Etihad is UAE’s second-largest airline after Emirates. Both Etihad and Emirates are our go-to airline’s thanks to their international connectivity. Both also have partner credit cards in India that help us in earning miles for their loyalty programs. While Emirates has co-branded cards with ICICI Bank, Etihad has tied up with SBI Card. The Etihad Guest SBI Card is available in two variants – Base and Premier. As expected, both the cards come with good rewards and benefits for Etihad. In this article, we review the rewards and benefits of the base Etihad Guest SBI Card.
Fees and Charges
The Etihad Guest Silver status is only for the first year. The tier will be as per Etihad Guest loyalty program criteria from the second year.
| Joining/Renewal Fee | Rs 1499 plus taxes |
| Welcome/Renewal Benefit | 2500 Etihad Guest Miles (EYG miles) |
| Welcome Benefit | Etihad Guest Silver status |
| Renewal Fee Waiver Condition | Rs 3 Lakhs spend in a year |
Rewards
The 1 Mile per Rs 100 on other spends is too low. Unless we spend a significant amount on Etihad every year, it will take a long time to accumulate miles.
| Type of Spend | Etihad Guest Miles Earn Rate |
|---|---|
| Etihad.com spends | 3 Miles/Rs 100 |
| International spends | 2 Miles/Rs 100 |
| Other Spends | 1 Mile/Rs 100 |
Milestone Benefits
- 1 companion voucher on annual spends of Rs 10 Lakhs
- 5000 Etihad Guest Miles on annual spends of Rs 5 Lakhs
The companion voucher is valid for 6 months from the date of issuance. The voucher can be used to waive off the base fare component on a one-way or return ticket. The Etihad Guest SBI card has to accompany the guest for the journey.
Instant Discount on Direct Etihad Bookings
We get a 3% discount on Economy class and a 10% discount on business class revenue bookings on the Etihad SBI Link. For miles redemption bookings, the discount is 5%.
Complimentary Airport Lounge Access
The Etihad Guest SBI card gets 2 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits per quarter. The access is through VISA.
There is no complimentary international airport lounge access on the Etihad Guest SBI Card.
Etihad Guest Miles Requirements
How much is each Etihad Guest Mile worth and how many miles do we need for travel? I did a quick search on Etihad Guest to check this.
The first search was for a one-way economy booking from Bengaluru (BLR) to Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam (AMS). The lowest miles requirement for this was 29957 miles + Rs 13592 in taxes and surcharges. The same revenue ticket costs Rs 31757. This gives us a value of 1 Etihad Guest Mile = 60 paise.
Let us explore the closest destination – Abu Dhabi (AUH). The lowest mileage requirement for an economy BLR to AUH is 15333 Miles plus Rs 6672 in taxes and surcharges. Revenue pricing is Rs 22568. This gives a better miles value. 1 Mile equals Rs 1 in this case.
As with any other miles card, we need to find the sweet spots for redemption. I have not mentioned business class miles requirements as this is the base Etihad Guest card.
My View
The Etihad Guest SBI card has low miles earn rate on non-Etihad spending. It is a little better with the milestone benefit of 5K miles at Rs 5 Lakh spend. But, unless we have good spends on Etihad we cannot accumulate a meaningful quantity of miles.
There are situations when this can be a good card to have. We can take advantage of the Etihad Guest Silver status and get extra benefits if we have planned travel. The other good benefit is the instant discount for direct Etihad bookings. Considering the low annual fees and renewal benefits, this is a decent card to have if you plan to fly with Etihad.
Etihad Guest SBI Card
