Get a 25% bonus converting from select loyalty programs to Etihad Guest miles
Etihad is now offering a promotion to convert loyalty rewards points from its partners' programs, into Etihad Guest miles, at a 25% bonus. This is similar to a promotion they ran in the end of 2015. Offering such bonuses has become a rather consistent theme with the JEtihad family. Jet Airways has run two such promotions already this year, and one last year just before Etihad's promotion then.
This current promotion is available on conversions till 31 July 2016. While in general, the promotion isn't spectacular, there are some useful opportunities here.
There are 14 partners from whose programs you can convert loyalty rewards / points into Etihad Guest miles. The problem is really, the conversion rates, as you can see below:
I wouldn't give up 10 HHonors points, for instance, for 1 Etihad Guest mile. However, the Citibank conversion rates are quite decent, though they vary by country and individual credit card program.
In India, Premier Miles convert to Etihad Guest at a 2:1 ratio, which is not great, but not bad either. Under this promotion, that means you'll receive 1.25 Etihad Guest miles for ever 2 Citi PM converted. Citi Prestige points convert at a 1:1 ratio normally, so that's 1:1.25 under this promotion. The other good conversion option is for any orphan points you may have lying around in any of these partner loyalty program accounts, which cannot be used for any reason, or are near-expiry (hotel chains' rewards points tend to expire if there's no qualifying activity in a certain period, usually 12 months).
The above is just our take. And while we've got our own valuations for points and miles, we strongly maintain that your mileage may vary. So if for any reason you value Etihad Guest miles higher than, say, Marriott/IHG/Hilton HHonors points, feel free to convert them. For instance, we value IHG Rewards Club points at Rs 0.26 apiece. Converting them to Etihad miles at a 5:1 ratio (plus 25% bonus) means that Etihad Guest miles are effectively being valued at Rs 1.04 each. You could still get value as high as Rs 1.44 per Etihad Guest Mile, which Pranay did, or possibly even higher! So don't let our prejudices affect your decision!
The transfers usually complete in 3-4 working days and the bonuses post in about 2 weeks. However, Etihad isn't known for its responsiveness, so please do buffer in enough time if you plan to convert points to Etihad Guest miles, for an imminent redemption.
- Sam.
This current promotion is available on conversions till 31 July 2016. While in general, the promotion isn't spectacular, there are some useful opportunities here.
There are 14 partners from whose programs you can convert loyalty rewards / points into Etihad Guest miles. The problem is really, the conversion rates, as you can see below:
I wouldn't give up 10 HHonors points, for instance, for 1 Etihad Guest mile. However, the Citibank conversion rates are quite decent, though they vary by country and individual credit card program.
In India, Premier Miles convert to Etihad Guest at a 2:1 ratio, which is not great, but not bad either. Under this promotion, that means you'll receive 1.25 Etihad Guest miles for ever 2 Citi PM converted. Citi Prestige points convert at a 1:1 ratio normally, so that's 1:1.25 under this promotion. The other good conversion option is for any orphan points you may have lying around in any of these partner loyalty program accounts, which cannot be used for any reason, or are near-expiry (hotel chains' rewards points tend to expire if there's no qualifying activity in a certain period, usually 12 months).
The above is just our take. And while we've got our own valuations for points and miles, we strongly maintain that your mileage may vary. So if for any reason you value Etihad Guest miles higher than, say, Marriott/IHG/Hilton HHonors points, feel free to convert them. For instance, we value IHG Rewards Club points at Rs 0.26 apiece. Converting them to Etihad miles at a 5:1 ratio (plus 25% bonus) means that Etihad Guest miles are effectively being valued at Rs 1.04 each. You could still get value as high as Rs 1.44 per Etihad Guest Mile, which Pranay did, or possibly even higher! So don't let our prejudices affect your decision!
The transfers usually complete in 3-4 working days and the bonuses post in about 2 weeks. However, Etihad isn't known for its responsiveness, so please do buffer in enough time if you plan to convert points to Etihad Guest miles, for an imminent redemption.
- Sam.
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