WAM Abu Dhabi, 8 July 2012 (WAM) - Etihad Airways and Starwood Hotels '&' Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) have launched a new partnership offering members of their award-winning loyalty programmes - Etihad Guest and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG ) - an array of exiting new benefits.

Etihad Guest members can now earn Etihad Guest Miles when staying at Starwood Hotels '&' Resorts around the world, while SPG members can convert their Starpoints into Etihad Guest Miles, with each Starpoint equivalent to one mile in the Etihad Guest programme.

SPG members will be given an extra 5,000 miles for every 20,000 Starpoints converted to Etihad Guest Miles.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways' Chief Commercial Officer, said: "The Etihad Guest programme, fresh from success at the loyalty industry Freddie Awards, is proud to extend our partner base to include Starwood Hotels '&' Resorts.

"Starwood shares many of the same guest experience values that we have at Etihad Airways and we believe this partnership will be warmly welcomed by members of the Etihad Guest and Starwood Preferred Guest programmes." To celebrate the partnership, SPG is launching a new "Earn Your Dreams" campaign, which offers members bonus Etihad Guest Miles when they stay at participating Starwood properties. The campaign includes earning double Etihad Guest Miles on standard rooms, triple Etihad Guest Miles on deluxe rooms and 3,000 Etihad Guest Miles on suites.

"We are proud to partner with Etihad Guest as we provide our loyal members with more rewards and more experiences," said Guido de Wilde, Senior Vice President '&' Regional Director, Starwood Hotels '&' Resorts, Middle East. "The Middle East is an important market for our SPG programme. In fact, here in the UAE we have seen a remarkable 109% membership increase over the last four years." WAM/MAB