Deal: Receive 50% bonus with Etihad travel vouchers

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There is another deal that came out of the Middle East just last night. Etihad is offering 50% bonus on travel vouchers purchased from now till 24 June 2020. These vouchers can only be purchased through Etihad’s call centre and can be redeemed from 1 August 2020.

The bad

Let’s start with why this deal is not that great.

Don’t be misled, 50% bonus does not mean that you can get 50% off future Etihad flight bookings. Here’s a simple calculation:

Purchase: US$1,000
Receive: US$1,500 voucher (50% bonus)
Summary: Book a US$1,500 flight for US$1,000 (33.3% off)

This deal gives you a maximum of 33.3% off, provided the flight costs exactly the value of your voucher.

Vouchers are also non-refundable and non-transferable.

Like Singapore Airlines, Economy flights on Etihad generally cost substantially more than the likes of Qatar and Lufthansa. This does not mean that their Economy experience is better though. It is just something worth noting because, there is no good reason to use this voucher for an Etihad flight that costs 33% more than a Qatar Airways flight.

The good

1. Earn miles for flights booked with this voucher

2. Purchase vouchers ranging from US$250 to US$65,000

3. Valid for 2 years

4. Can be used to purchase flight tickets for someone else

How can you a̶b̶u̶s̶e̶ maximise this deal?

Before I share the best ways to take advantage of this deal, here are a few things to note:

1. In general, you want to fly in a Boeing 787 or Airbus A380 to experience the latest seats (Business Studio and First Class Residence).

2. Unfortunately, Etihad only operates Boeing 777s out of Singapore.

For quick reference, here are old and new seats on Business and First:

Pictures don’t lie. Now that we’ve established how pointless it can be to use this voucher for the older seats, let’s explore the sweet spots! All flights are available up till April 2021. Although these prices are usually available all year round, note that nothing can stop Etihad if they decide to make a douche move by increasing the prices of these flights in future.

Depart	Arrive	One-way / Round trip	Class	Usual Price	With Voucher	Miles Earned
Bangkok	Muscat	One-way	Business	S$1,000	S$666	5,800
Bangkok	Muscat	Round trip	Business	S$1,700	S$1,120	11,600
Bangkok	Paris	One-way	Business + First	S$3,520	S$2,320	13,500
Jakarta	New York	One-way	Business + First	S$3,890	S$2,570	24,300
Jakarta	New York	Round trip	Business	S$4,200	S$2,770	54,750
Bangkok	Paris	Round trip	Business + First	S$5,270	S$3,480	27,200

Which card should I use?

 

Conclusion

The sweet spots listed above are all great as you get tons of miles on premium flights that are already fairly cheap. However, as I’ve mentioned in a previous article, I would be very cautious with any deals that involve Indonesia as I do not see any countries opening up green lanes to them until there is a vaccine or rapid tests available. In a 150-page report by Deep Knowledge Group, Indonesia is ranked 97th out of 100 countries for COVID-19 safety at the moment.

The good thing, however, is that the voucher is valid till June 2022. That buys you a lot of time.

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