On top of the most recent devaluation in which Virgin Velocity moved Etihad to the more expensive chart and jacked the prices up as of 1 June…………..now we have this shock-horror “enhancement”.

All Reward Seat bookings on Etihad Airways operated flights made from 18 June 2016 will incur an Etihad Airways Reward Seat Carrier Charge.

A charge of US$50 in Economy, US$205 in Business and US$300 in First Class will be applicable per flight sector for both adults and children. A reduced charge of US$5 in Economy, US$20.50 in Business and US$30 in First Class will be applicable per flight sector for infants not occupying a seat.

This charge will be payable when completing your Reward Seat booking.

I already spent my last Velocity points on an award from Australia to Abu Dhabi for next year.  We will be stopping over a couple days before the big “Godmother of all African Adventures” and I got business class since I knew the devaluations were coming anyway.  Looks like I dodged another bullet with these surcharges!  Yikes!

Lesson learned – don’t hoard miles, spend them as soon as you can because they will never be worth more than they are today.