Best Ways to Book Turkish Airlines Business Class with Points and Miles

Istanbul-based Turkish Airlines has a few claims to fame. The airline flies to more countries than any other airline. It also serves more nonstop destinations from a single airport (Istanbul Airport) than any other airline. And, although Turkish Airlines hasn’t been praised for its business-class product historically, it was actually ranked as the tenth best business-class airline in the world in 2024 by Skytrax. And, in the “Best Business Class Onboard Catering 2024” category, Turkish Airlines was ranked number one. So, if you consider yourself a foodie, there’s no better business class to fly than Turkish Airlines.

However, cash prices for Turkish Airlines business-class flights can be out of reach for many budget travelers. Luckily, by using points or miles, you can book Turkish Airlines business-class award flights at a very low out-of-pocket cost. This is the best low-budget way to experience all of the amenities that come with Turkish Airlines business class, such as lie-flat seats with a touchpad control panel, amenity kits containing self-care products, a personal entertainment monitor, best-in-class meals, complimentary beverages, business-class airport lounge access and more.

In this article, we’re going to look at the best ways to book Turkish Airlines business-class flights with points or miles. We’ll also briefly talk about the business-class amenities that you can expect on each aircraft type in the Turkish Airlines fleet.

What to Expect in Turkish Airlines Business Class

The Turkish Airlines fleet is one of the most updated in the entire airline industry and consists of several different types of aircraft. On each aircraft type, you’ll find a slightly different business-class product.

The top-tier business class can be found on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 aircraft, which have nearly identical business-class offerings. Business-class seats on both aircraft types recline into 193-centimeter lie-flat beds with fully adjustable armrests. There’s also a touchpad seat control panel as well as an 18-inch personal entertainment monitor. There are other in-seat amenities, like USB and AC charging ports, adjustable privacy screens, personal mirrors, a suit hanger, a personal reading lamp and more.

The next-best business-class product in the Turkish Airlines fleet can be found on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which also features comfortable seats that convert into lie-flat beds, equipped with a side pocket and a footrest to use while in the upright position. There’s also a 15.4-inch personal entertainment monitor with a handheld remote controller, although many passengers have complained that the monitor is oddly far away.

After the 777-300ER, the next-best business-class product is on Airbus A330 aircraft, which are used for certain long-haul routes. However, if you’re taking a Turkish Airlines long-haul flight, this is probably the least desirable aircraft on which to do so. The business-class cabin on these aircraft is far smaller than that on the 777. The seats on these aircraft are also older and less comfortable than on other long-haul Turkish Airlines flights. However, the seats still recline into fully flat beds, though the lack of a privacy screen makes it a bit awkward to lie down and fall asleep if you have someone in the seat next to you.

After that, there are several aircraft types that Turkish Airlines uses to operate regional flights, such as the Airbus A321, Boeing 737, Airbus A320 and Airbus A319. On these aircraft, you won’t have lie-flat seats. On certain regional flights (such as those operated by an Airbus A321neo or Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft), you will have a personal entertainment monitor. However, regional flights on other aircraft types (such as Airbus A320 and A319) will not have personal entertainment monitors in business class.

On all long-haul business-class flights, regardless of aircraft type, you’ll receive a sleep set collection including a soft quilt, a sleeping pad, a pillow, slippers and a shoe bag. And, so you can enjoy total silence, business-class passengers on all transoceanic flights will receive Denon headphones, which feature active noise canceling. You’ll also receive a Bespoke amenity kit created in collaboration with Lanvin Parfums, which contains a variety of high-quality self-care items.

The real crown jewel of the Turkish Airlines business-class experience, though, is the in-flight dining. Once again, Skytrax ranked Turkish Airlines as having the number-one business-class dining quality in the world in 2024. In-flight menus are updated seasonally to include the freshest ingredients and, on some flights, business-class meals are actually prepared a la carte by an on-board chef. Some menu items have included homemade pasta, grilled fish and coal-fired kebabs. All meals are served with your choice of high-quality breads, including sourdough, sesame pita bread or potato focaccia rolls. And, business-class passengers on intercontinental flights to or from Istanbul can choose to have their meal whenever they want.

You can also choose to pair your meal with a variety of homemade mocktails, detox drinks and Turkish coffee.

And, of course, Turkish Airlines business-class passengers will receive preferential check-in at the airport as well as access to the Turkish Airlines business-class lounge (if available). You can also access airport lounges from any other Star Alliance airline when you’re ticketed in business-class on a Turkish Airlines flight.

Best Programs Through Which to Book Turkish Airlines Business Class

Since Turkish Airlines is a member of Star Alliance, there are several partner frequent flyer programs through which you can book Turkish Airlines business-class award flights. However, Turkish Airlines awards are priced differently through each of these programs. So, the rate for the same award flight might be different through each frequent flyer program. For this reason, it’s important to identify the frequent flyer programs that offer the most favorable rates for Turkish Airlines business-class awards.

Certain frequent flyer programs allow transfers from major U.S. credit card rewards programs, which makes it a lot easier for U.S. citizens to earn miles with those programs. So, in searching for a frequent flyer program through which to book Turkish Airlines business-class awards, it’s important to consider this as well.

In the following sections, we’ll identify a few of the best programs through which to book Turkish Airlines business-class awards. We’ll also let you know from which credit cards you can transfer points to those programs.

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

In some cases, the best way to book a Turkish Airlines business-class award is through the airline’s own Miles&Smiles frequent flyer program. The Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program has the most Turkish Airlines business-class award availability of any frequent flyer program. And, since Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles prices Turkish Airlines awards according to a fixed region-based award chart, you can often find outsized value per mile through this program.

Additionally, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles sometimes offers Turkish Airlines award flights at promotional rates. If you’re able to find one of these promotional awards, you can get even better value per mile. But, even at normal mileage levels, these awards can be a solid deal.

We found a round-trip Turkish Airlines business-class itinerary between Chicago (ORD) and Istanbul (IST) for a total of 270,000 and about $592 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the same flights on the same dates with cash through the Turkish Airlines website, it would cost about $4,939.

Thus, this redemption would give you a value of about 1.6 cents per mile (considering the high taxes and fees paid for the award flight), which is decent. Unfortunately, after extensive searching, it seems that this is around the highest value you can expect to find on Turkish Airlines business-class awards between North America and Istanbul (unless you’re able to find one of these awards at a promotional rate, which is difficult).

When searching for Turkish Airlines business-class awards on routes between Europe and Istanbul, we found even less value per mile than in the example above. For instance, we found a round-trip Turkish Airlines business-class award itinerary between Frankfurt (FRA) and Istanbul (IST) for 80,000 miles and about $342 in taxes and fees.

The same flights booked with cash instead of miles through the Turkish Airlines website would cost about $1,207.

So, the value of this redemption (factoring in the high taxes and fees charged for the award flight) would be about 1.1 cents per mile, which is poor for a business-class award.

Since Turkish Airlines has been devaluing its award charts over the past few years, it’s now harder than ever to find high value per point through this program.

Nonetheless, the major advantage of the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program is that you can find Turkish Airlines business-class award availability with great consistency. Plus, it’s easy to earn miles with this program since it’s a 1:1 transfer partner of several major U.S. credit card rewards programs, including Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Another program through which you can book Turkish Airline business-class award flights is Air Canada Aeroplan. Unfortunately, while this program used to offer Turkish Airlines business-class award availability on long-haul routes, it seems that this no longer exists.

However, you can still book Turkish Airlines business-class awards between Europe and Istanbul at favorable rates. For example, we found a Turkish Airlines business-class award itinerary between Munich (MUC) and Istanbul (IST) for 30,000 points and about 158 Canadian Dollars (about $114).

If you were to book the same flights with cash through the Turkish Airlines website, it would cost about 872 euros (about $994).

So, factoring in the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would yield a value of about 2.9 cents per point, which is good.

Plus, the Air Canada Aeroplan program is a 1:1 transfer partner of several major U.S. credit card rewards programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. This makes Aeroplan points very easy to earn for most U.S. consumers.

If you fly with Air Canada often, you might also consider signing up for the Aeroplan® Credit Card (issued by Chase), which allows you to earn Aeroplan points on everyday purchases.

United Airlines MileagePlus

Turkish Airlines business-class award flights can also be purchased through the United Airlines MileagePlus program, which may be a good option for U.S.-based travelers who already have a large balance of points in their MileagePlus account.

However, similar to Air Canada Aeroplan, Turkish Airlines business-class award availability is very hard to find on long-haul routes through the MileagePlus program. But, you can often find Turkish Airlines business-class award availability on short- and medium-haul routes through this program.

Unfortunately, since the MileagePlus program prices partner award flights using a dynamic pricing model, it’s nearly impossible to find high value per mile through this program.

For example, we found a Turkish Airlines business-class award itinerary between Amsterdam (AMS) and Istanbul (IST) for 90,000 miles and about $121 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the same flights on the same dates through the Turkish Airlines website, it would cost you about 1,061 euros (about $1,210).

So, considering the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 1.2 cents per mile, which is poor for a business-class award. This is right around the value that you can expect from all Turkish Airlines-operated award flights purchased through the MileagePlus program.

However, if you happen to have a large balance of miles in your MileagePlus account, this could potentially be the best way for you to book a Turkish Airlines business-class award. You can also earn MileagePlus miles by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio. But, we’d definitely recommend checking the rates through Air Canada Aeroplan first if you’re trying to book a Turkish Airlines business-class award.

United Airlines offers several co-branded credit cards, issued by Chase, that allow you to earn MileagePlus miles on everyday purchases. It’s definitely worth looking into these cards if you fly with United Airlines often.

The Bottom Line

Turkish Airlines is known for being the airline that flies to more countries than any other airline in the world. And, in addition to expanding the route network, Turkish Airlines has also been improving its business-class products across its entire fleet, starting with the in-flight dining. In 2024, Turkish Airlines won the Skytrax award for the best business-class catering in the airline industry. Serving meals prepared a la carte by an in-flight chef, freshly baked bread and meals inspired by Turkey’s rich culinary history, flying Turkish Airlines business class is like having a fine dining experience in the sky.

Unfortunately, cash prices for Turkish Airlines business-class flights can be out of reach for many travelers. Luckily, you can use points or miles and experience Turkish Airlines business class at a low out-of-pocket cost.

If you want to book a long-haul Turkish Airlines business-class award, the best program through which to do so is the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program. While recent devaluations of Turkish Airlines award charts have made it more difficult to find high value per mile through this program, Miles&Smiles is the only program through which you can find long-haul Turkish Airline business-class awards with any consistency.

If you’re looking for a short- or medium-haul Turkish Airlines business-class award, the Air Canada Aeroplan program is a great place to look. You can also find these kinds of awards through the United Airlines MileagePlus program, but at less favorable rates.