20% bonus on transfers of Amex and hotel points to Etihad

Etihad Guest has jumped on the transfer bonus bandwagon!

If you transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Etihad before 11th October, you will receive a 20% bonus.

You will also receive a 20% bonus on transfers from the Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Club Carlson and Shangri-La hotel schemes (but not Starwood, oddly).

This is not a bad deal if you’re interested in redeeming on Etihad for trips to the Middle East.  I believe – although willing to be corrected – that they limit Business and First Class awards to two seats per flight, so it is not a great deal for families.  For couples or solo travellers, though, Etihad has an excellent product and even offers chauffeur transfers on Business Class redemptions.

This may be of special interest to readers outside the M25, given Etihad’s decent flight network to the UK regions.

Full details can be found here.

Note that small print blocks transfers from Amex International Dollar Cards or International Euro Cards.

How to earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards (December 2021)

Etihad Guest does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Etihad Guest miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.  These are:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Etihad Guest miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with two free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 30,000 Etihad Guest miles.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 5,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 5,000 Etihad Guest miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Etihad Guest miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Etihad Guest mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.

Etihad Guest is also a partner with the HSBC Premier Mastercard (0.5 miles per £1 spent) and HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard (1 mile per £1 spent).