What’s the Value of Turkish Airlines Miles?

Turkish Airlines may be one of the best Star Alliance airlines because of its excellent, low-cost redemptions. The only problem is getting the website to work. But if you can get past that, you can squeeze a lot of value out of Turkish Airlines miles.

Based on our analysis, the short answer is: 1.1 cents each.

This is a baseline value, drawn from real-world data on hundreds of economy routes, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 1.1 cents or more in value from your Turkish Airlines miles.

Our estimated value of 1.1 cents per Turkish Airlines mile provides a lower-end value you can use to determine the relative value of your own redemptions. It is based on comparing main cabin fares using both cash and miles, across several dates and destinations.

In other words, this is the value you can expect to get from your Turkish Airlines miles without seeking particularly high-value redemptions. This means you can get more value by looking for Turkish Airlines sweet spots and using more advanced award techniques. It also means you can end up getting lower value than this if you’re not careful.

» Learn more: How to make the most of flying in Turkish Airlines' economy class

How much are Turkish Airlines worth in dollars? With the calculator below, you can figure out the value of your Turkish Airlines miles in dollars, calculated with our estimated value.

Turkish Airlines miles are great for booking last-minute flights. We looked at redemption rates for awards booked 15 days before departure, 180 days before departure and award flights during peak winter holiday times.

For economy redemptions, the valuation was 1.4 cents each for close-in bookings 15 days before departure. Meanwhile, advanced purchase bookings offer a measly 0.9 cent per mile. However, for holiday economy award flights, the valuation was the almost the same as the baseline — 1 cent per mile.

As a member of the Star Alliance, you can redeem Turkish Airlines miles for award flights on alliance members like United, Air Canada or ANA.

One of the best ways to use Turkish Airlines miles is on flights to Hawaii from the continental U.S., which only cost 10,000 miles in economy or 15,000 miles in business class.

» Learn more: The beginner's guide to points and miles

We collected hundreds of data points comparing the cash value with award (Turkish Airlines miles) value for the same routes and dates. That is, we compared the cost of a given ticket in either cash or miles, across many tickets.

This method differs from others in that it looks at actual redemptions rather than hypothetical, maximized redemptions. The advantage of this approach is that it provides a real-world indication of how much these miles are worth, on average. That said, it doesn’t take into account the high-value redemptions that points enthusiasts seek.

Wondering what you can do with those Turkish Airlines miles? Check out our point collector's guide to Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles (including some of the best ways to use Turkish miles), what to expect when you fly Turkish Airlines business class and learn which credit card is best for international award travel.

Featured photo courtesy of Turkish Airlines.