Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles 30% award discount till May 2023

Turkish Airlines has launched another of its discounted redemption offers for Miles&Smiles members booking its own flights across much of the carrier’s network, with 30% off the usual award rates in both Economy Class and Business Class.

That opens up some great value awards, including from Singapore to Europe in Economy for 21,000 miles or in Business for just 31,500 miles, for travel through to 31st May 2023.

While Turkish Airlines has high fuel surcharges, it also offers a discount of up to 60% for those redeeming award flights, so you can take the edge off that ‘sting in the tail’, with fuel surcharges in Economy Class from Singapore to Istanbul starting at S$85.

Turkey has been free of all COVID-19 restrictions for inbound, outbound and transit travellers since 1st June 2022, so it’s a completely pre-pandemic experience when flying with the airline, except on transit itineraries ending in a small number of destinations still imposing restrictions of their own.

The offer

Here are details of the latest Miles&Smiles discount offer.

  Turkish 30% Miles discount

Here are the key features of this offer:

• Sales period: 5th December 2022 – 25th December 2022
• Travel period: 5th December 2022 – 31st May 2023
• Routes: Turkish Airlines (one-way and round-trip) originating in selected cities
• Award Types: ‘Promotional’ only (i.e. the cheaper ones anyway)

The ticketing period relates to local time in Turkey (GMT+3, or 5 hours behind Singapore Time).

The travel period also relates to local time in Turkey, but is only for commencement of travel on the last part of your journey (or the start of your one-way journey).

Eligible departure cities

This offer is valid for those booking promotional awards from 100 cities across the Turkish Airlines network to any destination on the network.

In Asia-Pacific the most relevant inclusions for our readers are Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, though unfortunately some of the airline’s other popular ports in the region like Bangkok, Bali and Phuket are not included.

Here’s the full list.

Itineraries originating in any Turkish domestic city to these cities are also eligible for the discount.

How it works

The discount is automatically applied when you search for an award ticket through the Turkish Airlines website. Here’s a Singapore to Madrid Economy Class itinerary at 21,500 miles (usually 30,000 miles) in May 2023.

There are quite a few Economy Class promotional awards available to and from Singapore, but Business Class is hard to come by.

For this cabin, you’ll be better off looking to or from Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta, then arranging your own positioning flight at the start or end of your trip, to take advantage of the excellent Business Class rate of 31,500 miles to Europe.

Do bear in mind you’re being hit with around S$400 in taxes and fees for this itinerary, including S$340 for the discounted fuel surcharge (usually S$390 for regular tickets).

There are even some routes pricing with the 30% discount that shouldn’t be included, like Chicago to Jakarta in Business Class for 47,250 miles + US$410.

Chicago is not one of the departure cities included in the deal (no US cities are), but discounted rates starting both here and in Seattle were spotted by Max Miles Points.

This Chicago – Istanbul – Jakarta itinerary benefits from over 20 hours in the latest Turkish Airlines Business Class on the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft, with seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.

You probably recognise the seat as the Stelia Symphony model, also used by Singapore Airlines as its latest (and now only) Regional Business Class. The seat also appears on some Turkish Airlines flights between Singapore and Istanbul.

Turkish Airlines also has an excellent lounge at its Istanbul home base for you to pass the time in transit on connecting itineraries.

Award rates

Here are the discounted award rates by region for one-way redemptions from Singapore.

Note that the discount isn’t exactly 30% in all cases, because Turkish does not support redemptions in denominations less than 100 miles, so some discounted levels are rounded up to the next 100 miles.

From Far East (SIN, CGK, KUL)	Economy		Business
	Before	Now	Before	Now
Europe	30,000	21,000	45,000	31,500
Middle East	32,000	22,400	47,000	32,900
North America	45,000	31,500	67,500	47,300
South Africa	50,000	35,000	85,000	59,500
North Africa	45,000	31,500	60,000	42,000
South America	52,500	36,800	75,000	52,500

Turkish Airlines has an extensive network, so options here include:

• Europe: Manchester, Dublin, Lisbon, Malaga
• Middle East: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat
• North America: Miami, Washington D.C., Toronto
• South Africa: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg
• North Africa: Cairo, Algiers, Marrakesh
• South America: Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires

Watch out for the Boeing 777

Be careful when booking Boeing 777 flights with Turkish, as these still feature a dated 2-3-2 layout in Business Class, though they do convert to fully flat beds and this may not be a major issue when travelling as a couple, provided you can secure a window pair.

The newer Turkish Airlines long-haul Business Class on the carrier’s Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s is more likely the one you’ll be aiming for.

Unfortunately all three major Asian cities served by Turkish that are included in this offer still include Boeing 777 aircraft in the mix, as follows:

Singapore

• TK54/55: Boeing 777 (6x weekly), Boeing 787 (1x weekly)
• TK208/209: Boeing 787 (3x weekly), switching to Airbus A350 from April 2023

Kuala Lumpur

• TK60/61: Boeing 777 (7x weekly)
• TK62/63: Boeing 777 (1x weekly), Boeing 787 (2x weekly)

Jakarta

• TK56/57: Boeing 777 (7x weekly)
• TK508/509: Boeing 787 (2x weekly)

Turkey is restriction-free

The last time we wrote about travel to Turkey, vaccination was required as a prerequisite for tourists, in addition to a pre-departure form you needed to present at check-in.

Happily, like most of the rest of the world, Turkey has ditched its COVID-related entry requirements and returned to pre-pandemic travel norms.

That means if it’s just a trip to Istanbul you’re looking at under this offer, there is no need to be vaccinated, undergo any quarantine, complete any additional health forms or have any COVID-19 tests conducted.

Discounted fuel surcharges

Turkish Airlines applies hefty fuel surcharges to its cash tickets, but there’s some good news – the carrier does not pass on the full fuel surcharge on its award tickets.

That applies whether the award is booked under the Miles&Smiles programme, or using partner FFPs like Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

Turkish has two types of award ticket – ‘Promotional’ and ‘Regular’ (kind of like the equivalent of ‘Saver’ and ‘Advantage’ in the KrisFlyer programme), and applies fuel surcharge discounts to those redeeming at the following approximate levels.

Award Ticket Fuel Surcharge Discounts
	Promotional	Regular
Economy Class	60% discount	40% discount
Business Class	20% discount	10% discount

These discounts aren’t part of this specific promotion (they apply year-round), but it means you won’t be stung quite as badly as you might think when redeeming your miles with Turkish.

Remember we’re only looking at ‘Promotional’ awards in this article. Not only are those you want to be securing anyway, since they are much cheaper, but they are the only ones eligible for the 30% miles discount during this promotion.

Effectively, Economy Class award tickets enjoy a fuel surcharge discounted by around 60%, while Business Class award tickets pay approximately 20% less, compared to the regular fuel surcharge you’ll pay for a cash ticket (and see quoted on sites like ITA Matrix).

Paying the remaining fuel surcharge on top of your miles outlay is still a significant level to consider though, especially in Business Class, where the lion’s share still applies.

Flexible change and cancellation

Turkish Airlines levies only a US$25 refund fee on award tickets (around S$34 at the time of writing), giving you the flexibility to refund your miles or change your travel dates.

For a date change, be sure to make the amendment by 25th December 2022 to still take advantage of the 30% award rate discount.

Transfer from Citi

The only bank in Singapore supporting credit card points transfers into the Turkish Miles&Smiles programme is Citi, with each transfer subject to a S$26.75 fee.

Cards	Transfer Ratio
Citi Miles	10,000		10,000
Citi ThankYou Points	25,000		10,000

Bear in mind though that if you are holding multiple cards, for example the PremierMiles and one of the Citi Rewards cards, you’ll be hit with the conversion fee for each one, as the points balances do not pool between your card accounts.

For a full list of bank to frequent flyer miles transfer options, check out our continually updated guide here.

Turkish Airlines is back with its 30% discount on promotional award tickets for departures from eligible cities, when booking between now and 25th December 2022, for travel through to the end of May 2023.

That means being able to lock in some great awards, including Asia to Europe in flat-bed Business Class for 31,500 miles plus taxes.

Award space to and from Singapore is mostly limited to Economy Class tickets, which can still provide a competitive deal with one-stop options to and from many secondary European cities, while Business Class is more readily available to and from Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.

While you’ll still be hit with the Turkish Airlines fuel surcharge, a year-round discount is applied for award tickets to take the edge off, and the miles saving typically far outweighs the higher cash outlay on these routes.

Flexibility is also built in with date changes and refunds for a competitive US$25 fee, so it’s certainly worth considering a transfer into Miles&Smiles to take advantage of this offer if you’re looking to head to Europe or the USA between now and May 2023.

Full details of the promotion, including a full list of terms and conditions, are available at the Turkish Airlines website.

  Turkish 30% Miles discount

(Cover Image: Turkish Airlines)