Promos on buying Etihad Guest miles

[Mattg]

There doesn't seem to be another recent thread about buying Etihad Guest miles, so I thought I'd start one.

Etihad Guest sells miles for USD20 per thousand, and gives various discounts or bonuses every few months. For example, the current offer is a 10-20% discount on purchases over 5,000 miles (you need to buy at least 41,000 miles to get the full 20% discount). This offer expires 27 March 2022.

Etihad Guest redemptions for Virgin Australia business class flights can be great value, with any one-way VA J flight up to 1,250 miles in distance costing 13,800 Etihad Guest miles + taxes. Velocity carrier charges are not passed on when booking with Etihad Guest miles.

With a 20% discount, it would cost USD896 (just under AUD1,200) to buy enough miles for 2x return VA J flights from SYD-CNS, BNE-ADL or BNE-HBA. That works out to be around $300 per flight for the miles, plus ~$25-30 taxes.

This article has more details:

How to Buy & Redeem Etihad Guest Miles

Buying Etihad Guest miles during a promotion can unlock cheap flights when redeeming on Etihad's partner airlines including Virgin Australia.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Mattg]

There's another promo on now. Up to 45% bonus miles until 1 June.

 

[Lynnelanne]

There's another promo on now. Up to 45% bonus miles until 1 June.

Hi @Mattg I could potentially be interested in this, but I went to the website and there is no mention at all about bonus miles on the buy miles page/s. Is this a selective promotion? TIA

 

[Mattg]

Hi @Mattg I could potentially be interested in this, but I went to the website and there is no mention at all about bonus miles on the buy miles page/s. Is this a selective promotion? TIA

Did you click through to the page where you actually buy the miles? Once you get there and choose how many miles you want to buy, the bonuses should appear. It’s not a targeted offer AFAIK.

 

[Mur@no70]

is there good availability of seats using the Etihad point for VA or do you only get access much later than velocity members?

 

[Mur@no70]

I also clicked through to the purchase page and the extra miles didn't show up @Mattg maybe it is targetted?

 

[Lynnelanne]

Did you click through to the page where you actually buy the miles? Once you get there and choose how many miles you want to buy, the bonuses should appear. It’s not a targeted offer AFAIK.

Well yes, I thought I did. Seems same thing happened to @Mur@no70 too b

 

[Mattg]

is there good availability of seats using the Etihad point for VA or do you only get access much later than velocity members?

Yes, the availability pretty much matches what you can book using Velocity points. But the taxes & charges are usually around $9 cheaper per flight, because Etihad doesn't add a Velocity carrier charge.

I also clicked through to the purchase page and the extra miles didn't show up @Mattg maybe it is targetted?

That's odd. This is what I'm seeing:

 

[Mur@no70]

Yes, the availability pretty much matches what you can book using Velocity points. But the taxes & charges are usually around $9 cheaper per flight, because Etihad doesn't add a Velocity carrier charge.



That's odd. This is what I'm seeing:

View attachment 279227

Thanks @Mattg mine is different - I don't have the blurb saying for a limitied time - so maybe it is targetted. One last question as I don't etihad miles very well, can I VA book tickets for the rest of my family using etihad miles or is it just limited to the account holder? thanks

 

[Davidozusa]

Yes, the availability pretty much matches what you can book using Velocity points. But the taxes & charges are usually around $9 cheaper per flight, because Etihad doesn't add a Velocity carrier charge.



That's odd. This is what I'm seeing:

View attachment 279227

im also not seeing the bonus , all I see is the normal cost. I tried 2 different portals, and it looks like the promo has been pulled early?

 

[Mattg]

Thanks @Mattg mine is different - I don't have the blurb saying for a limitied time - so maybe it is targetted. One last question as I don't etihad miles very well, can I VA book tickets for the rest of my family using etihad miles or is it just limited to the account holder? thanks

I don't see any reason you couldn't book for family members.

im also not seeing the bonus , all I see is the normal cost. I tried 2 different portals, and it looks like the promo has been pulled early?

How bizarre. This promo was also featured on several overseas blogs, so it wasn't just me who could see it. In any case, I'm still seeing the bonus miles as available.

For those who can't access this promo, keep an eye out for the next one - they come around every few months.

 

[Mur@no70]

I don't see any reason you couldn't book for family members.



How bizarre. This promo was also featured on several overseas blogs, so it wasn't just me who could see it. In any case, I'm still seeing the bonus miles as available.

For those who can't access this promo, keep an eye out for the next one - they come around every few months.

All good - thanks for coming back to me on my questions - appreciate it!!

 

[Mattg]

Up to 50% bonus on now. Expires tomorrow.

 

[goldenhorn]

Up to 50% bonus on now. Expires tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing this, Matt!

Do you know where can I find the chart that says how many miles I would need to buy for a J seat on VA PER-SYD?

UPDATE - Sorry @Mattg just found it in your original article https://www.etihadguest.com/en/spend-miles/flying.html?_linkNav=Flying

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Are Etihad miles worth buying?

 

[jase05]

I got this too and will be taking up the offer.

 

[ayebee]

I got this too and will be taking up the offer.

I also got the offer to buy miles, having flown EY only a few times and not for many years, so balance is zero.
What is the experience with redeeming value ?

 

[jase05]

I also got the offer to buy miles, having flown EY only a few times and not for many years, so balance is zero.
What is the experience with redeeming value ?

I have never had a big bank of points with them but have used them for VA in the past and a couple of European routes on EY’s metal and it seemed decent value. I’ve never bothered researching what their value is like with other partners but feel it’s something I need to look into

 

[Pele]

Are Etihad miles worth buying?
View attachment 310794View attachment 310795

Generally no however you need to check the routes you are planning to redeem on to get a feel for the value. I think there were some sweet spots in the VA network for redeeming EY points such as SYD-CNS(double check that). Buying them with no specific redemption in mind is madness.

I dont even think you need to be logged into the app to be able to the check the number of points required to do a redemption.

 

[azza007]

Hi everyone

A good use could be for award flights on American airlines
Lax - syd in business class is 62,500 miles while first class is only 72,500 miles.

Buy 50,000 *1.45 = 72,500 miles for $1470Aud.

There is some business/first class availability lax-syd up to 31 December.