Etihad Airways, a partner of Virgin Australia, provides Australian travellers with the ability to use Velocity Frequent Flyer points for global travel. With its good service and extensive network, Etihad is a favourite for reaching destinations from its Abu Dhabi hub. Its Etihad Guest frequent flyer program is also useful for Australians. Explore our articles on Etihad Airways below.
From 23 June 2026, you'll no longer be able to transfer Amex Membership Rewards Points into Etihad Guest. Although it's sad to lose a transfer partner, Etihad's loyalty program is now just so much less appealing than it used to be, anyway.
Although you can no longer redeem Velocity Points for Etihad Airways flights, there are still plenty of ways to book Etihad award seats through other frequent flyer programs.
Buying Etihad Guest miles during a promotion can unlock cheap flights when redeeming on Etihad's partner airlines including Garuda and China Eastern.
Etihad Guest has launched a new status match for Australian residents. Velocity Gold & Platinum members can get Etihad Gold status for up to 18 months.
Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia will end their frequent flyer partnership in June 2025 leaving Qatar Airways as Virgin's sole Middle Eastern partner airline.
Etihad has some great Business Class sale fares available from Singapore to Madrid from AUD3,154 return. Book by 30 November 2024.
Etihad will fly its Airbus A380 from Singapore to Abu Dhabi from February 2025, and there's lot of reward availability in Business & First Class.
See an overview of the different Etihad Airways Business Class seats offered on each aircraft type including the 787, 777, A380 and A350.
Access to the excellent Etihad Airways First Class Lounge in Abu Dhabi, with its brilliant service, would have to be one of the top perks of Virgin Australia Platinum status.
Your entire balance of Etihad Guest miles could expire on 1 June 2024 if you haven't flown with Etihad or a partner airline in the past 18 months.
Etihad Guest no longer publishes an award chart showing the number of miles you need for an Etihad Airways flight, so we created an unofficial one.
Etihad Guest has quietly increased the cost of award flights on partner airlines, including Virgin Australia, by up to 150%.