The Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles program has undergone a significant negative devaluation effective from February 15th. It is not even worth posting an image of the new award chart anymore.
The only remaining business class Sweetspot
Turkish Airlines business class nonstop from US cities to Istanbul requires 65K points for a one-way trip (used to be 45K).
Pricing for connecting business class flights within Turkey
The point requirement remains the same when you add connecting flights within Turkey.
JFK to Antalya business class connecting flight
Pricing for connecting business class flights within Europe
The point requirement jumps the moment you add any connecting flights to Europe due to segment-based award pricing.
JFK to Madrid connecting business class flight via Istanbul
The only remaining Sweetspot for domestic US travel
The only other remaining sweet spot for U.S.-based travelers is to book United flights to travel anywhere within the U.S. (Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) for 10K in coach or 15K in first class each way (same for either nonstop or connections). It is hard to predict when United Airlines will release award space to partners, so it will be a difficult redemption to plan in advance.
Other Quirks of the Turkish Miles & Smiles Program
- 36-month strict expiration date for miles with no way to extend them.
- You must carry the credit card that was used to complete the reservation when checking in at the Turkish airport counter.
- If you book for family or friends, they may be asked to show the exact credit card that was used to complete the reservation at the counter.
- If you are booking a Star Alliance award ticket for a family member or a friend, you will encounter a hard stop on the webpage (link).
Conclusion
I have 90K miles left in the Miles & Smiles program that I need to use before the 36-month expiration date. The only business class overseas redemption option I see is to fly Turkish Air from the US to Istanbul one-way for two people. This will probably be the last time I will ever use Turkish miles due to their terrible customer service and a matching award chart.