Turkish Airways’ Miles&Smiles frequent flyer program is extremely helpful, and sometimes flies below the radar. If it’s a program you’re not aware of, it’s in all probability price looking.
Why you need to care about Turkish Airways’ loyalty program
Why must you care concerning the Turkish Airways Miles&Smiles program? There are a number of causes:
- It’s simple to earn Turkish Airways Miles&Smiles miles with some main transferable factors currencies
- Miles&Smiles saver stage award pricing for journey on Turkish Airways is phenomenal, among the many most cost-effective of any program
- For conditions the place Turkish Airways doesn’t have saver award area, Miles&Smiles has surprisingly engaging award charges that supply final seat availability
- Turkish Airways has an outstanding enterprise class product (amongst my favourite on the planet), and the airline flies to extra international locations than every other airline on the planet
- Miles&Smiles has some distinctive award alternatives on Star Alliance companions, together with some nice award pricing for home United Airways flights (although I’m not fairly as smitten by this redemption choice as others)
How you can earn Turkish Airways miles
Turkish Airways companions with two transferable factors currencies, giving these with bank cards easy accessibility to those miles:
The very best makes use of of Turkish Airways miles
I wished to focus on the Turkish Airways Miles&Smiles redemptions that I contemplate to be notably profitable. To start out, you may discover Turkish Airways’ award tables on this web page. Let’s discuss extra concerning the following:
- Turkish Airways’ saver stage award prices — these are a spectacularly good worth, if you’ll find availability
- Turkish Airways’ normal stage award prices — these are surprisingly attractively priced, provided that they provide final seat availability
- Turkish Airways’ Star Alliance associate award prices — redeeming on Star Alliance companions generally is a nice deal, however reserving generally is a little bit of a ache
Redeem miles on Turkish Airways at saver stage
The worth of redeeming Miles&Smiles miles on Turkish Airways is unimaginable, and among the many greatest values of any program. Listed below are Turkish Airways’ one-way enterprise class award redemption prices for journey originating in the USA (Turkish Airways calls these “promotional rewards”):
- Fly from the USA to Europe for 45,000 miles
- Fly from the USA to the Center East for 47,000 miles
- Fly from the USA to Central Asia for 52,500 miles
- Fly from the USA to North Africa for 60,000 miles
- Fly from the USA to the Far East for 67,500 miles
- Fly from the USA to Central Africa for 72,500 miles
- Fly from the USA to South Africa for 85,000 miles
Severely, the values listed here are distinctive:
- Los Angeles to Istanbul to Frankfurt in enterprise class? That’ll value you 45,000 miles
- Chicago to Istanbul to Dubai? That’ll value you 47,000 miles
- Newark to Istanbul to Bishkek? That’ll value you 52,500 miles
- Miami to Istanbul to Cairo? That’ll value you 60,000 miles
- San Francisco to Istanbul to Ulaanbaatar? That’ll value you 67,500 miles
As you’d count on, there are some issues to concentrate on:
- One free stopover is allowed in Istanbul on a roundtrip award, however that requires reserving by cellphone (take into account in case you have an prolonged layover, you may make the most of the Istanbul metropolis tour program, or the transit lodge program)
- Turkish Airways does cross on gas surcharges on award tickets, although they’re not too dangerous in comparison with different airways; for the entire above awards you can count on to pay $180-270 one-way in gas surcharges for enterprise class
- Whereas flying from the USA to Europe through Istanbul does contain backtracking in lots of instances, not less than Turkish Airways has a “correct” enterprise class on many intra-Europe flights, so which may be a preferable choice to connecting on one other airline
- Turkish Airways may be quirky with award availability; in some instances there’s nearly no enterprise class award availability on a flight for weeks at a time, and in different instances there are 4 award seats per flight nearly each day, so do some searches earlier than transferring factors
- If you happen to search on Turkish Airways’ web site and see award pricing a lot greater than the quantities proven above, that merely means there’s no saver award area, and that awards are pricing on the greater prices (which I’ll discuss extra about beneath)
- You could possibly maintain award tickets for 3 days by cellphone if you wish to lock in awards earlier than transferring factors
- Canceling or altering an award reservation prices $70, which may be a light draw back in comparison with another applications
Redeem miles on Turkish Airways with final seat availability
In fact you need to do every little thing you are able to do to redeem your Miles&Smiles miles on the saver stage, because it’s such a superb worth. Nonetheless, Turkish Airways usually isn’t very beneficiant with award availability. Whereas many airways have awards providing final seat availability, the pricing is commonly dynamic, and in some instances you can be taking a look at redeeming 1,000,000 miles for a ticket.
That’s why I believe it’s price calling out Turkish Airways’ normal award chart, which affords final seat availability. That’s proper, so long as a seat is obtainable on the market, you may e book it with miles. The pricing is surprisingly engaging. Listed below are Turkish Airways’ one-way enterprise class award redemption prices that supply final seat availability for journey originating in the USA:
- Fly from the USA to Europe for 105,000-115,000 miles
- Fly from the USA to the Center East for 120,000 miles
- Fly from the USA to Central Asia for 125,000 miles
- Fly from the USA to North Africa for 150,000 miles
- Fly from the USA to the Far East for 180,000 miles
- Fly from the USA to Central Africa for 175,000 miles
- Fly from the USA to South Africa for 200,000 miles
Like I mentioned, I’d desire to not redeem miles at this charge if doable. Nonetheless, we’re more and more seeing saver stage award availability throughout airways be robust to return by. Having the ability to redeem simply 105,000 miles for a one-way enterprise class ticket from wherever in the USA to Istanbul with final seat availability is absolutely fairly engaging. I can’t consider one other main program with such good pricing for final seat availability.
Redeem miles on Star Alliance companions
I’m not fairly as enthusiastic about this as others. On the whole I wouldn’t redeem Turkish Airways miles on Star Alliance companions as a result of:
- There are gas surcharges in lots of areas, and there are different Star Alliance applications by means of which you’ll be able to redeem miles with out gas surcharges (some Star Alliance airways cost $500+ in gas surcharges one-way throughout the Atlantic in enterprise class)
- Whereas Turkish Airways’ web site does have a Star Alliance award search device, in my expertise it’s damaged extra usually than it really works, so you’ll have to e book by cellphone
If you happen to ask me, there may be one specific associate award candy spot. Award flights inside a single area value:
- 7,500 miles one-way in financial system class
- 12,500 miles one-way in enterprise class
Since Turkish Airways is within the Star Alliance, you can redeem these variety of miles for a United one-way award ticket inside the USA, together with to & from Alaska and Hawaii. Better of all, there aren’t any gas surcharges on home redemptions on United.
That is completely an unimaginable redemption worth. The key problem is that really discovering saver stage award availability on United may be extraordinarily difficult, particularly in home top quality (which is priced as enterprise class). So if you wish to pursue this feature, you’ll in all probability wish to begin your search on United’s web site utilizing the calendar characteristic, earlier than transferring over to Turkish Airways’ web site. After which there’s the entire concern of Turkish Airways’ web site not being nice for reserving associate awards.
There are equally good alternatives in different areas. For instance, you can redeem simply 12,500 miles for one-way Air Canada enterprise class in a flat mattress between Toronto and Vancouver, simply to present an extra instance. There can be some gas surcharges there, although.
How you can e book Turkish Airways awards
How do you really go about redeeming Turkish miles? To begin with, you’ll have to open a Miles&Smiles account to go looking availability on Turkish’s web site, however that is immediate and free, and also you don’t want any miles in your account to conduct a search.
Upon getting an account, the method of looking for award flights on Turkish Airways metallic is straightforward. Simply log into your account, after which comply with this hyperlink, which brings you to an award search web page. Alternatively, you may entry this on the house web page by clicking the “Award ticket – Purchase a ticket with Miles” hyperlink.
On this web page you’ll simply be capable of conduct an award search. You’ll simply wish to enter your origin, vacation spot, dates, variety of passengers, and sophistication of service.
The subsequent web page will show award flight choices, and the method from there may be fairly simple.
The method for looking Star Alliance award flights is a little more sophisticated, because the airline appears to cover this feature for no matter motive. Then there’s the entire concern of award area usually not displaying up, to the purpose that I discover this to be fairly ineffective.
I’ve warned you, however when you nonetheless wish to search award availability, you’ll first have to log into your Miles&Smiles account. Then on the prime proper you’ll wish to hover over your identify, after which click on on the “Miles Transactions” button.
On the proper facet of the following web page you need to see a bit that reads “Star Alliance award ticket,” and also you’ll wish to click on that, which is able to deliver you to the Star Alliance search web page. Alternatively, you may simply comply with this hyperlink.
The Star Alliance search web page is fairly simple to make use of, although award availability received’t all the time match what you see by means of different applications. Fairly on the contrary, I usually discover that it doesn’t work in any respect.
Personally I usually don’t have a lot luck getting award seats to point out up even when there may be saver stage award availability. This area ought to usually be bookable by cellphone, however I do every little thing I can to keep away from reserving awards like this by cellphone, particularly since Turkish Airways’ name middle may be… sophisticated. For me it is a main deterrent of reserving Star Alliance associate awards by means of the Miles&Smiles program.
Backside line
Turkish Airways Miles&Smiles is a implausible area of interest frequent flyer program that’s switch companions with each Citi ThankYou and Capital One. I wouldn’t wish to e book most of my awards by means of this system, provided that Turkish imposes gas surcharges on many awards, Turkish’s web site isn’t nice, and reserving associate awards on-line may be sophisticated.
Nonetheless, for flights in Turkish Airways enterprise class, it’s robust to beat the Miles&Smiles program. Redemption charges are extraordinarily low, and whereas there are gas surcharges, they’re comparatively delicate. Turkish flies to extra international locations than every other airline on the planet, and has an important product in addition.
I additionally suppose it’s noteworthy how good Turkish Airways’ award pricing is for final seat availability. Once you’re in a pinch and may’t discover any saver award seats, I can’t consider any program with higher pricing that offers you entry to any seat on the airplane.
So far as Star Alliance associate redemptions go, what makes Miles&Smiles particular is the power to redeem miles for journey inside a area. You’ll pay 7,500 miles for a one-way financial system ticket, and 12,500 miles for a one-way enterprise class ticket. That’s an superior deal, assuming you’ll find award availability and are prepared to undergo the trouble of the reserving course of.
This program is not less than price protecting in your radar when you’re choosing up a card just like the Citi Premier or Capital One Enterprise X.
If you happen to’ve redeemed miles by means of Turkish Miles&Smiles, what was your expertise like?
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