Etihad Guest, Etihad Airways’ award winning loyalty program, is offering its members an innovative new way to convert their Etihad Guest Miles into cash to spend anywhere, anytime.
This is delivered through PointsPay an exclusive, real-time transaction solution that gives Etihad Guest Members unlimited freedom to spend in-store or online at millions of outlets worldwide.
Members simply use the PointsPay application (available now as an iPhone app and shortly also via the PointsPay website) to exchange their Etihad Guest miles for funds to be added directly to their PointsPay Visa prepaid card before using the card either in-store or online. For online shopping, they don’t even need a physical card, as the system produces a Virtual PointsPay ® Visa card for them to use directly on the web. The PointsPay application is safe to use as it incorporates robust security standards including automatic information encryption, password protection and notifications whenever miles are converted to credit.
Before the end of January, all existing Etihad Guest Members will be given the opportunity to be selected to be amongst the first group of members accessing this new feature. More and more members will be given access to the application over the course of the first quarter of 2012, with the application being available to the entire membership by the end of April 2012. PointsPay application is developed by PointsPay Inc., a Loylogic Company. Loylogic specialises in loyalty program innovations.
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, said: “This is a break-through innovation for the airline and loyalty industry, transforming our Etihad Guest miles into a global currency and we are very pleased to deliver this new solution to the world.
“The new service is indicative of the innovative services we continuously seek to provide to our members. The PointsPay application is a ground-breaking innovation, and we are pleased to be the first and only loyalty program to have access to this technology. This new facility changes the face of how loyalty programs offer their members the ability to use their miles or points. Our members can now effectively redeem their Etihad Guest miles to make purchases at more than 30 million points-of-sale worldwide, which makes us the most flexible and rewarding program in the industry.”
Dominic Hofer, Founder and CEO of Loylogic and PointsPay, said: “PointsPay is a truly amazing concept but also the answer to the most challenging dilemma of the loyalty industry: How can members redeem points and miles easily, securely and wherever they want? We are launching the new PointsPay solution, as we have done in the past with other innovations, with Etihad Guest. We have worked with Etihad Airways over a period of more than 6 years, and are proud to exclusively offer this new ground-breaking innovation to Etihad in recognition of our close partnership.”
Currently the Etihad Guest program offers members opportunities to accumulate miles which can be redeemed against a wide selection of over 2900 flight and non-flight rewards from over 200 partners. Non-flight rewards cover a wide variety of categories, from computer and electronic equipment to jewellery and lifestyle products. The program boasts over 1.4 million members to date and has more than 70 global partners.