Amex just quietly confirmed something that will affect every UK Membership Rewards collector with Etihad miles in their strategy: Etihad Guest is being removed as a transfer partner on 22nd June - and once it's gone, it's gone.

When Etihad Guest disappears from Amex Membership Rewards on 22nd June, how many airline transfer partners will UK Amex cardholders have left?

The answer is waiting near the bottom... keep scrolling 👇

American Express has confirmed that Etihad Guest will be removed as a Membership Rewards transfer partner on 22nd June 2026. This applies to UK personal and business cards, as well as International Currency Cards. From what's emerged, this appears to be a global withdrawal by Etihad rather than a UK-specific decision - but the effect is the same.

If you have been accumulating Amex MR points with any intention of eventually transferring to Etihad Guest - whether for Abu Dhabi flights, connections to Asia, or redemptions on partner airlines - you now have a hard deadline of 22nd June to make those transfers.

The timing matters because MR transfers to Etihad have historically been useful for certain sweet spots - particularly for Etihad's own premium cabin flights out of London Heathrow. Once the transfer route closes, those options go with it.

If you're unsure about the value you can get from your Membership Rewards balance, the Points Converter can help you compare Etihad against other remaining partners before you decide.

Heads up: transferring MR points to Etihad Guest does NOT give you any extra bonus right now - there's no current transfer promotion running. So you're transferring at the standard rate, which means you should only do this if you have a specific redemption in mind or points sitting idle in Etihad that need topping up.

Bottom line: if Etihad is part of your points strategy, act before Thursday 22nd June. After that date, the door closes and your MR balance can no longer flow into Etihad Guest.

And one more thought: there's currently a 35% discount on buying Etihad Guest miles directly (more on that below), which ends much sooner. If you want to boost your Etihad balance, that might actually be the smarter play given the discount - but only if you have award seats lined up.

IHG One Rewards is currently running a 100% bonus on purchased points, valid until Friday 6th June. At face value, you're paying roughly 0.5p per IHG point - which sounds cheap, but the key question is always whether IHG points can realistically deliver value above that price.

IHG also has its "Pick Your Points" promotion running from now through 31st August 2026, where you can earn either 2,000 bonus points per 2 nights or 8,000 bonus points per 4 nights on stays. You need to register for that separately.

The honest answer on buying IHG points: it only makes sense if you have a specific high-value redemption already identified - think premium InterContinental or Six Senses properties where a cash rate would be several hundred pounds a night. Buying points speculatively at 0.5p each and then redeeming them for low-category properties will leave you worse off than just paying cash.

Warning: IHG's buy points platform (Points.com) has been experiencing login issues this week for some members. If you're hitting a wall trying to log in, try accessing it through a different browser or clearing your cookies before the Friday 6th June deadline.

Riyadh Air has opened public ticket sales for its London Heathrow to Riyadh route, with commercial service beginning on 1st July 2026. This is a significant moment - the airline has technically been flying the route since October 2025 on a leased aircraft, but tickets were not publicly available until now.

From 1st July, Riyadh Air will deploy its own Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners - the aircraft the airline has been building its entire brand around. The airline has ordered up to 72 of these aircraft, which gives you a sense of the scale of ambition here.

From a points perspective, Riyadh Air doesn't yet have a publicly established frequent flyer programme with widespread transfer partnerships - so for now this is primarily a cash ticket play. That said, if you're looking at Riyadh connections onward to destinations in the Gulf or beyond, it's worth checking how this competes on price against BA, Emirates, or Qatar out of Heathrow.

There's no confirmed loyalty programme detail to report yet, but this is an airline worth watching. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is backing Riyadh Air heavily, and if they follow the Emirates or Qatar playbook, a competitive frequent flyer offering will follow eventually.

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles members can save 30% on miles required for business class upgrades on select routes to/from Istanbul, for travel during June 2026. The discount applies to upgrades processed between 1st and 15th June, covering travel from 1st to 30th June.

UK-relevant cities in the eligible list include Birmingham - which makes this particularly useful if you're connecting through Istanbul Ataturk on a Turkish Airlines itinerary. The discount is on miles required, not cash co-pays, so you'll still need to check what the taxes look like before committing.

If you have Miles&Smiles points sitting around and a June trip through Istanbul already booked in economy, this is worth running the numbers on.

There's a 35% discount on buying Etihad Guest miles right now, bringing the effective cost to around 2.08¢ per mile. This offer ends this Monday 26th May - and given the news that Etihad Guest is being dropped as an Amex MR transfer partner on 22nd June, this is worth considering if you have a specific Etihad redemption already identified.

At 2.08¢ per mile (roughly 1.6p), you're paying a premium compared to transfer partners - so this only stacks up if you're topping up a balance to hit a specific award threshold. Don't buy miles speculatively here; the value case only works with a booking already in mind.

Heads up: this deal closes before the Amex partner removal date, so if you want to combine a top-up purchase with a final MR transfer, you have a narrow window this weekend.

The answer: after Etihad Guest's removal, the exact remaining count of UK Amex Membership Rewards airline transfer partners will depend on the full updated partner list - but the confirmed news is that Etihad Guest disappears on 22nd June. If Etihad was part of your transfer strategy, now is the time to act. The loss of any transfer partner always reduces flexibility - and Etihad's Gulf hub connections made it a useful option for Asia and Africa routings that BA or Virgin don't serve as well.

Have you ever used Etihad Guest miles for a redemption you couldn't have done with Avios or Virgin Points? Hit reply - I'm genuinely curious how many of you have Etihad miles sitting around right now, and whether the 22nd June deadline changes your plans.

That's it for today - but don't sit on this one. The Etihad Guest buy miles discount ends this Monday 26th May, and the Amex MR transfer window closes for good on 22nd June. If Etihad is anywhere in your points plan, both of those deadlines need to be on your radar this weekend.

These are the top credit card welcome bonuses we're tracking. Offers change frequently - see all cards.

1. Platinum Card: 75,000 points after spending £10,000 in 6 months (£6.5/yr)

2. HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard: Receive 60,000 reward points when you spend £3,000 on your card in the first 90 ... (£2.9/yr)

3. Gold Card: 40,000 points after spending £5,000 in 6 months (£1.95/yr (waived first year))

Looking to redeem your points? Here's what's available right now (via Award Travel Finder):

Hotels:

Status Matches:

• Flying Blue Status Match - Air France / KLM (SkyTeam)

• Flying Blue UK (BA Status Holders) - Air France / KLM (SkyTeam)

• Flying Blue (Iberia) - Air France / KLM (SkyTeam)

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