Etihad Guest, the loyalty program of the UAE’s national airline, Etihad Airways and the UAE’s largest bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) have entered into a partnership with Visa, the world leader in digital payments, to launch a sustainability-focused Visa credit card.
The FAB Etihad Guest Visa Sustainable Card will offer several sustainability-focused benefits that will reward shoppers for making sustainable choices in their everyday spending habits and it will provide options to offset emissions.
The partnership is powered by ecolytiq, a provider of digital infrastructure for green finance, which will offer the Sustainability-as-a-Service technology to track sustainable spending. This will support the change of behavior and issuance of rewards for those making sustainable spending choices.
Etihad is the first airline in the region to reward frequent flyers for being more sustainable in the air and on the ground. Through Conscious Choices, Etihad Guest members are rewarded for offsetting their flights with miles, carrying less baggage on board, and purchasing sustainable products in the Reward Shop.
In their daily lives, when not flying, the Etihad Guest members can also earn Tier Miles by offsetting everyday emissions such as driving, as well as emissions like cooling their home or cooking dinner, or by donating miles to a meaningful cause.
The launch of Etihad Guest Conscious Choices and the FAB Etihad Guest Sustainable Visa Card are the latest initiatives under Etihad’s overarching sustainability ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and halve 2019 emissions by 2035. Travelers wishing to fly and spend more consciously and sustainably can now earn Tier Miles, and other rewards, for making sustainable choices.
Terry Daly Executive Director Guest Experience, Brand & Marketing Etihad
“We’re delighted to extend our Conscious Choices sustainability offering to consumers and Etihad Guest members by providing more opportunities to reward sustainable lifestyle choices through our partnership with FAB and Visa. The FAB Etihad Guest Sustainable Visa Credit Card will allow our members to understand where they can act more sustainably and provide incentives every time they make the sustainable choice in their everyday living and purchasing.”
FAB maintains a leading position in the regional sustainable finance sector. The bank has deployed several measures in line with its commitment towards building a green and sustainable economy. FAB’s focus on sustainability was recently recognized by MSCI with its ratings for the bank upgraded to AA, defining the bank as an “ESG Leader”.
“Our partnership with Etihad on the FAB Etihad Guest Visa Sustainable Card is a natural progression of our journey to date and takes our commitment a step further by encouraging our customers to make more sustainable choices in their everyday life. Last year we became the first bank in the region to commit to net-zero greenhouse gases by 2050, in support of the UAE’s commitment to driving progress,” Ms. Futoon Almazrouei, Group Head of Consumer Banking, FAB, said.
Mr. Andrew Torre, Visa’s Regional President for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, remarked that “Sustainability lies at the core of truly inclusive economic growth, and at Visa, we are committed to advancing sustainability within both our business operations and across the payments landscape. With the FAB Etihad Guest Sustainable Visa Credit Card, we are pleased to work together to drive sustainable commerce and climate action, while meeting the growing demand from cardholders who care passionately about sustainable consumption and living.”
Over the last two years, Etihad has introduced several significant CO2 reduction initiatives under its Greenliner sustainability program. This includes adopting thousands of mangroves, using sustainable fuels, reducing contrails, flying optimized flight paths, operating more electric vehicles and working with partners who share its vision for cleaner skies.
