Imagine getting a 50% discount on the mileage requirement for your next award booking, or buy one, get one free. That’s exactly what the Etihad companion voucher offers. It allows you to fly with a companion (+1) in any cabin of your choice, on any route, when you book an award ticket on Etihad using Etihad Guest Miles.
In the following example, a Mumbai (BOM) – Frankfurt (FRA) award ticket on Etihad Business Class requires 99,433 Etihad Guest Miles.
For 2 passengers, this would require 198,866 Miles. However, you can fly this for just 99,433 Miles for two passengers using the companion voucher, since the companion flies for free. You can use this voucher on any route, on any cabin class – Economy, Business, or First.
How to get Etihad Companion Vouchers?
In India, the only way to earn Etihad Companion Vouchers is through the SBI Etihad Co-branded cards. The Etihad Guest SBI Premier card offers one companion voucher upon meeting annual spending of 8L, while the Etihad Guest SBI Card offers one upon meeting annual spending of 10L.
Typically, I receive the voucher within a couple of weeks of the statement generation for the month in which the milestone was reached.
Important Points
👉 The vouchers are valid for a period of 6 months from the date of issue and cannot be extended.
👉 The voucher cannot be applied to mixed-class award redemptions. For example, if you are flying from BOM to LHR, with a layover in AUH, and the BOM-AUH leg is in Business class while the AUH-LHR leg is in First class, this voucher cannot be used. The entire trip must be in the same cabin class.
👉 Of course, you and the companion must be on the same flight.
👉 The voucher can only be used for award bookings redeemed on Etihad using Etihad Guest Miles. It cannot be used for redemptions on partner airlines or for revenue/cash bookings.
👉 To redeem the voucher, you will need to call Etihad Guest customer care.
Bottom Line
If you hold an SBI Etihad Co-branded card, the companion voucher is a great way to save on award bookings for two passengers. Just be mindful of the important points mentioned above, and you’ll be able to make the most of this valuable benefit.
Happy travels!
A jack of all trades, master of none. With over 200+ award night stays across a myriad of hotel chains and 50+ flight redemptions and counting his mantra in the game is “earn and burn”. Owing to his inherent laziness Jay firmly believes in simplifying the award game for all and focuses on simple, straightforward, practical yet memorable redemptions over outlandish RTWs and other complicated terminologies.
4 Replies to How to use Etihad Companion Vouchers from SBI Card?
Thanks for a great article! The companion voucher for London will mean I need to pay 50000 miles and Rs. 40000 in taxes for each ticket in Business. Would you recommend this over Aeroplan with higher miles but lower taxes?
If you find availability and can book with Aeroplan, then yes, it makes sense. However, recent reports indicate it is difficult to book with Aeroplan because Aeroplan limits ability to search online for awards from or to India to destinations outside North America. Calling them is the only option, but you might have to wait on hold for a few hours. In contrast, Etihad does not have such a problem.
Read more about booking Etihad Business Class here https://pointsdojo.com/how-to-book-etihad-business-class-with-miles-and-points/
Would you still recommend putting spend on this card- beyond magnus/ reserve/ infinia? Guess the only reason would be the companion voucher? I have the card but have not yet really put any spend on it.
There are few reason where you may consider spending on this card
1. If you are looking for companion voucher
2. You are planning for Elite status with Etihad. With this card, apart regular miles, you also earn equivalent status miles also against your spends
However spend on this card alone normally won’t get your enough miles so you would need other transfer partner cards to top up miles for redemption
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