Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

Miles&Smiles as a frequent flyer program for Switzerland, Germany and Austria

Swiss readers can fly to Istanbul from Zurich (ZRH), Geneva (GVA) and Basel (BSL). In Germany, Turkish Airlines serves Frankfurt (FRA), Munich (MUC), Berlin (BER), Düsseldorf (DUS) and Hamburg (HAM). From Austria, the airline flies from Vienna (VIE) and Salzburg (SZG).

How a frequent flyer program works at Miles&Smiles

On Turkish Airlines flights, the miles credited depend on flight distance and booking class. Classic members earn between 25% and 150% of the flight distance as miles on international Turkish Airlines flights, depending on the booking class. That is a range: the source also lists minimum miles per class, and domestic flights within Türkiye earn fixed miles. Members with Classic Plus, Elite or Elite Plus reach up to 175% in the highest booking classes.

An example from the airline shows the arithmetic: for Istanbul to Los Angeles, a distance of 6,855 miles, the arithmetic gives an Elite member in booking class K the value 10,968. The source leaves open whether that figure means miles or Status Miles.

Miles and Status Miles are two different things. How many Status Miles a flight earns depends on the distance of the route and varies by booking class. Above Classic, business class flights bring a 25% bonus on Status Miles. You can also buy Status Miles, but only in limited amounts and to move up or to keep a status. The price is USD 70 per 1,000, VAT included. The program converts miles from co-branded credit cards at a ratio of 5 to 1, up to 200,000 miles for 40,000 Status Miles.

Status tiers Classic, Classic Plus, Elite and Elite Plus

The program has four tiers, and new members begin at Classic. Moving up needs no application: when the Status Miles of the previous 12 months reach the threshold, the tier rises automatically and is then valid for 2 years. The end date is the last day of the month, counted 2 years from the start date.

Classic Plus needs 25,000 Status Miles. Alternatively, 40 flights are enough, and award tickets do not count. Elite needs 40,000 Status Miles, and Elite Plus needs 80,000 Status Miles.

Keeping a status has its own thresholds, which are lower or higher than for moving up depending on the option. To keep Classic Plus, you need either 17,000 Status Miles or 30 flights within the first year, or 35,000 Status Miles or 60 flights across the whole two-year period. Elite Plus renews with 40,000 Status Miles in the first year or 60,000 Status Miles in the two-year period. Members who live outside Türkiye keep Elite with 25,000 Status Miles in year one, or with 37,500 over the two years of membership. One point matters for Classic Plus: only paid tickets count for renewing Classic Plus and for moving up from Classic Plus.

In the Star Alliance, Classic Plus maps to Silver, while Elite and Elite Plus map to Gold. Classic Plus members receive the benefits of the Star Alliance Silver card, and Elite members those of the Gold card.

Benefits by status tier

Benefits grow with the tier, and Classic itself offers little that we can document. On the waiting list the order is Elite Plus, Elite, Star Gold, Classic Plus, Star Silver and Classic.

Classic Plus

• Access to domestic lounges on Turkish Airlines flights, for the member only, plus an extra 10 kg of free baggage, unless the route uses the piece concept.
• On domestic flights, check-in at the business class counter is open to them even with an economy ticket.

Elite

• Access to domestic and international lounges on Turkish Airlines flights, together with spouse and children or one guest, provided they travel with the member.
• An extra 20 kg of free baggage; where the piece concept applies, one more piece instead (23 kg in economy, 32 kg in business).
• Business class counters on domestic and international flights, even with an economy ticket.
• Standard and front-row seats on Turkish Airlines flights at no charge, also for companions on the same booking.

Elite Plus

• The same lounge and counter benefits as Elite, and the same free seat selection.
• An extra 25 kg of free baggage, or one more piece (23 kg in economy, 32 kg in business), plus from the first day of the status, 2 cabin upgrades for each of the first two status periods.

Miles expiry and extension at Miles&Smiles

Miles lapse at the close of the third full calendar year after the credit, unless stated otherwise. Anyone who wants to keep them has to extend them before the lapse. The extension costs USD 20 per 1,000 miles, and extended miles stay valid for three years from the extension date.

Award tickets also lapse: the validity ends one year after they were first issued. Transferring miles to another person costs USD 20 including VAT per 1,000 miles.

Award tickets, fees and surcharges

The mile price of an award ticket depends on the award region, which a regions table sets. The values apply per one-way trip, and round trips can be booked as well. For combined tickets with Turkish Airlines and other Star Alliance airlines, the Star Alliance award chart applies. Turkish Airlines reserves the right to change the award charts for tickets and upgrades.

On top of the miles, airport taxes and statutory charges can apply. How high such surcharges run, we have not documented.

The program states its fees in USD and Turkish lira, not in CHF or EUR. Changing an award ticket costs USD 70 per transaction on international flights and TRY 450 on domestic flights. After a no-show, reissuing costs USD 170 on international flights and TRY 1,050 on domestic flights.

Earning miles in Switzerland, Germany and Austria

In Germany there is the Miles&Smiles Mastercard Gold, which earns 1 mile per EUR 2 of card spending. For Switzerland and Austria we have not documented a route through credit cards or bank partners. There, flights remain the main path, and the departure airports are listed in the first section.

Miles & More alternatives and the question of the best miles program

Which miles program is best depends on your home airport and the airlines you actually fly. Miles&Smiles fits if your trips run via Istanbul. If you prefer other networks, you will find more programs in the program overview and a comparison of the alliances.