Etihad Guest has devalued its Brussels Airlines Award Chart with no notice, per Ben, unfortunately eliminating one of, if not the best business class award ticket deal to Europe. I wrote in Book Brussels Airlines Business Class with Etihad Miles that it was possible to book Brussels Airlines Business Class NYC JFK to Brussels for just 36,620 miles roundtrip.
Unfortunately, that cost has now more than doubled, to 88,000 Etihad miles roundtrip. Here's the new Etihad Guest award chart for Brussels Airlines; all prices are one way (the only good thing is that you can now book one way awards on Brussels Airlines, although at more than the previous cost of a roundtrip in the old award chart), so double the amounts for roundtrip:
I understand that airlines don't like to give notice of future award chart devaluations because of the rush of award bookings they inspire. But come on Etihad (and American Airlines, Delta, Alaska Airlines, Aeroplan, and other airlines that have devalued their frequent flyer programs in various ways with no notice)–customers who have spent time earning your frequent flyer miles deserve respect, including advance notice of adverse changes to your frequent flyer program.
And while perhaps Etihad ran the numbers and figured out that most passengers redeeming for Brussels Airlines awards were transferring points from AMEX Membership Rewards or Citi ThankYou into Etihad Guest, I'm sure some of the redemptions were by Etihad Guest members who did earn their miles by flying Etihad, and it's wrong to change the program midstream without any prior notice. Loyalty is a two way street, after all.
Did you redeem Etihad Guest miles for Brussels Airlines Business Class before this no-notice devaluation?
Recommended Posts
Brussels Airlines Business Class Booked with Etihad Guest Miles
Review: Etihad First Class Apartment A380 Abu Dhabi to New York JFK
Etihad New First Class Lounge, Abu Dhabi Now Open
Buy AAdvantage Miles with 100K Bonus? Not Worth It for Most
Need Award Booking Help? Our fee is as low as $75 per ticket if you book your hotel through us.
If you enjoyed this, join 200,000+ readers: please follow TravelSort on Twitter or like us on Facebook to be alerted to new posts.
Become a TravelSort Client and Book Your Hotel with Virtuoso or Four Seasons Preferred Partner Benefits!