Etihad to Roll Out New Walletplus Digital Wallet

An Etihad plane at JFK

Etihad Airways announced that it will be introducing digital wallet functionality to its Etihad Guest loyalty program membership cards.

The new feature, walletplus, powered by Visa, will allow members of the program to load money onto their Etihad Guest card and convert it to 11 different foreign currencies for use when traveling internationally.  The currencies that can held on the card can include the U.S. dollar, Pound Sterling, euro, Indian rupee, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Singapore dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Japanese yen, and Thai baht.  One currency must be the UAE dirham.

The card can be loaded in advance, allowing members to immediately spend money in local currency without having to exchange or transfer funds upon arrival to a foreign country.

Etihad Guest members can also download the walletplus mobile app for iOS an Android, which enables them to check their account balance and transaction history, report a lost or stolen card, and transfer money to other Etihad Guest members with walletplus accounts.

With walletplus, Etihad Guest members will earn one mile for every $2.00 spent in the United Arab Emirates, and one mile for every $1.00 spent when in other countries.

Etihad Guest Tier members in the United Arab Emirates will begin receiving their new Etihad Guest card with walletplus in March, while members in other countries will begin to receive them in the near future.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)