Get 17,000 miles with the free Etihad credit card – worth it?

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• Rich says:

  4 Oct4 October 07:21

  I’m tempted to start collecting with Etihad just to go in one of those private suites!

  • Rob says:

    4 Oct4 October 07:22

    I should ask our nanny to do a trip report at the end of the month!

    • James67 says:

      4 Oct4 October 08:02

      I will send you my CV in the event she might find her job becomes too tiresome 🙂

• Waribai says:

  4 Oct4 October 07:51

  You are flying your nanny in F? 🙂

  • Rob says:

    4 Oct4 October 08:11

    As I said the other day … I was on the hook for a 40,000 Avios Club World BA ticket back from Dubai for her after our holiday, plus £200 of taxes. When she said she fancied a couple of days in Istanbul, it was saving me miles to switch her to Etihad (30,000 miles, so 25,000 Amex points with the transfer bonus) plus £13 tax, plus chauffeur so I don’t even pay for her taxi!

• Rob says:

  4 Oct4 October 08:12

  4 months or so. I did a review when it launched.

• James67 says:

  4 Oct4 October 08:27

  Just had a look at their route map. Unfortunately there does not seem to be any fifth freedim flights that might have offered sime possibilities. For those going eastwards might still be wort considering in conjunction with an Air Berlin flight from DUS or TXL on avios to cut down on APD and other costs

• Roger says:

  4 Oct4 October 09:08

  Interesing points about the limo transfers for F/J redemptions and redeeming with AA miles.

  I have AA miles but no Etihad miles. Would I get the limo if redeeming with AA miles? (I’m prepared for a No, as with VS redemptions using VS miles, but would be very happy with a Yes.)

  • Rob says:

    4 Oct4 October 09:20

    Yes you will.

    (You even get one on an airberlin flight to Abu Dhabi due to their Etihad partnership.)

    However, I think (via third hand reports) it is a fiddle to book because you can’t use Etihad’s online booking service.

    With an Etihad redemption, you get big print reminders in your confirmations saying click here to book!

    • Roger says:

      4 Oct4 October 09:59

      Thanks.

      I’ve been wanting to try Etihad for a while. With no relevant business travel likely, this (AA miles) could be just the opportunity, even better if the limo works.

      • Andrew says:

        14 Oct14 October 15:32

        No fiddle to book. They say it is, but if you get the Etihad PNR number, it works on their site to assign seats and book limousine transfers.
        Flew EY F from DUS-AUH using purchased AA miles (cheaper than the Y fare was at the time) and it was fantastic. Superb service, great hard product, hard to fault really.

• Phillip says:

  4 Oct4 October 10:34

  Another interesting thing about Etihad Guest, is that you can redeem flights with Oman Air, who have an excellent longhaul business/first class product (but the chauffeur service is not available on redemption flights).

  • Thywillbedone says:

    4 Oct4 October 12:25

    Agreed – Oman’s long haul biz product is equal if not better than many first class offerings.

• Jay says:

  4 Oct4 October 10:58

  I applied for this card just now and received decision in less than 5 seconds. Never seen an application going this quick 🙂

  Weird thing is that I did not get any application reference number in the final page. Any similar experiences ?

  • Phillip says:

    5 Oct5 October 09:23

    Yes, and the page even refreshed back to the MBNA homepage. There will be an email confirmation on its way over the next couple of days.

• The Phantom says:

  4 Oct4 October 11:21

  This is my first post as I am new to the site.
  Thank you for all the great hints and tips.

  I am considering apply for this card and have been told about the Emirates and Qatar credit cards.
  Has anyone compared all three to establish which has the best outcomes?
  I do however fancy the limo service

  • Rob says:

    4 Oct4 October 12:33

    Qatar has no UK credit card, although you can transfer from the Starwood Amex into QMiles.

    Emirates has a UK credit card but has a very tough reward chart which requires more miles than most other airlines for the same route.

    Unless you have a specific redemption in mind and know the miles you need to earn, you are better off with a card like Amex Gold which lets you convert points into a variety of airlines (BA, Virgin, Etihad amongst others) as and when you need them.

    I would recommend clicking on Favourite Posts at the top and reading the 8 Avios Redemption University articles to get an overview of the BA Avios scheme as well, as it may turn out to be your best option when living in the UK.

    • The Phantom says:

      6 Oct6 October 13:48

      Thank you very much, greatly appreciated

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