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I’ve talked previously about how it pays to be a loyalty club member of an airline which is part of an airline alliance. This means that you can earn and redeem points with a number of airlines. You can then redeem points with any of the member airlines. In short, you have more choice and more chance of a successful redemption and if you are unsure which airline belongs to which alliance, you can download our free airline alliance infographic as a handy reference.
Airberlin and Etihad join forces
So I was delighted to receive news from Etihad recently that they are joining forces with airberlin. I have loyalty membership with both airlines but simply don’t fly often enough with either to have enough points for a redemption. Whilst I can’t combine points, in future I will be better accumulating points in just one programme. This will speed up the process of earning enough points to bag a flight.
Here’s what this means for you
Etihad isn’t a member of an alliance, but instead, has a number of partners. These are:
- Alitalia
- Air Serbia
- Air Seychelles
- Etihad Regional
- Jet Airways
- NIKI
Plus the latest addition of airberlin which brings the total routes served to 400 destinations across six continents.
Benefits of this partnership
Both Etihad Guest and Topbonus members (airberlin loyalty program) can earn miles in the respective programs while flying on Etihad Airways network flights or airberlin domestic and international routes.
Both can also redeem miles on either airline, so if you are an Etihad Guest member and likely to fly Air Berlin, don’t bother joining that loyalty club. Simply use your Etihad Guest loyalty card to earn points.
In addition, the screenshot below shows the added benefits members will enjoy.
To read more, visit Etihad Guest.
If you would like to know about loyalty programs, do sign up for my weekly newsletter or grab yourself a copy of my free taster book ‘Rocket Fuel Your Airmiles‘.
What do you think of this partnership? I would love to know.
Wow! I never realized how many benefits there are to being in these reward programs. My flights miles usually expire before I get around to using them… Just my luck! I’ve also never flown either of these airlines. I’ll look at them next time! Cheers!
You might find Award Wallet beneficial. They have a free version which allows you to track all your points. They also notify you when points are due to expire.
I’m a member of several airline loyalty programmes and it drives me nuts that they never seem to be in the same alliance! This is great news that they are partnering together, more miles to collect for us – and more ways to use them woo hoo!
I really need to get going on this points game. I’m based in Canada and haven’t flown Air Berlin nor Etihad Airways before, but definitely would! I like how these partnerships can help frequent travellers try other airlines. I definitely need to research more about point and alliances that’s right for me. 🙂
I have never flown with Etihad Airways and didn’t know they had so many partners. I think it’s great when airlines partner because it expands your flight search when you have points with the airline. I was so happy when ANA and United were part of the Star Alliance because I have a ton of United miles and would much rather fly ANA. I have done so on multiple flights now and it’s been awesome.
How interesting! I’ve never heard of these before! I’ll have to check them out!!
I have always loved Etihad for their services. We dont end up using any particular alliance program but I think its about time I do it. Little steps in the end turn into big benefits.
I didn’t realize Etihad Airways has so many partners. The alliance with AirBerlin will definitely make it easier to accumulate points as the available destinations has now increased. Knowing this will help me in strategizing for future flights.
I really need to get better at taking advantage of the partnerships and alliances for the airlines I do fly. I’ve never flown Etihad or Airberlin, but I can certainly see the advantage of accruing miles under the new partnership. One of these I have to sit down and really take inventory of where I have miles and which programs are worth focusing on. Maybe that will be my goal for 2017.
That is good for the reward members! I am brand loyal to a local airline that also participates in One World partnerships so I can use my status and points for more airlines.