Originally Posted by
antkalaitzakis
Hi everyone,
I am a Flying Blue (Skyteam) Platinum member with KLM/Air France and I am based in AMS.
Recently I applied for a status match with TK and got approved for the Miles&Smiles Elite level.
I travel a fair amount annually, but not as much that would allow me to keep both my Skyteam and Star alliance status.
I have flown in Business class in both KLM (post-Covid) and TK (pre-COVID/2019) and tbh I did enjoy both, TK maybe a bit more as the catering was miles ahead.
I don't know about TK, but KLM is a hot mess right now.
How is TK? Is the TK service closer to what it was before covid? I had some bad experiences during covid (denied boarding, delayed luggage, incorrect compensation) which put me off from flying with them again.
As I am based in Amsterdam, I will only fly TK for my long-haul trips.
If I fly within the EU with other Star Alliance members, will I receive status miles in TK (e.g. If I fly in a Lufthansa Economy Light ticket)?
Are there any additional benefits to having status with TK? For example, extra care by the crew during the flight, business class upgrades, better customer support, etc.?
What would you guys think it's wiser to do? Would you recommend TK? Should I focus on TK and Star alliance, or keep my Skyteam status?
Thanks, everyone!
I’m Eurobonus Lifetime Gold and AF Plat, and I also had a Miles Smiles statusmatch approved (Elite = Gold). I believe Ive done approx 10 legs on TK since the status match (international short haul flights), and so far I didnt experience any special attention (no upgrades etc). Appart from the free access to standard seats in eco and better earnings if crediting to MS, I don’t see additional benefits of being Elite if compared to what I have as *A gold through SK, and I’m not sure I will try to rank up the 15k miles I need to have a second year of Elite with TK. I usually fly cheapest eco fare. Maybe if access to eco exit row seats as Elite (I think you need to be Elite+) would make it more interesting - or paid upgrade offers would be more attractive but maybe I’ve overlooked something. I will probably focus on maintaining my AF plat status as I generally feel more welcome on AF/KL flights, experience better customer service etc. - in particular during irregularities, where I generally don’t find TK very helpful/flexible. In my opinion, TK offers a very solid product onboard and with the lounge in IST - until something goes wrong. And don’t expect any special attention as Elite/gold.