Hello fellow flyers,

- I booked myself a saver (promo) category award ticket on TK for ESB-IST-AMS flight. ESB-IST leg got canceled by TK just 10 days before the flight and my options are refund or 'free change', as usual.
- I wanted to use my free change option for the same day with an earlier ESB-IST flight and keeping IST-AMS leg as is.
- However, TK doesn't fulfil this change request saying I am only allowed to change if new flight also has X (economy promotion category) availability. As there are few days left to the flight, only 'seat-guaranteed' category (with higher miles level) tickets available.
- This leaves me only solution: canceling current ticket and getting my miles refund, then booking a new flight and paying more miles for that (20.000 vs 15.000)

My question is: was this rule (change on award tickets due to cancelation by TK) has always been like that? Or this came to force with Feb'24 miles&smiles program overhaul. To me what TK says doesn't make sense as they are the one canceling the flight so they should provide change flexibility within the same cabin (economy), not within the same miles category. Technically, they are not giving me any change flexibility at all due to lack of X availability. If this ticket was fare-class, I'd be given full change flexibility and move to another flight even if the economy ticket fare is 5 times more on a new flight vs what I have paid.

Obviously, the consequence for this specific flight is not huge to me as I only need to pay 5000 miles more. However, I am now planning to book 2 promo category business class ticket between US-Turkey for 2 person for the next november. Technically, we are not 'safe' until the flight occurs. If that flight gets canceled by TK for some reason, we will probably left with 'change' option without actually possibility of change to another saver category business award ticket as they will be long gone.

curious about what you guys think