Breaking Points
Award System
Etihad Guest
Max. Point Value 1.200¢
Do Points Expire? Yes
Point Transfer Options
Transfer To Spouse/Partner Yes
Transfer To Friends No
You load your points. We’ll show you valuation and transfer options.
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Travel Partner Transfers
Outside Point System Etihad Guest
Transfers In From
1:1 86% value retained
1:1 109% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
5:1 40% value retained
3:1 57% value retained
5:2 30% value retained
The Highlights
Etihad has been named “World’s Leading Airline” at the World Travel Awards every year since 2009. It serves 68 countries, including U.S. cities such as New York, Chicago, Washington D.C. and San Francisco. Then, why, you may be asking yourself, am I not familiar with them? It may be because their system is more of a potential booking portal than a point accumulation partner.
What you will be familiar with, however, is 20+ of their airline partners, including American Airlines. While Etihad isn't part of any major airline alliance, accumulating points is easier than you may think because you can transfer American Express Rewards, Citi Thank You rewards and Marriott points directly to Etihad Guest. This is a great option because Etihad Guest Miles are often worth more for flights on American Airlines than American’s own points. International Business class tickets are usually the best value found here -- or you can use miles for on-board upgrades and extras.
There’s also an option to transfer miles to cash through PointsPay. This program has 3 tiers of membership: Silver, Gold and Gold Elite. Reaching Gold Elite status grants perks such as 75% bonus miles and first-class lounge access. Note that miles expire 2 years after crediting for Silver members, 2.5 years after crediting for Gold members and 3 years after crediting for Gold Elite members.
But the annual fees on Etihad's cards generally outweigh the bonuses unless you’re all in on Etihad, which would likely be UAE residents.