That is what I am thinking of doing. Booking a flight for April, and then when my date comes up for late 2016 changing the date and so I can lock in the current award miles and fees pre devaluation.

EtihadHelp- Here you mention a 25% bonus for points transferred over from Amex, etc-

http://www.etihadguest.com/en/earn-m...motions/miles/

How long does it take for the bonus 25% points to appear in the account?

It normally takes a couple of days.

That's very fair actually. Do the changes have to be made so far in advance? As your guest seat availability for my chosen route tend to really only become available at the last minute (or very far in advance).

+1

Hi there,

It takes around a week to transfer points over from Amex. Thanks *HE

What complete camel sh*t. Sorry @Etihadhelp, but your management or social media team - who probably don't face customers every day like you and your colleagues - is giving you ridiculous things to post on here.

Priority check-in already existed, chauffeur service became limited to certain fare classes some time ago, and the first class lounge at AUH has been closed every time I've been through there since October.

I used to be a vocal EY supporter
 

On a number of forums, I have been telling people to give EY a try. No more. These devaluations and fuel charges, after I've given them enough business to propel me to their top tier in a few months, is a massive breach of trust. Thankfully i didnt fall into the trap of converting some of my substantial hotel and Amex Reward balances over to EY when they were offering the incentive to do so.

I think the suggestions for a petition are great, but the way EY operates on the ground (as opposed to their great service in the air) based on my interactions with them over the past 6 weeks , via call centre and guest relations email, shows an organisation that is unresponsive and unsophisticated in its approach to guest relations by any standard, let alone for top tier members. The many "boilerplate" replies that @EtihadHelp has been trained to give on this forum is one indication. We can only hope that our messages are being passed up the management chain at EY and listened to.

Here is what I recently posted on Head For Points about the devaluation, and also how EY handled my rebooking when my mother passed away in April -

""I moved my long-haul needs to EY and reached platinum in 7 months. Yes, I feel I was sold a pup, and on top of this I had another ordinary experience recently. I got stung with every possible charge when I brought forward a flight from LHR to SYD by 12 days when my mother in SYD died in April. I wrote to Guest Relations asking if the charges were reasonable. and they told me that I while would have to pay the fare difference, they would have not charged me the £275 change fee ” if I had been able to provide a death certificate at the time of rebooking”. Not exactly a sensitive response…..when best practice appears to be waiving the charge in the first place (and sometimes the fare difference as well).

EY are pretty good in the air, the prices are good, but it seems on the ground they are immature and lack polish – whether it be their website (you cant see your bookings when you log in), the transfer experience in their hub (premium lounge closed for nearly a year, shambolic security re-screening), or taking a month to answer my question on the above bereavement. I certainly dont feel the benefit of being a top tier member.""

Thanks but that wasn't the question that was asked. How long will it take for the current 25% bonus points promotion for the *bonus* points to post?

For me, it was the same day as the transfer. I transferred on 06/03/2015, they arrived on 08/03/2015 and the bonus was posted at the same time.

Sorry about your Mum!!

I wonder if indeed our messages have been passed up and if in reality anyone actually cares? I thought the % discount for various levels of status was a really good idea ^ and it would mean EY wouldn't have to change its new reward chat etc just to add to it.

It would definitely make me feel like getting platinum was being in some way differentiated and rewarded. As it stands i can't really see any benefit as i mostly fly in C.

Thanks mate.

increase the space availability
 

sure it will increase the space availability - hopefully to an amount that you can re-consider your positive- and frequent changes to your program - as less people will fly with you.

Dear EtihadHelp,

I have a substantial number of points that are due to be refunded to my account. I would like to redeem these for reward flights before the July 8th devaluation.

I am concerned because in the past these refund have taken many months and a lot of chasing up from my side.

Can you please help to expedite this for me?

Hi yabadoo,

Etihad Guest continues to provide its members with innovative, market-leading products and services. These changes are being introduced to ensure that the program remains attractive, competitive and sustainable to members.
The new changes allow us to source more seats on Etihad Airways for our Etihad Guest members. Specifically:
• Where the number of miles has increased for premium cabin redemptions, this reflects the additional investment in the services being offered by Etihad Airways on those fare classes, including priority check-in, chauffeur service and lounge access.
• The carrier charge is passed on, in full, to Etihad Airways. Overall we will now have more GuestSeats available across our network.
• The adjustments in earn rates by fare class are to better reflect the amount that a member pays for an Etihad Airways ticket.
• The majority of redemptions in Etihad Guest are for GuestSeats in Economy Class, so the number of Etihad Guest Miles required for these seats remains constant, except for ultra-long haul sectors, where it has become cheaper

Thanks. *JS

once upon a time
 

Gold Guest# 100024407895

Once I joined this program I used to be a very loyal member. Gradually over the years the benefits were partially reduced and the milage required for up-grades or reward tickets regularly increased in addition to a devaluation of the miles for "cheaper" tickets.

What makes me upset is the way of communication AND the timing. ETIHAD always claimed that those changes were for the benefit of the clients which is simply not true (except for a very few). Further you are lured to join the program and increase your bookings by double, triple or quadruple miles while a moment later you are informed about the changes of guest program benefits and value of miles. This in addition to a questionable "stealing" policy where ETIHAD offers status match if guest from other airlines change to their program.

I was stupid enough to book another 10 flights until December (for triple miles hopefully) just to learn that those miles will be "useless" after 8th of July. I booked those flights with ETIHAD (at a higher price than competitors) but through other agencies because the ETIHAD best Price promise is also a farce.

A reward flight in C on my destination used to cost 156.000 miles and 380.- Euro; after 8th of July it will be around 240.000.- miles + 380.- Euro + 400 US$!

Until December I will have around 250.000 miles, I will burn them and check an offer for a status match from a competitor airline which is said to be good.

Once upon a time ETIHAD was MY airline but they simple forgot, that loyality is no one way road.