How to Buy & Redeem Etihad Guest Miles

Etihad Airways business class
Buy Etihad Guest miles to redeem for cheap flights with Etihad and its partner airlines. Photo: Etihad.

Etihad Guest miles are a unique currency because they can be redeemed for flights on around 20 different airlines, including Virgin Australia. Etihad has partner airlines spanning all three global airline alliances – plus many others that aren’t in any alliance, and therefore aren’t otherwise accessible through Australian frequent flyer or loyalty programs.

Buying Etihad Guest miles can be lucrative if you plan to redeem them for Business or First Class flights. Etihad Guest is also the only program you can use to book Etihad Airways Business or First Class reward flights more than 30 days before departure.

With the Etihad Guest program, some of the best value redemptions are for short-haul flights.

How to buy Etihad Guest miles

You can buy Etihad Guest miles on the Etihad Guest website. You’ll be prompted to login to your account, then taken to the Points.com Storefront page where you can select the number of miles you wish to buy and enter your credit card payment details.

You can buy Etihad Guest miles on Etihad's website
You can buy Etihad Guest miles on Etihad’s website.

If you’re not already a member, you can join Etihad Guest online for free.

The normal price for Etihad Guest miles is USD20 (~AU$29) per thousand, although you can sometimes get miles at a discount (see below).

There is an annual purchase limit for most Etihad Guest members of 100,000 miles per transaction, or 150,000 miles for Etihad Guest Platinum members. These limits exclude any bonus miles.

Etihad’s website states that miles will normally credit to your account within 24 hours of purchasing them. In our experience, it can take 24-48 hours.

As your transaction will be completed in US Dollars and processed in the United States, you may prefer to pay using a credit card with no international transaction fees to avoid paying a foreign currency surcharge to your bank. You may also like to contact your bank before completing the payment so that your bank doesn’t block your account if they think it’s a suspicious transaction. (It’s not a suspicious transaction, but we have heard of some banks making this assumption and therefore blocking transactions in the past.)

In addition to buying miles outright, you can pay to “boost” the number of miles earned from Etihad Airways flights, Etihad Guest payment cards, hotels, car rentals or with other program partners using the MilesBooster feature.

Special deals on buying Etihad Guest miles

Etihad Guest offers bonus miles or discounts on purchases of Etihad Guest miles during limited-time promotions. These usually take place at least several times per year.

Etihad Guest offers aren’t generally quite as generous as those of frequent flyer programs like Avianca LifeMiles, which regularly gives around 145% bonus miles! But Etihad’s loyalty program has been known to offer up to 70% bonus miles on purchases.

In its current limited-time promotion, Etihad Guest is offering up to 30% bonus miles on purchases made between 16-25 February 2024. The amount of bonus miles received depended on the amount purchased:

  • Buy 25,000 to 50,000 Etihad Guest miles to receive 20% bonus miles
  • Buy 51,000+ Etihad Guest miles to receive 30% bonus miles

You can discuss Etihad “buy miles” promotions on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum:

Other ways to earn Etihad Guest miles

Of course, buying Etihad Guest miles is not the only way to increase your balance. You can earn miles in many other ways including flying with Etihad and its partner airlines, or by transferring points from a hotel loyalty program.

If you have an American Express credit card issued in Australia, you can also transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points to Etihad Guest at a 2:1 rate.

Great Cards for Amex Membership Rewards Points

American Express Platinum Card
Earn
2.25

American Express Membership Rewards (Ascent Premium) Points on everyday purchases

Signup Bonus

200,000 bonus Membership Rewards points

Apply by 09th Apr 2024

Annual Fee
$1,450 p.a.
Read the guide
American Express Platinum Edge
Earn
1

American Express Membership Rewards Points on everyday purchases

Signup Bonus

No current signup bonus

Annual Fee
$0 in the first year, $195 p.a. ongoing
Read the guide
American Express Explorer
Earn
2

American Express Membership Rewards Points on everyday purchases

Signup Bonus

50,000 bonus Membership Rewards Points

Annual Fee
$395 p.a.
Read the guide

It is no longer possible to transfer Flybuys points to Etihad Guest.

Redeeming Etihad Guest miles

Etihad Guest made significant changes to its award charts in February 2024. Short-haul Business Class redemptions on partner airlines are no longer the great value they once were. But short-haul awards on Etihad Airways flights are now slightly better value.

Redemptions on Etihad Airways

As per the Etihad Guest website, the following award chart applies to GuestSeat redemptions on Etihad Airways operated flights (the distance range is based on the miles flown, one-way):

One-way distance (miles)Economy ClassBusiness ClassFirst Class
0 – 5005,00015,00030,000
501 – 1,00010,00020,00040,000
1,001 – 1,50013,00030,00055,000
1,501 – 2,00015,00035,00080,000
2,001 – 2,50020,00045,00090,000
2,501 – 3,00025,00060,000110,000
3,001 – 4,00030,00070,000120,000
4,001 – 5,00037,00075,000135,000
5,001 – 6,00045,00095,000140,000
6,000+60,000120,000160,000

You can also check the minimum miles needed for an award ticket (or upgrade) any specific Etihad Airways route using the Miles Calculator on Etihad’s website.

According to Etihad, a “premium redemption fare will be applied based on demand and availability”. Dynamic pricing applies to OpenSeat awards, which aren’t subject to the same availability restrictions as GuestSeat awards.

Note that taxes and fuel surcharges are also payable, in addition to the miles. Etihad imposes relatively high fuel surcharges when you redeem miles on its own flights.

Redemptions on partner airlines

Here are the Etihad Guest program’s partner airlines as of February 2024:

Etihad Guest partner airlines: Air Canada, Air Europa, Air France, Air New Zealand, Air Serbia, American Airlines, ANA, Asiana, Brussels Airlines, EL AL Israel Airlines, Etihad, Garuda Indonesia, Gulf Air, Hainan Airlines, KLM, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Royal Air Maroc, SAS, Saudia, SriLankan Airlines and Virgin Australia

Redemptions on partner airlines are priced according to the following award chart:

Etihad Guest partner airline award pricing chart as of February 2024.
New Etihad Guest partner airline award chart as of February 2024.

Which types of Etihad Guest rewards are the best value?

Etihad Guest redemptions are often the best value on short-haul routes.

For example, it costs only 5,000 miles to fly Economy Class on Etihad on routes under 500 miles in length. On partner airlines, it’s just 6,000 miles.

Some examples of routes under 500 miles include:

  • Abu Dhabi-Doha on Etihad Airways
  • Melbourne-Sydney on Virgin Australia
  • Sydney-Brisbane on Virgin Australia
  • Sydney-Gold Coast on Virgin Australia
  • Melbourne-Adelaide on Virgin Australia
  • Hobart-Melbourne on Virgin Australia
  • Brisbane-Mackay on Virgin Australia
  • Brussels-London on Brussels Airlines
  • Belgrade-Istanbul on Air Serbia
  • Vancouver-Calgary on Air Canada
  • Toronto-Montreal on Air Canada
  • Doha-Muscat on Oman Air
  • Singapore-Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines
  • Colombo-Male on SriLankan Airlines or Gulf Air
  • Lisbon-Casablanca on Royal Air Maroc
Brussels Airlines A320 in Aerosmurf livery
Brussels Airlines flights within Europe can be good value when using Etihad Guest miles. Photo: Brussels Airlines.

How to book Etihad Guest award flights

You can use the Etihad website to book award flights operated by Etihad Airways, Virgin Australia, American Airlines, Air France or KLM.

Virgin Australia 737 business class
Redeem Etihad Guest miles online for Virgin Australia Business Class. Photo: Virgin Australia.

To book award flights on any other partner airline, you’ll need to call Etihad Guest. The Australian contact number is 1300 532 215.

Changing or cancelling an Etihad Guest award booking

Etihad Guest redemption bookings made on or after 22 February 2024 attract the following cancellation fees:

  • More than 21 days before departure: 25% penalty
  • 8-21 days before departure: 50% penalty
  • 1-7 days before departure: 75% penalty
  • Within 24 hours before departure: 100% penalty

You can change the date on your ticket up to 7 days before departure for a fee of AED100 (~AU$42) per passenger.

Want to learn more about buying points for cheap premium cabin flights?

Australian Frequent Flyer offers comprehensive training which includes an entire course on buying points for discounted premium travel! This course covers the most useful frequent flyer programs in detail, including Etihad Guest. View course →

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.
________________________

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Community Comments

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There's another promo on now. Up to 45% bonus miles until 1 June.

Reply Like

There's another promo on now. Up to 45% bonus miles until 1 June.

Hi @Mattg I could potentially be interested in this, but I went to the website and there is no mention at all about bonus miles on the buy miles page/s. Is this a selective promotion? TIA

Reply Like

Hi @Mattg I could potentially be interested in this, but I went to the website and there is no mention at all about bonus miles on the buy miles page/s. Is this a selective promotion? TIA

Did you click through to the page where you actually buy the miles? Once you get there and choose how many miles you want to buy, the bonuses should appear. It’s not a targeted offer AFAIK.

Reply Like

is there good availability of seats using the Etihad point for VA or do you only get access much later than velocity members?

Reply Like

I also clicked through to the purchase page and the extra miles didn't show up @Mattg maybe it is targetted?

Reply 1 Like

Did you click through to the page where you actually buy the miles? Once you get there and choose how many miles you want to buy, the bonuses should appear. It’s not a targeted offer AFAIK.

Well yes, I thought I did. Seems same thing happened to @Mur@no70 too b

Reply Like

is there good availability of seats using the Etihad point for VA or do you only get access much later than velocity members?

Yes, the availability pretty much matches what you can book using Velocity points. But the taxes & charges are usually around $9 cheaper per flight, because Etihad doesn't add a Velocity carrier charge.

I also clicked through to the purchase page and the extra miles didn't show up @Mattg maybe it is targetted?

That's odd. This is what I'm seeing:

View image at the forums

Reply Like

click to expand...

Yes, the availability pretty much matches what you can book using Velocity points. But the taxes & charges are usually around $9 cheaper per flight, because Etihad doesn't add a Velocity carrier charge.

That's odd. This is what I'm seeing:

View attachment 279227

Thanks @Mattg mine is different - I don't have the blurb saying for a limitied time - so maybe it is targetted. One last question as I don't etihad miles very well, can I VA book tickets for the rest of my family using etihad miles or is it just limited to the account holder? thanks

Reply Like

click to expand...

Yes, the availability pretty much matches what you can book using Velocity points. But the taxes & charges are usually around $9 cheaper per flight, because Etihad doesn't add a Velocity carrier charge.

That's odd. This is what I'm seeing:

View attachment 279227

im also not seeing the bonus , all I see is the normal cost. I tried 2 different portals, and it looks like the promo has been pulled early?

Reply Like

Thanks @Mattg mine is different - I don't have the blurb saying for a limitied time - so maybe it is targetted. One last question as I don't etihad miles very well, can I VA book tickets for the rest of my family using etihad miles or is it just limited to the account holder? thanks

I don't see any reason you couldn't book for family members.

im also not seeing the bonus , all I see is the normal cost. I tried 2 different portals, and it looks like the promo has been pulled early?

How bizarre. This promo was also featured on several overseas blogs, so it wasn't just me who could see it. In any case, I'm still seeing the bonus miles as available. 🤷‍♂️

For those who can't access this promo, keep an eye out for the next one - they come around every few months.

Reply Like

click to expand...