Buy now, travel later: Etihad to give travellers 50% extra credit when they book vouchers

Now may not be the right time to jet off on a far-flung adventure, with people still encouraged to stay home as much as possible amid the ongoing pandemic.

However, Etihad Airways is urging travellers to begin planning future jaunts with a new limited-edition deal.

The UAE airline has launched travel vouchers, which can be purchased and redeemed on flights taken within the next two years.

To announce the offer, Etihad has pledged to give customers 50 per cent of the value of vouchers purchased as additional credit. For example, the airline will add Dh500 to a Dh1,000 voucher, giving travellers Dh1,500 to spend in total.

The deal is only available on vouchers purchased between Wednesday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 24.

Vouchers can be redeemed on journeys from Saturday, August 1, with credit valid until August 1, 2022. Vouchers can also be used to pay for extras, such as seat selection, upgrades or extra baggage allowance.

“Now, more than ever, we want to give the world something to look forward to," said Robin Kamark, chief commercial officer at Etihad Aviation Group. "Etihad Travel Vouchers will give our guests plenty of time to plan their future trip."

Vouchers cannot, however, be purchased by anyone who is not a member of the airline's membership scheme, Etihad Guest. The loyalty programme is free to join, and customers can only buy vouchers by calling the airline's contact centre, which is 600 555 666 in the UAE.

The vouchers start at $250 (Dh918), and can be purchased in $250 increments up to $65,000.

The value purchased goes into what Etihad calls a "travel bank"; to make purchases using this, select Travel Bank as your form of payment when booking on the airline's website or call Etihad's customer service helpline.

The vouchers come a week after the airline confirmed it would launch a new transfer service linking 20 cities in Europe, Asia and Australia, via Abu Dhabi, from Wednesday, June 10.

The new services make it possible for those travelling on the airline’s current network of special flights to connect through the UAE capital on to key destinations around the world.

Transfer connections via Abu Dhabi will now be available from Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo, to major cities across Europe, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Zurich.