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Not long ago, Turkish Airlines miles were the go-to for cheap Star Alliance award travel. Then they had a brutal devaluation, but some sweet spots remained.
Still, with programs like Air Canada and Avianca Lifemiles offering bargains on United, there wasn’t much need for Turkish miles.
But United has been cracking down on partner award bargains. Last year, they started blocking some saver award space from partner airlines. In February, Lifemiles devalued award rates on United. And last week, Air Canada devalued award rates on United as well.
All of that makes Turkish look quite valuable again for domestic travel on United, which includes Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the USVI as Turkish charges a flat 10K miles in coach or 15K miles in first class for domestic flights.
I’m not going to get into the ethics and politics about whether you should be using Turkish miles, if it means major savings on United travel. I’ll just discuss what’s possible to do, and everyone can make their own decisions about what to do with that information. At the rates they’re charging for some of these tickets, it may even be a loss leader for their program as a whole, but those numbers aren’t public.
Here are sample United routes and what they will cost with various programs:
Economy cabin:
- Newark to Honolulu nonstop on 1/18/26
- Paid fare in economy: $663
- Turkish: 10K miles+$5.60 (6.58 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: 19.5K miles+$5.60
- United: 25K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 25K miles+$43
- Air Canada: 25K miles+$43
- Newark to San Juan nonstop on 4/2/25
- Paid fare in economy: $247
- Turkish: 10K miles+$5.60 (2.42 cents per mile value)
- Lifemiles: 15K miles+$54
- Air Canada: 15K miles+$56
- Singapore: 19.5K miles+$5.60
- United: 20K miles+$5.60
- Newark to Detroit nonstop on 4/2/25
- Paid fare in economy: $255
- Turkish: 10K miles+$5.60 (2.5 cents per mile value)
- Lifemiles: 10K miles+$16
- Air Canada: 10K miles+$32
- Singapore: 14K miles+$5.60
- United: 15K miles+$5.60
- Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale nonstop on 4/2/25
- Paid fare in economy: $494
- Turkish: 10K miles+$5.60 (4.89 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: 14K miles+$5.60
- United: 15K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 15K miles+$21
- Air Canada: 15K miles+$32
- Newark to Fort Lauderdale nonstop on 4/2/25
- Paid fare in economy: $275
- Turkish: 10K miles+$5.60 (2.7 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: 14K miles+$5.60
- United: 15K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 15K miles+$21
- Air Canada: 15K miles+$32
- LaGuardia to Chicago nonstop on 4/2/25
- Paid fare in economy: $293
- Turkish: 10K miles+$5.60 (2.88 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: 14K miles+$5.60
- United: 15K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 15K miles+$16
- Air Canada: 15K miles+$32
- Newark to Los Angeles nonstop on 4/2/25
- Paid fare in economy: $430
- Turkish: 10K miles+$5.60 (4.25 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: 14K miles+$5.60
- United: 15K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 15K miles+$31
- Air Canada: 15K miles+$32
- Newark to Anchorage nonstop on 8/25/25
- Paid fare in economy: $334
- Turkish: 10K miles+$5.60 (3.29 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: Not bookable online
- United: 15K miles+$5.60
- Air Canada: 25K miles+$43
- Lifemiles: 25K miles+$83
First class:
9 hours of lie-flat Dreamliner seats for 15K miles is an insane mileage bargain!
- Chicago to Honolulu nonstop on 4/3/25
- Paid fare in first class: $1,707
- Turkish: 15K miles+$5.60 (11.3 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: 39K miles+$5.60
- United: 50K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 50K miles+$42
- Air Canada: 50K miles+$43
- Fairbanks to Chicago nonstop on 5/13/25
- Paid fare in first class: $820
- Turkish: 15K miles+$5.60 (5.43 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: Not bookable online
- United: 30K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 50K miles+$42
- Air Canada: 50K miles+$43
- Newark to San Juan nonstop on 4/3/25
- Paid fare in first class: $724
- Turkish: 15K miles+$5.60 (4.79 cents per mile value)
- Lifemiles: 30K miles+$54
- Air Canada: 30K miles+$56
- United: 35K miles+$5.60
- Singapore: 39K miles+$5.60
- Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale nonstop on 4/28/25
- Paid fare in first class: $399
- Turkish: 15K miles+$5.60 (2.63 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: 26K miles+$5.60
- United: 30K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 30K miles+$21
- Air Canada: 30K miles+$32
- Newark to Fort Lauderdale nonstop on 4/29/25
- Paid fare in first class: $314
- Turkish: 15K miles+$5.60 (2.06 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: 26K miles+$5.60
- United: 30K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 30K miles+$21
- Air Canada: 30K miles+$32
- Chicago to Los Angeles nonstop on 4/29/25
- Paid fare in first class: $465
- Turkish: 15K miles+$5.60 (3.07 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: 26K miles+$5.60
- United: 30K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 30K miles+$31
- Air Canada: 30K miles+$32
- Las Vegas to Newark nonstop on 4/12/25
- Paid fare in first class: $636
- Turkish: 15K miles+$5.60 (4.24 cents per mile value)
- Singapore: 26K miles+$5.60
- United: 30K miles+$5.60
- Lifemiles: 30K miles+$31
- Air Canada: 30K miles+$32
Redeeming United flights with Turkish miles creates excellent redemption values for your points.
Availability on partner airlines appears to be the same on all routes, so if a United flight is bookable on AirCanada.com with miles, any other Star Alliance airline should be able to book it.
You can open a Turkish Airlines mileage account online (Hint: Your password must be exactly 6 numbers or else it will give an error).
And you can book Star Alliance awards with Turkish miles here (Login and then click this link again). You can’t search for partner awards from their home page. Search for one-way at a time for best results.
If you encounter any issues on the desktop site, try booking from a mobile device.
Award cancellations and mileage redeposits cost $70, which is cheaper than on most other partner airline programs.
Miles expire after 36 months and won’t be extended with activity. But you should never transfer miles unless you’re ready to book an award.
You can transfer miles from Citi or Capital One miles to Turkish miles instantly at a 1:1 ratio.
If you have the following Citi card, you can transfer points into miles:- Citi Strata Premier℠ Card is offering a 60,000 point bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, 3 points per dollar on airfare, hotels, supermarkets, gas, EV charging, and dining. 10 points per dollar on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked on CitiTravel.com. $95 annual fee. View Rates & Fees here. Citi is a DansDeals partner. Read more about this offer here.
- The Citi Double Cash® Card is offering a rare 20K bonus for spending $1,500 in 6 months, and offers 2% cash back or 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent everywhere. If you also have a Citi Strata Premier Card you can transfer points into miles. No annual fee. View Rates & Fees here. Citi is a DansDeals partner. Read more about this offer here.
- Limited time offer: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4K in 3 months and a $250 travel credit, plus 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, transfer points to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No foreign transaction fees. $95 annual fee. Read more here.
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4K in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Priority Pass Lounge membership, Hertz President's Circle status, free lounge access and status for free additional cardholders, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No foreign transaction fees. $395 annual fee. Read more here.
- Capital One Venture X Business is offering 150,000 bonus miles for spending $30K in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Enhanced Priority Pass Lounge membership, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $395 annual fee. No foreign transaction fees. Read more here.
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is offering 20,000 bonus miles for spending $500 in 3 months, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No foreign transaction fees. No annual fee.
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business is offering 50,000 bonus miles for spending $4,500 in 3 months, 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, Global Entry/PreCheck, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No foreign transaction fees. $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- Capital One Spark Cash is offering $750 cash back (convertible to 75,000 miles) for spending $7,500 in 3 months, 2% back everywhere, $40 MLB redemptions, and more. No foreign transaction fees. $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- New offer: Capital One Spark Cash Plus is offering $2,000 cash back (convertible to 200,000 miles) for spending $30,000 in 3 months, plus get another $2,000 cash back for every $500K spent in your first year, 2% back everywhere, $40 MLB redemptions, annual fee refund when you spend $150K/year, and more. No foreign transaction fees. $150 annual fee. Read more here.
Have you used Turkish miles for United flights?
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36 Comments On "With Air Canada And Avianca Lifemiles Devaluing United Awards, Turkish Miles Are Having Another Moment With Incredible Award Bargains"
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April Fool’s!
…..right?
Like I said, obviously this is an ethics question and this is a deals site, not an ethics blog. But either way, just try to be their most unprofitable customer.
I respectfully disagree. If you have to bring up the “ethics” at all, then it is not ethical. We go out of our way to “build a fence around the Torah” and do above and beyond what is needed sometimes. Why should we not act in a similar manner here? Unless you have concrete proof in hand from leaked documents or employee testimony that they will be losing money on these redemptions, I do not see any room for interpretations or assumptions.
Everyone can discuss with their own Rabbi or ethical advisor on whether they should do this to save money and miles. That’s not my job.
Turkish was the largest carrier into TLV pre-10/7 and they renewed their slots. They will be back as big as before and Israel will let them come back with open arms. Using their miles to save big on United flights seems like a much lower bar than the millions of Israelis who will flock back to fly on Turkish when they return. Is that right? Like I said, that’s above my paygrade.
I think it still remains to be seen regarding their return to Tel Aviv, and whether it will be a commercial success if that were to truly happen. I know quite a few heavy TLV travelers (both corporate and wealthy) that have sworn off the airline regardless of pricing, timing, benefits, etc. These are people that were perpetual top-tier elites, only paid business class travel, some of them decision makers regarding company travel. But of course, let’s simply hope that there is enough honor and dignity left for it to not come to that.
be aware you can only book for other ppl over the phone – and that can be quite a task
You can book others with you online.
I have been booking domestic flights with United via Turkish for some time. I can book for myself online. I have never been able to book for others tracking with me online. I always says “you can only book your first award fare for yourself. To book for others please call a sales office.” (Or something like that.)
Any idea why?
“Availability on partner airlines appears to be the same on all routes, so if a United flight is bookable on AirCanada.com with miles, any other Star Alliance airline should be able to book it.”
With AC going dynamic for UA and supposedly offering access to more space, this should probably be changed to use a different *A carrier to search saver award space.
In my searches, there is no added space for AC. It exactly matches other *A partners.
I also haven’t seen dynamic pricing, just higher pricing.
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/oh-no-canada-heres-how-many-more-aeroplan-miles-youll-need-for-travel-on-united-and-canada-north/
Fair enough. But iirc they did claim there would be added space. So that may change eventually, tho unlikely if it’s not there yet.
Wake me up when it happens.
We need a breakdown to Europe now that Air Canada went up to 80k
All great in theory. In practice, United releases barely any desirable awards seats to partners.
That’s not accurate, though I suppose it depends on your definition of desirable.
Nonstop routes from EWR in J. Sometimes pops up last minute
Any workaround for book for another person? Doesn’t seem to work online
And don’t forget the 10% points refund if you stack the Citi Premier with the Rewards+!
I keep seeing “We do not have any flights on the date and route you have selected or all our flights are sold out. Please change the date and/or route for a new flight search.” when I look for award flights. I’ve tried different dates, destinations, and browsers.
Are you using the search link in the post?
yes
List some sample routes and dates please.
Everything I search for.
Example MIA-JFK 6/9/25
Tried on my phone as well. Mia-jfk 5/19/25
For starters, United doesn’t fly to JFK.
thank you! looks like they dont fly to MIA either.
tried FLL to LGA and that worked!
They fly EWR-MIA, EWR-FLL, and EWR-PBI.
Is there a chart somewhere? ORD>CUN shows 30k and ORD>MBJ shows 90k.
This is a domestic play.
This should still be accurate from the last time I researched it, but I haven’t checked recently:
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/1-week-left-take-advantage-incredible-star-alliance-bargains-massive-devaluation/
Can you transfer Chase points to Turkish
Obviously not otherwise Dan would have posted it
I tried multiple times to book for other passengers over the phone with no success.
Hi @Dan I see EWR to SFO April 15 on aeroplan with united. Why can’t I find it on Turkish?
Did you use the link in the post?
Oops got it now. Thx so much!
Anyone found availability EWR to LAX Business for 15k?