Last month, I wrote about Etihad’s plan to introduce a single award chart for its Etihad Guest programme, consolidating more than 20 separate charts into one. While the simplification was welcome, an unfortunate by-product was that it would almost certainly nerf the sweet spots lurking amongst the various charts.
Well, Etihad Guest has now published its new award chart (two actually: one for Etihad and one for partners), and it’s basically what was expected- the programme is now simpler, and much less lucrative.
Etihad Guest’s new award chart
From 9 March 2023, Etihad Guest will be introducing two distance-based award charts for travel on Etihad Airways and partner airlines.
Travel on Etihad
| Band | Y | J | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-500 | 7K | 20K | 40K |
| 501-1000 | 11K | 25K | 50K |
| 1001-1500 | 13K | 30K | 60K |
| 1501-2000 | 17K | 45K | 90K |
| 2001-2500 | 22K | 50K | 100K |
| 2501-3000 | 27K | 60K | 120K |
| 3001-4000 | 32K | 70K | 140K |
| 4000-5000 | 37K | 75K | 150K |
| 5001-6000 | 45K | 100K | 200K |
| 6001+ | 60K | 110K | 220K |
| Y= Economy, J= Business, F= First |
|||
Travel on Partners
| Band | Y | PY | J | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-500 | 6K | 7.5K | 10K | 14K |
| 501-1000 | 12K | 13K | 20K | 27K |
| 1001-1500 | 15K | 19K | 30K | 40K |
| 1501-2000 | 23K | 25K | 40K | 54K |
| 2000-2500 | 28K | 31K | 50K | 67K |
| 2501-3000 | 34K | 37K | 60K | 80K |
| 3001-4000 | 45K | 49K | 80K | 107K |
| 4001-5000 | 60K | 62K | 100K | 134K |
| 5001-6000 | 67K | 74K | 120K | 160K |
| 6001+ | 75K | 90K | 140K | 200K |
| Y= Economy, PY= Premium Economy, J= Business, F= First | ||||
While the new pricing technically kicks in from tomorrow, it’s not possible to make any bookings based on the current charts today as the system is undergoing an “upgrade” of sorts.
This means it’s effectively a no-notice devaluation. I don’t care if Etihad broke the news last month; I consider notice to be given only when the new award charts are published in full.
How bad is it?
Etihad previously promised to introduce zone-based award charts, but instead has gone with distance-based charts.
With distance-based charts, we like to see as few bands as possible because the broader the bands, the greater the opportunities to find sweet spots (just look for destinations at the upper end of a given band).
Unfortunately, Etihad has really salami sliced this, with 10 different distance bands (for comparison, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles has six). These fine distinctions don’t leave much room for outsized value.
Moreover, it means the end of existing sweet spots:
- Royal Air Maroc Business Class flights maxed out at 44,000 miles previously; under the new chart they can cost up to 140,000 miles
- American Airlines Business Class flights from Hong Kong to the USA cost 55,000 miles previously; under the new chart they will cost 140,000 miles
- ANA Business Class flights from Japan to Seattle cost 54,000 miles previously; under the new chart they will cost 100,000 miles
- Oman Air Business Class flights from Muscat to London cost 44,000 miles previously; under the new chart they will cost 80,000 miles
It’s not all bad news:
- Air Serbia short haul Economy flights cost 5,000 miles previously, they’ll now start from 6,000 miles
- Virgin Australia Pacific Island flights cost 6,900 miles previously, they’ll now start from 6,000 miles
Moreover, you’ll soon be able to book American Airlines and Virgin Australia awards directly on Etihad’s website, which offers more convenience if nothing else. However, what’s clear is that the juicy premium cabin sweet spots have been nerfed.
Conclusion
Etihad Guest has unveiled its new distance-based award charts, which take effect from 9 March 2023. While the pricing for travel on Etihad isn’t terrible, the net loss to the programme is significant because of how partner awards have been devalued.
As much as I hated navigating Etihad’s 20+ award charts, I kind of wish they’d stuck to them now!
Are the distance bands based on miles or km?
miles
I have to say, this is brutal. AUH-TYO in first class is now 200,000 miles. One way.
Guess the partner 0-500 band is the sweet spot now.
SIN-KUL in MH business lowered from 14K to 10K.
Excellent value for a steak & champagne date night in the SIN QR Premium lounge. Even “cheaper” than avios now!
Thats a good spot actually! If only it were easier to book
Saw this yesterday on an email and was worse than expected. Actually Virgin Australia flights (my favourite) are hit the worst in terms of sweet spots. Especially for the flights that used to go to VLI. From 6900/13800 for Y/J now around 3x to 4x between certain city pairs. And availability used to always be great. I managed to bag a few sectors last month for April but sadly will have to rethink my strategy for June. Krisflyer might actually work out better for some sectors.
Today is already 13/3/2023 and there is still no GuestSeat redemptions. 1 way SIN to AUH on Business Class need 304308 miles! Seems like GuestSeats redemptions are for show only. Etihad miles are useless now. Try booking ANA Economy Class seats. Shows available on KrisFlyer and ANA Mileage Club but not available on Etihad Guest even 10 to 11 months away. Good luck to all Etihad Guest members!
Agreed. It’s rubbish. Crazy miles required