What's the best for earning more miles
Feb 13, 2019, 7:28 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2019
Programs: Miles & Smiles
Posts: 21
What's the best for earning more miles
Hi all,
I have Miles&Smiles membership and trying to get Gold card as soon as possible as similar to what many people are trying to do. I am living in Belgium and frequently travelling to US or Asia. My upcoming trip is to San Diego at the end of March and trying to find out which airways should I choose to get the most miles. When I use mileage calculator in Miles&Smiles, I see that I can only get 1000 miles if I book it in Economy class, which I find very low. My question is, does earning miles change from one airliner to another? For example, I can book the same flight from United Airlines as well. Supposing that the costs are exactly the same, would I earn the same miles? The question is valid for Lufthansa as well.
thank you
I have Miles&Smiles membership and trying to get Gold card as soon as possible as similar to what many people are trying to do. I am living in Belgium and frequently travelling to US or Asia. My upcoming trip is to San Diego at the end of March and trying to find out which airways should I choose to get the most miles. When I use mileage calculator in Miles&Smiles, I see that I can only get 1000 miles if I book it in Economy class, which I find very low. My question is, does earning miles change from one airliner to another? For example, I can book the same flight from United Airlines as well. Supposing that the costs are exactly the same, would I earn the same miles? The question is valid for Lufthansa as well.
thank you
Feb 13, 2019, 9:12 am
#2
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 310
The easiest, and potentially the cheapest, way is booking semi-flexible (Q class) tickets with TK. They are usually around $1000 for a round-trip between Europe and the US. 3 round-trip IST-LAX flights already get you elite membership from 0. Don't book discount economy with LH as you will get 0 miles. United is slightly better, you usually get 50 or 75%. However, the best redemption value is still flying TK in Q class.
Last edited by max_kolesne; Feb 13, 2019 at 3:14 pm
Feb 13, 2019, 11:00 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2019
Programs: Miles & Smiles
Posts: 21
The easiest way is booking semi-flexible (Q class) tickets with TK. They are usually around $1000 for a round-trip between Europe and the US. 3 round-trip IST-LAX flights already get you elite membership from 0. Don't book discount economy with LH as you will get 0 miles. United is slightly better, you usually get 50 or 75%. However, the best redemption value is still flying TK in Q class.
Feb 13, 2019, 11:47 am
#4
Join Date: May 2000
Location: HFA
Posts: 1,712
Welcome to FlyerTalk dolevo!
Yes, earning varies by airline and by the booking class of your ticket. You can see a detailed list, by airline, here:
https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-i...ers/index.html
Shuly
Yes, earning varies by airline and by the booking class of your ticket. You can see a detailed list, by airline, here:
https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-i...ers/index.html
Shuly
Feb 13, 2019, 1:07 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,048
TAP have some ridiculously cheap Business Class fares to North America.
I wouldn't necessarily fly in Q via IST to North America. It's good for those of us who upgrade and want both status and redeemable miles, but a rather long routing when actually sat at the back of the bus.
I wouldn't necessarily fly in Q via IST to North America. It's good for those of us who upgrade and want both status and redeemable miles, but a rather long routing when actually sat at the back of the bus.
Feb 13, 2019, 1:31 pm
#7
Moderator, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles & Accor ALL
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: BRU
Programs: TK*G, Accor ALL Platinum
Posts: 7,587
Avoid LH operated flights as many fare buckets earn very little (at the lower economy end, and P in business which earns a generous zero). SN is also pretty useless for Miles&Smiles members. If you fly to Asia try to route via IST with TK.
Feb 13, 2019, 2:26 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 310
Feb 13, 2019, 7:01 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186
If I were you and want to fly on a premium cabin, try flying SWISS to LAX via ZRH on Business or fly Lufthansa on Premium Economy to SAN via FRA. N-class fares in Lufthansa are really cheap and they give %100 miles for the route flown on Premium Economy and as the short flight from BRU to FRA would be booked on Y fare class, you would earn 1000 miles for that short flight. If you have the chance I would suggest you to buy BRU-MUC-FRA-SAN-FRA-MUC-BRU in one single ticket. Just check for two stopover options if you want extra 2000 miles for the same price. This would cost around €1000 to €1200.
If you want to fly Economy, I wouldn't prefer flying TK on semi-flexible for €1000 for %50 of the miles, indeed you could fly with United via EWR or IAD and choose your fare bucket while booking on united.com. If 75% miles for all legs would satisfy, this would cost around €700-800.
If you want to fly Economy, I wouldn't prefer flying TK on semi-flexible for €1000 for %50 of the miles, indeed you could fly with United via EWR or IAD and choose your fare bucket while booking on united.com. If 75% miles for all legs would satisfy, this would cost around €700-800.
Feb 13, 2019, 7:08 pm
#11
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 310
If I were you and want to fly on a premium cabin, try flying SWISS to LAX via ZRH on Business or fly Lufthansa on Premium Economy to SAN via FRA. N-class fares in Lufthansa are really cheap and they give %100 miles for the route flown on Premium Economy and as the short flight from BRU to FRA would be booked on Y fare class, you would earn 1000 miles for that short flight. If you have the chance I would suggest you to buy BRU-MUC-FRA-SAN-FRA-MUC-BRU in one single ticket. Just check for two stopover options if you want extra 2000 miles for the same price. This would cost around €1000 to €1200.
If you want to fly Economy, I wouldn't prefer flying TK on semi-flexible for €1000 for %50 of the miles, indeed you could fly with United via EWR or IAD and choose your fare bucket while booking on united.com. If 75% miles for all legs would satisfy, this would cost around €700-800.
If you want to fly Economy, I wouldn't prefer flying TK on semi-flexible for €1000 for %50 of the miles, indeed you could fly with United via EWR or IAD and choose your fare bucket while booking on united.com. If 75% miles for all legs would satisfy, this would cost around €700-800.
Feb 13, 2019, 7:10 pm
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186
Feb 13, 2019, 7:19 pm
#13
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Sydney, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: VA Platinum, SQ Gold, TK Gold, Hhonors Gold, Accor Plus Platinum, Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Premium
Posts: 1,022
http://wheretocredit.com/ has a handy calculator that shows how many miles each award program would give you for a given flight. You probably just want the TK output but it will easily let you compare flights with different carriers to help you make the best choice.
Feb 14, 2019, 12:29 am
#14
Join Date: May 2018
Programs: TK Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 89
Don't forget SAS premium economy ("SAS Plus") which earns 150% on TK! I see some dates in March for $1500, but only to LAX though.
Another potentially good option going to Asia is Business R fare on Air China which earns 125% and can be quite cheap.
Another potentially good option going to Asia is Business R fare on Air China which earns 125% and can be quite cheap.