priority Pass, with a limit of at most two visits in a quarter.
Introductory offer: When you buy your tickets on Etihad’s website, you get up to 8% discount on Economy class tickets and up to 10% discount on Business Class and First Class tickets. This offer is valid for bookings must be made before March 31, 2019, and outbound travel between April 4, 2019, and April 25, 2019. The discount offer is valid for travel originating from Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kozhikode, Kochi, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram.
What’s the point?
Why would you want to bank your miles on Etihad Guest? There are many reasons to do so. Etihad Guest benefits are offered on Jet Airways, and you can redeem your Etihad Airways miles on over 20 partner airlines. You also get excess baggage allowance and priority boarding.
The strongest point of this card is the Guest +1 voucher, which you need to earn by spending INR 8 lakhs on the Premier variant and INR 10 lakhs on the regular option.
Bottomline
The Etihad SBI Card lineup is a complex product with many moving parts, some geared towards miles earning and some towards status. But if you are an Etihad frequent flyer, however, this could work for you if you use it to earn the +1 voucher.
What do you think about the newly launched Etihad Guest SBI Credit Card?
Is the +1 voucher valid for a 1 way trip or for a round trip ticket?
Hi, did anyone get the card? How soon was the status awarded?
I have a few round trips lined up on Etihad in the next few months, so I am planning to apply.
Nothing exiting as of now
Need 12001 miles for BOM AUH One Way Economy class
Renewal benefits unclear
Elite status for first year only
Etihad is overall not doing good in aviation industry
@Ajay Sir please enlighten us
Thanks
Can I link this with my existing Etihad guest account or will be given a new one ?
Proposition is not at all exciting. Too many caveats, too less rewards. Co branded cards from. Jet or Vistara are far better propositions.
It’s an ok product – suitable for die hard Etihad fans only I guess!
I’m not a frequent traveler or elite with any airlines. However, I would hold the card for Rs 5,900/year if status is given (and reciprocated/matched with Jet Airways) as long as I would hold the card.
SBI usually gives upto Rs 1000 BMS or Pizza Hut voucher if applied through their site after some time.
Overall, status for 5k is nice, but only for the first year is a downer. Would have been much more attractive if it was a continuous feature over renewals. Same with the flight discounts.