O leitor Luiz Henrique deu a dica de que o programa de milhagens Etihad Guest, da Etihad, acabou de sofrer algumas altera??es.

Para isso, eles enviaram emails a todos os clientes cadastrados no programa, como segue:

?Earning Etihad Guest Miles when flying

On certain fare classes, we are adjusting the number of Etihad Guest Miles being awarded to members when they fly with Etihad Airways. Five fare classes will now offer more miles than they do today, and two will offer fewer.

More GuestSeat availability

In line with the growing demand from members, the minimum number of GuestSeats available in Business Class on some of our highest demand routes will increase by 20 per cent. This will result in Etihad Airways releasing around 1,000 additional seats in Business Class each month on popular routes.

There will be a minimum of five GuestSeats available in Economy Class on every flight.

Using miles for GuestSeats

The number of Etihad Guest Miles required for a GuestSeat in Economy Class will reduce for sectors over 6,000 miles. This means that flights such as Abu Dhabi to Sydney, Melbourne, Los Angeles, Toronto and New York will be available for 25 per cent fewer miles than today.

What?s more, the number of Etihad Guest Miles required for a GuestSeat in Business Class will not change on sectors over 6,000 miles.

For sectors under 6,000 miles, the number of Etihad Guest Miles required for a GuestSeat in Economy Class remains the same, however in Business Class they will increase.

The number of Etihad Guest Miles required for a GuestSeat in First Class will increase on all sectors.

Using miles for OpenSeats

For the first time, members will now be able to use their Etihad Guest Miles towards our lowest available Breaking Deals fares in Economy and Business Class.

Members who wish to buy a Business or First Class OpenSeat with miles to some of our most popular routes ? such as Abu Dhabi to Istanbul, London, Bangkok and Sydney ? will receive a member-only discount of up to 30 per cent on the commercial fare. To access the discount members will need to contribute a fixed minimum number of Etihad Guest Miles towards the fare.

On all other routes and classes, members can still contribute as little as one Etihad Guest Mile towards the price of the OpenSeat ticket.

Using miles for Upgrades

The number of Etihad Guest Miles required for upgrades will also change. The route, cabin and fare class of the original booking will determine the number of miles required for the upgrade but, overall, the number of miles required for an upgrade will increase.

Members who purchase a Breaking Deals fare from 8 July 2015 will no longer be able to use miles to upgrade.

Surcharges

The fuel surcharges that have traditionally been levied on some GuestSeats into Abu Dhabi will be removed. However, a carrier charge will now be included on all GuestSeat bookings and will be calculated based on the number of sectors and the travel class: US$50 per sector when travelling in Economy Class, US$100 in Business Class and US$150 in First Class.

All changes being implemented ensure that we are able to release more seats to our growing member base, whilst remaining competitive and sustainable.

As per clause 12.1 of the terms and conditions of the Etihad Guest programme, these revisions shall apply with effect from 8 July 2015. For more detailed information, please visit etihadguest.com/changes?.

Em rela??o ? quantidade de milhas ganhas por voos pagos em dinheiro, haver? modifica??o na sistem?tica de ac?mulo, de acordo com a classe tarif?ria: cinco classes acumular?o mais milhas, e duas classes acumular?o menos milhas.

Mudan?as tamb?m haver?o na disponibilidade de assentos para emiss?o com milhas na categoria “Guest Seats”: a Etihad garante que colocar? ? disposi??o mais de 1.000 assentos por m?s para emiss?o com milhas, o que ? uma boa not?cia.

A empresa a?rea tamb?m garantir? um m?nimo de 5 assentos para emiss?o com milhas por trecho em classe econ?mica. Aumentos de disponibilidade de assentos para emiss?o com milhas sempre ? uma boa not?cia, j? que as milhas somente s?o ?teis na medida em que forem gastas.

Mas um fato negativo ? a cobran?a das famigeradas sobretaxas: USD 50 por trecho em Econ?mica, USD 100 na Executiva, e USD 150 na Primeira Classe. Para n?s, brasileiros, isso ? uma p?ssima not?cia, j? que, como o nosso real est? bastante desvalorizado em rela??o ao d?lar, s? de sobretaxas ter?amos que pagar quase R$ 400 por uma ida e volta de S?o Paulo a Abu Dhabi!

Outra not?cia negativa ? o aumento da quantidade de milhas exigidas para resgate de pr?mios em voos de longa dist?ncia. Uma viagem de ida de Londres para Abu Dhabi, que antes custava 44k milhas, passar? a custar 65k milhas. Baita desvaloriza??o!

Conclus?o

Mudan?as em programas de fidelidade sempre implicam em desvaloriza??o das tabelas de resgates, e a Etihad n?o foge ? regra.

A maioria das mudan?as ?, por evidente, negativa, mas algumas foram positivas, como o aumento da quantidade de assentos dispon?veis para emiss?o com milhas.

Resta saber se esse aumento de assentos tamb?m valer? para empresas parceiras, como o AAdvantage, em que ? poss?vel usar as milhas norte-americanas para resgatar voos na Etihad.

Agrade?o ao leitor Luiz Henrique pelo envio da dica!