Amex announced on April 8 that Etihad Guest will leave the Membership Rewards transfer partner roster on June 30, 2026. The transfer continues at the current 1:1 ratio until end of day June 29.
What this kills
Etihad's award chart was historically a strong play for partner space on American AAdvantage-routed redemptions (yes, the chain is convoluted) and for Etihad's own narrow-but-luxurious First Apartment routes. With the Amex pipeline going away, the supply of US-issued Etihad points contracts significantly.
The other Etihad transfer paths stay open:
- Citi ThankYou Points → Etihad Guest: 1:1, unchanged
- Capital One Miles → Etihad Guest: 1:1, unchanged
- Bilt Rewards → Etihad Guest: 1:1, unchanged
So Etihad isn't dying for US points travelers in general. It's just that the largest US transferable currency (Amex MR) is exiting the relationship.
What to do before June 29
- If you have an Amex MR balance and an Etihad booking in mind, complete the transfer by end of day June 29. After that the path is closed permanently from Amex.
- Don't speculate-transfer without a specific booking. Etihad Guest miles are non-refundable once transferred. If your plans aren't firm, holding MR is safer than holding Etihad miles in a smaller-supply environment.
- If you don't have an Etihad use case, the practical impact is zero. You have nine other Amex MR airline partners and the deval doesn't touch any of them.
Our calculator will auto-hide the Amex MR → Etihad path on July 1 once the expires: 2026-06-30 flag in our data fires. Until then it shows normally so you don't get surprised by missing options before the deadline.