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By Siddhant
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Etihad Airways is a UAE-based airline brand and one of the top airline companies in the world. The airline has flights to all corners of the world and is perfect for Indian travelers who frequently visit the Middle East and Dubai region. Many Indian high-net-worth individuals and NRIs regularly visit Dubai, and Etihad Airlines is the perfect choice for them.
Table of Contents
List of Credit Cards to Earn Etihad Guest Miles
Etihad Airways partners with multiple top card issuers, and you can transfer your card reward points to Etihad Guest Miles. Different credit cards have different transfer ratios and minimum redemption amounts. The following are the best credit cards in India to earn Etihad Guest Miles.
(4.2/5)
Joining Fee
Rs. 4,999 + GST
Renewal Fee
Rs. 4,999 + GST
Best Suited For
Travel
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
5,000 Etihad Guest Miles, 2 Free Wifi vouchers on first Etihad Airways booking, complimentary Etihad Guest Gold tier status post first card transaction,
Card Details +
The premium variant of the two co-branded cards, the Etihad Guest SBI Premier credit card, has a higher annual fee of ₹5000. It offers a complimentary Etihad Guest Gold tier status to the cardholder. As a welcome benefit, you even receive 5000 Miles and 2 free WiFi vouchers for your first Etihad flight. Being a co-branded card, you get exclusive discounts on flights booked at the Etihad portal and other privileges with the airline.
- Complimentary Etihad Guest Gold tier status
- 2 complimentary WiFi vouchers for 1st Etihad booking and 5000 Guest Miles as a welcome benefit
- 6 Guest Miles per ₹100 spent on Etihad.com
- 4 Guest Miles per ₹100 on international spends and 2 Guest Miles per ₹100 spent elsewhere
- Up to 10% off on Etihad Airways flight booking and on travel, miles redemption
- 1500 Guest Miles on spending ₹1,50,000 per quarter
- Etihad Companion voucher on spending ₹8 Lakhs in the previous year
- Domestic and international lounge access with Priority Pass membership
- Fuel surcharge waiver and renewal fee waiver
(3.9/5)
Joining Fee
Rs. 1,499 + GST
Renewal Fee
Rs. 1,499 + GST
Best Suited For
Travel
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
2,500 Etihad Guest Miles, Etihad Guest Silver tier status, 1 complimentary wifi voucher on first booking for Etihad Airways
Card Details +
The co-branded Etihad Guest SBI card is the basic variant and charges a joining fee of ₹1500. The card offers a complimentary Etihad Guest Silver tier status to the cardholder along with 2500 Etihad Guest Miles and a complimentary WiFi voucher for the first Etihad booking as welcome benefits. The card is ideal for people who frequently travel, especially to the Middle East and Dubai area. You also get complimentary lounge access and exclusive discounts on Etihad flight bookings.
- 2500 Guest Miles and complimentary Etihad Guest Silver tier status as a welcome benefit
- 1 complimentary free WiFi voucher on first Etihad flight booking
- 3 Guest Miles per ₹100 spent on Etihad.com
- 2 Guest Miles per ₹100 on international spends and 1 Guest Mile per ₹100 on other spends
- 10% discount on business class and 3% discount on economy class Etihad flight ticket
- 1 companion voucher on spending ₹10 Lakhs or more and 5000 Guest Miles on spending ₹5 Lakhs in the year
- Complimentary Priority Pass membership and 8 complimentary domestic lounge access, max 2 per quarter
- 1% fuel surcharge waiver and renewal fee waiver
(4.6/5)
Joining Fee
Rs. 12,500 + GST
Renewal Fee
Rs. 12,500 + GST
Best Suited For
Travel | Dining | Shopping
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
Choose a gift voucher worth Rs. 12,500 from any one of Luxe, Yatra, or Postcard Hotels
Card Details +
The Axis Bank Magnus is the bank’s most popular card offering, and it is packed with the top privileges across all categories. You have to pay a joining fee of ₹12,500 for the card, and it offers several travel benefits, including complimentary lounge access, discounted hotel stays, and more. You can even benefit from exclusive dining discounts. The Magnus credit card has a decent reward rate and offers 12 reward points per ₹200 spent up to ₹1.5 Lakhs in the month, 35 RPs on spends above ₹1.5 Lakhs, and 5x reward points on spends made at the Travel Edge portal.
| Reward Points Earning Rate | 12 Axis EDGE REWARDS Points per ₹200 spent on retail up to ₹1.5 Lakhs. 35 RPs per ₹200 spent on spends above ₹1.5 Lakhs and 5X EDGE REWARDS on travel spends. |
| Points Conversion | 5 EDGE REWARD Points = 2 Etihad Guest Miles |
| Effective Reward Rate (for redemption against Miles) | 2.4% on retail spends, 7% on spends above ₹1.5 Lakhs, and 12% on Travel Edge spends |
(4.5/5)
Joining Fee
Rs. 5,000 + GST
Renewal Fee
Rs. 5,000 + GST
Best Suited For
Travel
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
2,500 Edge Miles on Completing 1 Transaction Within 37 Days of Card Issuance
Card Details +
A sub-premium offering in the travel segment, the Axis Bank Atlas credit charges a joining fee of ₹5000. It is not a co-branded card but still offers many exclusive travel privileges and benefits to the cardholder. The best benefit for frequent travellers is that the card offers Edge Miles as reward points. These miles can be redeemed for flight/hotel bookings, points transfer to airlines, hotel partners, etc.
Other benefits of the card include complimentary lounge access, high rewards on international spends, and more. The card has three tiers: Silver, Gold, and Platinum, and higher tiers offer added perks. You get 5 Edge Miles per ₹100 spent on travel and 2 Edge Miles per ₹100 spent elsewhere. The Edge Miles can be converted to Etihad Miles at a 1:2 ratio, where 1 Edge Mile = 2 Etihad Miles.
| Reward Point Earning Rate | 5 Edge Miles per ₹100 spent on travel and 2 Edge Miles per ₹100 spent elsewhere. |
| Points Conversion | 1 Edge Mile = 2 Etihad Miles |
| Effective Reward Rate | 4% on normal and 10% on travel spends |
(4.7/5)
Joining Fee
Rs. 10,000 + GST
Renewal Fee
Rs. 10,000 + GST
Best Suited For
Travel | Dining | Shopping
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
Complimentary Membership of Club Marriott, Swiggy One and Amazon Prime (On Spends of Rs. 1.5 Lakh Within 90 Days of Card Issuance)
Card Details +
The HDFC Bank Diners Club Black credit card is another super-premium offering by the bank, with a joining fee of ₹10,000. As a welcome benefit, cardholders get a complimentary membership to Club Marriott, Swiggy One and Amazon Prime. The card offers complimentary vouchers for achieving monthly spends, airport lounge access, golf rounds, and many other exclusive privileges to the cardholder. With a low forex markup fee of 2%, it is good for people who make international spends.
The Diners Club Black card offers 5 reward points per ₹150 spent, with accelerated 10x RPs on partner brands and 2x RPs on weekend dining. You can transfer your reward points to Etihad Miles at a 1:0.5 ratio, where 1 RP = 0.5 Etihad Miles.
| Reward Point Earning Rate | 5 RPs per ₹150 spent |
| Points Conversion | 1 RP = 0.5 Etihad Miles |
| Effective Reward Rate | 1.66% on normal and 16.6% on partner brand spends |
(4.8/5)
Joining Fee
Rs. 60,000 + GST
Renewal Fee
Rs. 60,000 + GST
Best Suited For
Travel | Shopping
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
SeleQtions, Taj, and Vivanta Hotels Vouchers Worth Rs. 45,000. 10,000 Referral Bonus Membership Rewards Points
Card Details +
The Platinum credit card is American Express’s flagship offering and is a super-premium card packed with multiple benefits and privileges. It offers special discounts at top hotels, airlines, and other brands. It is a Charge card with no preset limit and changes based on your spending patterns.
Some other benefits include complimentary international and domestic lounge access, EazyDiner membership, complimentary golf rounds, and more. You get 1 Membership Reward point per ₹40 spent, 3x rewards on international spends, and 5x RPs on spends via Amex Reward Multiplier. You can transfer your MR points to Etihad Miles, where 1600 MR Points = 800 Etihad Miles.
| Reward Point Earning Rate | 1 MR point per ₹40 spent, 3x rewards on international spends, and 5x RPs on spends via Amex Reward Multiplier. |
| Points Conversion | 1600 MR Points = 800 Etihad Miles |
| Effective Reward Rate | 5% on normal spending, 15% on international spends, and 25% on Amex Reward Multiplier |
Etihad Guest Program – Tiers and Status
The Etihad Guest program has 4 status tiers – Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The higher your tier status, the more privileges and benefits you will receive on Etihad flights. As you fly more and more, apart from Guest Miles, you earn Tier Miles that are used to attain higher tier status.
The following criteria must be fulfilled to attain a particular tier –
- Etihad Guest Bronze – Automatically upon membership
- Etihad Guest Silver – 25000 Tier Miles or 20 Tier Segments
- Etihad Guest Gold – 50,000 Tier Miles or 40 Tier Segments
- Etihad Guest Platinum – 125,000 Tier Miles or 60 Tier Segments
Benefits and Privileges
Based on your Etihad Guest tier status, you get the following benefits and privileges –
Bronze – When you register to the program, you automatically attain the Bronze status tier. You earn Guest Miles that can be redeemed at the Reward Shop or used to book flights or upgrade cabins. You start getting benefits such as priority check-in, complimentary lounge access, baggage allowance, etc.
Silver – When you attain the Etihad Guest Silver tier, you get an extra 25% Tier Bonus Miles, priority check-in, lounge access in Abu Dhabi, and more.
Gold – When you attain the Etihad Guest Gold tier, you get complimentary lounge access, priority check-in, 50% extra Tier Bonus miles, priority boarding, fast-track immigration, and more with the card. You can access the Premium Twitter account to stay updated regarding discounts and offers.
Platinum – When you attain the Etihad Guest Platinum tier, you get lounge access, priority boarding, priority check-in, fast-track immigration, 75% Bonus Tier miles, and many other benefits. You also get access to the Premium Twitter account.
How to Book Etihad Flights Using Guest Miles?
You must have valid Etihad Guest Miles in your account to book flights through them. If you have a co-branded SBI Etihad Credit Card, you will get complimentary Etihad Guest tier status and bonus Guest Miles. If you do not have it, then you will first need to transfer your credit card reward points to Etihad Guest Miles.
Once you have done that, follow these steps to book Etihad Flights using Miles –
- Visit the Etihad Guest website and log in to your account.
- Hover your mouse over ‘Redeem Miles’ in the top menu and then click on ‘Flying’
- Enter your destination and arrival location, date of travel, fare class, and other details. Click on Find Flights after.
- You will see all available flights with the the Miles required to book them along with the amount to be paid in cash.
- Next, choose the flight package you want and proceed to finalize the booking by redeeming Guest Miles and paying the rest of the amount.
Booking Etihad Flights via Partner Airlines Miles
Other than booking Etihad flights on the Etihad website via Guest Miles, you can even book Etihad flights via partner airline miles like Aeroplan. Currently, you can only book Economy Class flights via Aeroplan, and here is how you can do so –
- First of all, you need to head over to the official Etihad Airways website.
- Enter flight details such as departure, arrival, guests, fare class, etc., and search for flights.
- On the next page, you will see the flight search results, along with the miles required to book the flight and other charges.
- Click on flight details and look for the GuestSeat option. Only flights with this option can be booked via Aeroplan.
- If you directly search for flights on the Aeroplan website, you will not see any available partner flights. Therefore, you first have to check flight availability on Etihad’s website.
- You can only book flights to North America from India online, and you will have to call Aeroplan customer support to help you with the flight booking. You can book the concerned Etihad Airways flight using your Aeroplan Miles.
Miles Expiry and How to Extend Them
Etihad Guest Miles earned will expire after 18 months for Bronze, Silver, and Gold tier members in case of no qualifying activity by them. With effect from 1st August 2020, Etihad Guest Miles are valid for 18 months and an extra 18 months when you make any eligible miles transaction. For those who are Etihad Guest Platinum members, the Miles never expire.
To extend the validity of your Etihad Guest Miles, you can either earn, spend, or buy miles. However, you can extend Miles only once every month, and it does not matter how many qualifying actions you perform.
Cancellation Charges of Award Tickets
The cancellation date change, and the fee needed for refund of miles depend on the rate at which you booked the award flight. It is different based on the class type chosen by you – Guest, Value, Choice, or Choice Plus.
Miles Redemption for Others
You can use your Etihad Guest Miles to redeem award flights for your family members and loved ones. There is no need to add any nominees to your account or anything else. You just have to visit the Etihad Airways website and can book award flight tickets for anyone you want.
Miles Redemption for Infant/Child
If you plan to travel with your infant kids, it is possible to get award tickets for them. To book an infant award, you will have to pay 10% of the adult mileage required for the award ticket, along with other international fees and taxes.
Bottom Line
For those who travel frequently, especially Indians who regularly visit Dubai and UAE, Etihad Airways is a great airline. The Etihad Guest membership is nice and allows members to get exclusive privileges and benefits on their flights.
You can get the Etihad and SBI co-branded credit cards that offer complimentary Etihad Guest tier status and bonus, Etihad Miles. Additionally, you can use your credit card reward points to convert them to Etihad Guest Miles. The Miles earned by you can be redeemed to book flights, class upgrades, and shopping.
Let us know your experience with Etihad Airlines’ in the comments.
FAQs:
Currently, two Etihad co-branded credit cards have been launched in India in partnership with SBI. These cards are the Etihad Guest SBI Premier Credit Card, which is the premium variant with an annual fee of ₹4999, and the Etihad Guest SBI Credit Card, which is the basic variant with an annual fee of ₹1499.
Apart from the Etihad co-branded credit cards, several other cards allow you to transfer reward points to Etihad Miles at a fixed ratio. The conversion ratio is different for different cards. These cards are – Axis Bank Reserve, Axis Bank Magnus, Axis Bank Atlas, Axis Bank Privilege, Axis Bank Select, HDFC Infinia, HDFC Bank Diners Club Black Metal, and the American Express Platinum credit cards.
When you fly with Etihad Airways, you earn Guest Miles as well as Tier Miles, which are used to attain a higher membership status in the loyalty program. The higher your tier status, the more rewards and privileges you get. The four tiers are Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
Follow these steps to book Etihad Flights using Guest Miles.
- Visit the Etihad Guest and log in to your account.
- Hover your mouse over ‘Spend Miles’ in the top menu and then click on ‘Flying’
- Next, you have to click on Book your Flights Now.
- Enter your destination, arrival location, travel date, fare class, and other details. Click on Find Flights after.
- You will see all available flights, the Miles required to book them, and the amount to be paid in cash.
- Next, choose the flight package you want and proceed to finalize the booking by redeeming Guest Miles and paying the rest of the amount.
In the case of Bronze, Silver, and Gold tier members, the Guest Miles expire after 18 months of inactivity if the member does not make any qualifying activity. The Guest Miles are now valid for 18 months plus 18 months in case you make eligible miles transactions. Also, for Platinum tier members, the Guest Miles never expires.