Major Etihad Guest Award Changes March 2023

Major Etihad Guest Award Changes March 2023

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Etihad Guest has just made some major program changes. A few weeks ago, Etihad revealed that updates would be coming to award pricing, and they have been implemented as of today, March 10, 2023. While there’s some good news, these changes are overwhelmingly negative, at least for those who were good at maximizing miles.

Etihad Guest creates zone based award charts

Etihad Guest has introduced new award pricing for all awards. Specifically, the program has introduced two simplified zone based award charts — one for travel on Etihad Airways, and one for travel on partner airlines.

For context, under the old system, award pricing for travel on Etihad varied by route, and then each partner airline had its own award chart, with a mix of distance and route based pricing. While that system was rather confusing, this did result in some great sweet spots. For example, there were some amazing award redemption values on partners like American Airlines and Royal Air Maroc.

Etihad has now implemented its simplified award charts. Here’s the new Etihad Guest award chart for travel on Etihad:

Etihad Guest award chart for travel on Etihad

Then here’s the new Etihad Guest award chart for travel on partner airlines:

Etihad Guest award chart for travel on partner airlines

I suppose in some way, Etihad Guest should be commended for creating a simple, transparent award chart, given how many other programs are moving to dynamic pricing. That’s at least a direction that I like to see.

However, practically speaking, the implications of these changes are absolutely brutal. I’d say that economy class and business class pricing on Etihad is still quite reasonable with the new chart, but aside from that, just about all sweet spots that existed on partner airlines have been destroyed:

  • Under the old system, you could book one segment in business class on Royal Air Maroc (including on long haul flights) for 44,000 Etihad Guest miles, while under the new system a long haul business class award costs 80,000 miles
  • Under the old system, you could book an American three cabin first class ticket from New York to Los Angeles for 25,000 Etihad Guest miles, while under the new system that costs 67,000 miles

So yeah, unfortunately this destroys all of the too good to be true redemption options that have been available. I’d say in many cases the new pricing isn’t necessarily unfair, but at this point there’s simply no reason to book these kinds of awards through Etihad Guest anymore, given the alternatives.

One strange thing I’m noticing is that Etihad currently has virtually no saver level award space for travel on its own flights through the end of the schedule. I’m not sure if that’s a temporary glitch due to this transition, or if this is a “feature” of the new program…

Etihad has simplified award pricing, including on partner airlines

Etihad Guest makes partner awards bookable online

Here’s the good news. It’s now supposed to be possible to book award flights on American Airlines and Virgin Australia directly on Etihad’s website (I say “supposed to,” because I don’t actually see where this feature exists). Previously you needed to book all partner awards by phone, which can be an adventure, to put it mildly. Other partner awards aren’t available online for the time being, and are still only bookable by phone.

I can appreciate the value in easily being able to book partner awards, since dealing with the Etihad Guest call center can be an adventure, to put it mildly. Of course go figure that this change happens at the same time that Etihad’s advantageous award pricing is being eliminated.

Redeeming Etihad miles on American isn’t as good of a deal

Bottom line

Major changes have been made to the Etihad Guest program as of March 2023. We’ve seen new simplified distance based award charts introduced for travel on Etihad and partner airlines. While the simplicity is good, unfortunately we’ve also seeing the old sweet spots gutted.

There are no more cheap premium cabin awards on American, and no more cheap business class awards on Royal Air Maroc. On the plus side, there hasn’t been a major devaluation to most award pricing for travel on Etihad, at least in economy and business class. Furthermore, Etihad has rolled out its first online partner redemptions, as American and Virgin Australia awards should be bookable through etihad.com.

What do you make of these Etihad Guest changes?

Conversations (39)
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  1. Bill n DC Diamond

    My interest in EY is award space in First on A380 and on the B787 DreamLiner AUH - IAD.
    I’ve done SYD AUH ON A380 using AA miles

    Reading the comments (Thanks, Lee!) it seems trips home with now cost 220,000. Up from ~130,000 to IAD It’s be very prospective to fund now since I’m booked on planned RTW trips until next spring I better deal could come along

  2. SharonC Guest

    Well this is just insane. A few weeks back i was checking out LHR-SEZ for a one-way reward ready to book it for June next year and it was coming in at 230k for 2 seats. No saver awards now and I now need 1.3m (yes, 1.3 million!!) miles. What the heck has just happened?

  3. TravelinWilly Diamond

    Devaluing the Etihad award table doesn't really matter when there are no awards to be found anyway.

  4. Dave C Guest

    Just glad that blogs won't be able to talk about the "too good to be true" Maroc & Brussels redemptions. These were not possible to actually book. I booked 3 separate flights and received confirmations from Etihad, only to have them cancelled days later and those seats gone. Terrible, 176k stranded there now

  5. Lee Guest

    Ben, as of 10am ET on March 10th, this language is STILL on the Etihad Guest website for AA redemptions:

    You can redeem your miles for reward flights by contacting the Etihad Guest Service Centre 24 hours before your date of departure.

  6. Euro Gold

    I've never redeemed through Etihad Guest before but with one award chart for all partners based on distance instead of one award chart per partner, wouldn't this make award redemptions across multiple partners easier if not finally possible?

    1. Lee Guest

      IF those partners make award inventory available to Etihad. This is a big problem across carriers.

  7. Yul Brenner Guest

    Looking for best deals on EtiThad rom SEA-Europe. Preferably SEA-MUC, J. Have C1 mile 86k miles. Also looking Sea-HAN, SGN, MNL. Neither I nor Etithad can view mileage awards until I have points deposited in Etithad account which I don't want to do without knowing the award levels. Any ideas?

    1. Lee Guest

      You were absolutely great in The King and I.

  8. Chris Guest

    While I understand that airlines need to update their award pricing from time to time, I really do not appreciate Etihad's move to significantly devaluate their miles' worth in just a couple days' time. Actually I don't recall receiving any email on this until I accidentally bumped into this article. Very, very disappointing.

    1. Lee Guest

      No-notice/little-notice updates seem to be the industry pattern, whether airlines or hotels. No one likes it. So, it's get tough or die. This change is best called a re-valuation. Some will gain (see jessie's comment) and some will lose. For all of us, online access is a plus . . . IF Etihad has reasonable access to award inventory. (I have substantial skin in the game with Etihad.)

  9. jessie Guest

    As an expat based in the ME who often redeems EY miles for SV or GF biz flights, this chart is def. bettter.

  10. Christian Guest

    You consider 200,000 miles one way first class AUH-TYO to be fair? Really?

  11. Jennifer Guest

    Wow I’ll miss the sweet spot to Hawaii in business.

  12. Trey Guest

    Would be helpful to see a list of partners again. Being able to book premium economy on Etihad website is intriguing, if it actually works. Should apply to Air Canada, ANA, American, AirNZ and ITA?

    1. Lee Guest

      https://www.etihadguest.com/en/spend-miles/flying.html?_linkNav=Flying

      Here you go.

  13. Ryan Guest

    Now that AA transcontinental sweet spot redemption with Etihad 25k (U), 32.5k (Z) is gone, What is the cheapest way in points
    (NOT using AA miles) to book AA transcontinental business (U) & first (Z) using partners.

    1. Lee Guest

      Ryan, Flagship First on transcon and international will *start* to be phased out in February 2024. On these routes, there will only be what is now called Flagship Business and it will be renamed to simply Flagship service. AA's new XLRs for transcon will only have Flagship service. So, no more F and one will only look to partners for business class redemptions on AA. Same with international. That being said, the seats/suites on the...

      Ryan, Flagship First on transcon and international will *start* to be phased out in February 2024. On these routes, there will only be what is now called Flagship Business and it will be renamed to simply Flagship service. AA's new XLRs for transcon will only have Flagship service. So, no more F and one will only look to partners for business class redemptions on AA. Same with international. That being said, the seats/suites on the new XLRs are as good or better than the current Flagship First seats on the T-Birds. (Now, if AA would only work on the in-flight food.)

      At JFK, Flagship service (whether transcon or international) will get you into the Greenwich Lounge. If a person traveling on a Flagship service flight has One World Emerald tier status, that garners access to the Soho Lounge. But, a person will not have access to the high-end Chelsea Lounge. At other locations, Flagship service will get you into the Flagship Lounge or Admirals Club but not Flagship First Dining (which will obviously need a new name). However, there will be an add-on (up-charge) to Flagship service called Flagship Premier or Flagship Premium. That will get you into JFK's Chelsea Lounge and (what is now called) Flagship First Dining *if* available at other locations. My sense is that this add-on will not be bookable via partners. Perhaps a cash charge at check-in if someone wants it.

      But, in all of this, AA has been reluctant to release transcon award inventory to its partners (or F international for that matter). If it does, more often than not, it is a 7am or 11pm flight. For longer-tenured travelers (aka "old"), who seek different travel times, award inventory that is available to partners is not a reality . . . or, at least, not a *consistent* reality. My wife and I have 8-digits worth of BA points and have tried for years without success. Hence, my drum-beating on award inventory in other comments.

      Best of luck in your pursuits.

  14. jan Guest

    I just booked transcend flagship first for 25k with my last miles. bye bye Etihad

    1. Lee Guest

      At what hour of the day? Just curious.

    2. Starbucks Man Guest

      Lee you are on a roll - keep it up bro!

  15. Tony Guest

    I'm not sure there's any value left in the Etihad program. There're other distance-based award programs with better pricing that can be used for some of the same Etihad partner airline flights.

  16. Andrew Guest

    Is this already in effect or can we still book this a few more days? Hawaii lie flat on AA was always a solid use in the past.

    1. Jules Guest

      You have until 11:59 pm Abu Dhabi time today (March 7th) to make a booking under the old award charts.

    2. Jules Guest

      Etihad booking systems will be down March 8-9

    3. Jay Guest

      I actually called its 3PM on March 8th Abu Dhabi Time so still some time to get some last minute bookings

    4. Jules Guest

      Your world clock is way off. It's March 8th 14:58 local time in Abu Dhabi right now and I'm posting this many hours after your post.

  17. LB Guest

    “Pricing seems fair”? What world do you live in, OMAT?
    A o/w FC on AA transatlantic now goes from 50k to 160k.
    Remove your tongue from Etihad’s backside and start being honest to your readers.

    1. Jules Guest

      Your comment to Lucky is a bit harsh. But I agree the new pricing, especially with partners, is horrible. I have no plans to redeem with Etihad guest after this. As an example MCT-ZRH in business on Oman air goes from 39k to 80k.

    2. anon Guest

      yeh this is the most delusional drivel I have seen in a long time. These changes suck, there is nothing good about them. Oh BuT yOu CaN bOoK eXpEnSiVe AwArDs OnLiNe NoW lolz

    3. Lee Guest

      Flagship First is going away. Or, didn't you know that?

  18. Lee Guest

    As for Etihad specifically, I'll pay more points if online functionality is added. That being said, partner airlines need to open up award inventory to Etihad (or all partners in general - that would be refreshing). We'll see. But, based on my experience, I'm not optimistic.

    Regarding partner redemptions on AA, there needs to be saver award inventory. Every time that I've looked to book non-stop transcon, saver award inventory is either oh-dark-thirty, red-eye, or...

    As for Etihad specifically, I'll pay more points if online functionality is added. That being said, partner airlines need to open up award inventory to Etihad (or all partners in general - that would be refreshing). We'll see. But, based on my experience, I'm not optimistic.

    Regarding partner redemptions on AA, there needs to be saver award inventory. Every time that I've looked to book non-stop transcon, saver award inventory is either oh-dark-thirty, red-eye, or last minute . . . if at all. I gave up. Regarding international F, like most airlines, AA does not want to release any award inventory to partners. I've seen empty seats in F between JFK and LHR. Not even a gate upgrade. Sad.

    NOW, AA is eliminating saver awards completely in favor of dynamic pricing. Not certain how partner redemptions will pay out. I've brought up the issue with a particular group within AA.

  19. Andrew Diamond

    Interesting. I only redeemed once for AA business from North America to Japan. It was 5 years ago, but the booking experience was bad enough to deter me from ever doing it again.

    1. Andrew Diamond

      As a side note, some of the AA mileage redemption options are frigging amazing. If you're going from UAE to Japan, it's 40k miles in business. Tons of availability out of AUH, thanks to their Etihad partnership, but you have to transfer in India to Japan Airlines.

    2. Yul Brenner Guest

      Can you point out the GOOD AA deals? I got 500k miles and want to fly Sea-MUC (or anywhere in EU) late April and Sea-MNL, SGN, HAN.

  20. Peter Guest

    Was just looking at some AA Transcon, TATL in First. Better hurry.

    Got an e-mail today from Etihad. They will partner with El Al. Guessing this is also part of the new partner awards pricing mystery.

  21. Omar Guest

    Ouch, goodbye to 25k mile redemptions for transcon F and 50k F to Europe and South America (not that it was readily available but once in a blue moon).

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Omar Guest

Ouch, goodbye to 25k mile redemptions for transcon F and 50k F to Europe and South America (not that it was readily available but once in a blue moon).

2
Starbucks Man Guest

Lee you are on a roll - keep it up bro!

1
TravelinWilly Diamond

Devaluing the Etihad award table doesn't really matter when there are no awards to be found anyway.

1
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