AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
It’s always exciting when a plan comes together. I’ve been wanting to visit Turkey for over a year now for the sights and scenes, but also to take part in the country’s medical tourism industry. Healthcare in Turkey is top-notch and a fraction of what it would cost in the United States. Turkish Airlines is jokingly called Turkish Hairlines because so many travelers fly there for hair transplants and other cosmetic procedures.
The stars aligned after the release of the Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Premier Visa Signature® Credit Card in July 2024. I applied for it, and that card got me enough miles for a one-way ticket to Istanbul in economy. Fast forward to this past summer when the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees) launched, and it got me thinking I might be able to fly to Turkey in business class instead.
This booking took a lot of research, but it paid off. I locked in a round-trip Turkish Airlines business class award at more than 2 cents per point. And the best part is that I paid nothing for this business class ticket out of pocket.
Here's how I did it.
- For a limited time, earn 100,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
Page Contents
The Goal: Fly to Turkey in Turkish Airlines Business Class
I’m based in South Florida, so the plan was simple. Fly round-trip from Miami to Istanbul for as little as possible. The only carrier that operates a nonstop on this route is Turkish Airlines.
At first, I was completely fine with flying economy if it meant covering the entire trip with miles. But after seeing how impressive Turkish Airlines business class looks, I knew I had to at least try to land that seat, even if it ended up being for only one way.
How I Earned Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Miles
When the Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Premier Visa Signature Credit Card debuted last summer, it came with a simple welcome bonus. Earn 40,000 miles after spending $3,000 within 90 days of opening an account. After hitting the bonus, I ended up with a little more than 46,000 miles.
Those miles sat unused for over a year since I didn’t want to use the card for daily spending just to earn enough for one flight.
One year later, I added a premium card to my billfold: the Citi Strata Elite. Just as I did, you can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- For a limited time, earn 100,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
But I got one step closer thanks to a big transfer bonus. In October, Citi offered a 50% transfer bonus to Turkish Airlines. I transferred 122,000 Citi ThankYou® points and received 183,000 Miles & Smiles miles in return.
That brought my total to 229,000 miles. Unfortunately, that was still short of the 270,000 miles required for a round-trip Miami to Istanbul business class award. I looked into buying miles, but the cost was rather lofty at $30 per 1,000 miles. I also checked whether I could pool miles, but the program limits pooling to married couples and their children. So, I expanded my map and looked for something more affordable.
Related: Citi Strata Elite℠ Card Full Review
Redeeming Turkish Airlines Miles for Round-Trip Business Class
After digging into the Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles program, I learned about Turkish Airlines saver awards. These are the airline’s cheapest award tickets, and from North America to Istanbul, for example, they price at 65,000 miles per way in business class. That's far less than the 130,000 miles per way you'd pay for a standard award. The catch is that they're harder to find.
True to form, I couldn’t find saver space from Miami no matter how hard I tried, so I searched from Chicago instead. Sure enough, I found round-trip availability for 130,000 miles plus about $500 in taxes. I was thrilled to see the fare, but much less thrilled about the taxes.
At checkout, Turkish Airlines gives you the option to cover taxes with miles. For me, keeping $500 in my pocket was far more appealing than holding on to more miles, even if it meant not unlocking the optimal cents-per-point value.
So, I redeemed a total of 210,232 Turkish miles and secured round-trip business class to Istanbul without paying a single dime out of pocket.
Related: How to Search and Book Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles Awards
Using my leftover Turkish miles to book a positioning flight
This booking left me with 19,000 Turkish miles in my account, which would likely sit unused and eventually expire. But Turkish Airlines is part of Star Alliance, which includes United Airlines and nearly two dozen other partner airlines. And I still need a positioning flight from South Florida to Chicago.
I can use my Turkish miles to book that positioning flight. It’s a highly underrated Turkish Airlines sweet spot, but you can fly United Airlines within the U.S. for just 10,000 miles per way in economy. On the dates I need to travel, I found partner award availability through Turkish, so I’ll be able to use only 20,000 miles for round-trip flights between Fort Lauderdale and Chicago and pay just $11.20 out of pocket, since you can’t cover these taxes and fees with miles.
I haven’t booked the positioning flights yet since I’m waiting for my next batch of points earned on my Citi Strata Elite to post to my account. But in the coming days, this Turkish Airlines business class itinerary will be finalized, and it’ll easily be my best award redemption ever.
Bottom Line
This all started with the end goal in mind: getting to Turkey as cheaply as possible. That’s the mindset every points and miles enthusiast should keep front and center. Earning without a goal can feel aimless and overwhelming, like collecting puzzle pieces without any idea of what the final picture looks like.
You also shouldn’t be afraid to set a bold goal. It might take time, and this one was almost two years in the making. But with savvy earning and a little bit of perfect timing — like jumping on a massive Citi Strata Elite offer and earning the welcome bonus before Citi launched a big transfer bonus to Turkish — you can reach your travel goals and save several thousand dollars and a lot of points and miles in the process.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.