Recently there were some Turkish Airline redemption changes and it wasn’t good news. We used to find some absolutely amazing deals to Europe for as little as 45K miles one way in business class. Jess flew to Greece and Istanbul that way and I have a trip for later this summer to Italy for 45K miles each way planned. Those were the good old days!

 

 

These same flights will now cost us 65K miles to Istanbul but you’ll pay another 20K miles (85K miles total) to travel anywhere else in Europe. I will still pay that much because Turkish Airlines is a great product, and I believe 65K in business class is worthwhile, but it is a HUGE jump. To be honest, they were definitely undervaluing their product and they are more aligned with other airlines now, but it is sad to see that great deal disappear.

Economy class flights were 30K and will now cost 40K miles. Here is an example of those flights. Note: the 65K business class flights are not easy to find (that isn’t new).

 

 

Other Turkish Airline Changes

It isn’t just those European business class seats that cost more now; all seats across the board have increased. Remember those 15K mile roundtrip flights to Hawaii? Those will now cost 20K miles – not that bad of a jump. Almost every redemption has almost doubled. You can view the new award chart here.

 

The Good News About Turkish Airline Redemption Changes

Luckily, my 45K mile redemption to Italy still stands. If you made a redemption at the lower price before the change that occurred on February 16, 2024, they are honoring that ticket. Hopefully, some of you have those lower-cost redemption tickets.

Turkish Airlines still offers reasonable redemptions despite the changes. Additionally, they have a great product, so it is reasonable that they should increase their redemption prices. There are no changes to the award ticket change and refund fees.

 

Bottom Line

Yes, there are Turkish Airlines redemption changes. Are they fair? Honestly, Turkish Airlines has long undervalued its products compared to other airline products. We can expect changes to happen continually in the credit card points/miles game. We can still travel for pennies on the dollar, no matter the changes, and we can always earn more points and miles.