20-40% transfer bonus from Capital One to Etihad Guest

Etihad Guest is offering an opportunity to get a 20-40% transfer bonus when transferring from select programs to Etihad Guest. The only US-based program likely to appeal to most readers would be transfers from Capital One Miles to Etihad Guest. The bonus here could be very big, but beware of Etihad’s new cancellation and expiration policies — and that bonus miles won’t post until mid-April.

The Deal

• Etihad Guest is offering a 20-40% transfer bonus through March 31, 2024 when you transfer from select programs to Etihad Guest. The only major US transferable currency qualifying for this deal is Capital One Miles (some hotel programs also count but don’t transfer at a ratio that would be attractive). The following are the bonus tiers:
  • Transfer 1000 to 10,000 miles and get 20% Bonus Miles on each transaction.
  • Transfer 10,001 to 50,000 miles and get 30% Bonus Miles on each transaction.
  • Transfer 50,001 miles and above and get 40% Bonus Miles on each transaction.
• Direct link to this deal

Key Terms

• The offer is valid for all Points to Miles transfers made from the qualifying partner loyalty programme between 01 March 2024 (00.00am UTC+4) and 31 March 2024 (23.59pm UTC+4) both days inclusive.
• Once the Miles transfer request in initiated it cannot be reversed.
• This offer is subject to the Terms & Conditions of the Etihad Guest Programme.
• A valid Etihad Guest membership number is required to successfully perform the transfer.
• The Etihad Guest member will be responsible for quoting the correct Etihad Guest membership number to the participating transfer partners for the transfer activity.
• Terms and conditions governing the existing transfer partners will apply.
• The promotion is applicable for any member who converts their points from a qualifying Partner loyalty programme to Etihad Guest Miles. The eligibility of the bonus for a specific member will be done based on the validity of the promotion and the date of transfer provided by the partner for that respective member.
• Base Etihad Guest Miles converted by the member will be awarded as per the applicable transfer ratios of each respective partner
• Bonus Etihad Guest Tier Miles earned during this promotion will reflect in the member’s Etihad Guest membership account within 15 business days by the end of the campaign period.
• The above promotion construct is valid only for all Points Transfer Partners which fall under the Points Transfer partners listed above and governed by the transfer ratios and minimum thresholds applicable for these respective partners.
• Etihad Guest reserves the right to withdraw or cancel the promotion or modify or alter the terms and conditions of such promotion at any time.
• Participation under this promotion is purely voluntary for the members.
• The decision of Etihad Guest will be final and binding under this promotion and no disputes will be entertained in this regard.
• This offer cannot be clubbed with any other transfer offer.

Quick Thoughts

As noted at the outset, the biggest issue here is Etihad’s new recently-announced policy changes. Many awards have decreased in price substantially, but the expiration policy is now 18 months unless you credit a flight to Etihad. Worse yet, the fee to cancel an award ticket is 25% of the miles if you cancel at least 21 days in advance, then it increases to 50% of the miles between 20 days in advance and 7 days in advance and increases to 75% of the miles within 7 days of departure.

Personally, as someone whose kids and wife took turns with the stomach bug this week, I just can’t imagine losing 75% of the miles flown if everybody got sick the week of departure. That’s just too much risk for the reward to make any sense to me. I’d therefore only consider booking an award through Etihad Guest at the very last minute (when I’m absolutely sure I’ll be traveling) — and at that point, those awards are likely available to American Airlines AAdvantage and it would probably be a better deal to book through AA (not to mention the total absence of risk given that they have no cancellation penalty!).

That said, if you’re getting a 40% bonus on your miles, that could make for a decent deal if you’re not concerned about the cancellation penalties. For instance, a business class ticket from New York to Abu Dhabi would now cost 120K miles, which would mean 86K Capital One miles transferred (transfers of 50,001 or more miles get the 40% bonus). Again, if the award you want is available via American Airlines AAdvantage, it would cost fewer AA miles — but if you don’t have AA miles or are booking more than 30 days in advance, Etihad Guest may be your best option for booking that award. Just be aware that you’d be paying 30,000 miles per passenger to cancel an award like that 21 days in advance — or 90,000 miles per passenger to cancel within 7 days of departure. Ouch.

Also keep in mind that this bonus is being offered by Etihad Guest, not by Capital One, so you won’t see this reflected in your Capital One account and the bonus miles will not be instant. In fact, terms indicate that the bonus miles will show up within 15 business days of the end date of the promotion. Fifteen business days from March 31st means that these bonus miles might not post until around April 19th (give or take a day as I’m going by US business days). You can’t make this transfer counting on the miles right away for a near-term booking.

As I noted on the podcast this weekend, I’m a hard pass on Etihad Guest at this point unless a very last-minute need arises and an award is only available through their program.

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