Got the Etihad credit card? Get a free upgrade to Heathrow Rewards premium tier

UPDATE – JULY 2025:  This is an old article, and the credit card information given is likely to be out of date.

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A few Head for Points readers will have applied for the Etihad Guest credit card in recent weeks.  This is due to the generous 15,000 miles sign-up bonus on offer until the end of May.

If you have signed up, there is an extra bonus you may not be aware of.

Etihad credit card holders get a free upgrade to the Heathrow Rewards premium tier.

Heathrow Rewards gives you 1 point for every £1 spent in Heathrow (1 per £10 on foreign exchange) or on Heathrow Express tickets (online bookings only). Once you’ve earned 250 points you can exchange them for miles or shopping vouchers.

The premium tier usually requires £500 per year of spending.  The one and only benefit is double Heathrow Rewards points on all of your spending, ie 2 points per £1.

Registration is easy.

Go to this page on the Etihad website and click through the link to the Heathrow Rewards site.  You must be logged out of Heathrow Rewards or it will not work.

It is not clear how long you will keep the status.  It works on calendar year, so I would imagine that – even if you cancel your Etihad credit card tomorrow – you would retain it for the rest of 2017 and all of 2018.

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How to earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards (July 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 Credit Card (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.

• 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.

• The 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 Credit Card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it, not just with Etihad but with any airline.