Earlier I wrote about how major changes are being made to the Etihad Guest program as of June 2024. There’s one really negative change that I missed, which applies immediately (in addition to a minor negative change). This greatly limits the value of Etihad Guest miles, in my opinion, and limits my desire to earn or redeem miles with the program.
In this post:
Etihad Guest adds 25-75% award cancelation fee
Etihad Guest has introduced a new award ticket cancelation policy for bookings made as of February 22, 2024. This applies specifically to GuestSeat bookings, which are Etihad’s saver awards. I hope you’re sitting down, because Etihad Guest’s new award cancelation fees are shockingly high. They’re so high that I almost wonder if this is a mistake, but it’s written on Etihad’s website in clear text.
With this new policy, you’re eligible for a refund up to 24 hours before your flight departs, though award tickets can’t be canceled within 24 hours of departure. Cancelation fees are charged entirely as a percentage of the miles redeemed, as follows:
- You’ll be charged 75% of the miles required if you request to cancel within seven days of departure
- You’ll be charged 50% of the miles required if you request to cancel within eight to 21 days of departure
- You’ll be charged 25% of the miles required if you request to cancel 21 or more days before departure
Award tickets issued through February 21, 2024, continue to follow the old policy. Under the old rules, canceling an award ticket costs you 10% of your redeemed miles.
Etihad’s new cancelation fee is beyond ridiculous
With many loyalty program, airline award ticket cancelation fees are lower than ever before, reflecting how we’ve seen many tickets become a lot more flexible. Nowadays many programs don’t even charge any fees to cancel an award ticket, which is a great option to have.
Etihad Guest is going to the other extreme here. I mean, canceling an award ticket within seven days of departure will cost you 75% of the miles redeemed? That’s simply wild. On what planet is that reasonable?! I’m not opposed to a program increasing the cancelation penalty as the departure date approaches (so that people don’t hoard tickets), but the 25-75% range is way too steep.
I also think this policy change is very short sighted. With Etihad increasingly restricting partner award availability, my assumption was that Etihad was trying to make its own loyalty program more compelling to those looking to redeem miles for travel on the airline. You’d think this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce reasonable award pricing, and give people a reason to get involved in Etihad Guest, and fly with the airline more.
Yet changes like this have exactly the opposite effect. I just have no interest in participating in Etihad Guest if canceling an award is potentially going to cost me a fee of 25-75%. I value flexibility, and for long haul premium cabin awards, those award cancelation fees are exponentially higher than literally any other program in the world.
Bottom line
Etihad Guest has overhauled its award cancelation fees. You’ll now pay anywhere from 25-75% of the miles redeemed if you need to cancel your award ticket. While other programs have gotten more flexible, Etihad Guest is introducing a fee that just defies logic.
What do you make of this change to Etihad Guest’s award cancelation fees?
Is this 25-75% for Etihad metal seats only? Or for partner awards as well. Because on my fare page (not yet booked) I see cancellation with a fee, click on the little I and it says $72. Points value of ticket is 80k. Change says $25.
Well, you just wrote a basic opinion. This article would have been stronger if you compared it to revenue and costs of the loyalty program. For example, restricting use of their points for partners depends on their relationship and costs for people to use it. You also do not look at why they would do this. They would much rather have someone pay for that seat than redeem points and would like people to plan...
Well, you just wrote a basic opinion. This article would have been stronger if you compared it to revenue and costs of the loyalty program. For example, restricting use of their points for partners depends on their relationship and costs for people to use it. You also do not look at why they would do this. They would much rather have someone pay for that seat than redeem points and would like people to plan in advance. There is always a trade off for these programs. Plus the airline may be getting more than enough people to pay for their seats that they care less about their loyalty program than they used to.
I haven't seen anything but coach tickets on Etihad as a redemption award on American for at least half a year (it can look like there is but it has a warning 'class of service may not be available' and when you go to finalize it shows a coach seat. Qatar and even Royal Jordanian are more reliable options. Taking a Q-Suite trip from Chicago to Abu Dhabi on Qatar using AA miles later this year.
1) Gold members get 1 free cancellation per year, Platinum members get 2 free cancellations. So not too bad for elite members for refunds,
BUT...
2) The change rules have also changed - no changes within 7 days of departure.
Lol this isn’t outrageous at all. Just an unfavorable move? Outrageous would be no-showing and getting charged $$$ a la St. Regis.
Here I was thinking, "no rewards program will EVER rival the stupidity of Aeroplan"... I guess we have a legitimate contender. There could have been so many ways to implement a process for targeting repeat offenders, but nope...not in the wisdom that is Etihad.
Hell, keep the same aggressive 25-75% consequence, but apply it to repeat offenders only. Maybe once per year, no charge. Second time within a calendar year, you get dinged the 25-75% consequence
Exactly. Target the problem, not everyone.
And how would you do that? This is absurd. Anyone can make accounts linked to new accounts or even transfer miles from one card to another airline account. Trust me, I know. It's exactly what brokers in India and China do. And even common users. The reality is that miles bloggers and brokers have milked the system to the point that actual flyers can't ever redeem anything. I am perfectly happy and applaud EY for...
And how would you do that? This is absurd. Anyone can make accounts linked to new accounts or even transfer miles from one card to another airline account. Trust me, I know. It's exactly what brokers in India and China do. And even common users. The reality is that miles bloggers and brokers have milked the system to the point that actual flyers can't ever redeem anything. I am perfectly happy and applaud EY for this move. And any other airlines that follow. This is the first salvo in giving back the system to people who actually fly. Thank god.
Penalty is crazy high for sure. I wonder if this is done so they can weed out people who make a lot of speculative bookings and cancel last minute? I say a better way to go about it is members can cancel one time without huge penalty per year. That way you keep the award seat hogs at bay while at the same time respect that people’s schedule do change last minute once in awhile.
But who in their right mind would use this program for speculative bookings? The redemption rates are so high already, literally in the millions of Etihad miles. It would be outrageous to transfer miles to this program. And assuming it’s just Etihad flyers using their Etihad miles, why would Etihad try to punish their own loyalty members when they’re trying to grow their loyal customer base? Nothing about it makes sense
Trashihad Worst is probably best avoided now.
Any company that treats its frequent flyers like that arent worth using.
Are they treating their "frequent flyers" poorly? If you are actually one of them how do you suffer? You actually win. In fact, I think they are rewarding their loyalty. Even this blog, bless its heart, touts speculative bookings all over the place. Is Ben a truly frequent flyer with Etihad? Does he really contribute with paid fares? Do any of us? I do, but I credit to AA given my demographic. Still, I find...
Are they treating their "frequent flyers" poorly? If you are actually one of them how do you suffer? You actually win. In fact, I think they are rewarding their loyalty. Even this blog, bless its heart, touts speculative bookings all over the place. Is Ben a truly frequent flyer with Etihad? Does he really contribute with paid fares? Do any of us? I do, but I credit to AA given my demographic. Still, I find this approach more than fair. It removes the clog of hoarding speculative bookings from miles gamers and booking agents in India and China. It opens seats at normal times for a lot more. And, better yet, it probably lowers the J fares as there is better control of yield management.
Personally, I think this is brilliant by EY. And I think it's more than fair. I hope all airlines globally catch on.
A little over dramatic. It is good, stop people from blocking seats and then never using them. Do you ever stop to think why these rules comes in...because people abuse the system!
Etihad Guest is probably the worst FFP on this planet. People in the UAE are aware. Stay away!!
These measures reek of an urgent implementation of a comically bad solution to an imagined problem, by a deluded person supported by uninformed people.
It's clear that EY has its own special philosophy of what Guest should achieve for them. I doubt they set the same objectives for Guest that AC set for Aeroplan a couple years ago, when they made their big changes.
Good luck to them. Interesting approach.
Absolutely true! Etihad and Aeroplan should be avoided, but people like Ben will keep advertising them.
Well, when I read this I was wondering why someone would f*ck up a Loyalty program so much. Bad redemption rates and insane cancellation rates makes the program deplorable. Not many people will be using the program, especially not for transferring points.
After reviewing the Leadership Board I understand what is happening here. Three of their members come from TAP Air Portugal, including the guy who is responsible for Etihad Guest. Not much hope...
Well, when I read this I was wondering why someone would f*ck up a Loyalty program so much. Bad redemption rates and insane cancellation rates makes the program deplorable. Not many people will be using the program, especially not for transferring points.
After reviewing the Leadership Board I understand what is happening here. Three of their members come from TAP Air Portugal, including the guy who is responsible for Etihad Guest. Not much hope the program will improve in the future.
Honestly, while I am not appreciate as a customer, this is a change that was a long time coming. I am fairly sure more airlines will adopt this model in the next year. In some ways, Etihad is a pioneer and this recent moves shows their new found confidence to try things and see how they play out. It's bold, but what do you expect from an airline that in the first 15 years stuck to a formula and lost money, and now has a management team willing to try things.
They lose money cos of things like sponsoring a football team thats owned by its owners so they can cheat far play rules and because theyre just a vanity airline.
Unless you have no choice, why would anyone choose to use etihad guest?
How much will it cost to change a ticket?
Remember USAirways? Their redemption rates on Star Alliance were great but didn't they have a NO change, NO refund policy on award tickets? Let's see the new redemption rates to see if the high risk/high reward apply here.
Amazing that in the space of a year they have gone from being one of the best programs to redeem miles with to the absolute worst.
@Ben, were you / have you ever "engaged with" Etihad beyond booking saver premium cabin redemptions? I don't think Etihad or any other airline really cares about annoying those customers who only transfer points to redeem given how low yield they are
I've looked at business class cash fares. I can get Emirates for like 1/3 the cost on paid business cabins from many more cities in the US. Emirates lags on product (becuase I'm doing nearly half of my trip on non-Etihad), pricing, and availability for paid routes.
Sorry, Etihad lags, not Emirates.
I would imagine that the people that will dislike this policy the most are those that only use Etihad for miles redemptions in premium cabins. And not the ones that actually earn miles by being loyal to Etihad and booking cash fares but by just transferring loads of credit card miles instead.
Which in turn are the passengers Etihad would give the least a f@ck about.
People that actually hand their cash over...
I would imagine that the people that will dislike this policy the most are those that only use Etihad for miles redemptions in premium cabins. And not the ones that actually earn miles by being loyal to Etihad and booking cash fares but by just transferring loads of credit card miles instead.
Which in turn are the passengers Etihad would give the least a f@ck about.
People that actually hand their cash over to Etihad in exchange for tickets and build up their miles that way I doubt they will be too offended at having one or two non flexible bookings per annum.
Why even bother with such a program? Other than great availability on its own metal, the program has few award redemption sweet spots. It simply isn't worth the hassle.
For a frequent flyer, awful. From an airline's perspective I totally get it.
I guess when you look at the cancellation penalties for the lowest cash fares in business (often 100%) you have to wonder what would compel an airline to allow a 10% penalty for a miles booked by points.
I can see this trend happening more and more across the industry with redemption tickets essentially being treated the same as the most restricted...
For a frequent flyer, awful. From an airline's perspective I totally get it.
I guess when you look at the cancellation penalties for the lowest cash fares in business (often 100%) you have to wonder what would compel an airline to allow a 10% penalty for a miles booked by points.
I can see this trend happening more and more across the industry with redemption tickets essentially being treated the same as the most restricted fares.
Will a frequent flyer switch loyalty to a carrier with less stringent cancellation fees? I doubt it.
@Duck, does Etihad really TAKE 100% of your non-refundable business class fare? Or do they give you a credit for most of it? A credit is NOT the same as a 100% cancellation fee.
The 'Etihad Credit' system was introduced during early 2020 and finished in October 2021. A non-refundable fare means that if you cancel they get to keep 100% of the cash and you get nothing.
Isn't the entire program kind of worthless? The redemption rates are sky high even without factoring in this new cancellation charge.
Are any programs worth what they were just a couple of years ago? The halcyon days of cheap award flights are over for good, folks.
Not really - we’ve just seen inflation on both ends. It’s really really easy to rack up points but prices have risen. So in real cost I don’t find award tickets much more expensive
LifeMiles: We don't want our members to speculatively book award flights so we'll charge large cancellation fees.
Etihad Guest: Hold my beer
When you book a non refundable fare you don’t expect to get 25-75-% back if you cancel… I don’t think this policy will do much harm to the program…
Most non-refundable fares give you a CREDIT of most or all of your costs. Getting your miles back is getting a CREDIT with the airline. It's exactly what happens when you cancel a non-refundable ticket.
I'm not sure this applies to all airlines. Maybe the ones in the US give you a credit for non-refundable fares. Not so for many airlines outside the USA
I am not aware of any non-US airline doing that 'credit' business, in fact, contrary to the claims in this post, AFKL and LH have recently been making their tickets LESS flexible. Please do let us know which European airlines have such a policy in place.
There are not many non-refundable fares left these days
I think you are in the minority here. Charging 75% to cancel a ticket is outrageous!
I recently joined Etihad Guest because I was flying Europe to Australia return in Business and couldn't credit the miles to any program I was a member of. Having seen the earning and redemption rates, I realised it was completely a dud - and half as generous as crediting the same miles to Aeroplan (even to use on Etihad itself). The benefits of status are poor also - you need a lot of miles to...
I recently joined Etihad Guest because I was flying Europe to Australia return in Business and couldn't credit the miles to any program I was a member of. Having seen the earning and redemption rates, I realised it was completely a dud - and half as generous as crediting the same miles to Aeroplan (even to use on Etihad itself). The benefits of status are poor also - you need a lot of miles to get to lounge access, and would probably will be flying business to get that many anyway.
Trying to credit to Aeroplan has turned out to be a nightmare as well with Etihad making lots of mistakes. I like the airline a lot, and new hub. But Guest is awful.
I think this is fair, as it prevents speculative bookings and preserves options for travelers who have been saving up for a while and are able to commit to solid plans. Those who require additional flexibility do not need to book a saver award. This change makes Etihad Guest more appealing, not less appealing, to me.
@ blake kaidensen -- Hey, to each their own, but a) I don't think many people were making speculative bookings when the fee was always 10% of miles redeemed and b) it's one thing if Etihad had reasonably priced non-saver awards, but they typically cost exponentially more.
Debatable. But what's definitely not fair is the no-notice change. I have a pile of Eithad Guest miles which I would have liked an opportunity to use BEFORE this change.
Are you high, or an Etihad employee?
I think you are in the minority here. Charging 75% to cancel a ticket is outrageous!
I agree with Blake. I know many people, some are well known bloggers, who book one itinerary with the hope of a better one opening up a day or two before. Often associated with Star Alliance and LH F which is usually released two days before. Speculative bookings make it hard for everyone. I also see it impacting J paid fares in keeping them lower with less free bookings affecting seat management.
This is...
I agree with Blake. I know many people, some are well known bloggers, who book one itinerary with the hope of a better one opening up a day or two before. Often associated with Star Alliance and LH F which is usually released two days before. Speculative bookings make it hard for everyone. I also see it impacting J paid fares in keeping them lower with less free bookings affecting seat management.
This is absolutely a positive in my opinion. I hope all the carriers adopt a similar approach.
There has to be a balance. Do you really want someone with covid or the flu sitting next to you because the penalty to cancel was too high?
I think 10% was sufficient disincentive for speculative awards. But stuff happens and people have to cancel. My partner just got called for jury duty and put on a four-week trial. She showed her confirmed travel plans for a 10-day trip to Europe. The judge didn't care. I don't think the judge would have cared if we were going to lose 75% of our miles as those that don't travel much see miles as "free."...
I think 10% was sufficient disincentive for speculative awards. But stuff happens and people have to cancel. My partner just got called for jury duty and put on a four-week trial. She showed her confirmed travel plans for a 10-day trip to Europe. The judge didn't care. I don't think the judge would have cared if we were going to lose 75% of our miles as those that don't travel much see miles as "free." But life happens to people -- jury duty, illnesses, work emergencies. Losing 75% of miles when that happens is punitive. If they have a problem, they can escalate the costs for people who repeatedly cancel close in. That would make more sense.
@AD I was called to jury duty last year and over three times during the cycle I simply submitted an online form that said I was unable due to previous commitments with business travel. All three times I was excused long before the date. Not sure where you live but in the DMV it's quite simple. I eventually had to go, of course, but was out in a day.
Lucky himself made speculative bookings to nab the new JAL F. So imagine if there were such cancellation fees!
@ Pete A great example. We all do this to an extent. But we don't brag about it as it's just alerting everyone to the practice. Regardless, this is not just Ben, despite he is actually a victim of his own practices. I imagine the brokers in India and China are also hoarding seats like crazy. The hoarding needs to stop. You book it, you use it. Or you lose.
Seat hoarding and speculative...
@ Pete A great example. We all do this to an extent. But we don't brag about it as it's just alerting everyone to the practice. Regardless, this is not just Ben, despite he is actually a victim of his own practices. I imagine the brokers in India and China are also hoarding seats like crazy. The hoarding needs to stop. You book it, you use it. Or you lose.
Seat hoarding and speculative bookings are the very reason we can't find seats often until a day or two before. I think this is a great move and I'll be interested in seeing the result of how it impacts availability both with awards and better J paid fares given yield management control.
Well, it doesnt help anyone whos been saving points for a while as they are forced to take an etihad flight every 18 months or their points will expire.