There’s no doubt the current Etihad purchased miles bonus promotion is attractive, but is now the time to buy Etihad miles?
Etihad Miles On Sale For As Low As 1.2 Cents Each – Good Time To Buy Or Not?
I’ve redeemed hundreds of thousands of Etihad miles over the years for Award Expert clients, mostly on Etihad, Royal Air Maroc, Air Serbia and even the (former) sole Czech Airlines longhaul flight, a service between Prague and Seoul using an ex-Korean Airlines A330.
My point is that Etihad miles are good for travel on far more than simply Etihad flights.
Through November 22, 2021, the Etihad Guest loyalty program is offering a tiered bonus on the purchase of miles:
- Buy 4,000-14,000 miles, get a 40% bonus
- Buy 15,000-30,000 miles, get a 50% bonus
- Buy 31,000-100,000 miles, get a 70% bonus
If you buy 31,000 miles or more, the effective rate per miles is 1.2 cents including taxes/fees (1.18 if you want to go one decimal place further).
1.2 cents per miles is a great buy, but is it actually worthwhile even if you have a trip to book immediately?
One thing to keep in mind is that miles can take up to 72 hours to post. Even if you can see the space, Etihad (generally) does not hold award space, even on its own metal, if you do not have sufficient miles in your account.
While you certainly could find plenty of uses for your miles in the next 18 months (and even longer as miles do not expire as long as you have account activity every 18 months), I’m hesitant to take advantage of this promotion.
First, Etihad has been known to increase award pricing and add restrictions with no warning in the past. There’s no better way to lose trust than an unannounced devaluation and Etihad is guilty of that on multiple occasions.
Second, should your plan changes you must cancel 24 hours or more prior to departure and the fee is 10% of the miles used…that’s right, you’ll lose your miles versus paying a fee (COVID-19 cancellation waivers are in place, but not clearly defined). Dates changes on the same routing can be made for 100AED, but routing changes are not permitted and require canceling he award and booking a new one.
CONCLUSION
This current bonus for the purchase of Etihad miles is a good deal – I will not deny it. Still, I would not rush to buy Etihad miles unless you have a great deal of flexibility in your travel plans.
Spending $300 as opposed to using 25K Membership Rewards for AA Transcon three cabin first, or even biz, works for me.
Thanks for the heads up about the cancellation policy on award tickets. I’ll pass anyway since the one use I’d want is to fly them in first class – especially on the A380. Unfortunately, their new A380’s are being retired.