Etihad Guest has launched a sale where members can redeem award tickets on Etihad Airways for 30% off. The sale runs from now till 27 August 2020, for travel up to 31 May 2021.
Etihad Guest 30% off Awards Sale
Technically, the sale also covers redemptions for car rentals, hotels, merchandise, and shopping, but the value you get from these is so poor itโs not even worth looking at.
Etihad Guestโs 30% off awards sale
Hereโs the key points to note about Etihad Guestโs awards sale:
- All tickets must be booked by 2359 on 27 August 2020 (Gulf Standard Time- equivalent to 0400 on 28 August 2020 in Singapore)
- Travel must be completed by 31 May 2021
- Travel can be booked in Economy, Business or First Class
- Flights must be operated by Etihad Airways
- Both one-way and round trip awards are eligible
- Only GuestSeats (Etihadโs equivalent of saver awards) can be booked; OpenSeats cannot
Note that flights must be operated by Etihad Airways, which means this discount does not apply to awards on any of Etihad Guestโs many partner airlines. Thatโs a shame, since 30% off the already low 7,500/10,000 miles for a one-way Economy/Business Class ticket to Koh Samui would be pretty sweet.
What Etihad Airways awards can you redeem?
Etihad Guest doesnโt have a traditional award chart for redemptions on Etihad Airways. Instead, youโll need to use this mileage calculator to calculate the cost.
Do note that the prices shown by the calculator may sometimes be slightly different from the prices shown by the booking engine. For the most accurate quote, always refer to the latter.
From Singapore toโฆ |
Business | First |
Abu Dhabi | 101,500 + S$748 |
138,250 + S$748 |
Athens | 175,001 + S$839 |
238,000 + S$839 |
Paris | 257,251 + S$968 |
|
Rome | 189,000 + S$853 |
257,251 + S$853 |
London | 189,001 + S$1,175 |
261,099 + S$1,175 |
Casablanca | 194,251 + S$827 |
273,351 + S$827 |
New York City | 241,339 +S$946 |
328,776 +S$946 |
Washington DC | 269,500 + S$946 |
329,001 + S$946 |
*All prices shown are round-trip. One way requires 50% of the miles |
Unlike Emirates, Etihad continues to impose substantial fuel surcharges on its tickets, and for most long haul destinations you can expect to pay between S$800-1,000 on a round-trip premium cabin award.
Unfortunately, this means that the use cases for this sale are limited. A round-trip Singapore to Europe award would cost 184,000/250,000 miles in Business/First Class on Singapore Airlines, with no fuel surcharges. Even with Etihad Guestโs 30% discount, youโre still paying slightly more miles, not to mention hundreds more in fuel surcharges.
Thatโs not even taking into account the KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes discounts, which granted, arenโt available right now, but Iโm sure weโll see return once the situation eases.
If youโd like to try your luck searching, the discount should be automatically reflected through the online booking engine. Do note that that refunds of GuestSeats attract a 10% mileage penalty (i.e 90% of the miles will be refunded to you).
Which credit cards offer transfers to Etihad Guest?
Only Citibank and Standard Chartered offer points transfers to Etihad Guest.
Of the two, Citibank is the more realistic candidate. Your Citi ThankYou and Citi Miles can be transferred to Etihad Guest at a rate of 5:2 and 1:1 respectively- the same as any other Citi frequent flyer partner.
In contrast, Standard Chartered rewards points transfer to Etihad Guest at a 3:1 ratio- 20% worse than the 2.5:1 youโd get for Singapore Airlines. Unless thereโs some sort of transfer bonus, itโs not worth the haircut.
Conclusion
Although a 30% discount on awards sounds generous, Etihad Guest was never the best program to redeem Etihad Airways flights in the first place, and this doesnโt really change the picture.
Sadly, the โbetterโ ways of redeeming Etihad Airways flights arenโt accessible to us in Singapore. Both Air Canada Aeroplan and American AAdvantage would offer better value, but unless youโre willing to buy miles out of pocket, neither is an option.
Etihad never really had much value in their FFP, but less so now. When the aeroplan tie up was announced it seemed like they zeroed out all F award space, which, if true, seems on brand.