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Ever since making changes to its Guest loyalty program in early 2024, Etihad has held the title of having the most punitive award cancellation policy in award travel. The airline arguably still holds that title today, even after a few minor adjustments rolled out recently.
Here’s what you need to know about Etihad’s award cancellation policy and how it works.
Etihad Has a Confusing and Punitive Award Ticket Refund Policy
We like it when airlines keep it simple. Etihad's award cancellation policy is anything but.
Before overhauling its policy in early 2024, you’d forfeit just 10% of the miles redeemed to cancel an award ticket. Nowadays, it’s far less clear-cut: what you’ll pay to cancel depends on several factors. And after further changes rolled out on June 19, 2025, there are now even more numbers to contend with.
If you book an award ticket using Etihad Guest miles on or after June 19, 2025, the cancellation fee depends on how close to departure you are and what fare class (Value, Comfort, or Deluxe) you’re booked in. It breaks down like this:
If you booked an Etihad Guest award before June 19, 2025, you’re eligible for a refund up to 24 hours before your scheduled departure. Like the updated policy, the amount of miles and taxes and fees you get back depends on how early you cancel. But under these rules, your fare class doesn’t matter.
The closer to departure you cancel, the less you’ll get back, based on the following structure:
- 21+ days before departure: Forfeit 25% of the fare
- 8–21 days before departure: Forfeit 50% of the fare
- 1–7 days of departure: Forfeit 75% of the fare
- Within 24 hours: Not allowed
Now, one thing that still isn’t clear is what exactly “fare” means. After all, it’s the linchpin of Etihad’s award cancellation refund policy, yet its definition is anything but obvious.
Etihad's definition of “fare”
Etihad’s definition of “fare” requires the use of a calculator. It is the sum of the miles plus the cash you pay in taxes and fees, all calculated based on the 2¢ “purchase rate” Etihad assigns to its Guest miles, which fluctuates with currency movements.
To make this clearer, let’s look at an example.
Suppose you book an award ticket on July 1, 2025, in the Deluxe fare class that costs 50,000 Guest miles plus $400 in taxes and fees, and then need to cancel four days before departure. Etihad will refund 50% of the “fare” according to its fee structure. However, that does not mean you will receive half the miles and half the taxes and fees back.
Instead, Etihad will multiply the 50,000 miles by its 2¢ per mile purchase rate. That gives your miles a monetary value of $1,000. Etihad then adds the $400 in taxes, assigning a total value of $1,400 to your booking. That is the “fare.”
The airline will refund half of the $1,400, or $700. The refund comes out of the cash portion first, then the miles. You will forfeit the entire $400 you paid in taxes plus $300 worth of Guest miles, exactly 15,000 miles based on the 2¢ valuation.
Your total refund on this canceled booking would be 35,000 Etihad Guest miles and nothing else. Clear as mud, right?
Related: Do Etihad Guest Miles Expire?
Final Thoughts
To put it bluntly, Etihad's cancelation policy is among the worst award ticket change and cancellation policies we track. And it did not get much better after Etihad adjusted its rules to base them on the fare class you booked.
It is still unnecessarily confusing, and the math borders on illogical. Why refund a proportional amount of miles and cash when you could have customers break out a calculator instead?
The policy is also objectively punitive. If you book an award with Etihad Guest miles and your plans change, you will pay a hefty price, even for cancellations made well before departure. For some award travelers, this policy alone is reason enough to avoid the Etihad Guest program entirely.
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