Air Serbia Redemption using Etihad Guest Miles
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Programs: BAEC, Amex MR
Posts: 476
Air Serbia Redemption using Etihad Guest Miles
Hello!
I want to check the possibility of using Etihad Guest miles for redeeming on Air Serbia going from ATH to LHR (via Belgrade). I don't have an account with Eithad Guest Miles, but have a UK-based Amex MR account and Amex allows transfer to Etihad 1:1.
Assuming the Etihad Guest miles account is common for both Etihad and Air Serbia, will I be able to just transfer the points and redeem immediately, once the points have arrived - soon after opening a new account?
Can I check availability without having any miles in the account?
What are the taxes like on such a route?
I'm completely new to Etihad's loyalty scheme, so is there anything else to watch out for?
Thanks in advance!
I want to check the possibility of using Etihad Guest miles for redeeming on Air Serbia going from ATH to LHR (via Belgrade). I don't have an account with Eithad Guest Miles, but have a UK-based Amex MR account and Amex allows transfer to Etihad 1:1.
Assuming the Etihad Guest miles account is common for both Etihad and Air Serbia, will I be able to just transfer the points and redeem immediately, once the points have arrived - soon after opening a new account?
Can I check availability without having any miles in the account?
What are the taxes like on such a route?
I'm completely new to Etihad's loyalty scheme, so is there anything else to watch out for?
Thanks in advance!
#2
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: ZRH / SIN
Programs: FB Ulti, QR-Gold (OWS), TK *Gold, Bonvoy Ambassadort Elite, GHA Titanium, Accor Platinum
Posts: 531
even with miles in my account I could not check availability online through EY Guest.
You may find a lot of information to your questions here (scroll down to terms and conditions):
http://www.etihadguest.com/en/spend-...ts/air-serbia/
I would go trough the hotline to check availability!
You may find a lot of information to your questions here (scroll down to terms and conditions):
http://www.etihadguest.com/en/spend-...ts/air-serbia/
I would go trough the hotline to check availability!
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Programs: BAEC, Amex MR
Posts: 476
Thanks gkl for the reply.
I did speak to Etihad Guest, and for the benefit of anyone else who might need it, this is how it is:
In the end, I ended up booking the flight for cash as I was getting less than 0.6p value for each Amex UK MR point. I did do a test transfer of 1000 points and the miles reached Etihad Guest account within 24 hours.
I did speak to Etihad Guest, and for the benefit of anyone else who might need it, this is how it is:
- You can't check availability or book online
- Not all Etihad Guest agents are aware that they can book Air Serbia reward tickets. The first agent I got told me to call Air Serbia directly; although the second agent was a lot more knowledgeable and knew what she had to do
- The process of checking availability, miles required and taxes to be paid is a manual, time consuming process and be prepared to hold for long periods on the 0845 (UK) number. For each of these, the agent put me on hold for more than 5 minutes while she worked out the details. The good thing is that the miles required can be seen from the link below (simply add the individual segments for connecting journeys):
http://www.airserbia.com/en/home/mai...had_guest.html - To check the taxes, they wanted to do a dummy booking which wasn't possible as I didn't have any miles in my account. After a bit of persistence, she put me on hold again for a few minutes and came back with the tax amount.
In the end, I ended up booking the flight for cash as I was getting less than 0.6p value for each Amex UK MR point. I did do a test transfer of 1000 points and the miles reached Etihad Guest account within 24 hours.
#7
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: CDG
Programs: SK Gold, AF Gold, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 3,722
I understand that I'm reviving an old thread, but for future reference, here's a full list of destinations currently redeemable with Air Serbia, as well as the miles required for each:
http://www.airserbia.com/en-rs/etihadguest
http://www.airserbia.com/en-rs/etihadguest
#8
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: USA/UAE
Programs: DL-SM Silver, EY-Gold, HH
Posts: 120
I understand that I'm reviving an old thread, but for future reference, here's a full list of destinations currently redeemable with Air Serbia, as well as the miles required for each:
http://www.airserbia.com/en-rs/etihadguest
http://www.airserbia.com/en-rs/etihadguest
I was curious about Czech Airlines and using EY miles from AD to Prague, but seems they don't fly this route, or it is seasonal. Does anyone have any idea if they fly to AD and any experience booking EY miles on Czech?
#9
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: CDG
Programs: SK Gold, AF Gold, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 3,722
At long last, upgrades from Y to J are now possible on Air Serbia flights. Not particularly great value compared to outright award bookings, but still good for company-booked flights!
http://www.etihadguest.com/en/spend-...rs/air-serbia/
http://www.etihadguest.com/en/spend-...rs/air-serbia/
#12
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,838