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First Class to Hawaii for 12,500 Miles and a 13-Minute Phone Call

July 30, 2019
5 min read
First Class to Hawaii for 12,500 Miles and a 13-Minute Phone Call
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Nick and Greg over at the Frequent Miler have been doing some excellent work covering the new sweet spot within the Turkish Miles & Smiles program. Hawaii used to be a part of the Oceania region but has recently been updated to be included within the North America region, the same region as the contiguous United States.

One-way, economy-class tickets within the US on Star Alliance partner United Airlines cost just 7,500 miles, while United domestic first class — which Turkish counts as business class — requires 12,500 miles.

***Applicable Mile amount for direct flights with Star Alliance member airlines in the same country. Amounts shown reflect round trip tickets.

Saver economy availability is actually fairly abundant on United, and tickets can easily be booked for 7,500 Turkish miles and $5.60 per person each way between the US and Hawaii. United charges 22,500 United miles per person for an economy ticket on the same route, and even Singapore KrisFlyer — long considered one of the best Hawaiian sweet spots from the US — would require 17,500 miles.

While 7,500 miles is an outstanding value — especially from the East Coast — 12,500 miles for first class to Hawaii is among the most spectacular sweet spots out there.

I decided to give it a try.

The Booking Process

In the past, booking Star Alliance-operated flights using Turkish miles required either an in-person trip to a Turkish ticket office or a series of emails to a ticketing office — which may or may not go answered. These tickets are now reportedly able to be booked over the phone. Before calling, I did a close-in award search on United.com between the mainland and Hawaii, focusing on less-sought-after routes. I very quickly found multiple dates within the next two weeks that showed saver first class availability on the flight from Kona (KOA) to San Francisco (SFO):

Armed with 13,000 Citi ThankYou Points ready to be transferred over to my Turkish account, I gave Turkish Miles&Smiles a call (1-800-874-8875). After going through a simple phone menu and four minute hold time, I got a very capable agent who confirmed my account information. She pulled up the route on which I had found saver level award availability, and her system showed the same award space I saw on United.com. There were three first class seats and nine economy seats available on the 10:00pm departure from Kona operated by a 737-900.

She then quoted me the expected 12,500 miles and $5.60 for the one-way ticket. I told her I intended on transferring over credit card points to my account and requested a hold until my miles showed up. She said the system would automatically give her hold options after she filled out all my personal info. She quickly entered my birthday and name and gave me a PNR for the ticket. She let me know I could hold the ticket for 48 hours without the miles in my account.

I quickly used the Turkish Airlines PNR and was able to pull up the itinerary on United.com:

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I then confirmed the itinerary showed up on my Turkish account, and just like the agent said, I had 48 hours to pay for the ticket before the complimentary hold expired and the ticket was gone:

The phone call lasted a total of 13 minutes, and if the ThankYou points had already transferred into my Turkish account, I would be set for a first class flight from Hawaii back the mainland for a staggeringly low 12,500 miles and $5.60. Turkish miles transfer from Citi in about 1-2 days, so you'd essentially have to really hope the miles showed up before the hold expired.

That being said, I am going to call back in 24 hours to see if the hold can be extended (for research purposes) in case the transferred miles don't show up before the ticketing deadline. As noted above, I called 1-800-874-8875 to quickly reach a Turkish agent.

Bottom Line

Booking United-operated awards to or from Hawaii using Turkish Airlines miles could be one of the best possible ways to visit the Aloha State. If you don't have Citi ThankYou points to transfer to Turkish, Marriott Bonvoy points are your other avenue, as they transfer at a 3:1 ratio plus a 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points.

The roadblock here is going to be first-class saver availability to and from Hawaii, something United (and quite frankly all airlines) are rather stingy in releasing. Use the United interactive route map to look at some lesser-known routes, and search close-in dates for the best chances of finding saver first award availability. And even if you can't, booking one-way economy awards for 7,500 miles from anywhere in the US to Hawaii on United is a staggering deal.

This was really an excellent booking process for a partner phone booking and something all of us should investigate and book if possible.

Featured image by (Photo by Summer Hull / The Points Guy)

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  • Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
  • Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
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  • Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
  • Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
  • Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
  • Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
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TPG Editor‘s Rating
Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
3 / 5
Go to review

Rewards Rate

3XEarn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
2XEarn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. and at U.S. supermarkets.
1XEarn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
  • Intro Offer
    Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.

    Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles
    50,000 Bonus Miles
  • Annual Fee

    $250
  • Recommended Credit
    Credit ranges are a variation of FICO© Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

    670-850
    Excellent/Good

Why We Chose It

Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.

Pros

  • Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
  • Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year
  • Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
  • First checked bag free

Cons

  • Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
  • SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
  • Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
  • Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
  • Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
  • New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
  • Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
  • Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
  • Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
  • Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
  • Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
  • Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • $250 Annual Fee.
  • Terms Apply.
  • See Rates & Fees