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Airlines have launched a slew of challenges in recent weeks. Turkish Airlines launched a challenge for a million miles — which AwardWallet Editor-in-Chief JT Genter is currently in the middle of qualifying. You can lock in 25 years of JetBlue Mosaic status by flying to 25 different JetBlue destinations (plus 350,000 miles to boot). Meanwhile, Etihad jumped into the mix with a challenge to earn up to 5,000,000 miles by being the first to fly to 15 new Etihad destinations promoted by the airline.
While this challenge was initially launched with just three winners, Etihad has recently updated the promotion to add more prizes to the mix. But, is it enough? Let's dig into the details.
Etihad Flying Challenge: Earn Up To 5,000,000 Bonus Miles
Etihad originally promoted this challenge as a way for the first three flyers to reach 15 distinctly new Etihad destinations to win up to 5,000,000 Etihad miles. The prizes broke down as follows:
- 5 million Etihad miles for the first flyer to reach 15 destinations
- 3 million Etihad miles for the second flyer to reach 15 destinations
- 1 million Etihad miles for the third flyer to reach 15 destinations
The catch? No one purchasing all of these tickets on Etihad had any idea if they would win miles at all after reaching 15 destinations! And, with only three prizes, there wasn't a lot of incentive for even the most ardent Etihad fans to set out on an adventure for Etihad miles.
Etihad expands prize pool
Now, Etihad has adjusted the promotion to include a few more prizes:
- The first 100 people to visit five destinations will win 25,000 Etihad miles.
- The first 100 people to visit ten destinations will win 100,000 Etihad miles.
This solves two problems with the original promotion. First, there are more prizes to go around if you aren't one of the lucky three winners who reach 15 destinations. And, flyers attempting to complete the challenge will know if they're in the running for the grand prizes if they receive one of the two new “checkpoint” prize amounts.
Interested Etihad members can sign up here. Keep in mind that Etihad originally launched this challenge in May, so there may be some catching up to do because of early challengers. The challenge officially ends May 25, 2026, at 23:59 GMT +4.
Who qualifies?
Here are the requirements for the challenge:
- Log in to your Etihad Guest account and opt in to the race. If you’re not yet a member, sign up today and join the challenge.
- Enter your Etihad Guest number on all bookings.
- Be the first to fly to these destinations: Algiers (Algeria), Atlanta (U.S.), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Hanoi (Vietnam), Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Krabi (Thailand), Medan (Indonesia), Peshawar (Pakistan), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Taipei (Taiwan), Tunis (Tunisia), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Sochi (Russia), Prague (Czech Republic), Warsaw (Poland).
Our Take
While the amendments to the challenge are an improvement over the previously released rules, there are still some issues with this promotion. For one, if you're an American flyer interested in this challenge, perhaps peruse the list of required destinations included in this promotion. Sochi, Russia, is under a Level 4 warning from the State Department, meaning Do Not Travel.
Plus, with only three grand prizes and 100 prizes available at each of the checkpoint levels, this promotion still requires some luck to earn — unlike promotions from other airlines, which are open to all who qualify. For me, this promotion is a skip, but for Etihad loyalists, this might be a dream come true.
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