Etihad Airways' Loyalty Program adds areloadable Visa Prepaid Card feature to its membership cards to facilitate Etihad Guest Miles on debit purchases and multi-currency exchange on the go.
AUSTIN, TEXAS, and ABU DHABI, UAE – Rev Worldwide, a payments processing and product innovations company, and Etihad Guest, the award-winning multi-airline loyalty program of Etihad Airways, have partnered with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), considered one of the top banks in the Middle East, for the launch of the new Etihad Guest card with walletplus, a reloadable multi-currency prepaid Visa account feature that lets travelers earn Etihad Guest Miles as they shop at Visa merchants worldwide, with the ability to choose from 11 currency options to lock-in rates before travel – a first product of its kind in the Middle East.
Etihad Guest Tier members in the UAE will begin receiving their new Etihad Guest card with walletplus in March, and roll-out of cards to Etihad Guest members in other countries taking place in the future. Etihad Guest loyalty program members enjoy industry recognized benefits such as reward miles on every flight, lounge access, extra baggage allowance, guaranteed seating options, priority check-in/boarding, and more. Members continue to earn and redeem miles with Etihad Airways partner airlines, as well as with over 150 non-airline partners.
The new walletplus feature adds the following member benefits to the award-winning Etihad Guest loyalty card program:
- Earn Miles Faster – Get 1 Etihad Guest Mile for every 2 USD spent in the UAE and 1 Etihad Guest Mile per 1 USD whilst abroad.
- Go Global – Brought to you by Visa, the Etihad Guest card with walletplus can be used at tens of millions of global merchants, including more than 2.1 million ATMs.
- Plan Your Travel Spending – Lock in the exchange rate when you transfer funds to a foreign currency wallet so you know how much you can spend.
- Spend In Your Destination Currency – Load money onto your Etihad Guest card with walletplus and convert those funds into 11 popular international currencies.
- Manage Money On Your Smartphone – Use the dedicated walletplus mobile app to manage your account on the go.
- Enjoy Peace Of Mind – Unlike cash, if the card is lost or stolen, funds can be put on hold and a new card replacement offered, in addition to the protection available from the Chip and PIN security of features of the card.
Yasser Al Yousuf, Managing Director, Etihad Guest LLC, said, “The new Etihad Guest loyalty program focuses on providing features and benefits that enhance the value to its members. The new Etihad Guest card with walletplus is innovative in that it combines the functionality of a reloadable payment card with the benefits of Etihad Guest membership in a single piece of plastic, a first in loyalty and travel payments in the Middle East.”
Etihad Guest partnered with Rev to develop the product and handle program management of the program, utilizing Rev’s proprietary prepaid multi-currency processing platform and global experience pioneering similar products.
“Well before starting work on this new product, we knew we were dealing with a partner that focuses on delivering excellent value and first class service to its customers,” said John Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer, Rev Worldwide, adding “we have great alignment on the value that innovation provides to further customer engagement.”
The new Etihad Guest walletplus prepaid Visa side is issued in collaboration with ADIB, the program bank partner where funds are kept for each account and managed.
Philip King, UAE Head of Retail, ADIB, said, “This is a highly innovative product and the first of its kind in the region. ADIB is proud to assist Etihad Airways in developing a multi-functional card, which vividly demonstrates ADIB’s ground-breaking product development capabilities.”
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