Etihad Guest Miles Is Bogus

Since launching the airline mileage calculator (still in beta) I have been putting more research into distance based programs. Below is what’s loaded into the calculator at this time:

Plans to upload Malaysia Airlines into the calculator will happen shortly, need to organize the data so that it can be uploaded.

I wanted to add Etihad because it is now a partner with Citi. As a reminder, the following as transfer partners to the Thank You Points program:

1. Asia Miles
2. Etihad Guest
3. EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
4. Garuda Indonesia Frequent Flyer
5. Qatar Airways Privilege Club
6. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
7. Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus

Of the distance based programs, only Garuda and Etihad have not been loaded into the calculator. Garuda and Etihad do not make it easy to find out the mileage bands and miles required for redemption.

I was playing around with Etihad’s calculator and encourage you to do the same.

I suggest adding the max miles of 999999 so you can get the most results from the calculator. It’s funny that Etihad’s calculator would give you the route from JFK-AUH-DFW.

For economy redemptions, you could take 19 and multiply it times the distance from gcmap.com for a very close estimate of how many miles it would be required to redeem for a flight on Etihad. The same can be said for business and first class with  26 and 32.4, respectively. I say the Etihad Guest program is bogus because regardless of your status it is still the same multiplier. I would have expected a different multiplier for different status levels.

Keep in mind, I only did North America to Abu Dhabi. It’s quite possible that the multiplier actually works if you originate in Abu Dhabi. In my next round, I will do the reverse and search from Abu Dhabi to other destinations.