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Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles doesn't launch offers for buying miles very frequently. However, to celebrate International Friendship Day, Turkish Airlines has launched an interesting promotion. Technically, you can buy miles with a 100% bonus, but there's a catch.
Through August 7, 2026, you can gift miles to another member and receive bonus miles equal to the number of miles you gifted. That means you can effectively buy miles for just 1.5¢ apiece, but the miles aren't all going in your account.
One member can receive up to 250,000 Miles & Smiles miles each year, but there's no limit to how many miles you can gift to multiple members. Let's dig in and see when it makes sense to grab Miles & Smiles miles during this promotion.
Who Should Buy Turkish Airlines Miles?
Although not our preferred way to accrue points and miles, promotions like these can certainly provide value — given the right circumstances. But it goes without saying that buying miles should always be the last resort. Not only will loyalty programs devalue their miles at the drop of a hat (which Turkish Airlines is known to do), but they typically sell them at a higher price than you can get any worthwhile value from. Unless there is a bonus or discount available, you'd be better off holding onto your money and building your balance through other (cheaper) ways.
Having said that, there are two different scenarios when buying points and miles can make sense. Let's say you're right on the cusp of having enough miles for a really good redemption. Buying the remaining miles can be easy and cheap if the promotional value is solid. Moreover, if you're dead set on a sweet first or business cabin seat, grabbing the difference in miles for the award redemption will most likely be cheaper than paying the cash rate.
Related: Buy Points and Miles the Smart Way: How to Leverage Promotions to Score Incredible Deals on Travel
Gift Miles & Smiles Miles Promotion
- This gift one, get one offer is available for mileage purchases until August 7, 2026.
- You will receive bonus miles equal to the number of miles you gift. Your bonus will be calculated based on the total miles you gift throughout the campaign.
- The minimum purchase amount is 1,000 miles.
- During this promotion, a member can receive up to 250,000 gift miles within a calendar year, including all miles received from different members (up from the typical 100,000 miles).
- There is no annual limit on the total number of miles you may gift.
- Bonus miles will not show up on the checkout screen, instead becoming available up to seven days after the campaign ends.
- The full terms and conditions of gifting miles are available here.
You'll spend $30 per 1,000 miles. This rate stays the same whether you purchase 1,000 miles or 250,000 miles in a single transaction. However, you'll receive miles equal to the number of miles you gift. If you spend $3,000, your recipient will get 100,000 miles, and you will also get 100,000 miles, bringing the overall per-mile cost to 1.5¢ apiece.
How To Buy Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Miles
The Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles portal is one of the wonkiest we've come across — with a mixture of hurdles and bugs in the system getting in your way. You won't be able to purchase Turkish Airlines miles unless you are a member of the Miles & Smiles program. Therefore, you'll have to sign up here.
Once signed up and signed in, you will need to navigate to the “Gift Miles” section.
After clicking “Gift Miles,” you will need to enter the recipient's Miles & Smiles membership number. Click “Gift Miles” again, and manually input how many miles you wish to gift into the box. The checkout area won't give any indication that you are gifting miles under a promotion.
Instead, your bonus miles will appear in your account roughly a week after the campaign ends, so sometime around August 14, 2026. If you're counting on the bonus miles to grab a sweet redemption, only do so if you give yourself a buffer.
When It Makes Sense to Buy Turkish Airlines Miles
While there are some excellent Turkish Airlines sweet spots available for members, the program interface makes things challenging. But if you can get past this part, you'll find many great options when utilizing your Miles & Smiles miles.
Make sure to check out Turkish Airlines' award charts to get an idea of how many miles you'll need for your next redemption. This promotion could be a workaround for families that need miles ahead of a redemption. Turkish Airlines offers a family membership program, which allows parents and married children under 25 to pool points into a joint account. If you want to buy business class tickets for the whole family, gifting miles between spouses and getting a bonus could allow you to accomplish that goal for less than you'd pay out of pocket.
Even if you don't pool your miles, you could theoretically split the cost of gifting miles with the friend that you gift them to. Then, you can each buy miles for 1.5¢ apiece and book your tickets individually.
Here's a look at a couple of examples where you could save money if you buy Miles & Smiles miles during this promotion, rather than paying the cash rate. The below figures assume you'll purchase two tickets so you can maximize the 1.5¢ rate.
Los Angeles — Istanbul in Turkish Airlines business class
- One-way mileage rate (for two people): 130,000 miles
- Typical cash price (for two people): $6,514 one-way
- Redemption rate: 5.01¢ per mile
- Cost to gift 65,000 miles and get 65,000 miles: $1,950 one-way
Istanbul — Paris in Turkish Airlines business class
- Mileage rate: 50,000 miles
- Typical cash price: $2,064 one-way
- Redemption rate: 4.1¢ per mile
- Cost to gift 65,000 miles and get 65,000 miles: $750 one-way
Turkish Buy Miles History
Pretty straightforward stuff here from the Miles & Smiles program — seeing as the flagship carrier of Turkey doesn't offer very many buy miles promotions. Hopefully, we will be filling this table up to the brim soon:
| Promotion Ended | Max Bonus/Discount | Min Cents per Mile | Max Purchase Amount (w/ Bonus) |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 7, 2026 | Gift miles, get an equal number of miles as a bonus | 1.5 | Members can receive up to 250,000 miles, but no limit on the number of miles you can gift |
| December 22, 2025 | 100% Bonus | 1.5 | 500,000 |
| May 9, 2024 | 100% Bonus | 1.5 | 199,998 |
Related: I Flew to Six Continents for Turkish Airlines' Million-Mile Challenge — and It Finally Paid Off
Buy Turkish Airlines Miles With the Right Credit Card
Unlike many other loyalty programs, Turkish Airlines does NOT partner with Points.com to sell miles. Seeing as Turkish Airlines is directly a travel company and does not serve as a third party, your purchase should code as travel. As a result, you should try using one of the best cards for travel purchases to squeeze the most juice out of this lemon. This includes cards such as the following:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees): 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
- American Express Platinum Card®: Earn 5x Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year) and 5x points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com, including Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings.
- Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees): Earn 3x ThankYou® Points on airfare, hotels, dining, gas and EV charging stations, and supermarkets.
$795Rates & Fees
- 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
- 3x points on dining worldwide
- 1x points on all other purchases
$895Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
- Earn 5X points on Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings.
$95Rates & Fees
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
Related: Which Credit Card Should You Use to Buy Points and Miles?
Bottom Line
The last time Turkish Airlines ran a 100% bonus deal was December 2025, so if you know how you want to use your miles, it can make a lot of sense to take advantage of this gift-one, get-one promotion. The opportunity to grab Turkish Airlines miles at 1.5¢ per mile allows you to book some pretty sweet redemptions. This gift miles promotion is valid through August 7, 2026, so act quickly if you want your bonus miles.
Since the bonus miles won't show up in your original transaction, we encourage our readers to take screenshots of the checkout process. If you don't receive the bonus miles within a week after the promotion ends, you'll need some evidence when inquiring about them.
Are you buying Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles miles for as little as 1.5¢ each?
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), and American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees)
