16 Best Ways to Redeem Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Miles for Maximum Value

BY 

Stephen Au

- UPDATED: May 13, 2021   |    50

1. Travel  / 
2. Airlines

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Until relatively recently, Turkish Airlines miles have been difficult to earn due to the lack of transfer partners available.

As a result, even if there were some great sweet spots, it would be increasingly difficult to earn enough points without flying a ton and crediting your flights to earn Turkish Airlines miles.

Now, Turkish Airlines is transfer partners with Citi ThankYou Rewards and Marriott.

Miles&Smiles has a lot of excellent award sweet spots — and because it hasn’t received a lot of coverage in the frequent flyer world, these sweet spots have stayed below the radar for the most part.

For example:

• One-way flights are allowed (but you cannot fly more than 1 carrier on inbound or outbound flights)
• On one-way awards, you can have up to 4 segments
• On round-trip awards, you can have up to 8 segments

Additionally, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles passes on all fuel surcharges, so do be aware of that when booking award flights.

They use a region-based award chart, so there are definitely lots of opportunities for optimization and award sweet spots!

Let’s get started!

The Pros and Cons of Turkish Miles&Smiles (Quick Overview)

Although there are lots of opportunities to optimize Turkish Airlines miles, we’ll first go over some of the pros and cons before deep-diving into all the sweet spots. Take note of the items in this list so you’re 100% informed about the details of booking with Turkish.

To begin with, fuel surcharges are always passed on.

If you are booking Turkish Airlines flights only, you can reserve your flights completely online. Otherwise, you’ll need to call the sales office at 1-800-874-8875.

Turkish Airlines recently implemented an online search engine that could potentially allow you to book partner flights online. The major downside to this is that the search engine is very buggy and often doesn’t show all possible availability.

One inconvenient quirk of Turkish Airlines is that after you reserve your award flights, you’ll need to go in-person to a sales office located in any of the following cities:

Until then, your award is basically on hold. The bright side of this? Your awards can essentially be indefinitely held while you “go to a sales office.”

Note: Some offices, including the Toronto and Los Angeles sales offices, are willing to issue award tickets completely over e-mail. This is yet another case of YMMV (your mileage may vary). Try your hand at that before physically making a potentially unnecessary trek to a sales office!

There are a few fees Turkish Airlines charges as well:

1. Redeposit fees: $25 for international or 100 Turkish Lira for domestic flights
2. No-show redeposit fees: $50
3. Any changes (time/date/routing) on Turkish flights: $25
   • Note that you may not change Star Alliance partner flights

On all award tickets, 1 stopover is allowed. You are allowed 1 open-jaw (instead of a stopover) for round-trip awards, and one-way awards are exactly half the cost of round-trip awards.

Miles&Smiles miles expire 3 years after they are earned, but you can pay $10 per 1,000 miles and extend them for 3 years.

On Star Alliance awards, there are mileage criteria for your stopover allowance. In order to add a stopover, you must book an award with a minimum cost of:

1. 60,000 miles in economy
2. 90,000 miles in business
3. 135,000 miles in first

For example, if your award costs 55,000 miles in economy, you cannot use a stopover.

Mixed cabin awards are never allowed. You also can’t mix carriers for one direction of the flight.

For example, if you’re flying from the United States to the Middle East, you cannot fly to Turkey in Turkish Airlines and to Cairo on Egyptair; you must fly on Turkish Airlines the whole way.

Your entire itinerary may have up to 8 segments if it is round-trip and 4 if it is one-way.

You can backtrack, but the same airport can’t be in your itinerary more than once in the inbound and outbound legs. (This would normally be a great opportunity for optimization, but it’s pretty much nullified because of the restriction on mixed carriers.)

If you’re short on Turkish Airlines miles and need 10,000 miles or less, you can pay €25 per 1,000 miles to top off your balance.

You can’t transfer or combine miles at all, and if you want to redeem miles for someone else, including a spouse, you must follow a relatively tedious process in writing:

• You have to submit a signed written request that includes the full name, birth date, and relationship to the member of the person the award will be issued to.
• You’ll also have to notify them of the departure/arrival points, travel dates, a picture of your Miles&Smiles membership card, valid ID, and a signature.

Update: Some travelers are having luck redeeming awards over the phone for other people without requiring the huge legwork as we talked about right above. Of course, the competency of your representative comes into play here. If the rep is unwilling to help, try hanging up and calling again (HUCA).

Whew! Now that we have that business out of the way, let’s dive into this guide!

How to Boost Your Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

Citi ThankYou Rewards Credit Cards

As we stated above, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles is a relatively new transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Rewards. It’s now easier to earn Turkish Miles thanks to this transfer partner.

There are no shortage of ways to earn lots of Citi ThankYou Points, so give this method a lot of thought if you want to earn Turkish Airlines miles!

Marriott Credit Cards

Another great way to earn a lot of Turkish Airlines miles is with Marriott.

Marriott is an invaluable transfer partner for so many airlines, and there are just so many ways to maximize Marriott points for flights and hotel stays.

Although the time to transfer Turkish Airlines points is unknown, it will probably take anywhere from 7-10 business days for transfers to complete.

Recommended Marriott Cards

Hot Tip: Also, don’t miss our dedicated piece: 13 Best Ways to Earn Lots of Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles. 

The 16 Best Ways to Use Your Turkish Airlines Miles

As we discussed above, you can’t book any partner flights online — you’ll need to call the Turkish Airlines reservation office to book partner awards. Otherwise, you can book Turkish Airlines award flights online.

Let’s discover the best ways to redeem your Turkish miles!

1. Fly Air New Zealand Business Class to Europe (45,000 miles)

One of the biggest drawbacks of using Turkish Airlines miles is that they pass on fuel surcharges on all flights. So, the best way to get around it is to fly on airlines that don’t charge fuel surcharges!

Sadly, there are very few of these airlines in Europe. Flying in business class to Europe without fuel surcharges is a challenge, but one of the best ways is on Air New Zealand’s fifth freedom route from Los Angeles to London.

The biggest challenge will be finding award availability — but when you do, this is nearly unbeatable!

It will cost 45,000 miles each way + ~$320 in taxes and fees. (Keep in mind that more than $200 of the taxes and fees is the UK APD, which is unavoidable.)

Air New Zealand’s business class is excellent, with cutting-edge seats and an excellent soft product, which is why we placed this at the top of our list.

2. Fly Swiss Air Business Class to Switzerland (45,000 miles)

SWISS Air has an excellent route network, a great business class product, and flies to a huge tourist destination: Switzerland.

They, unfortunately, do levy fuel surcharges. Nevertheless, if you’re able to pony up $600 to Europe or $350 from Europe each way, it’ll be worth it to use Turkish Airlines miles here.

3. Fly SAS Business Class to Scandinavia (45,000 miles)

SAS is the main flag carrier for 3 countries: Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

They fly the A330 with a great staggered 1-2-1 configuration. You’ll have plenty of room to stretch out, a comfortable bed to rest in, and great food en route to Scandinavia!

For each of the 3 countries mentioned above, SAS flies to the respective country’s largest hub airport: Stockholm (ARN) in Sweden, Copenhagen (CPH) in Denmark, and Oslo (OSL) in Norway.

The route network is as follows:

Bottom Line: If flying out of the U.S., expect your costs to be 45,000 Turkish Airlines miles plus ~$580-$600 in taxes and fees. If returning the U.S., expect around ~$350-$400 in taxes and fees.

4. Fly Austrian Airlines Business Class to Austria (45,000 miles)

Austrian Airlines generally operates 2 aircraft on flights from the U.S. to Austria: the 767 and 777.

Oddly enough, the 767 has a better business class product, with a staggered 1-2-1 configuration. The 777 alternates rows with a 1-2-1 and 2-2-2 configuration, so direct aisle access is a luxury you’ll have to hope for. When possible, you should choose the 767 over the 777 flying Austrian Airlines! 

You’ll be able to fly one-way for 45,000 miles plus $600 in taxes and fees to Austria, and return to the U.S. for 45,000 miles plus $400 in taxes and fees.

Here are the routes that fly the 767:

Bottom Line: Overall, it’s an excellent way to get to Austria comfortably in business class for low miles costs if you can pay for the fuel surcharges.

5. Fly South African Airlines Business Class to Johannesburg (67,500 miles)

If you want to visit South Africa, the only airport you can fly nonstop to is Johannesburg (JNB).

There are 2 routes you can fly:

• New York City (JFK) – Johannesburg (JNB) on South African Airlines
• Atlanta (ATL) – Johannesburg (JNB) on Delta Airlines

Delta is a SkyTeam partner, so we won’t be looking at that method in this guide — the route we’ll focus on is from JFK.

Since we’re not flying to Europe, the fuel surcharges are slightly lower; you’ll be paying around ~$290 each way in total taxes and fees.

Unlike South African Airways’ A330 (which is phenomenal and operated on flights to Senegal and Ghana), you will be flying the A340-600 in a 2-2-2 configuration. They are much more open and do not feature direct aisle access for all seats.

Still, the seats become lie-flat beds and are a solid way to make a 16-hour flight significantly more enjoyable!

You’ll pay 67,500 miles + ~$290 in taxes and fees each way to fly business class on this route.

6. Fly Transcontinental in the U.S. (from 10,000 miles)

Flying across the country in America can be exceedingly expensive. With economy flights in excess of $500-$1,000 at times and business/first class in excess of $2,000, you definitely want to save money where you can.

If you are planning a transcontinental flight involving Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), or Newark (EWR), you might want to read this section!

United Airlines is going to be your best bet here since Turkish Airlines is a Star Alliance partner. United Airlines currently does not feature a regularly scheduled Polaris Business Class on transcontinental flights, but they will.

Here’s the upcoming schedule starting in 2019:

• Newark to San Francisco: twice daily from February 14, 2019; up to 3 times daily from March 8, 2019
• Newark to Los Angeles: once daily from January 7, 2019; up to twice daily from February 14, 2019

Flying this product will only cost 15,000 miles each way and 30,000 miles round-trip. This is probably the best deal you’re ever going to get on United Polaris Class across the U.S.! 

If you want to fly economy, here’s the breakdown for the other cabin classes:

Taxes and fees will generally be minimal, with a maximum of $50 levied each way.

7. Fly Air Canada Business Class to India (52,500 miles)

Flying to India is often excruciatingly expensive and a distant journey.

With an average flight time of 14 hours from Canada, your trip to India would definitely be more comfortable in business class.

Air Canada is a Star Alliance partner, and they operate some fantastic business class flights to India.

Unfortunately, Air Canada levies fuel surcharges of $400 each way, so your total taxes and fees will be approximately $450 each way.

However, spending the few hundred dollars extra might be worth it — because it only costs 52,500 miles each way to fly to India in business class from Canada. 

Air Canada operates 2 nonstop routes to India as follows:

• Vancouver (YVR) – Delhi (DEL)
• Toronto (YYZ) – Delhi (DEL)

On these routes, Air Canada utilizes the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with an excellent business class product. This is a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration with direct aisle access, loads of privacy, and solid catering.

Bottom Line: Overall, if you want to fly business class to India from Canada, definitely consider using Turkish Airlines miles to do it, with a one-way cost of 52,500 miles + $450 in taxes and fees.

8. Utilize “Oceania’s” Generous Zone Definition (from 15,000 miles)

Turkish Airlines has an extremely generous definition of Oceania, and we can use it to our advantage. Specifically, the region includes these islands, countries, and territories:

Notice that Guam and Tahiti are included with Australia, New Zealand, and the like. This is an astonishing observation, because flights from Oceania to Australia can be more than 7 hours long!

You will mainly be searching for Air New Zealand flights here, since Virgin Australia, Qantas, and Hawaiian Airlines are not Star Alliance partners.

And here is an example route you can take:

• Rarotonga (RAR) to Sydney (SYD) one-way for 25,000 miles + ~$100 in taxes and fees in Air New Zealand’s 787 business class (7 hours each way!)

9. Fly Within the “Far East” in Business Class (35,000 miles)

The Far East, as defined by Turkish Airlines, contains the following:

Basically, the Far East includes all of Asia with the exception of India, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, and Central Asia.

Since this is such a huge region, you can get tons of value from flying business class within the Far East for only 35,000 miles each way.

Of course you’re still limited to 1 carrier, but there’s still some room for optimization. As always, you’ll be on the hook for all fuel surcharges.

Here are some example routes:

• Tokyo-Haneda (HND) – Jakarta (CGK) one-way for 35,000 miles + ~$100 in taxes and fees in ANA 787 Dreamliner business class (Note: ANA’s flight out of Narita uses an inferior 767!)
• Seoul-Incheon (ICN) – Singapore (SIN) one-way for 35,000 miles + ~$62 in taxes and fees in Asiana’s A330 regional business class
• Taipei (TPE) – Denpasar-Bali (DPS) one-way for 35,000 miles + $37 in taxes and fees in EVA Air’s amazing A330 regional business class

10. Fly Between Europe 2 and the Far East in Business Class (45,000 miles)

Another sweet spot is flying from Europe 2 to the Far East or vice-versa in business class.

With flights up to 12 hours long, paying only 45,000 miles is a great deal. Your fuel surcharges will be at their lowest when originating from the Far East as opposed to Europe 2.

Here are some example routes from Europe 2 to the Far East:

• London-Heathrow (LHR) – Tokyo-Haneda (HND) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$377 in taxes and fees in ANA business class
• Copenhagen (CPH) – Tokyo-Narita (NRT) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$210 in taxes and fees in SAS business class
• Warsaw (WAW) – Tokyo-Narita (NRT) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$216 in taxes and fees in LOT Polish business class
• Paris (CDG) – Taipei (TPE) one-way for 45,000 miles + $159 in taxes and fees in EVA Air business class
• Brussels (BRU) – Tokyo-Narita (NRT) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$150 in taxes and fees in ANA business class
• Munich (MUC) – Beijing (PEK) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$345 in taxes and fees in Air China business class

And here are some examples you can take from the Far East to Europe 2:

• Singapore (SIN) – Zurich (ZRH) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$328 in taxes and fees in Swiss Air business class
• Bangkok (BKK) – Frankfurt (FRA) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$143 in taxes and fees in THAI Air business class
• Vienna (VIE) – Shanghai (PVG) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$291 in taxes and fees in Austrian Airlines business class
• Seoul-Incheon (ICN) – London-Heathrow (LHR) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$88 in taxes and fees in Asiana Airlines business class
• Hong Kong (HKG) – Munich (MUC) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$45 in taxes and fees in Lufthansa business class
• Beijing (PEK) – Rome (FCO) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$290 in taxes and fees in Air China business class

Bottom Line: As you can see, there are tons of routes you can fly between Europe 2 and the Far East! This is just a taste of the possibilities. You can expect to pay 45,000 miles for one-way flights and 90,000 miles for round-trip flights.

11. Fly to the Middle East via Europe in Business Class (47,000 miles)

If you are interested in visiting the Middle East, you can transit through Europe to fly to the Middle East for only 47,000 miles each way!

Here are the countries included in the Middle East:

Remember that you may not fly across the Pacific, as you would be transiting through a more expensive region (Far East) and would therefore be subject to the award prices for the Far East.

You must fly transatlantic to qualify for this award price. Not a problem, though, because you’ve got tons of options!

Here are some example routes:

• Los Angeles (LAX) – Istanbul (IST) – Muscat (MCT) one-way for 47,000 miles + ~$324 in taxes and fees in Turkish Airlines business class
• San Francisco (SFO) – Frankfurt (FRA) – Tehran (THR) one-way for 47,000 miles + ~$674 in taxes and fees in Lufthansa Airlines business class
• Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – Zurich (ZRH) – Dubai (DXB) one-way for 47,000 miles + ~$636 in taxes and fees in SWISS Air business class

Your taxes and fees will be pretty high, but it might be worth it — you’re basically getting another 5-6 hour flight from Europe to the Middle East for only 2,000 miles more!

12. Fly From Europe to South Africa in Business Class (45,000 miles)

Flying to South Africa from Europe presents a great opportunity to fly in business class: you can fly for 10-12 hours for only 45,000 miles! Of course, you’ll still be responsible for fuel surcharges.

Seeing as how this is a pretty niche redemption, it can be overlooked at times — but it’s definitely worth considering!

Here are the countries included in the Southern Africa region:

With South African Airlines as a Star Alliance partner and several other partners positioned in Europe, there’s plenty of variety to be had with these redemptions.

Here are some example routes you can take:

• London-Heathrow (LHR) – Johannesburg (JNB) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$500 in taxes and fees in South African Airways business class
• Munich (MUC) – Cape Town (CPT) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$363 in taxes and fees in Lufthansa business class
• Zurich (ZRH) – Johannesburg (JNB) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$337 in taxes and fees in SWISS Air business class
• Istanbul (IST) – Mauritius (MRU) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$182 in taxes and fees in Turkish Airlines business class

Here are some great example routes in the opposite direction:

• Cape Town (CPT) – Munich (MUC) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$262 in taxes and fees in South African Airways business class
• Johannesburg (JNB) – London-Heathrow (LHR) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$273 in taxes and fees in South African Airways business class
• Johannesburg (JNB) – Frankfurt (FRA) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$262 in taxes and fees in Lufthansa business class
• Johannesburg (JNB) – Zurich (ZRH) one-way for 45,000 miles + ~$262 in taxes and fees in SWISS Air business class

Hot Tip: If you’re traveling to South Africa, you will most likely be traveling to Johannesburg or Cape Town, as those are the biggest airports in the region.

13. Fly From Europe 2 to the Middle East in Business Class (24,500 miles)

If you want to fly on a short-haul, international flight from Europe 2 to the Middle East in business class, it won’t cost you very much at all!

With business class flights priced at 24,500 miles, there’s some solid value to be had with this redemption.

Here are some unique and awesome redemptions you can make with only 24,500 miles:

• Zurich (ZRH) – Dubai (DXB) one-way for 24,500 miles + ~$253 in taxes and fees in SWISS Air business class
• Frankfurt (FRA) – Kuwait City (KWI) one-way for 24,500 miles + ~$276 in taxes and fees in Lufthansa business class
• Istanbul (IST) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 24,500 miles + ~$94 in taxes and fees in Turkish Airlines business class

14. Fly From South America to Europe 2 in Business Class (52,500 miles)

Turkish Airlines also has a very inclusive definition of South America, so we can use this to our advantage — especially when flying between Europe 2 and South America.

Here are the countries and territories that make up South America:

The list of areas governed by the South America award chart is huge!

We won’t be able to look at all the routes to Europe 2, but here are several great options you can book with 52,500 miles each way:

• Rio de Janeiro (GIG) – Frankfurt (FRA) one-way for 52,500 miles + ~$48 ($400 in reverse) in taxes and fees in Lufthansa business class
• Buenos Aires (EZE) – Frankfurt (FRA) one-way for 52,500 miles + ~$600 ($400 in reverse) in taxes and fees in Lufthansa business class
• Sao Paolo (GRU) – Porto/Lisbon (OPO/LIS) one-way for 52,500 miles + ~$30 ($303 in reverse) in taxes and fees in TAP Portugal business class
• Bogota (BOG) – Barcelona (BCN) one-way for 52,500 miles + ~$414 ($39 in reverse) in taxes and fees in Avianca Vuela business class
• Panama City (PTY) – Istanbul (IST) one-way for 52,500 miles + ~$387 (no reverse route) in taxes and fees in Turkish Airlines business class

Bottom Line: There are plenty of ways you can fly from South America to Europe 2 in business class. These routes range anywhere from 8-12 hours, so you’ll definitely be able to fly on these long-haul routes in comfort!

15. Turkish Airlines Special Offers

There’s a little-known secret to Turkish Airlines: special offers with Miles&Smiles.

The reason it’s not well-known is because it’s not easy to find the promotions. Here’s how you can view the special offers:

1. Visit Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
2. Scroll down almost all the way to the bottom
3. Click Special Offers from Miles&Smiles

The regions are rotated periodically, so the special offers will change often. They typically offer 25% off awards, so that’ll be an extra bundle of points you can save!

16. Fly Star Alliance from the Continental U.S. to Hawaii (From 7,500 miles)

The very last redemption here is on United Airlines. You can fly domestically to Hawaii for 7,500 miles one-way or 15,000 miles round-trip. This is an excellent deal, and one of the best, if not the single best way to fly to Hawaii from America. Also, it includes any East Coast flights as well. The same flight in business class costs 25,000 miles round-trip or 12,500 miles one-way.

Considering that some of these flights contain lie-flat seats in business class, it could potentially be a huge sweet spot for travelers headed to Hawaii.

Final Thoughts

Although Turkish Airlines is a relatively unknown frequent flyer program, the recent addition of Turkish Airlines to Citi as a transfer partner has drawn significant attention to Miles&Smiles.

There are a few booking quirks, and it is generally not a “beginner-friendly” award program — but if you’re willing to stick it out, you can book some awesome sweet spots!

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