Citi ThankYou Rewards recently added a new transfer partner, Turkish Miles & Smiles. ThankYou points now transfer to Turkish at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000 points.
Turkish Airlines doesn’t have a very familiar award chart, but if you want to take a look you can view it here.
Some highlights include:
- 20,000 miles round trip in economy class within the U.S. (cheaper than redeeming for Saver awards on United for the same flights)
- 60,000 miles round trip in economy class or 90,000 points round trip in business class between the U.S. and Europe/Turkey
- Companion redemptions that allow to use less miles when paired with a paid ticket
A couple of other things to keep in mind:
- Miles expire at the end of the third year after they are earned
- Awards involving Star Alliance partners must be booked over the phone
- You can’t mix airlines or cabin classes in the same direction of an award
- You will probably have to pay fuel surcharges
All this said, it’s still a good thing to see banks adding more transfer partners because it gives us more flexibility when it comes to using our miles. I’ve never booked an award with Turkish before and I won’t be rushing to add a bunch of miles to my account but I’m always happy to have another option!
