Award System
Turkish Airways Miles&Smiles
Point Transfer Options
Transfer To Spouse/Partner Yes - $$
Transfer To Friends Yes - $$
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Travel Partner Transfers
Outside Point System Turkish Airways Miles&Smiles
The Highlights
Miles&Smiles has some solid value, but the booking process can be clunky.
- One of the best uses is long-haul domestic U.S. flights on United for 10,00 miles one-way.
- Business class to Europe on Turkish is a solid deal at 65,000 miles, though fuel surcharges apply.
- Partner awards often require manual booking by phone or email, and the online search tool is unreliable.
- Miles&Smiles transfers from Bilt, Capital One, and Citi, but transfers are not instant and can take a few days.
What to Know About This Point System
Don’t be fooled by the name: Turkish Airlines has a very big domestic presence. And while it used to be difficult to accumulate points, you can now rapidly collect points thanks to the partnership with Citi ThankYou Rewards and Marriott.
They use a region-based award chart. North America actually includes Antilles, St. Maarten, Curacao, Bermuda, Canada and Mexico. For round trip flights in this region, it will cost you 20,000 miles economy, 30,000 miles business and 50,000 miles first class.
If you’re going internationally, some have been able to fly to Europe in business class for as little as 26,000 points utilizing transfer bonuses. Citi has bonuses throughout the year that will increase your points when you transfer them. And Turkish Airlines occasionally offers special discounts for award flights. So if the stars align and you can collect on both of those things, you will more than double the value of your miles.
Miles & Smiles is pretty special and we’re so happy to be able to take advantage of their offers. But be aware of their fuel surcharges, which obviously will vary greatly depending on your destination. There are a number of partners you can use, some that notably do not have fuel surcharges, like New Zealand Air. When it comes time to transfer points, they will not show up immediately. You may need to wait a full day or more before they show up in your account.
Just a little nugget to put in your back pocket: if you end up in Istanbul for a long lay over, take advantage of the free city tours through TourIstanbul that are available to Turkish Airline travelers. Simply go to international arrivals and show your boarding pass at the TourIstanbul desk, no reservations needed.
Associated Alliance
Airlines within Star Alliance
How to Redeem
The best way to redeem your Turkish Miles&Smiles miles is for airfare on Turkish Airlines or one of their partner airlines. Turkish uses a region based award chart for flights on both their own metal and partner carriers. Click here to see the award chart for Turkish.
- Two types of Turkish award tickets: Promotional awards and standard awards.
- Promotional awards cost far fewer miles but can be harder to find.
- How to search: Log into your account, select “Award ticket - Buy a ticket with Miles,” and enter your search details.
- You can toggle between Turkish Airlines and Star Alliance partners.
Turkish also has a separate region based award chart for Star Alliance and other partner airlines, and this is where some of the best sweet spots can be found. Click here to see the award chart for partner airlines.
- How to search partner awards (method 1): Follow the same steps as above, then toggle between “Award Ticket” and “Star Award Ticket.”
- How to search partner awards (method 2): After logging in, open the dropdown under your name, click “Miles Transactions,” then “Book now” under “Star Alliance award ticket.”
Before searching, be aware of several quirks and glitches with the Turkish website:
- Your password must be exactly 6 digits and cannot repeat the same digit more than twice (the site does not explain this).
- Your membership number includes a TK prefix, but when logging in you must omit the TK. Again, this is something the website does not clarify.
- The website is often buggy, and logging in or navigating between pages may require multiple attempts.
Visit Turkish Airways Miles&Smiles
Status Levels Explained
Turkish Airlines has four levels of elite status. The first is Classic, which you receive simply by signing up. With Classic status, your benefits include:
- Earning miles when you fly on Turkish or Star Alliance carriers
- Award ticket redemption and cabin upgrades
- Earning miles from Miles&Smiles credit card transactions
- 1000 welcome miles after your first flight
To reach higher tiers, you must earn a set number of Status Miles within the preceding 12 months. Turkish does not use a calendar-year system. Once you qualify for a status level, it remains valid until the last day of the month two years later.
What to Know Before Canceling
We don’t recommend getting the Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Premier credit card, since the signup bonus is weak and the benefits don’t justify the annual fee. If you do have the card and decide to cancel, know that your miles will expire 36 months after earning them (not after canceling the card). You can pay to extend them, but the cost is steep at $20 per 1,000 miles.
