Earn £8 per Marriott hotel stay via Etihad Guest

I mentioned in an article on Saturday that Marriott Rewards is now an Etihad Guest partner.  This means that you can convert Marriott Rewards points to Etihad and credit future stays directly into Etihad miles.

What I had not seen when I wrote that piece is that Etihad has launched a generous Marriott promotion.

Until 31st October, you will receive 2,000 bonus Etihad Guest miles per stay.

You need to use a special Marriott promotional code when booking via marriott.com – ‘MPR’ – and set your Marriott account to credit your stay to Etihad Guest instead of awarding Marriott Rewards points.

“Where does this £8 come from?” I hear you say.

Etihad is unique among airlines in allowing you to convert your miles to cash.  Via their PointsPay option, which I wrote about here and here, you can redeem miles for a Virtual Visa card.

The conversion rate is linked to the US$ but is approximately 0.4p per Etihad Guest mile.  I got 0.41p when I last used it.  This means that the 2000 bonus Etihad Guest miles you receive from your stay would convert into £8.  You would also have extra money from the Etihad Guest miles earned from your standard hotel spending.

Your Virtual Visa card number functions like a 3V card.  You can use the money to make an online purchase.  The easiest options are to buy Amazon gift certificates online for the entire amount of your PointsPay balance or (as I do) pay it to the Inland Revenue via BillPay as a tiny contribution towards your next tax bill.

It is also possible to order a physical Visa card which can be used in shops.  There is a fee for this, however, and it is not worthwhile unless you are using up a large number of Etihad miles.

The only snag in this plan is if the Marriott ‘MRP’ promotional code – which must be used to trigger the bonus – brings up unfavourable rates.  This is likely to vary on a property by property basis.

You can find full details on the Etihad website here.

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How to earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards (April 2025)

Etihad Guest does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Etihad Guest miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Etihad Guest miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 50,000 Etihad Guest miles.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 10,000 Etihad Guest miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Etihad Guest miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Etihad Guest mile.

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it, not just with Etihad but with any airline.