A couple of years ago, Turkish Airlines launched the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Premier Visa Signature® credit card. It was a mediocre card as its welcome offer wasn’t very generous and it came with little in the way of cardholder perks, especially considering it has a $99 annual fee.
It turns out that Turkish refreshed the card last year and added some perks, but we hadn’t realized until now. While it’s still far from a compelling card, its new perks and ability to spend towards status might make it worth a second look for a small subset of people.
The Offer & Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $229 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates Up to 40K Miles Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler Up to 40K miles: 25K miles after $2K spend within 90 days of account opening + 15K miles after $6K spend in first year$99 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: There are better ways to earn Turkish Miles, although access to Turkish lounges worldwide when flying with them could be appealing if you'll be flying in economy Earning rate: 3X Turkish ✦ 2X dining, entertainment, groceries and lodging ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Visa Signature issued by Imprint. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Earn 125 Status Miles for every $500 spent during a billing cycle, capped at 5,000 Status Miles per calendar year Noteworthy perks: Complimentary entry to Turkish Airlines' lounges worldwide when flying on Turkish ✦ Priority check-in & boarding on flights to & from the US |
Quick Thoughts
As you can see above, the welcome offer on the card is still incredibly poor. Earning 25K miles after spending $2K within 90 days, then an additional 15K miles after $6K more spend in the first year simply doesn’t cut the mustard biber salçası.
The reason for this post though is to highlight the card’s new(ish) features. Based on the Wayback Machine, it looks like these were added back in May 2025, but to no fanfare and so we’d not noticed the card enhancements until now.
The card’s new features are:
- Turkish Airlines lounge access worldwide when flying Turkish
- Priority check-in and boarding for all flights to and from the US
- 125 Status Miles for every $500 spent on the card per billing cycle, capped at 5,000 Status Miles per calendar year
There are a few things to be aware for each of the benefits.
Lounge access
With the lounge access, it’s only valid for the primary cardholder—it doesn’t look like it comes with any guesting privileges. It’s also only valid when flying on Turkish metal; seeing as you’d get lounge access on a business class ticket anyway, it’s effectively only a useful benefit if you’re flying in economy.
Here’s a list of all the lounges where you’d have access:
- International airports:
- Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
- Moscow Vnukovo International Airport
- Miami International Airport
- Washington Dulles International Airport
- Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport
- New York John F. Kennedy International Airport
- Narita International Airport
- Airports in Türkiye:
- Istanbul Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Istanbul Airport international passenger lounge
- Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Cukurova International Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Antalya Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Ankara Esenboga Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Milas-Bodrum Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Hatay Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Kayseri Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Trabzon International Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Rize-Artvin Airport domestic passenger lounge
- Gaziantep Airport domestic passenger lounge
Priority check-in & boarding
This benefit is valid for all flights to and from the US, but not Turkish flights to other destinations. To use it, you have to present your card along with your boarding pass. The terms and conditions don’t actually state to whom you present the card, but I’m assuming the gate agent seeing as it would be presented with your boarding pass. That said, it might be worth providing it at a check-in desk—especially seeing as you get priority check-in—so that your boarding group can hopefully be updated on your boarding pass, rather than relying on a gate agent knowing you’re entitled to early boarding when flashing your Turkish credit card at them.
Unlike the lounge benefit which isn’t extended to traveling companions, priority check-in and boarding is extended to family members (defined as your spouse and/or children under the age of 25) who are travelling on the same PNR (Passenger Name Record) as you. Alternatively, one non-family member travelling on the same PNR as you can receive these benefits.
Earning Status Miles on spend
You’ll earn 125 Status Miles for every $500 you spend in a billing cycle. That amount is capped at 5,000 Status Miles per calendar—not cardholder—year. That means you’d max out the Status Miles earning potential after spending $20,000 in a calendar year.
That’s surprisingly ungenerous. The lowest level of elite status in the Turkish Miles&Smiles program requires 25,000 Status Miles, so spending $20,000 on the card in a calendar year would only get you 20% of the way to that low level status. That’s therefore not going to be worth it unless you’re crediting a bunch of flights to Turkish and using spend to top up your Status Miles.
Final Thoughts
The Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Premier Visa Signature® credit card still isn’t interesting for the vast majority of people, but it became a little less uninteresting for people who fly Turkish in economy and/or who want to have the ability to spend towards Miles&Smiles status.
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