(EXPIRED) 50% transfer bonus: Marriott (and others) to Etihad Guest

Etihad is offering 50% more miles when you transfer from Marriott, Accor, and select other programs to Etihad Guest.

The Deal

Through April 30th, Etihad Guest is offering a 50% bonus for transferring points to Etihad Guest from the following programs: ADCB Touchpoints, Joud Rewards, Emirates Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, FAB Stars, AIMIA (Air Miles/My Reward Points), Le Club Accor Hotels, Marriot, Etisalat, ADNOC, SHARE points, TBOholidays & CBI Rewards.  Etihad’s landing page for this promotion can be found here.

Among the qualifying points programs, I expect that the Marriott transfer bonus is the most relevant, followed very distantly Accor.  Here are the transfer details for each:

Marriott to Etihad Transfer

• Standard transfer rate: 3,000 Marriott points to 1,000 Etihad miles
• Bonus when transferring 60,000 points: 60,000 Marriott points transfer to 25,000 Etihad miles
• After 50% bonus: 60,000 Marriott points transfer to 37,500 Etihad miles (1.6 to 1)
• Redemption value: Our Reasonable Redemption Value (RRV) for Marriott points = 0.72 cents per point.  Using that valuation, the “cost” to convert 60K Marriott points is $432.  So, you can think of this transfer as akin to buying Etihad miles for $432 / 37,500 = 1.15 cents each.  That can be a great deal if you have a good use for Etihad miles.

Accor ALL Transfer

• Standard transfer rate: 4,000 Accor points to 2,000 Etihad miles
• After 50% bonus: 4,000 Accor points transfer to 3,000 Etihad miles (1.33 to 1)
• Redemption value: Accor points are worth 2 cents Euro each towards Accor hotel stays.  With the current transfer rate, that means Accor points are worth about 2.38 cents each.  Using that valuation, the “cost” to convert 4K Accor points is $95.20.  So, you can think of this transfer as akin to buying Etihad miles for $95.20 / 3,000 = 3.17 cents each.  That’s not a good deal at all.

My Take

Transfers from Marriott to Etihad, especially in 60K Marriott point increments, can be a very good deal.  Etihad miles are useful for booking Etihad itself and for select partners.  They have different award charts for different partners and so some offer good value and others do not.  One notable partner is American Airlines: Etihad charges the same prices that American Airlines used to charge for awards quite a while ago.  In some cases, you can get great value that way.  All of that said, I wouldn’t personally transfer points unless I had a plan in place for how to use the earned Etihad miles.  Marriott points can be valuable for booking Marriott hotel stays or transferring to other airline partners.  Once you transfer to Etihad, your options will be much more limited.

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