Etihad Award Cancellation Rule Changes
Etihad Airways has long had some of the worst award cancellation policies out there, namely taking a percentage of miles redeemed as a penalty. With several changes over the last few years, Etihad has made its already-onerous change and cancellation policy even worse. Here are all the details on the new Etihad award cancellation rule changes.
The New Rules Depend On Which Fare You Book
Effective November 13, 2025, Etihad award travelers who wish to change or cancel their ticket need to pay attention to several factors. Note: these policies are only for tickets issued or reissued on or after November 13. If your travel departs within 72 hours, you will no longer be able to cancel or change your flight. Yes, including those traveling in business and first class.
Etihad added fare buckets to its awards in June this year (Value, Comfort, and Deluxe). Here are how the new Etihad award cancellation rule changes work for each level of fare bucket:
- Change Less Than 72 Hours Before Departure
- Value fare – not possible
- Comfort fare – not possible
- Deluxe fare – not possible
- Change More Than 72 Hours Before Departure
- Value fare – AED 600 (~$163 USD)
- Comfort fare – AED 200 (~$54 USD)
- Deluxe fare – No fee
- Cancellation Less Than 72 Hours Before Departure
- Value fare – not possible
- Comfort fare – not possible
- Deluxe fare – not possible
- Cancellation More Than 72 Hours Before Departure
- Value fare – not possible
- Comfort fare – 25% of redeemed miles
- Deluxe fare – No fee
I should note that first class awards are not available at the “value” level.
How Do The New Award Cancellation & Change Policy Compare To The Old One?
It's not like the old policy was much better. Cancellations weren't allowed within 24 hours, except for Deluxe fares (with a 75% cancellation fee). Cancellations 1-7 days before departure featured a 75% for most fares (50% for Deluxe). Cancellations 8-21 days featured a 50% cancellation fee (25% for Deluxe). And more than 21 days out, there was a 25% cancellation fee (free for Deluxe).
Change fees were equally bad. No changes were allowed for all fares within 24 hours, and value and comfort fares could not be changed within 7 days.
So, if you're someone who cancels a few days before your trip and frequently books Deluxe fares, this new policy is more onerous for you. While the old policy outside of 24 hours took 75% of miles for cancellations, at least you could still get some miles back.
Value guests cancelling any flight under the new policy won't receive any miles back, which is the real travesty here. That's where the real value of Etihad awards lies, and has been a good option for those transferring miles from partners like American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Bilt.
Etihad Award Changes: ToP Thoughts
In this day and age, flexibility is key. Nearly every major airline has made its award fees more flexible since the pandemic. Etihad, on the other hand, has made changes and cancellations more expensive. Back in the day, cancellations were just 10% of the fare paid, and I thought that was bad back then!
With competition from Emirates, Qatar, and new airlines like Riyadh Air coming online, I'm not sure what the strategy is here for Etihad. For those traveling on award tickets or after November 13, make sure you understand the cancellation and change policies before doing so. For me, I'll be avoiding transferring or redeeming Etihad points until the policy changes for the better. Share your thoughts over in the ToP Facebook Group.
HT: OMaaT
