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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Guides
How to book Star Alliance business-class flights to Europe for 45,000 miles each way
Andrew Kunesh is TPG's Points & Miles editor. He has been active in the points and miles space since 2014, using them to travel far and wide around the world. He is originally from Chicago but moved to New York City after graduating from DePaul University. His work is featured on Credit Karma, UpgradedPoints, ValuePenguin and various other travel and finance publications. He currently holds Delta Diamond Medallion and Marriott Titanium status, and 20+ credit cards that each have a special place in Andrew's wallet.
June 28, 2023 • 7 min read
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Quick summary
Turkish Airlines' Miles&Smiles program offers one of the best values for business-class award flights from the U.S. to Europe, with predictable and affordable mileage requirements.
Compared to other major airline loyalty programs, this program maintains a fixed rate for business-class flights to Europe, making it a standout option for travelers seeking premium cabin deals.
Fuel surcharges can apply, but booking with select Star Alliance partners such as United, SAS or LOT Polish Airlines helps minimize these extra costs.
Miles&Smiles awards can be booked online, though some users may need to call if award space does not display correctly.
What to consider
Some offers and details mentioned in the article may no longer be available.
Fuel surcharges vary by airline, so choosing the right Star Alliance partner is essential to avoid high out-of-pocket costs.
Miles&Smiles miles can be earned by transferring rewards from select transferable currency programs at a 1:1 rate.
What you'll miss from the article
Step-by-step guidance for booking award flights through the Turkish Airlines website and tips for maximizing value with specific airline partners.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
This program offers an excellent award chart and fantastic deals on business-class flights from the U.S. to Europe, with one-way flights costing under 50,000 miles. It's one of the best redemption deals available for traveling to Europe.
Why it’s special
Turkish Airlines award tickets to Europe are an incredible value when you compare its pricing to other carriers. United MileagePlus charges 80,000 miles — at a minimum — for a one-way flight to Europe in business class. Nowadays, the carrier prices all award tickets dynamically and typically adds a surcharge for partner flights. You'll now routinely find business saver tickets to Europe for over 100,000 United miles on Star Alliance partner airlines.
On the other hand, Air Canada Aeroplan charges based on the length of a flight. Flights from the East Coast start at 60,000 points but quickly rise when you book longer flights. Further, Avianca LifeMiles charges 63,000 LifeMiles for a one-way business class flight to Europe.
Turkish charges the same 45,000 miles on all flights to Europe, so all awards to the region are predictable and affordable.
TURKISHAIRLINES.COM
The upside to MileagePlus, Aeroplan and LifeMiles is that, unlike Turkish Miles&Smiles, they don’t add fuel surcharges to award tickets on carriers like Lufthansa and Swiss. You can avoid these surcharges by booking with a handful of Star Alliance partners that don’t add fuel surcharges. These include the following carriers that fly from the U.S. to Europe:
So if you’re booking with Turkish miles, stick to these airlines to get the best deals on your award tickets. You shouldn’t pay more than the taxes and fees the origin and destination countries levied. This includes the TSA security fee and landing taxes levied by some countries.
You can book most Star Alliance awards on the Turkish Airlines website; however, you'll routinely find that Turkish Airlines' website shows there's no award space when, in actuality, there is. If this happens, consider calling Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles at 800-874-8875.
Here's how to book Star Alliance award flights on Turkish Airlines' website.
Step 1: Log in to your Turkish Airlines account
Head to the Turkish Airlines website and either sign-up or log in to your account. You can find these buttons at the upper right-hand corner of the page.
TURKISHAIRLINES.COM
Step 2: Find the Star Alliance booking page
Now, you need to navigate to the Star Alliance booking page. Click your name at the upper right-hand corner of the screen and select “Miles Transactions” from the drop-down menu. Then, find the “Star Alliance award ticket” section and click “Book now."
TURKISHAIRLINES.COM
Step 3: Search for your flight
Enter your desired itinerary at the center of the screen and click the red arrow to start your search.
TURKISHAIRLINES.COM
Step 4: Select your flight
Your search results will appear at the center of the screen. Click the “Business Class” button to only see business-class flights. Click on its price to see more details and then click the “Select this flight” button to start the booking process.
TURKISHAIRLINES.COM
Step 5: Confirm your flights and pay
You should now see a flight summary. If all looks good, enter your passenger information, and follow the on-screen prompts to book your ticket.
While there are no Turkish-branded credit cards available in the United States, you can transfer rewards from three programs with transferable currencies directly to Miles&Smiles at a rate of 1:1:
The easiest way to earn Bilt Points is by adding the Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees) to your wallet. As long as you make at least five purchases on the card per billing cycle, you'll earn 1 point per dollar on rent (up to 100,000 points each calendar year) plus 3 points per dollar on dining and 2 points per dollar on travel (see rewards and benefits).
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Capital One VentureOne Rewards for Good Credit (no annual fee, see rates and fees".
Capital One Spark Miles for Business ($0 annual fee for the first year, then $95, see rates and fees): New card members can earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 in the first three months of account opening.
Finally, here are some terrific options for earning Citi ThankYou points:
Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Citi Rewards+® Card: Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,500 in purchases with your card within three months of account opening.
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The information for the Citi Rewards+ and Citi Custom Cash has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
This is one of the best sweet spots for booking business-class tickets to Europe: 45,000-mile flights with the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program.
You’ll get the best deal when you book one of these tickets on a carrier that doesn’t add high fuel surcharges to their tickets. This includes major carriers like United, SAS and LOT Polish Airlines. You can leverage this to get an ultra-cheap business-class award ticket with little out-of-pocket expense.
For rates and fees of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.
For rewards and benefits of the Bilt Mastercard, click here.
Additional reporting by Ben Smithson.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
