How can you earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards?
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Etihad Guest no longer has its own UK credit card.
It used to have a UK card, issued by MBNA. The card was withdrawn in mid 2018 as it was no longer seen as economic when the Government capped the charges that Visa and Mastercard could levy on shops.
I want to run through the options if you still want to collect Etihad Guest miles from a UK credit card, or want an interesting alternative from another airline.
What is your best alternative as there is no Etihad Guest UK credit card?
There are a number of ways of looking at this. Let’s run through them.
Scenario 1: You want a card of any sort which lets you earn Etihad Guest miles at a decent rate
Your best option is a card which earns American Express Membership Rewards points. The two main ones are American Express Preferred Rewards Gold and American Express Platinum.
These cards give you 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent, and they convert at 1:1 into Etihad Guest. This means that you are getting 1 Etihad Guest mile for every £1 spent on Amex Gold or Amex Platinum.
These cards come with excellent sign-up bonuses as you can see here. You could consider taking out one of these cards purely for the sign-up bonus.
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 20,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Get a 10,000 points bonus if you spend £15,000 in a card year
- Earn double points on all airline and overseas spend
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin and other airline schemes
Other information:
- Amex Gold is our recommended ‘first card’ for a miles and points beginner
- Get two free airport lounge passes when you sign up, and a further two each year
- After your two free passes, you can visit further lounges for a small fee
- You receive £120 of Deliveroo credit each year (24 x £5 credits)
- Annual fee: Free for the first year, £140 from Year 2
Representative 59.9% APR variable. Annual fee applies after the first year.
You will receive 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible, which is why we recommend this as the best choice for your first miles and points card. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held a Business American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the two free airport lounge passes and the ‘no fee in Year 1’ offer.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold comes with two free airport lounge passes. These allow either you and a friend, or yourself twice, to visit any lounge in the Priority Pass network. You make additional lounge visits for £20 per person. You receive an additional two free passes each year.
You earn double Membership Rewards points on all airline spend (made directly on an airline website) and all spend made outside the UK.
If you spend over £15,000 in a card year, you will receive an additional 10,000 Membership Rewards points when you renew.
Starting in May 2021, you receive £120 of Deliveroo credit each year. Amex will repay you £5 for the first two Deliveroo orders charged to your Gold card each month.
Other benefits include a 10% discount on Hertz car rentals and special deals at 350 selected hotels worldwide, where Preferred Rewards Gold cardholders receive a $75 in-hotel credit per stay.
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 30,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £4,000 within three months
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin and other airline and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,300 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- Annual fee: £575
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £575.
You will receive 30,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £4,000 within three months of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.
If you cancel The Platinum Card at any point, you will receive a pro-rata refund of your membership fee. You will not lose your sign-up bonus.
For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of up to five supplementary cardholders, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,300 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Gold), MeliaRewards (Gold)
Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class
£10 per month of Addison Lee taxi credit
Scenario 2: You specifically want a Visa or Mastercard to collect Etihad Guest miles
If – and it is a big ‘if’ – you qualify for HSBC Premier then you have a very easy solution staring you in the face.
The HSBC Premier Mastercard is free. You earn 1 HSBC point per £1 spent which converts into 0.5 Etihad Guest miles.
The HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard has a £195 annual fee. There is a sign-up bonus of 40,000 HSBC points (20,000 Etihad Guest miles) with a further 40,000 HSBC points (20,000 Etihad Guest miles) at your card anniversary if you have spent £12,000. You earn 2 HSBC points per £1 spent which converts into 1 Etihad Guest mile.
The snag is the eligibility criteria for HSBC Premier. You must pay in your salary and have either savings or investments of at least £50,000 with HSBC, or an individual annual income of at least £75,000 and a HSBC mortgage, investment, life insurance or protection product.
For everyone else, earning Etihad Guest miles from a Mastercard or Visa is tricky.
The only half-decent Visa / Mastercard option is via the IHG Rewards Mastercard. This earns 0.2 Etihad Guest miles per £1, assuming you convert 10,000 IHG Rewards points into 2,000 airline miles.
The free IHG Mastercard comes with a sign-up bonus worth 10,000 IHG Rewards points, worth 2,000 Etihad Guest miles.
You may be better getting a Visa or Mastercard from another airline – Virgin Atlantic is best
Without a doubt, the two Virgin Atlantic Mastercards are the most generous Visa or Mastercard products available – either the Virgin Reward Mastercard (free, usually no bonus) or Virgin Reward+ Mastercard (£160, usually 15000 points bonus).
You get 0.75 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card. This is FAR better than any Avios or hotel card. You also get a 2-4-1 or upgrade voucher for hitting spending targets.
The only downside is that, with no short haul routes, you are unlikely to earn enough points purely from the credit card to get a good redemption. The cards are best suited to regular Virgin Atlantic flyers.
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- The card has no sign-up bonus
- Earn 0.75 Virgin Points per £1 spent
- Earn 1.5 points per £1 spent with Virgin Atlantic
- Highest return per £1 of any free UK Visa or Mastercard
Other information:
- Get a ‘2 for 1’ voucher, valid on cash or points tickets, when you spend £20,000 in a year
- Alternatively, claim an upgrade voucher or Clubhouse lounge passes
- Get free access to Virgin Money lounges across the UK
- Annual fee: Free
Representative 22.9% APR variable
There is no sign-up bonus on the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard.
You may want to consider applying for the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard instead. This comes with a £160 annual fee but has a sign-up bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points. You also receive a higher earning rate of 1.5 miles per £1 spent.
All Virgin Atlantic credit card holders receive free access to Virgin Money lounges across the UK.
When you spend £20,000 per year on the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard, you can choose a benefit. This is what you can pick from:
A 2-4-1 voucher, valid for two years, for a Virgin Atlantic cash flight or a Virgin Flying Club redemption, in Upper Class, Premium or Economy
A return upgrade – on either a cash or miles ticket – from Premium to Upper Class, or from Economy Delight/Classic to Premium. You can either upgrade 1 x return flight if travelling alone or 2 x one-way legs of two return flights if travelling with someone else.
A Virgin Clubhouse lounge pass (requires a same-day Virgin Atlantic, Delta, KLM or Air France flight)
Here’s the small print:
If you are a Red (no status) member, you need to pay 50% of the miles for your 2nd ticket if you redeem your 2-4-1 voucher in Upper Class. This means that, for Upper Class redemptions for Red members, it is effectively a ‘2 for 1.5’ voucher. For Economy or Premium redemptions, it is a genuine ‘2 for 1’.
If you are a Gold member, you would receive two Clubhouse lounge passes instead on one if you chose that option
Taxes and charges need to be paid on the ‘free’ ticket as part of your 2-4-1 booking
Vouchers are valid for two years and you must fly the outbound leg of your trip before the expiry date
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 15,000 Virgin Points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 spent
- Earn 3 points per £1 spent with Virgin Atlantic
- Highest return per £1 of any UK Visa or Mastercard
Other information:
- Get a ‘2 for 1’ voucher, valid on cash or points tickets, when you spend £10,000 in a year
- Alternatively, claim an upgrade voucher or Clubhouse lounge passes
- Get free access to Virgin Money lounges across the UK
- Annual fee: £160
Representative 63.9% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £160 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 22.9% APR variable.
You receive a bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points with your first purchase.
There are no restrictions on earning the bonus if you are accepted. However, you cannot apply for a card if you currently have, or in the previous six months have had, a Virgin Atlantic credit card.
All Virgin Atlantic credit card holders receive free access to Virgin Money lounges across the UK.
When you spend £10,000 per year on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard, you can choose a benefit. This is what you can pick from:
A 2-4-1 voucher, valid for two years, for a Virgin Atlantic cash flight or Virgin Flying Club redemption, in Upper Class, Premium or Economy
A return upgrade – on either a cash or points ticket – from Premium to Upper Class, or from Economy Delight/Classic to Premium. You can either upgrade 1 x return flight if travelling alone or 2 x one-way legs of two return flights if travelling with someone else.
A Virgin Clubhouse lounge pass (requires a same-day Virgin Atlantic, Delta, KLM or Air France flight)
Here’s the small print:
If you are a Red (no status) member, you need to pay 50% of the points for your 2nd ticket if you redeem your 2-4-1 voucher in Upper Class. This means that, for Upper Class redemptions for Red members, it is effectively a ‘2 for 1.5’ voucher. For Economy or Premium redemptions, it is a genuine ‘2 for 1’.
If you are a Gold member, you would receive two Clubhouse lounge passes instead on one if you chose that option
Taxes and charges need to be paid on the ‘free’ ticket as part of your 2-4-1 booking
Vouchers are valid for two years and you must fly the outbound leg of your trip before the expiry date
(Want to earn more miles and points from credit cards? Click here to visit our dedicated airline and hotel travel credit cards page or use the ‘Credit Card Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history. By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.
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