Bilt adds Etihad frequent flyers as new transfer partner

Bilt Rewards has been busy adding to the transfer partner list this year. Over the past six months, the program has added the Southwest Express Rewards Program, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank and Qatar Airways Frequently Passenger Club to its partner list. Now, Bilt Rewards has added another transfer partner: Etihad Guest.

The news means members can now transfer Bilt points to Etihad frequent flyers in a 1:1 ratio, with an increment of 1,000.

So, should you transfer your Bilt points to Etihad frequent flyers?

Transfer Bilt points to Etihad Frequents

The Etihad Frequently Traveler Program, which works with multiple affiliate airlines, is often considered an unknown loyalty program. Therefore, having a new way to earn rewards is undoubtedly a positive development. You can also transfer American Express membership bonus points, Capital One Mileage and Citi Thanks bonus points to Etihad frequent flyers.

Etihad Frequently Passenger Airlines has many partners, but the most relevant ones are probably American Airlines, Air Canada, Air France and KLM. The program uses a distance-based one-way reward chart for each partner airline, but as far as I can tell, Etihad frequent flyers unified rewards between partners.

So you can take a one-way first-class flight from New York to Los Angeles on American Airlines, with a range of 67,000 miles plus $61.

Or you can also fly from New York to Copenhagen on a economic one-way flight from Scandinavian Airlines with a 45,000 miles of miles, plus $29.

The options are wide. If you need inspiration or want to determine if it’s worth following Etihad frequent flyers as a Bilt transfer partner, check out the Partners and Rewards Charts, or head to Seats.aero to see the reward types that other users have recently discovered. By doing this, you should understand what types of rewards you can book.

Of course, before transferring Bilt points to Etihad frequent flyers, you also need to make sure that other Bilt transfer partners such as Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France KLM Blue Flight and Atmos Rewards are not better choices for the rewards you want to book. You also need to double check if the rewards you want can be booked on your desired date and flight number through the Etihad Frequently Traveler Program. After all, transfers from Bilt to Etihad frequent flyers are a one-way transaction, meaning they are irreversible.

Finally, thanks to the punitive reward cancellation policy of the Etihad Frequently Passenger Program, you need to be sure you can use the booked reward flight. Rewards cancellation policy depends on the fare you booked and the cancellation time. But if you cancel your Etihad frequent flyer redemption more than 21 days before departure, you usually face a 25% mileage penalty. If you cancel your reservation, you usually face a 50% or 75% fine. If you cancel within 24 hours before departure, you usually won’t receive any refund. This is pretty rough, but it is definitely worth considering before transferring points to Etihad frequent flyers.