Bilt adds Etihad Guest as new transfer partner

Bilt Rewards has been busy expanding its list of transfer partners this year. In the last six months, the program has added Southwest Quick Rewards, Japan Airlines mileage bank and Qatar Airways Privilege Club to your membership list. Now, Bilt Rewards is adding another transfer partner: Etihad Guest.

This news means members can now transfer Bilt Points to Etihad Guest at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000.

So should you transfer your Bilt points to Etihad Guest?

Etihad Guest It partners with airlines from multiple alliances and is often considered an under-the-radar loyalty program. So having a new way to earn rewards is certainly a positive development. You can also transfer American Express Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards points to Etihad Guest.

Etihad Guest has many partnersbut the most relevant are probably American Airlines, Air Canada, Air France and KLM. The program uses a one-way distance-based award table for each partner airline, but as far as I know, Etihad Guest unifies awards between partners.

So you could fly American Airlines one-way from New York to Los Angeles in first class for 67,000 miles plus $61.

Or you can fly Scandinavian Airlines in economy class one-way from New York to Copenhagen for 45,000 miles plus $29.

The options are wide. If you need inspiration or want to determine if Etihad Guest is worth worrying about as a Bilt transfer partner, check out the partners and prize tables or go to Seats.aero to see what types of prizes other users have recently found. When doing so, you should see what types of prizes you can book.

Of course, you’ll also want to make sure that others Bilt Transfer Partnersas Air Canada airplane, Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Atmos Rewardsare not better options for the award you want to book before transferring Bilt points to Etihad Guest. You will also want to check that the award you want can be booked through Etihad Guest on the date and flight numbers you want. After all, transfers from Bilt to Etihad Guest are a one-way transaction, meaning they are irreversible.

Lastly, you’ll want to be sure you’ll fly with the award you book due to Etihad Guest’s punitive award cancellation policies. Award cancellation policies depend on the rate you book and when you cancel. But you’ll typically face a 25% mileage penalty if you cancel an Etihad Guest redemption more than 21 days before departure. If you cancel closer, you will usually face a 50% or 75% penalty. And if you cancel within 24 hours of departure, you typically won’t receive a refund. That’s pretty tough and definitely worth considering before transferring points to Etihad Guest.