Etihad launches a 4th daily service from London Heathrow – but not on an A380

Etihad has announced an extra 20 flights between Heathrow and Abu Dhabi during April.  This should lead to some additional reward seats being available over Easter.

Flights will start on 5th April using a Boeing 787-9.  This means that there is no First Class but you will get the same Business Class Studio as on the A380 which I reviewed here.

The extra service leaves Heathrow Terminal 4 at around 13.40, arriving in Abu Dhabi at 23.50.  The return departs Abu Dhabi at around 07.20, landing at 12.00.  The exact times vary from day to day.

Full details of the Business Class Studio can be found on etihad.com here.

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).