Etihad Launches Award Travel On El Al With Excellent Availability; Redeem El Al Points On 3 Airlines

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It’s been in the works since 2020, but Etihad and El Al are now full frequent flyer partners. You can earn and redeem miles between both airlines.

You can find the Etihad redemption chart for El Al flights here and the El Al redemption chart for Etihad flights here.

It’s the 3rd airline that you can redeem with El Al points, after Alaska and Qantas. However until El Al rejoins with a US bank transfer partner option, that’s not terribly useful for Americans.

You’ll need to call either Etihad or El Al to book partner award travel.

Qantas has a very good award chart for travel on El Al, but most El Al award flights have been blocked from booking with Qantas over the past couple years.

2 months ago, Alaska launched award redemption for El Al flights. Availability is excellent, and prices are variable based on the season, ranging from 40-50K in coach, 65-80K in premium, and 85-100K in business each way.

However, no major bank point currencies transfer to Alaska, so Marriott is the only decent option at a 60K:25K ratio.

Etihad’s award chart for travel on El Al isn’t cheap. But you can transfer points from AMEX, Capital One, or Citi instantly to Etihad at a 1:1 ratio.

I called Etihad and confirmed that their award space matched up with Alaska’s generous award space in the sample dates, and not the stingy Qantas award space that showed none of this space available:

But it won’t come cheap for Americans.

Boston or NYC to Tel Aviv will clock in at 67K coach, 74K premium, or 120K business each way. Miami or LA to Tel Aviv will set you back 75K coach, 90K premium, or 140K business each way.

Other flights are a better deal.

• Larnaca to Tel Aviv will cost 6K coach, 7.5K premium, or 10K business each way.
• Athens to Tel Aviv will cost 12K coach, 13K premium, or 20K business each way.
• Budapest, Dubai, Rome, or Vienna to Tel Aviv will cost 15K coach, 19K premium, or 30K business each way.
• Milan or Zurich to Tel Aviv will cost 23K coach, 25K premium, or 40K business each way.
• London or Paris to Tel Aviv will cost 28K coach, 31K premium, or 50K business each way.

That means if you find a flight deal to Europe, you can combine it with an El Al flight by using Etihad miles.

Etihad’s distance based award chart for travel on El Al:

That being said, Etihad will be making unified award charts between all of its partner award charts starting March 8th, so we’ll have to wait for them to see whether rates will go up, down, or stay the same.

Want to earn Etihad miles?

• You can transfer AMEX, Capital One, or Citi points to Etihad at a 1:1 ratio or Marriott points at a 60K:25K ratio. 

AMEX cards with transferable Membership Rewards points include:

• AMEX Blue Business Plus
• AMEX Platinum Business
• AMEX Gold Business Card
• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• American Express® Gold Card
• AMEX Green Consumer Card
• AMEX Everyday Preferred Consumer Card
• AMEX Everyday Consumer Card

If you or a friend has one of the following Citi cards, you can transfer points into miles:

• Citi Premier® Card has a 60,000 point bonus for spending $4,000 in 3 months, 3 points per dollar on airfare, hotels, travel agents, groceries, gas, and dining. $95 annual fee. Read more here.

Citi no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

• The Citi Double Cash® Card offers 2% cash back or 2 points per dollar spent everywhere that can be transferred into ThankYou points. If you also have a Citi Premier® Card Card you can transfer points into miles. No annual fee. Read more here.
• The Citi Custom Cash® Card offers 5 points per dollar on up to $500 in purchases in your top eligible spending category each billing cycle. This is marketed as 5% cash back, but will actually come in the form of 5 ThankYou points per dollar spent! Eligible categories include Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs, and Live Entertainment. You will also get 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. No annual fee. Read more here.
• The Citi Rewards+® Card offering 20,000 points for spending $1,500 in 3 months. This card can’t transfer points on its own, but can transfer points if you have one of the Citi cards above. This card automatically rounds up rewards earned on every purchase to the nearest 10 points, meaning you earn 10 points on a $0.50 Amazon balance reload. Earn 2 points on $6K in annual spending at supermarkets, and a 10% points rebate when you redeem points, up to a 10K points rebate per year. If you also have a Citi Premier® Card Card you can transfer points into miles and get a 10% points rebate on transferred or redeemed miles. No annual fee. Read more here.

Capital One cards with transferable points include:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4,000 in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent, $300 annual travel credit, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Priority Pass Lounge membership, and more. Read more here.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4,000 in 3 months, plus 2 miles per dollar spent. Read more here.
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business: Earn 50,000 bonus miles, plus 2 miles per dollar spent.
• Capital One Spark Cash Plus: Earn up to 100,000 bonus miles, plus 2 miles per dollar spent, convertible into transferrable miles with any of the 3 cards above. Read more here.

Marriott cards with transferable points include:

• Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Consumer Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^™ American Express^®Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card

Will you book travel on El Al with Etihad points?