Etihad Guest

Etihad has announced a number of significant changes to its Etihad Guest loyalty program and on the whole, the news is bad. Most of the changes that have been announced will kick in later this year and these include things like adjustments to mileage expiry rules, increased award booking cancellation fees, and a devaluation in the lounge access benefit for elite members.

Hyatt and Etihad have announced a new promotion in which members of the Etihad Guest program can now earn 1,000 bonus miles on Hyatt stays made by the end of March. Award stays count in the same way as revenue stays, so this could represent an easy way to top up and Etihad account or to simply keep and Etihad balance alive.

Some of the better value flight awards that are still available in the miles and points world are Etihad premium cabin awards booked with Aeroplan or American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Right now, however, it looks like Etihad is working hard to make sure that these awards aren't available to be booked and it's not even being subtle with how it's doing this.

In anticipation of a very busy July, Etihad has been trying to improve the check-in facilities that it offers at Abu Dhabi International airport and it has brought back a check-in option that we last saw back in December. This time, however, that check-in option also comes with a bonus offer.

Etihad introduced the concept of allowing flyers to bid for a one cabin upgrade back in 2012 but, up until now, the only form of payment Etihad recognised for upgrades was cash. This has now changed.

Etihad doesn't belong to an airline alliance but, thanks to its investment in a number of other airlines, it does have what it calls "a partnership". The partnership is made up of 8 airlines contains Alitalia and, more surprisingly, airberlin which is a member of the oneworld alliance. Up until now, from a flyer benefits perspective, the partnership hasn't been that well coordinated...but Etihad has just changed all of that.