It sounds funny but it’s possible to book an Etihad flight with Etisalat smiles. So besides credit cards that offer Etihad Guest miles sign up bonuses this is another way of earning miles without even flying.
What are Etisalat smiles?
Every UAE resident knows about Etisalat, it’s one of the 2 big Telecom providers here. Etisalat has their own loyalty program called Etisalat Smiles in which you can earn and redeem points called smiles. The good news is that you can convert those points to Etihad guest miles.
How can you earn Etisalat smiles?
This is what the Etisalat website states about how you can earn points:
“Earn Smiles points on paying Mobile and eLife bills, recharging Wasel lines. Accelerate earning Smiles points by using our Cobrand credit cards for all your purchases and buying cash vouchers using any credit card on the Smiles website and mobile app.”
So there are multiple ways to earn:
- Paying Etisalat bills
- Spending on co branded credit cards (ADIB and Mashreqbank)
- Buying vouchers on the Etisalat smiles portal (in many categories: dining, entertainment, travel, …)
What is the fastest way to earn Etisalat smiles?
Credit card sign up bonuses are the easiest, fastest way of earning points. As you can see only the free card is better than buying miles on etihad
| Card | Smiles | Annual Fee | = Etihad Guest Miles | Etihad Guest Miles you can buy at Etihad for that price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADIB Singature | 100,000 | 1,999 AED | 12,500 | 27,500 |
| ADIB Platinum | 70,000 | 999 AED | 8,750 | 13,000 |
| ADIB Gold | 20,000 | 299 AED | 2,500 | 4000 |
| ADIB Classic | 5,000 | FREE | 625 | 0 |
| Mashreqbank Platinum | 25,000 | 300 AED | 3,125 | 4,000 |
On top of that you can earn up to 6 points for every AED spent using the card.
Sign up bonuses change all the time so always double check with the Bank.
For one card there is not even an annual fee so that’s a no-brainer!
Converting Etisalat smiles to Etihad Guest miles
Now that you have Etisalat smiles, how can you convert them to Etihad guest miles? There are a few options:
- Calling 101 (24 hrs) for callers within UAE
- Email at feedback-smiles@etisalat.ae
This is the conversion rate:
- 8 Smiles Points = 1 Etihad Guest Mile
- Minimum conversion required is 28,000 Smiles Points (Etihad website says you only need 3,500 smiles?!)
So for example with the 100,000 smiles sign up bonus you can get 12,500 Etihad guest miles.
Is this a good deal?
To be honest the sign up bonuses are not great but you can always grab the card with 5,000 free smiles. The smiles (and therefore Etihad miles) you earn per dollar spent is not great either. But you could use this double dip strategy: if you want to do a desert safari then you can buy a voucher with a credit card that earns you Etihad miles on the smiles portal so you will earn smiles at the same time 😉
All the small bits help to earn miles for your goal!