(EXPIRED) Stack to fly Turkish business class from 26K ThankYou points to/from Europe

Turkish Airlines is running a great “30th anniversary” promotion that matches well with the Current point transfer bonus from Citi to Turkish Airlines (See: Citi ThankYou: 25% Transfer Bonus To Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles): take 30% off award tickets between select US cities and Europe for February travel. You can stack the two deals to get business class to Europe from 26,000 Citi ThankYou points one way (plus fuel surcharges).

The Deal

• Get 30% off on award tickets on select routes with Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, including business class to and from Europe (or economy class) from Boston, Chicago, New York, and Washington. Stack that with the current transfer bonus from Citi ThankYou points to Turkish Miles & Smiles to get one-way tickets to Europe from 26,000 miles one way
• Direct link to the award ticket promotion

Key Details

• Valid for award travel ticketed by 2/28/19
• Valid for travel until 2/28/19
• This offer is valid for all stated routes from or to Istanbul
• Mileage discount can be applicable one way or round trip tickets on Economy or Business Class cabins
• Taxes and extra charges will be collected.
• This offer is valid for only Turkish Airlines operated flights. Codeshare flights and flights on Star Alliance’s partners are no valid for this offer.
• See promotion page linked under “The Deal” for full terms

Quick Thoughts

I don’t have any personal experience with Turkish Miles & Smiles, but according to TPG, these awards will incur fuel surcharges and those surcharges are variable according to destination. Unfortunately, you can not see the fuel surcharges online if you do not have enough miles in your account to book the award. Apparently you can call Turkish Airlines to price the award and find out the surcharges. I believe that you can alternatively use a tool like ITA Matrix to find the YQ (fuel surcharge) listed in the fare details, but I’m not positive that Turkish awards match the YQ on paid tickets.

Keep in mind that this sale is only valid for flights operated by Turkish Airlines. There are additional routes on sale as well as promotions to earn 30% more miles or to save 30% on upgrades on select routes.

Most readers are likely to be interested in 30% off award tickets to/from New York, Boston, Chicago, or Washington, DC. That brings business class awards down to 31,500 Turkish Miles each way. After the 25% transfer bonus from Citi, that means you’ll need to transfer 26,000 Citi ThankYou points each way (the exact transfer would be 25,200 ThankYou points, but since you need to transfer in increments of 1,000 you’ll need to transfer 26K points). If you plan to fly round trip, you’ll only need to transfer 51,000 ThankYou points. That’s an excellent deal for round trip business class awards on Turkish, though note that fuel surcharges are likely to be around $300 according to TPG.

The transfer bonus from Citi ThankYou points to Turkish Miles & Smiles is valid for transfers through February 20, 2019. Unfortunately, transfers to Turkish are not instant. That means you’ll have to transfer and hope that award space sticks around (ideally you’ll have a couple of backup options in mind if your first-choice award disappears while your points are transferring). This sale is also only valid for travel during February 2019. 

The good news is that sales like these are reportedly going to be a monthly fixture with Miles & Smiles for the celebration of the 30th anniversary. I probably wouldn’t speculatively move points to Turkish hoping that US gateways pop up again on the list of promo awards, but that might be enough insurance to justify the risk of your chosen award disappearing before the points transfer — you’ll perhaps still be able to get a decent deal next month or the month after.

To see the full Turkish Miles & Smiles award charts, click here.

H/T: TPG

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