Major changes are being made to the Etihad Guest program. While some of the changes are positive, there are also some negative developments, like Etihad introducing a ridiculous new award cancelation policy. That’s not the only negative change, though, as Etihad is also worsening its mileage expiration policy.
Etihad Guest miles expire after 18 months without a flight
As of June 2024, Etihad Guest is introducing a new mileage expiration policy. Etihad Guest miles will be valid for a period of 18 months, and that validity can only be extended if you take a flight with Etihad or a partner airline.
As a point of comparison, under the current policy, Etihad Guest miles expire after 18 months, but any mileage activity can extend the expiration of those miles. In other words, you could transfer over 1,000 points from a credit card partner, buy some Etihad Guest miles, etc., and that would prevent your miles from expiring.
It’s interesting to see this change, because in 2020, Etihad Guest improved its mileage expiration policy. Prior to that, miles expired 24 months after they were earned, regardless of any account activity. I’d much rather have miles valid for 18 months with an easy extension, than have a hard expiration of 24 months.
But the pattern here is strange — first Etihad Guest improved its mileage expiration policy, and now it’s worsening it.
This Etihad Guest change seems short sighted
The change to the Etihad Guest mileage expiration policy puzzles me. Airline loyalty programs can be a great way to engage travelers — members with mileage balances are more likely to fly with that airline, and there are plenty of additional ways that loyalty programs can profit off of people being engaged members.
The thing is, an 18-month expiration policy is really rough, when the only way to extend those miles is to fly with the airline. Etihad is primarily a long haul airline, and there are plenty of people who might fly with the airline every couple of years, traveling from Australia to Europe, for example.
With this change, Etihad Guest is no longer the program for those kinds of travelers, as their miles may very well expire between trips. This just seems counterproductive, and further incentivizes people to credit Etihad flights to partner frequent flyer programs.
Bottom line
Just a few years after improving its mileage expiration policy, Etihad is now worsening it. Miles will still expire after 18 months of inactivity. However, previously any mileage activity would extend the expiration of miles, while now only flying will extend the expiration.
I’ve been so impressed by the direction that Etihad has been heading in recent years, though some of these Etihad Guest changes are a real head-scratcher.
What do you make of Etihad Guest’s new mileage expiration policy?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.