Etihad Guest has made changes to the program including award redemption amounts, the upgrade policy, mileage expiry policy and more.

Some flight awards will increase while others decrease. The best way to discover the mileage amounts is through Etihad’s mileage calculator, but some of the changes include a reduction in miles from Abu Dhabi to London in first class; before, it was 120,000 miles, now it’s 110,452 miles. An example of a route going up is that now members will need 242,741 miles for an award ticket between Abu Dhabi and Sydney instead of 195,000 miles.

Upgrade redemption amounts are also changing and irrespective of tier status, all Etihad Guest members can now upgrade from Pearl business class to Diamond first class and all tickets in Coral economy, regardless of ticket class, are eligible for an upgrade to Pearl business class.

As of Dec. 31, 2011, the timeline of expiry for Etihad Guest miles will be associated with the member’s status. Base members miles will expire in two years from date of activity, Silver in two and a half years, Gold and the top Gold Elite members’ miles will expire in three years. For more information, visit http://insideflyerus.wpengine.com/link/?5430