A few days back, I discussed how Etihad announced the winner of its “Extraordinary Challenge,” a contest initiated earlier this year, aimed at encouraging Etihad Guest members to traverse the airline’s 15 newest routes. The rewards were substantial, with the champion receiving five million miles.
While undoubtedly a creative competition with significant potential, many members are expressing considerable dissatisfaction with a significant alteration in the rules that occurred well into the contest, so I’d like to delve into that a bit in this post, as this situation seems quite peculiar.
How Etihad significantly altered competition rules
Etihad Guest’s Extraordinary Challenge contest was centered on flying to the airline’s 15 newest destinations as quickly as possible. However, among those who fulfilled the task, the tiebreaker criterion shifted over time.
When the contest first commenced in May 2025, here’s what was conveyed regarding how a winner would be determined (bolding mine):
The winner(s) will be evaluated based on the number of tasks accomplished and the total time consumed to complete them, specifically, which Entrant(s) was found to have:
(i) completed all of the above-mentioned requirements (A), (B) AND fulfilled (C) by flying to all Required Destinations within the shortest cumulative time AND (D) was registered as a participant in the competition for the longest duration (i.e., the Entrant who enrolled the earliest into the competition from its launch on 26 May 2025).
Initially, I was slightly baffled by the phrase “shortest cumulative time.” My interpretation suggested that the winner would be the individual who completed all 15 routes in the least total time, rather than being the first to reach the 15th destination. I never assumed that was the intended meaning, as it didn’t quite align logically.
However, as was commonly believed among participants, the focus was on taking the inaugural flight of the 15th route, with the tiebreaker being the individual who entered the competition first.
Then, in July 2025, several weeks after the contest began, Etihad discreetly amended the terms & conditions, stating this about the winner selection (bolding mine):
Winner(s) will be determined based on who is the first to accomplish all tasks (A), (B), and (C), commencing from the campaign launch date (i.e., 26 May 2025). The time an Entrant takes to fly, to or from all Required Destinations, is calculated from the scheduled flight departure time in GMT.
If two or more Entrants finish all the Required Destinations concurrently (i.e., completed flying to the 15th destination), the tiebreaker will be decided by who among them booked the last qualifying flight to the 15th destination first. If still tied, it will continue based on the 14th qualifying flight, and so forth, until the tie is resolved.
This certainly comes across as a significant rule modification — essentially shifting the tiebreaker from the individual who registered for the promotion first to the individual who booked the 15th flight first. Furthermore, Etihad did not directly inform members about this rule change.
The added irony in this scenario is that Etihad had actually postponed its 15th inaugural flight, which was set for Algiers (ALG). That route is now indefinitely suspended, and it remains uncertain when it will actually be launched. The competition is officially scheduled to continue through May 2026, leading one to presume that Etihad will not actually inaugurate the route before then.
@_ben.voyage is among those who shared his experience; he has been involved in all of the gamified airline loyalty program promotions we’ve observed recently. He expressed frustration regarding the outcome and how the situation was handled, particularly highlighting the absence of communication relating to it:
The most disappointing aspect is that when they instituted this rule change, no one—neither myself nor any of the fellow finalists I communicated with—was notified. No email, no call, no text. For a major corporation conducting a high-stakes competition, a complete failure to inform participants of a critical rule modification is truly unprecedented and, in my opinion, inexcusable. Smaller websites keep their customers updated regarding T&C changes; Etihad should have followed suit.
On a positive note, he gained a remarkable takeaway from the competition:
I want to emphasize: I don’t regret participating in this. The miles were merely an added bonus. The true reward for me was the journey itself. My most significant moment in completing this and the other challenges was being living proof that these extraordinary aviation feats are achievable—and that is solely due to the diligent professionals in the aviation sector who ensured the safety of the hundreds of flights I undertook.