Federal BankIf you are a frequent flyer who likes to stay on top of the hottest trends in airmiles and reward points, then you are surely going to love the Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles program. You can fly with Turkish Airlines and other partners like Lufthansa, United Airlines, etc. at fewer miles than you expect.
As Turkish Airlines is a Star Alliance member, you can also redeem their program’s miles to fly through their partner airlines.
In this article, you will learn more about how to redeem and earn Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles miles, how to redeem your miles, best routes for redeeming your miles, and other information. Keep on reading to know more –
Best Credit Cards to Earn Turkish Miles in India
The following are the best credit cards in India to earn Turkish Miles. You can convert the reward points earned at a fixed transfer ratio –
Fees
Joining Fee
Renewal Fee
Best Suited For
Movies
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
Card Details +
The Magnus credit card is a super-premium offering by Axis Bank and offers nice travel benefits including travel insurance and complimentary lounge access. You get discounted stays at hotels, dining discounts, 24×7 concierge services and much more with this card.
- 12 Reward Points on every spend of Rs. 200
- 5X Reward Points on spends via TravelEdge portal
- 25000 bonus Reward Points on spending Rs. 1 Lakh or more monthly.
- The reward points can be converted to Turkish Miles at a 5:2 ratio. 5 RP = 2 Turkish Miles which is reward redemption rate of 2.4% on normal spends and 12% on TravelEdge spends.
Fees
Joining Fee
Renewal Fee
Best Suited For
Travel
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
Card Details +
The Atlas credit card is a travel card by Axis Bank in the sub-premium category offering a nice reward rate on all spends, especially travel. You get a plethora of dining, fuel, insurance, and other benefits with this card including airport concierge service and complimentary lounge access.
- 5 Edge Miles on every spends of Rs. 100 on travel
- 2 Edge Miles on other spends of Rs. 100
- The reward points can be transferred to Turkish Miles at a ratio of 1:2. 1 Edge Mile = 2 Turkish Miles which is a reward redemption rate of 10% on travel spends and 4% on normal spends
Fees
Joining Fee
Renewal Fee
Best Suited For
Movies
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
Card Details +
Axis Bank’s most premium credit card, Reserve offers a high reward rate and is packed with many other value-added privileges. You get complimentary lounge access, golf rounds, hotel loyalty program memberships, dining benefits, and much more with this premium credit card.
- 15 Reward Points on every spend of Rs. 200
- 2x Reward Points on international spends
- 50000 bonus Reward Points as welcome benefit
- Reward points can be converted to Turkish Miles at a 5:2 ratio. 5 RP = 2 Turkish Miles which is a reward redemption ratio of 3% on normal and 6% on international spends.
Fees
Joining Fee
Renewal Fee
Best Suited For
Travel
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
Card Details +
AxisThe most premium credit card by HDFC Bank, the Infinia is an invite-only card and is not available to everyone. You get best in-class benefits like dedicated concierge service, complimentary lounge access, travel insurance, etc. with the card.
- 5 Reward point on every spend of Rs. 150 with the card.
- Up to 10x reward points on spends through SmartBuy portal
- 12500 reward points as a welcome bonus
- Reward points can be converted to Turkish Miles at a ratio of 1:1. 1 RP = 1 Turkish Miles which is a reward redemption ratio of 3.33% on normal spends and up to 33% on spends through Smartbuy.
Fees
Joining Fee
Renewal Fee
Best Suited For
Travel
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
Card Details +
Another super-premium HDFC Bank credit card, the Diners Club Black provides membership to popular merchants like Swiggy, Amazon Prime, Times Prime, MMT Black, Club Marriott, etc. It also offers complimentary lounge access and other travel insurance benefits to the cardholder.
- 5 reward points on every Rs. 150 spent
- Up to 10x reward points on spends through SmartBuy portal
- Reward points can be converted to Turkish Miles at a ratio of 1:1. 1 RP = 1 Turkish Miles which is a reward redemption rate of 3.33% on normal and up to 33% on SmartBuy spends.
Fees
Joining Fee
Renewal Fee
Best Suited For
Travel
Reward Type
Reward Points
Welcome Benefits
Card Details +
A travel and lifestyle-based super-premium card by Citibank, the Prestige offers high reward rates on both domestic and international spends. You get welcome vouchers from Taj and ITC hotels and it offers the highest rate on transferring reward points to partner airlines miles.
- 1 Reward point on every Rs. 100 spent
- 2 Reward points on every Rs. 100 spent on international transactions
- 2500 bonus Reward points as a welcome benefit
- The reward points can be converted to Turkish Miles at a high 1:4 ratio. 1 RP = 4 Turkish Airlines Miles which is a reward redemption rate of 4% on normal and 8% on international spends.
Other Credit Cards Through which we can Earn Turkish Miles
| Credit Cards | Reward Point Earning | Transfer Ratio | Effective Reward Rate |
| Axis Bank Select | 10 RPs per Rs. 200 spent 20 RPs per Rs. 200 spent on retail | 10 RPs = 1 Turkish Mile (10:1 ratio) | 0.5% on normal and 1% on retail spends |
| Axis Bank Privilege | 10 RPs per Rs. 200 spent | 10 RPs = 1 Turkish Mile (10:1 ratio) | 0.5% on normal spends |
| Citibank Premier Miles | 10 Miles per Rs. 100 spent on airline transactions 4 Miles per Rs. 100 spent elsewhere | 2 Miles = 1 Turkish Mile (2:1 ratio) | 5% on airline spends and 2% on normal spends |
How to Create Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Account
Follow these steps to create a Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles account –
- Visit the Turkish Airlines website
- In the right corner of the top menu bar, click on Sign Up
- Enter the required details like your name, nationality, date of birth, contact details, etc.
- Enter your email address and verify it
- Click on Create your Miles&Smiles account and your account will be created
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Membership Tier & Benefits
When you fly with Turkish Airlines, apart from Turkish Miles, you even earn Status Miles that are used to advance your membership tier and get more privileges. Frequent flyers get elite status and as their status tier increases, they get better perks and benefits on their Turkish Airlines flights. There are four elite tiers in the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program:
Classic
This is the entry level tier that you get when you register for the Miles&Smiles loyalty program. You will start collecting Miles when you fly with Turkish Airlines and other partner airlines. It allows you to redeem award flights, redeem miles for class upgrades, and earn miles from your credit card spends. Members also get bonus 1000 Miles as welcome reward with their first flight.
Classic Plus
Members qualify for the Classic Plus tier on earning 25,000 Status Miles or flying 40 flights in the previous 12-month period. In order to renew this status tier, you need to earn 17000 Status Miles or book 30 flights in one year. You get all the privileges of Classic tier and the following:
- Business class check-in counter access
- Lounge access for Turkey domestic flights
- Additional baggage allowance of 22 pounds or 10 kilograms
- Star Alliance silver card privileges
Elite
Members qualify for the Elite tier on earning 40,000 Status Miles in the previous 12-month period. In order to renew, you must earn 30,000 Status Miles in 1 year or 45000 Status Miles in 2 years. You get all the privileges of Classic Plus tier and the following:
- Lounge access for you and one guest on international and domestic flights
- Private telephone assistance
- Additional baggage allowance of 44 pounds or 20 kilograms
- Passport control and private entrance at Istanbul Airport
- Star Alliance gold card privileges
Elite Plus
The Elite Plus is the highest membership tier and you can get it on earning 80,000 Status Miles in the previous 12-month period. To renew the membership, you must earn 40,000 Status Miles in 1 year or 60,000 Status Miles in 2 years. You get all the privileges of Elite tier and the following:
- 2 complimentary cabin upgrades on Turkish flights
- Upgrade privilege for your companion’s reward tickets
- Guaranteed flight seat on certain fare classes
- Elite gift card for 3 family members
- Additional baggage allowance of 55 pounds or 25 Kilograms
How to Earn Turkish Miles in India
If you are someone who travels a lot throughout the year, then the Miles & Smiles frequent flyer program is great for you. You can earn miles in different ways and here are some of the top ways in which people earn Miles & Smiles miles.
Flying on Turkish Airlines
You will earn miles on flying via Turkish Airlines flights where you get different number of miles based on specific flights. The formula for calculating your earned miles depends on the flight distance, type of fare, and the elite status level. You will earn fewer miles for cheaper fares and more miles for higher fares.
Flying on Turkish’s partner Airlines
As Turkish Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance, you can earn Miles by flying on their partner airlines. Different partners have different miles earning rate so you should check how many miles you can earn before booking your ticket.
Converting your Credit Card Reward Points
You can transfer the reward points earned on your select Axis Bank, Citibank, and HDFC credit cards to Turkish Airlines’ Miles & Smiles Miles at a fixed ratio.
How to Redeem Turkish Miles
Once you have earned Turkish Miles & Smiles Miles, the next step is to redeem these points and use them. There are different ways to put your earned airmiles to use. Here are the most common ways to redeem your Turkish Airlines miles.
Flying on Turkish Airlines
You can redeem your miles for Turkish Airlines award tickets in both economy and business class. Go through the airlines’ region-based award chart to know about the number of miles you will require to redeem a flight. You will see both promotional as well as normal pricing. There are fewer seats available in the promotional pricing award flights.
If you go through the chart thoroughly, you will find many sweet spots to travel to and redeem your miles for a high value. You can even use the miles to book award tickets for your family members or upgrade to a higher class.
How to book Turkish Airlines Award Flight?
- Visit Turkish Airlines’ official website and in the search box, click on Award ticket – buy a ticket with Miles checkbox.
- Next, you will have to login your Miles & Smiles account after which you will come to the award ticket booking screen. You can only search for Turkish Airlines flights via this.
- You can search a flight, for example, from Delhi to Vienna, and the results will show you available flights for one full week and you can even toggle between economy and business class options.
- When you click on a flight option, you can then see all the flight details, type of aircraft, and the number of miles required to book the flight.
- Once you finalize a flight option and select it, you will then see the total price of the flight along with additional taxes and fees. The award flight is redeemed through miles but the taxes have to be paid with money.
Flying on Partner Airlines and Star Alliance Members
You can redeem your miles on Turkish Airlines flights but it is possible that a flight may not be available to your preferred destination. In such cases, you can book flights on other partner airlines with your miles as Turkish Airlines is a Star Alliance member.
You may find a good redemption option to any destination worldwide on another partner airline. You will get more value for your miles on some partners than others as some partners like United/Air India don’t pass fuel surcharge while partners like Lufthansa/Swiss Air do, so you should research for maximum benefit.
How to book Star Alliance Partners Award Flight
In order to search for a Star Alliance partner award flight, you will have to use its award search engine. Here is how to access it.
- Login your Turkish Airlines’ Miles & Smiles account. Then click on the dropdown menu just below your name, and click on Miles Transactions.
- You will see the Star Alliance award ticket box through which you can book any partner airlines award flights through your Miles. Click on Book Now to search flights.
- The flight search engine is similar to the Turkish-operated award flights one but it says Star Award Ticket on the top. You will not see week-long view here and won’t be able to search for economy or business class cabins, instead the available cabins are visible in the results. You can search for the route you want to travel and your preferred dates.
- Next, choose the flight that suits your schedule the best and click on Select this Flight. You can book partner airlines flights or an itinerary with both Turkish-operated and partner airlines award flights.
- You will see the flight details, itinerary details, and the total price that includes the required miles and the taxes which have to be paid with money. Click on Continue to make the payment and book your Star award ticket.
The Turkish Airlines website does not show all available options for Star Alliance partner award flights. Also, you cannot view flights by calendar or for nearby dates. Therefore, you can try out United Airines, Seats.Aero, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines etc. to check for Star Alliance partner award flights instead of Turkish. For more details on how to check the availability on Star Alliance partners check the following article.
Apart from the above options, you can even redeem your miles and book award flights by getting in touch with Turkish Airlines’ team. You can do it by –
By Calling Customer Care
You can redeem your miles by calling Turkish Airlines’ customer care at 000 8000 501565 and directly speaking to their representative who will help you book award flight ticket with your miles.
By Emailing the Reservation Team
You can redeem your miles by emailing Turkish Airlines’ reservation team at the following addresses –
Mumbai
Delhi
Best Routes to Redeem Turkish Miles from India
Let’s check out the best routes and award flight sweet spots from India to redeem your Turkish miles at maximum value. The following information and miles correspond to one-way tickets and are subject to availability.
Within India:
7500 Miles for Economy class and 12500 Miles for Business class. For example, you can book a one-way economy class ticket from Delhi to Port Blair with 7500 Miles.
From India to Europe 1(Greece, Ukraine, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, etc.):
17000 Miles for Economy class and 27500 Miles for Business class. You can travel economy class from Delhi to Mykonos in Greece for 17000 Miles.
From India to Europe 2(Germany, France, Portugal, Russia, UK, Sweden, etc.):
19000 Miles for Economy class and 30,000 Miles for Business class. You can fly from Delhi to Paris/London for 19000 Miles.
From India to USA/Canada:
34000 Miles for Economy class and 52500 Miles for Business class. You can travel from Delhi to Los Angeles/Vancouver for 34000 Miles.
From India to Oceania (Australia/New Zealand):
41500 Miles for Economy class and 60000 Miles for Business class. You can fly from Delhi to Melbourne in Australia for 41500 Miles.
From India to North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Morrocco, Libya):
28500 Miles for Economy class and 42500 Miles for Business class. You can travel from Delhi to Cairo in Egypt for 28500 Miles.
From India to Middle East (Iran, Iraq, UAE, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia, etc.):
20500 for Economy class and 32000 Miles for Business class. You can travel from Delhi to Abu Dhabi in the UAE for 20500 Miles.
From India to East/South East Asia (Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, etc.):
34000 Miles for Economy class and 52500 for Business class. You can travel from Delhi to Tokyo/Seoul for 34000 Miles.
Other Popular Routes from India to Redeem Turkish Miles
| From India to | Economy Class | Business Class |
| Within India | 7500 Miles | 12500 Miles |
| Hungary/Greece | 17000 Miles | 27500 Miles |
| France/Italy/Switzerland/Germany | 19000 Miles | 30000 Miles |
| UAE/Qatar | 20500 Miles | 32000 Miles |
| Egypt | 31000 Miles | 50000 Miles |
| South Africa | 34000 Miles | 65000 Miles |
| South East Asia/Japan/South Korea | 34000 Miles | 52500 Miles |
| Australia/New Zealand/Argentina//Brazil/ | 41500 Miles | 60000 Miles |
All these Turkish Miles requirements for the best routes from India are for one-way flights. If you plan to book a round-trip ticket, then you can double the miles stated above for both Economy and Business classes.
How to Buy Turkish Airlines Miles
If you don’t have enough miles to redeem an award ticket and are falling short, there is no need to worry as you can purchase Miles from the Turkish Airlines website. You can purchase 1000 to 50,000 Miles for $30 plus taxes.
All members can purchase miles and the fees paid by them is not refundable. You can buy miles either for yourself or for other members as well. The minimum amount of miles you must purchase is 1000, and miles are credited immediately to your account, after your make the payment on the website.
Miles Expiry and How to Extend Them
Turkish Airlines miles have a validity of 3 years from the date you earned them, after which they expire. If your miles are about to expire, then you can either extend them or even get expired miles reinstated by paying the relevant fees and charges.
If your miles are about to expire, then you can extend them for a fee of $20 per 1000 Miles. This will extend the validity of your Miles for an additional 3 years, and the oldest miles are extended first. Also, extended miles can be extended again if they are about to expire after a period of 3 years, however miles that have expired already cannot be extended anymore.
Cancellation Charges of Award Tickets
You can cancel, change the flight time, or date of your award ticket, but you will have to pay additional fees and charges for this. If you have an companion award ticket, then the alterations must be made on both the tickets by contacting the Turkish Airlines sales office.
The following fees are charged per transaction related to your award flight ticket by Turkish Airlines –
- The award ticket change or cancellation fee for international flights is $70.
- The Miles Refund fee for award flight tickets or class upgrades when no discount vouchers have been used is $70 for international flights
- In case of no-show when you do not make prior cancellation and don’t take the flight, you will have to pay $150 for Miles Refund.
Miles Redemption for Others
The Miles earned by you and present in your Miles&Smiles account can be redeemed to book award tickets for your friends and family members. There is no complex process involved and while booking award tickets you can do so for your close ones. It is even possible to redeem discounted companion award tickets if someone is traveling with you.
Unlike some other airline loyalty programs, Turkish Airlines allows you to collect and spend Miles as a family together on a single account. The Family Membership is available to Elite Plus, Elite, and Classic Plus tier members. The member’s Miles, spouse’s Miles, and unmarried children under 25 years old’s Miles are added together as Family Miles. Members can transfer unused miles of their family members without affecting their tier status.
Miles Redemption for Infant/Child
You can use your Turkish Miles to book award tickets for your infants as well if they are travelling with you. You can book award travel for the infant at just 10% of the mileage required to book an award ticket for an adult, plus applicable taxes. You can book award travel for infants directly from the Turkish Airlines website.
If you need to travel from Atlanta to Istanbul, and the miles required to book an adult award ticket is 45,000 Miles, then you can book award travel for your infant at just 4500 Miles. Also, even on normal tickets, you get discounted rates for infant passengers based on the date of travel and travel route.
Some Points to Know and Remember about the Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Program
Miles & Smiles is Turkish Airlines’ frequent flyer or loyalty program and it is quite accessible and easy to use. You can conveniently earn and redeem Turkish miles on both Turkish-operated and Star Alliance member airlines flights for a privileged and comfortable air travel experience.
Remember the following things and information about Turkish Airlines’ Miles & Smiles Program –
- The Miles & Smiles program uses a region based award chart to determine the miles required for award flights. Check the Award region table here for complete details
- Turkish-operated flights have regular and promotional award tickets. Promotional award tickets have fewer seats than regular ones and charge a lower number of miles. You can see the same in the screenshot which we have shared above
- The miles required for booking in the same country one way is 7,500 for economy class, 12,500 for business class, and 20,000 for first class. So technically you can travel from New York to Hawaii for just 7500 miles
- It is possible to redeem your Turkish miles for your friends or family members as well but it can be done via call center only.
- If you are falling short of Turkish Miles, You can also purchase them at USD 30 for 1000 miles each to book your award flight ticket.
- Turkish-operated flights charge a reasonable fuel surcharge on their flights. You can check other Star Alliance members as some of them do not pass fuel surcharge while some do. Air India/United Airlines does not pass fuel surcharge while some partners like Swiss Air and Lufthansa do so.
- A one-way award flight ticket can have maximum 4 segments. A segment is when the airplane actually takes off and then touches down. So, a flight from Amritsar to Delhi, Delhi to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to New York will have 3 segments.
- There can be a maximum layover of 24 hours between two connecting flights.
- If you are booking a round trip ticket on Turkish Airlines flights, you can have a 1 free layover at Istanbul
- You can put your award flight ticket on hold for 3 days or 72 hours even if you do not have any Turkish miles in your account. This is so that your earned miles can reach and add into your Miles & Smiles account.
- You can change the date of your award flight ticket for $70 and you will have to pay a fee of $150 for cancelling your award flight ticket.
Our Experience in Redeeming our Miles with Turkish Airways
We have recently redeemed our Turkish Miles for booking 2 Economy & 2 Business Class tickets on Air India flight from Port Blair to Delhi.
Initially, we sent a mail to the Delhi Reservation team with the flight details and then called the Delhi Reservation office after a couple of days. On the phone, the Turkish team checked the availability of flights and sent the form via email which has to be submitted for booking along with the payment details.
Next, we filled the form and sent it via email along with our passport copies. Our seats were put on hold by the team and we made our payment through IMPS. Once our payment was completed, the seats were confirmed and we got our tickets within 10 minutes.
Overall, the experience of booking with Turkish Airlines using Miles was very good.
Conclusion
Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles frequent flyer program is one of the best ones out there through which you can use your miles to book Turkish-operated as well as other Star Alliance member airlines’ flight tickets.
It is simple to earn Turkish miles by flying on Turkish-operated flights or flying on partner airlines’ flights and getting your reward miles credited to your Miles & Smiles account. Also, you can transfer partner credit cards’ reward points to Turkish miles at the pre-determined ratio.
Redemption rates for Turkish Airlines flights are relatively low and you can get maximum value out of your earned miles, especially if you are flying within a region. Turkish Airlines’ business class offers an unmatched flying experience providing top-quality entertainment, dining, and comfort.
You may find it troublesome to redeem your miles for award flights, especially for Star Alliance member airlines, but you can get in touch with the airlines’ sales and reservations team and they will help you out. Miles & Smiles is among the top frequent flyers program currently, and you should definitely put it to use if you prefer comfortable luxurious travel.
FAQs:
The best credit cards to earn Turkish Miles in India are Axis Bank Magnus, Axis Bank Reserve, Axis Bank Atlas, HDFC Bank Infinia Metal Edition, HDFC Bank Diners Club Black, and Citibank Prestige credit cards. Apart from these, you can also earn Turkish Miles with the Axis Bank Select, Axis Bank Privilege, and Citibank Premier Miles credit card but the reward point conversion ratio to Turkish Miles is lower in these cards.
- Reward Points on the Axis Bank Magnus and Reserve Credit Card can be converted to Turkish Miles at a 5:4 ratio. 5 Reward Points = 4 Turkish Miles.
- Reward Points on the Axis Bank Magnus Atlas Credit Card can be converted to Turkish Miles at a 1:2 ratio. 1 Reward Point = 2 Turkish Miles
- Reward Points on the HDFC Bank Infinia and Diners Club Black Credit Card can be converted to Turkish Miles at a 1:1 ratio. 1 Reward Point = 1 Turkish Mile
- Reward Points on the Citibank Prestige Credit Card can be converted to Turkish Miles at a 1:4 ratio. 1 Reward Point = 4 Turkish Miles
It is quite simple to earn Turkish Miles with the Miles & Smiles program if you are someone who travels frequently. Here is how you can earn miles –
- By travelling on flights operated by Turkish Airlines
- By traveling on flights operated by Star Alliance member airlines. Different partner airlines offer different amounts of miles
- You can convert your credit card reward points to Turkish Miles at a pre-determined ratio.
Once you earn Turkish Miles in your Miles and Smiles account, the next step is to redeem and use these miles. Here is how you can do it –
- You can purchase Turkish Airlines award flight tickets for both the economy and business class. Depending on the region you are flying to, you can redeem the flight with your Turkish Miles.
- You can also redeem Turkish Miles to book flights by other Star Alliance member airlines if you cannot find a Turkish-operated flight to your destination.
- You can redeem Turkish Miles on hotel bookings, car rentals, etc.
- You can book a flight within India for 7500 Miles.
- You can book a flight to Croatia, Hungary, Greece, etc. for 17000 Miles
- You can book a flight to France or Germany for 19000 Miles
- You can book a flight to Canada or USA for 34000 Miles
- You can book a flight to New Zealand or Australia for 41500 Miles
- You can book a flight to Dubai for 20500 Miles
- You can book a flight to Japan or South Korea for 34000 Miles
All the above miles requirement are for one-way flights and for economy class.
Yes, it is possible to use your Turkish Miles to book Star Alliance member airlines’ award flights. You can do it in the following way –
- Visit the Turkish Airlines’ official website and login to your Miles & Smiles account.
- Hover the mouse on your name and then click on Miles Transactions in the dropdown menu.
- Click on Book Now in the Star Alliance Award Ticket box to make the booking with your miles.
- In the Star Awar Ticket search engine, add the departure and arrival destination, date of travel, passengers, and proceed with the search.
- You will see all available flights and you can select your preferred flight.
- You will see all flight details including itinerary, layovers, etc. along with the Miles required to book the flight and taxes to be paid in money.
Click on Continue to complete the booking of your flight.
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