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Sometime last week, Amex Canada quietly updated its website with new verbiage: “Effective June 20, 2026, Etihad Airways Etihad Guest loyalty program will no longer be available as a Membership Rewards® transfer partner in Canada. Eligible Cardmembers must complete any point transfers to Etihad Guest by this date.”
Let’s take a look at Etihad Guest’s best sweet spots and if you should transfer points in while you still can.
Etihad Guest Sweet Spots
Etihad Guest is one of those programs that people either engage with heavily or not at all. It has a few sweet spots, one major benefit, and the worst cancellation policy ever — no changes or cancellations within 72 hours of departure and a 600 AED fee before that (~$223 CAD) for saver-level priced flights.
I’ve personally redeemed Etihad Guest miles one time, but it was so good that I will speculatively transfer a chunk of points in before June 20. In my opinion, the best and most practical use for Etihad Guest miles is short-haul flights on Air Canada.
You can redeem for flights on Air Canada for just 6,000 miles one-way when the total distance is under 500 miles. This works for flights like Toronto – Washington D.C. or Ottawa – New York. Last year, I booked Ottawa – Quebec City for 6,163 miles + $91 CAD when Aeroplan was charging 15,000+ points.
Use Etihad Guest for short-haul Air Canada flights
Oddly enough, Etihad lets you offset taxes and fees at checkout at a surprisingly good rate, so the booking ended up costing 6,896 miles + $66.89 CAD.
Similar pricing also applies to American Airlines, creating another strong sweet spot for short-haul flights.
Redeeming Etihad Guest miles on AA
The other reason to use Etihad Guest miles is that Etihad offers significantly more first class saver award space to its own program. Redemption rates are expensive at 200,000 miles for Toronto – Abu Dhabi + $825 CAD in fees, but availability is very good.
Redeem Etihad guest miles for Etihad first class
Should You Transfer Amex MR to Etihad Guest?
For the vast majority of readers, I’d wager the answer is no. If you’ve never engaged with Etihad Guest before, there’s no reason you need to just because Amex is ending transfers.
The transfer ratio is not the best at 4:3, so you really have to be using Etihad Guest miles for a very good redemption in order for it to make sense.
Redeeming for Etihad metal in business class is best through Air France KLM Flying Blue or American Airlines AAdvantage. AAdvantage is still the best overall option thanks to lower pricing and no fuel surcharges, but the catch is that Etihad premium cabin space usually only appears within 14 days of departure. Note Flying Blue does not have access to Etihad first class awards, while American does.
Booking Etihad first class with AAdvantage
As an example, booking Etihad business class between North America and Abu Dhabi costs 85,000-100,000 miles one-way, which is pretty good considering Amex now transfers 1:1 to Flying Blue.
For those of you who have used Etihad Guest before, you should already have a good idea of how often you’re using it and, therefore, how many points you should be transferring in.
I’ll personally be transferring about 50,000 Etihad Guest miles, just to book more short-haul flights with Air Canada and American Airlines.
Takeaway
The loss of Etihad Guest as an Amex Canada transfer partner is disappointing, particularly for those who regularly use the program’s niche but valuable sweet spots. Short-haul flights on Air Canada and American Airlines can offer excellent value, while Etihad first class availability is significantly better through Etihad Guest than partner programs.
That said, most people probably shouldn’t speculatively transfer points just because the partnership is ending. Unless you already know how you plan to use Etihad Guest miles, programs like Flying Blue and AAdvantage will still be more practical for most Etihad premium cabin redemptions. If you do plan to transfer points, remember that transfers end on June 20, 2026.
Featured Image Credit: Etihad Airways
