Etihad Airways Etihad Guest - Becoming Gold in December or January

Hello Guys

I'm Etihad Silver now and based on my future travel plans I should reach the 50,000 point in December (12 months period started March) and hence become Gold.

Citing their website: "Once you have attained a tier, your status is valid for the rest of that calendar year plus one year for Silver and 2 years for Gold. In addition you will enjoy the benefits of the tier for a bonus three months"

Which means If I could cross the 50,000 point in January I'll be able to enjoy gold benefits for nearly an extra year :rolleyes:

Any ideas or thoughts will be appreciated ;)

Cheers,
M

Doesn't their tier qualification reset on Jan 1? If so you should aim for dec else you'll have to start from zero again.

From the website and I hope it's true :eek:

Attaining Etihad Guest Gold Tier

You need to accumulate 50,000 Etihad Guest Tier Miles or travel 40 Etihad Guest Tier Segments within any consecutive 12 months period to become an Etihad Guest Gold Member.

Etihad Guest Tier Miles/Segments are tracked in any rolling 12 months period to measure a particular Etihad Guest Tier, or upgrade to a higher Tier.

http://www.etihadairways.com/sites/Etihad/global/en/guestrecognition/visitor/etihadguest/guestbenefits/Pages/EtihadGuestGold.aspx#2

If everything is stated correctly on Etihad’s website regarding the tier attaining, and it’s truly based on a 12 consecutive months (no end of December surprises) then here's an idea to take advantage of the "rest of that calendar year" benefit :rolleyes:

I'll continue earning/crediting miles as usual and before the segment I cross the 50,000 mark, I’ll change the FF to any other partner program (AA or Air NZ or Asiana...etc). Early January I will have few trips, of course I'll credit everything to Etihad after that, ensuring that I have 2013, 2014 and 2015 covered as Gold ;)

Etihad FFP is different than any other loyalty program, as most programs rest (zero) the accumulated miles by end of the year, others rest them from the joining date...etc.

It’s very simple on Etihad, any 12 consecutive months you achieve 25,000 you are Silver and another 25,000 ( total of 50,000) and you are Gold.

Please correct me if my understanding is wrong.

Cheers,
M