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Home Credit Cards

Turkish Airlines: The Complete Guide To Earning & Spending Miles&Smiles

Diana Mason by Diana Mason
October 26, 2022 1:12 am CDT
in Credit Cards
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Turkish Airlines is the flag carrier of Turkey and flies to 290 destinations in 119 countries. Its frequent flyer program, Miles&Smiles, features a partnership with Citi ThankYouยฎ Rewards to easily earn miles, and a region-based award chart with plenty of sweet spots to utilize. It is among the world’s best frequent flyer programs for earning & redeeming points/miles.

See our best credit card bonuses here.

Let’s dive into everything you need to know about Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles below!

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Quick Facts
Airline AllianceStar Alliance
HubsAnkara (Turkey), Istanbul (Turkey), Izmir (Turkey)
U.S. DestinationsAtlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco, Washington D.C.
U.S. Credit CardsNone
Redemption OptionsAward flights, upgrades, merchandise
Average Mile Value $0.013

Featured Travel Credit Card

CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERREDยฎ CARD

The Chase Sapphire Preferredยฎ Card currently has an offer for 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Redeeming the 60,000 bonus points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, which is praised by users, will get you $750 in value towards travel. The 60K bonus points are worth $750 because you get 25% more value whenever you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Even better, strategize with Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer partners to potentially get even more value. Each point can be worth up to 2 cents apiece (60k points = ~$1,200). Read more on this here.

Card Review


Miles&Smiles Elite Status

When you register with Miles&Smiles, you automatically get Classic membership. There are three elite levels above Classic – Classic Plus, Elite and Elite Plus – which correspond to Star Alliance Silver, Gold and Platinum memberships.

EARNING STATUSSTATUS BENEFITS

You need a certain number of miles within one year to qualify or re-qualify for status:

CLASSIC PLUSELITEELITE PLUS
Qualification25,000 miles40,000 miles80,000 miles
Re-qualification
(1 year)
17,000 miles30,000 miles40,000 miles
Re-qualification
(2 years)
30,000 miles45,000 miles60,000 miles

Once you obtain elite status, you’ll have it for two years.

Starting at Classic level, enjoy:

  • Earning miles as you fly with Turkish Airlines & Star Alliance partners (more on that later)
  • Award tickets, companion award tickets & cabin upgrades
  • 1,000 welcome miles after your first flight

As you move up from one tier to the next, you unlock additional VIP perks:

Classic Plus –

  • Star Alliance Silver privileges
  • Pool family miles
  • 30% off companion award ticket
  • Business class check-in (domestic)
  • Private lounge access (domestic)
  • 10kg excess baggage
  • 50% miles bonus (business)
  • 25% miles bonus (comfort)
  • Priority reservations
  • Priority waitlist

Elite –

  • Star Alliance Gold privileges
  • Status miles for purchase
  • 50% off business class companion ticket
  • Business class check-in (domestic & international)
  • Private lounge access (domestic & international)
  • 20kg excess baggage
  • 100% miles bonus (business)
  • 50% miles bonus (comfort)
  • Dedicated customer service phone line
  • Special immigration desk access (Ataturk Airport)

Elite Plus –

  • Star Alliance Platinum privileges
  • 2 free upgrades/year
  • 25kg excess baggage
  • Gift elite status
  • Guaranteed reservations
  • Special security entrance at Ataturk Airport (international)

*For updated information, click here for our source.


Earning Turkish Airlines Miles (&Smiles)

FLIGHTSU.S. PARTNERSONLINE SHOPPING

Earn miles on flights with Turkish Airlines, AnadoluJet, Star Alliance and other partner airlines.

Turkish Airlines & AnadoluJet. The number of miles you’ll earn depends on booking class, status and whether the flight is domestic or international. View the Turkish Airlines accrual chart and the AnadoluJet accrual chart.

Partner airlines include:

  • Adria
  • Aegean
  • Air Canada
  • Air India
  • Air New Zealand
  • Air China
  • ANA
  • Asiana Airlines
  • Austrian Airlines
  • Avianca
  • Brussels Airlines
  • Copa Airlines
  • Croatia Airlines
  • EgyptAir
  • Ethiopian
  • EVA Air
  • LOT Polish Airlines
  • Lufthansa
  • Olympic Air
  • SAS
  • Shenzhen Airlines
  • Singapore Airlines
  • South African Airways
  • SWISS
  • TAP Air Portugal
  • Thai Airways
  • United

We recommend flying United Airlines, because it’s a quick way to rack up on miles. Simply enter your Miles&Smiles number on your reservation – instead of your MileagePlus number – and earn Turkish Airlines miles based on this partner chart.

Earn Turkish Airlines miles with a range of partners. Below are partners relevant to United States residents.

Hotel Partners

  • Best Western
  • Hilton Honors
  • Marriott Bonvoy
  • Radisson Rewards
  • Wyndham Rewards

Car Rental Partners

  • Alamo
  • AVIS
  • Budget
  • Enterprise
  • Hertz
  • National
  • Sixt

Tourism Partners

  • Agoda
  • Trip.com
  • Booking.com
  • Kaligo
  • PointsHound
  • RocketMiles

Fuel Partners

  • Shell

For the full list of Miles&Smiles partners, click here.

Earn miles when you shop online at Turkish Airlines Shop&Miles. Categories include Electronics, Fragrances, Home Appliances, Jewelry, Luggage, Personal Care, Power Tools, Sports and more.

To maximize your earning potential, read our complete guide to online shopping portals.


Earn Turkish Airlines Miles with Citi ThankYou Rewards

For the Citi ThankYouยฎ Rewards program, the transfer ratio is 1:1. We recommend earning ThankYou points with these cobranded credit cards.

CITI PREMIERยฎ CARDCITI PRESTIGEยฎ CREDIT CARD

CITI PREMIERยฎ CARD

The Citi Premierยฎ Card offers a 80,000 ThankYou Points after you make at least $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. These points are worth $800 in gift cards through Citi.

This card offers 3 points for every $1 spent on travel including gas stations, 2 points for every $1 spent at restaurants and on entertainment, and 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.

The card has an annual fee of $95 that is waived for the first 12 months.

CITI PRESTIGEยฎ CREDIT CARD

The Citi Prestigeยฎ Card has a 50,000 bonus points offer. Spend $4,000 within 3 months of account opening to qualify. These 50k bonus points are worth $500 in travel.

For the most value out of your points, redeem for flights through Citi, where your bonus will be worth 1.33 cents per point. This is another card that competes in the premium travel category, and the annual fee will signify that at $495.

In effect, this card is only a good option for frequent travelers who can take advantage of the premium benefits : 5X points on air travel & restaurants, 3X points on hotels & cruise lines, $250 Air Travel Credit annually, and free access to 1,300+ airport lounges with Priority Pass Select. For those in this niche market, this card will provide high perceived value.


Spending Turkish Airlines Miles (&Smiles)

Turkish Airlines miles expire three years from when they’re earned, even with account activity. You do have the option to extend them for another three years, but it’ll cost you $10 per 1,000 miles.

AWARD FLIGHTSMERCHANDISE

Use your miles for award flights and upgrades with Turkish Airlines and partner airlines.

Award ticket. There are two redemption levels: Limited Space Capacity and Guaranteed Space. The former is a saver rate, so you’ll want to book Limited Capacity if there’s availability.

Companion ticket. When flying with a paid ticket which earns miles, you can have a ticket issued for a travel companion for fewer miles than what a standard award ticket would cost.

Upgrade. Enjoy all the privileges of the next flight class when you upgrade using your miles. To qualify, you must hold a valid, paid Economy or Business class ticket which earns miles, and your reservation must be confirmed.

For award charts and terms and conditions, click here.

Shop with your Turkish Airlines miles via Shop&Miles. Choose from thousands of items in categories like Art, Technology, Cuisine and Sports.

There are other ways to spend your Turkish Airlines miles, but they’re either not relevant to United States residents, or they’ll give you poor value for your miles. We recommend sticking to flight, upgrade and merchandise awards.


Miles&Smiles Tips & Tricks

PROMOTIONSFINE PRINTSWEET SPOTS

Miles&Smiles offers limited-time promotions. Past offers include:

  • A 30%-mile discount on award tickets
  • A 30%-mile bonus on certain routes
  • 3x miles at Best Western Hotels & Resorts
  • 3,000 miles for an Enterprise premium vehicle rental

For current promotions, click here.

To maximize your rewards, make sure to keep in mind the following routing rules:

  • One-way awards are allowed at half the price shown in the award charts.
  • You can’t mix carriers on the outbound or inbound legs (or you’ll be charged for 2 awards).
  • You can’t mix cabins of service.
  • For Turkish Airlines award flights, one stopover is permitted.
  • For Star Alliance award flights, one stopover is allowed on:
    • Economy class tickets (minimum cost: 60,000 miles)
    • Business class tickets (minimum cost: 90,000 miles)
    • First class tickets (minimum cost: 135,000 miles)
  • One open jaw is allowed on roundtrip itineraries.
  • Tickets can have a maximum of 8 segments.
  • Backtracking is allowed, but the same airport cannot appear more than once in the outbound or inbound legs.

Other things you should know:

  • Fuel surcharges can be excessive. You won’t be able to see the required fuel surcharges for a specific award flight unless you have the required miles in your account.
  • Star Alliance award tickets must be issued from a physical Turkish Airlines ticket office, but you may be able to contact a ticket office and have them complete the transaction over email or phone.

Far East (from Japan to Sri Lanka). A roundtrip flight within this region costs 40,000 (Economy), 70,000 (Business) or 110,000 (First) miles. One-way awards are half the mileage. So, the following one-way flights are available in Business class for just 35,000 miles:

RouteAirlines
Tokyo – SingaporeANA/Singapore/Thai
Tokyo – BangkokANA/Singapore/Thai

North America (United States, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda & Netherlands Antilles). A roundtrip flight within this region costs 15,000 (Economy), 25,000 (Business) or 40,000 (First) miles. That means you can fly transcontinental on United Airlines Business class for just 12,500 miles each way.

Other sweet spots include:

Flight DetailsOne-Way Cost
Sydney – Honolulu
Economy
15,000
Munich – Dubai
Business
24,500
Munich – Tokyo – Bangkok
Business
45,000
Frankfurt – Capetown
Business
45,000
New York – Frankfurt – Dubai
Business
47,000
Chicago – Mumbai
Business
52,500
Brazil – Bogota – London
Business
52,500
Sydney – Delhi – Paris
Business
60,000


Bottom Line

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles has a few things going for it. The partnership with Citi ThankYou Rewards makes it easy to rack up on miles. Once you’ve saved up enough, you can use your miles towards one of the many sweet spots in the Miles&Smiles award chart.

However, the exorbitant fuel surcharges and the laborious award-booking process are dealbreakers for most people. What do you think? Is it worth the effort to join Miles&Smiles?


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Diana Mason

Diana Mason

My passion for travel eventually led me away from the 9 to 5 office life and into the embrace of freelance work. Born in Cali and raised in Philly, I am a creative professional with a delightful knack for words. When I'm not gallivanting across the globe, you can find me writing (of course), teaching yoga, and dreaming of my next big adventure.

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