Bilt adds Etihad Guest as a new transfer partner

Bilt Rewards has been busy adding to its list of transfer partners this year. In the last six months, the program has added Southwest Rapid Rewards, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank and Qatar Airways Privilege Club to its partner list. Now, Bilt Rewards is adding yet another transfer partner: Etihad Guest.

This news means that members can now transfer Bilt Points to Etihad Guest at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000.

So, should you transfer your Bilt points to Etihad Guest?

Transfer Bilt points to Etihad Guest

Etihad Guest partners with airlines from multiple alliances and is often considered an under-the-radar loyalty program. So, having a new way to earn its rewards is certainly a positive development. You can also transfer American Express Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou Rewards points to Etihad Guest.

Etihad Guest has many partners, but the most relevant are likely American Airlines, Air Canada, Air France and KLM. The program uses a one-way distance-based award chart for each partner airline, but as far as I can tell, Etihad Guest unifies the awards across the partners.

So, you could fly on American Airlines one-way from New York to Los Angeles in first class for 67,000 miles plus $61.

Or you could fly on Scandinavian Airlines in economy one-way from New York to Copenhagen for 45,000 miles plus $29.

The options are extensive. If you need inspiration or want to determine whether it’s worth caring about Etihad Guest as a Bilt transfer partner, check out the partners and award charts or head to Seats.aero to see what types of awards other users found recently. By doing so, you should see what types of awards you could book.

Of course, you’ll also want to ensure that other Bilt transfer partners, such as Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Atmos Rewards, aren’t better options for the award you want to book before you transfer Bilt points to Etihad Guest. You’ll also want to double-check that the award you want to secure is bookable through Etihad Guest on the date and flight number(s) you want. After all, transfers from Bilt to Etihad Guest are a one-way transaction, which means they’re irreversible.

Finally, you’ll want to be confident you’ll fly on the award you book due to Etihad Guest’s punitive award cancellation policies. The award cancellation policies depend on the fare you book and the time at which you cancel. But you’ll usually face a 25% mileage penalty if you cancel an Etihad Guest redemption more than 21 days before departure. If you cancel closer in, you’ll usually face a 50% or 75% penalty. And if you cancel within 24 hours of departure, you usually won’t get any refund. That’s pretty rough, and definitely worth considering before you transfer points to Etihad Guest.