Update: This sale ends tomorrow!
Originally posted on 12/8:
Turkish Airlines: Save 30% Off Award Tickets
- Book by 12/31.
- Travel by 5/15/22.
- Valid on Turkish Airlines flights only.
- Use a card like Sapphire Preferred to earn 2 points or Ink Preferred or Sapphire Reserve to earn 3 Chase points per dollar spent and get free trip cancellation/interruption insurance, travel accident insurance, luggage insurance, trip and luggage delay protection, and more!
- Coach passengers can check 2×50 pound bags for free on Turkish.
- Flights connect in Istanbul.
- Turkish is a very highly rated airline. Thousands of religious Jews have taken their flights without issues and report that service has been far superior to other airlines. Turkish has an award winning Star Alliance lounge in Istanbul. They operate a whopping 10 flights a day between Istanbul and Tel Aviv. There are even 2 Synagogues in Istanbul’s airport!
- Turkish offers freshly made kosher meals from Istanbul and Tel Aviv in all classes and the meals for flights departing Istanbul are highly regarded as well. They are made in Turkey and are kosher supervised by the OK and Chabad of Turkey.
Turkish Airlines normally charges 32K miles in coach or 47K miles in business class each way between the US and Israel.
With this sale you’ll pay just 22,400 miles in coach or 32,900 miles in business class each way between the US and Israel!
Fuel surcharges and taxes one-way from JFK to Tel Aviv will add $104 in coach and $233 in business class.
Fuel surcharges and taxes round-trip from JFK to Tel Aviv will add $251 in coach and $508 in business class.
You can search for Turkish Airlines award tickets here. Be sure to search one-way at a time in order to find saver awards. You will need to open a Turkish Airlines mileage account online (Hint: Your password must be exactly 6 numbers or else it will give an error).
Sample business class itinerary:
Compare that to United, which charges 93.5K miles each way for partner airline business class to Tel Aviv, plus $11.20 in taxes.
- Turkish Airlines normally charges 30K miles in coach or 45K miles in business class each way between the US and Europe. For example a one-way flight from JFK to Venice will be 21,000 miles+$100 in coach or 31,500 miles+$224 in business.
- Turkish Airlines normally charges 45K miles in coach or 67.5K miles in business class each way between the US and the Far East. For example a one-way flight from JFK to Singapore will be 31,500 miles+$135 in coach or 47,300 miles+$322 in business.
- Turkish Airlines normally charges 50K miles in coach or 85K miles in business class each way between the US and Southern Africa. For example a one-way flight from JFK to Johannesburg will be 35,000 miles+$135 in coach or 59,500 miles+$322 in business.
As you can see from this chart, you can transfer points to Turkish Airlines from Capital One or Citibank at a 1:1 ratio or from Marriott at a 60K:25K ratio. Transfers from Capital One should be instant, transfer from Citi can take a day or 2, while Marriott transfers can take slightly longer.
Turkish allows you to hold an award for 3 days, which will allow you to transfer in miles after the award is on hold.
Another nice perk is that changes or cancellations cost just $25! That fee may also be waived due to COVID.
Miles expire after 36 months and won’t be extended with activity. But you should never transfer miles unless you’re ready to book an award.
Capital One cards with transferable points to miles include:
- Capital One Venture X offering 100,000 miles+$200 towards vacation rentals, $300 annual travel credit, 10,000 mile anniversary bonus, 2-10 miles per dollar spent, Capital One Lounge access, Priority Pass Lounge access, Global Entry/Pre-Check Membership and more. $395 annual fee. Read more here.
- Capital One Venture offering 60,000 miles, 2 miles per dollar everywhere. Global Entry/Pre-Check Membership. $95 annual fee.
- Capital One Spark Miles offering 50,000 miles for spending $4,500 in 3 months, 2 miles per dollar everywhere. Global Entry/Pre-Check Membership. $0 intro annual fee, then $95 annual fee.
If you or a friend has one of the following Citi cards, you can transfer points into miles:
- Citi Premier has a record high 80,000 points for spending $4,000 in 3 months, 3 points per dollar on airfare, hotels, travel agents, groceries, gas, and dining. $95 annual fee. Read more here.
Citi no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:
- The Citi Double Cash card offers 2% cash back or 2 points per dollar spent everywhere that can be transferred into ThankYou points. If you also have a Citi Premier Card you can transfer points into miles. No annual fee. Read more here.
- The Citi Custom Cash Card offers 5 points per dollar on up to $500 in purchases in your top eligible spending category each billing cycle. This is marketed as 5% cash back, but will actually come in the form of 5 ThankYou points per dollar spent! Eligible categories include Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs, and Live Entertainment. You will also get 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. No annual fee. Read more here.
- The Citi Rewards+ Card offering 15,000 points for spending $1,000 in 3 months. This card can’t transfer points on its own, but can transfer points if you have one of the Citi cards above. This card automatically rounds up rewards earned on every purchase to the nearest 10 points, meaning you earn 10 points on a $0.50 Amazon balance reload. Earn 2 points on $6K in annual spending at supermarkets, 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, and a 10% points rebate when you redeem points, up to a 10K points rebate per year. If you also have a Citi Premier Card you can transfer points into miles and get a 10% points rebate on transferred or redeemed miles. No annual fee. Read more here.
Will you take advantage of this sale?
capital one-turkish is instant in my experience
Nice, thanks!
How can I transfer from citi via a friend?
How many TK for r/t NYC to HNL?
7.5K each way:
https://www.dansdeals.com/credit-cards/maximize-citi-quadfecta-earn-cashback-2-22-5-55-american-turkish-qantas-miles-dollar-citi-says-long-term-transfers-american/#Transfer_to_lucrative_airline_partners
Why isn’t it 30% off?
“Valid on Turkish Airlines flights only.”
Nice! Problem is Israel won’t let us in lol, does it work from LAX as well?
Hopefully they will soon, but you can cancel for just $0-$25.
Yes, it will.
Once I transfer the miles into Turkish, then the free cancelation only helps if I have some use from those miles within next 36 months…
Because they expire.
Can’t seem to find it on their site. Any idea what the cost for an infant is? Thanx
I believe it’s 4.5k miles
doesnt amex trasnfer to turkish?
N0
If I need to switch the dates after booking, what are the rules? Also is this sale applicable to booking partner (ie United) rewards as well? And what happens if I need to switch that United flight?
I changed an existing award booking online to yesterday to take advantage of the 30% discount. I still haven’t received a refund for the miles difference and I’m getting a bit nervous that that their IT system is not set up to do this. Has anyone had success rebooking an award flight at a lower rate and getting the difference back?
Will not work on united.
Turkish airline flights only
After taxes and fees isn’t it still a better deal with lifemiles?
No.
JFK-TLV in business:
Turkish is 32.9K+$233
Lifemiles is 78K+$75
United is 93.5K+$11
Turkish is better by a long shot.
On a side note, any issues with booking United tickets (domestic) for my minor kids online by putting in the wrong birthday? Do I even need to correct their DOB afterwards?
They will be traveling with me, but system is making me paying an UAM fee when booked separately.
https://www.dansdeals.com/airfare-deals/rules-of-the-deal-3/
“Sometimes websites won’t allow infants or kids to book a ticket. The date of birth on a ticket isn’t actually matched up with anything, so I’ve been known to add 100 years to the age of my kids when I need to and I’ve never run into any issues.”
Thanks. Read that but thought perhaps it’s outdated and rules have changed.
It’s fine.
Thanks. Now I don’t have to spend an hour plus on the phone booking each one of my kids.
Are the fuel surcharges cheaper when you book 2 1-ways?
Seems to be the same price OW or RT for JFK-TLV-JFK.
Does anyone know what M&M charges for infant awards?
I think you mean M&S (M&M is LH)
dont see any bus flights from LAX to TLV for 30%discounted fare. shows all 120,000 points
Were there certain dates this applies to? will the discount also apply for TLV to LAX?
Try different dates to find saver award space.
I see you always say to pay with Chase sapphire or Reserve – isn’t there more value in paying with Amex plat?
Can this be booked on Chase? If not, can I transfer chase reward points from reserve to Turkish? I want to book Mia-TLV.
@Dan
Im having trouble booking more than 1 ticket in business class, with points. Any idea how to go about it? Id hate to book 1 in business class and then there not be a total of 5 available.
Also, how do I “hold it’ prior to transferring points in to my account form Capital one? Do I need to pay for it to do that?
TIA
if I book turkish airlines using amex points and don’t end up going because Israel won’t let us in. Can I cancel and get my amex points back?
How to change his work? If I end up having to change to a later date (that does not have this promotion) do I lose the 30% off? Or does the route get locked in to the awarded amount?
How does their business cabin compare to Polaris? Are they pods? Seats go flat to a bed?
Possible ways to move into Marriott with Chase/amex?
How is the business cabin compared to United? Pods? So the seats lie flat into a bed?
Just be careful. I bought a ticket a few weeks ago on Turkish air to tel Aviv and since the Israeli government doesn’t allow foreigners in, I could not take the Dec 1 flight. Turkish air was unwilling to refund me or even extend a credit. They said my ticket was non refundable and the flight was not cancelled. Chase Sapphire reserve card said this situation with covid is not included in membership travel disruption insurance. So I am out $629.
File a DOT complaint.
if you use amex points and can’t get in do you get the points back?
Amex doesn’t transfer to Turkish
Can I transfer chase points to Marriott and further transfer from Marriott to Turkish? And if so how long is the process?
Thanks
There phone is down. Any al?