For years, a sweet spot existed for savvy travelers: using Turkish Miles&Smiles to reach Hawaii. The dream of a one-way flight on United Airlines, attainable with as few as 7,500 miles, fueled countless award searches. Finding available seats was a challenge, but the potential savings made the hunt worthwhile.
That dream has abruptly vanished. Turkish Airlines quietly implemented drastic changes to its domestic award charts on December 3rd, impacting flights operated by partner airlines like United. The update, delivered without warning to members, fundamentally alters the value proposition of the program.
The changes are significant. Previously, a one-way economy flight between the continental U.S. and Hawaii cost 10,000 miles. Now, that same flight requires a staggering 25,000 miles. Business class jumped from 15,000 to 40,000, and first class soared from 20,000 to 50,000.
These increases aren’t limited to Hawaii. All domestic flights within the U.S. operated by partners have seen substantial price hikes. Flights *to* Hawaii are now categorized separately, incurring even higher costs than other domestic routes.
Currently, finding any bookable award flights between the continental U.S. and Hawaii through Turkish Miles&Smiles is proving impossible. Popular tools used to search for availability, like Seats.aero, are showing no Turkish awards for North American destinations.
While the Hawaii awards are particularly painful, some value may remain for shorter, domestic routes. Redeeming 15,000 miles for a one-way direct flight within a single country – perhaps a transcontinental United flight or a Thai Airways hop within Thailand – could still be worthwhile in specific cases.
Importantly, these changes do not affect Turkish Airlines’ region-to-region partner award charts or the award costs for flights operated directly by Turkish Airlines. This limited scope offers a small measure of relief, especially considering the recent generous miles awards given for the six continents challenge.
Many anticipated a devaluation after the large-scale miles distribution, and these domestic changes appear to be the initial impact. Whether further adjustments are on the horizon remains to be seen, but the landscape for using Turkish Miles&Smiles for domestic travel has been irrevocably altered.
