Sep 8, 2017, 8:42 am
Last edit by: flyerby
E+ members receive two upgrade vouchers per membership year that can be used as system-wide upgrades. Vouchers are not delivered to E+ status holders in physical or electronic form and only exist on the screens of TK agents.
It is advisable to call TK to verify the number of vouchers you have prior to and after the upgrade (unless you have no vouchers left).
Upgrades are done by calling TK CS or a local TK office (by phone or email).
One voucher is needed to upgrade per direction. For example, the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK will need one voucher to upgrade, and the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK-IST-LHR will need two vouchers. If an agent tells you otherwise, HUCA.
How to find itineraries with availability for a voucher upgrade?
Find an itinerary in any class in Y that has 4 seats left in J booking class on the same itinerary as the Y. To be extra cautious, you may also check the individual legs (when applicable) for 4 seats left in J booking class. For example, for the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK, check at least that LHR-IST-BKK has 4 seats left in J booking class, and in addition, check LHR-IST and IST-BKK individually too.
You can no longer check for upgrade availability without having an e-ticket number.
A relatively low-risk method of proceeding is therefore...
1) Reserve a ticket online with TK but don't pay for the ticket yet. Just put it on hold for 48 hours for free for E+ members.
2) Book an economy class ticket on the same itinerary with a reputable USA-based OTA that offers a 24-hour cooling-off / full refund period.
3) Once you have received your e-ticket number, go to Manage Booking on the TK website and check if TK has offered a business upgrade with miles for your intineray. Any segment eligible for an upgrade with miles on the website is also eligible for an upgrade with E+ vouchers.
4) Another option would be to call TK CS and ask an agent to check if the ticket in (2) is upgradeable with your vouchers. Do not upgrade this ticket; just check.
5) Once availability is confirmed for your itinerary, pay for the ticket in (1). Upon payment and ticketing, call TK CS to ask an agent to upgrade this ticket.
6) Cancel for free the ticket in (2).
Another even lower-risk method would be to skip (1) and just upgrade the ticket in (2). If unsuccessful with the E+ upgrade, you can proceed to cancel your economy ticket within the 24-hour cooling-off period. Going with this route, you would then have to be in contact with the OTA and not TK in cases of schedule change, cancellation, or IRROP, which is not usually advisable unless you really have to.
You might be asked to enter a PIN number via an automatic system to access your vouchers; this is the PIN you use to log on to your TK M&S account.
It is advisable to call TK to verify the number of vouchers you have prior to and after the upgrade (unless you have no vouchers left).
Upgrades are done by calling TK CS or a local TK office (by phone or email).
One voucher is needed to upgrade per direction. For example, the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK will need one voucher to upgrade, and the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK-IST-LHR will need two vouchers. If an agent tells you otherwise, HUCA.
How to find itineraries with availability for a voucher upgrade?
Find an itinerary in any class in Y that has 4 seats left in J booking class on the same itinerary as the Y. To be extra cautious, you may also check the individual legs (when applicable) for 4 seats left in J booking class. For example, for the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK, check at least that LHR-IST-BKK has 4 seats left in J booking class, and in addition, check LHR-IST and IST-BKK individually too.
You can no longer check for upgrade availability without having an e-ticket number.
A relatively low-risk method of proceeding is therefore...
1) Reserve a ticket online with TK but don't pay for the ticket yet. Just put it on hold for 48 hours for free for E+ members.
2) Book an economy class ticket on the same itinerary with a reputable USA-based OTA that offers a 24-hour cooling-off / full refund period.
3) Once you have received your e-ticket number, go to Manage Booking on the TK website and check if TK has offered a business upgrade with miles for your intineray. Any segment eligible for an upgrade with miles on the website is also eligible for an upgrade with E+ vouchers.
4) Another option would be to call TK CS and ask an agent to check if the ticket in (2) is upgradeable with your vouchers. Do not upgrade this ticket; just check.
5) Once availability is confirmed for your itinerary, pay for the ticket in (1). Upon payment and ticketing, call TK CS to ask an agent to upgrade this ticket.
6) Cancel for free the ticket in (2).
Another even lower-risk method would be to skip (1) and just upgrade the ticket in (2). If unsuccessful with the E+ upgrade, you can proceed to cancel your economy ticket within the 24-hour cooling-off period. Going with this route, you would then have to be in contact with the OTA and not TK in cases of schedule change, cancellation, or IRROP, which is not usually advisable unless you really have to.
You might be asked to enter a PIN number via an automatic system to access your vouchers; this is the PIN you use to log on to your TK M&S account.
Elite Plus upgrade voucher
May 11, 2013, 1:07 pm
#91
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: ARN
Programs: BAEC Gold, TK*Elite+, EBD, FBG, EKS, IHG Royal Ambassador
Posts: 768
Nice one. I've never managed that. Although, it's never been that big a deal. I have upgraded IST-PVG a couple of times with my voucher, which is the most important one. ARN-IST I can manage in eco. Plus, I usually get op-upped there anyways.
May 13, 2013, 12:22 am
#93
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 602
Well, maybe this is actually only considered as two segments, I'm not sure, but anyway: The route was SGN-BKK-IST-OSL. SGN-BKK-IST is the same flight, with a technical stop in BKK, however, I had two tickets this time, one for SGN-BKK and another for BKK-IST-OSL, as I originally planed to stay overnight in Bangkok.
May 13, 2013, 5:05 am
#94
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: DSS
Posts: 827
Well, maybe this is actually only considered as two segments, I'm not sure, but anyway: The route was SGN-BKK-IST-OSL. SGN-BKK-IST is the same flight, with a technical stop in BKK, however, I had two tickets this time, one for SGN-BKK and another for BKK-IST-OSL, as I originally planed to stay overnight in Bangkok.
I think your TK office did a really good job !
Jun 13, 2013, 2:00 pm
#95
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: FB platinum, TK elite plus, A3gold, aclub platinum, safarflyer silver
Posts: 1
Hi all,
This is my first post. I validated my vouchers als an E+ member. One tip, dont call the miles and smiles number, go directly to your TK agent at your airport or local office, it saves you a lot of time and headaches.
My mistake was to call the callcenter number for elite and elite+ members, I got 3 different agents on the phone, total cost about 70 euro and after one hour still no upgrade
They could not do it on the phone they told me....
So, the next day I go to my local TK office and they upgraded me in 10 minutes, no hassle, only a smile and good service, this is how it should be.
This is my first post. I validated my vouchers als an E+ member. One tip, dont call the miles and smiles number, go directly to your TK agent at your airport or local office, it saves you a lot of time and headaches.
My mistake was to call the callcenter number for elite and elite+ members, I got 3 different agents on the phone, total cost about 70 euro and after one hour still no upgrade
They could not do it on the phone they told me....So, the next day I go to my local TK office and they upgraded me in 10 minutes, no hassle, only a smile and good service, this is how it should be.
Aug 19, 2013, 9:06 am
#96
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 602
What is the most reliable source for checking availability in J? I have used expertflyer.com, which is usually great, but I have now had 3 incidents over the last 2 weeks, where expertflyer.com have told me there were available seats in J, while the TK agent say there is no seats. Don't know if it's expertflyer.com that doesn't get updated frequently or the TK agents that lies, but it's quiet annoying nevertheless.
Aug 19, 2013, 11:32 am
#97
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: IST - NYC
Posts: 776
What is the most reliable source for checking availability in J? I have used expertflyer.com, which is usually great, but I have now had 3 incidents over the last 2 weeks, where expertflyer.com have told me there were available seats in J, while the TK agent say there is no seats. Don't know if it's expertflyer.com that doesn't get updated frequently or the TK agents that lies, but it's quiet annoying nevertheless.
Example: If you check a flight e.g. LHR IST and IST BKK, both segments can have "J" available. Still TK married segment control (which is recently totally out of control) can decide that TK is not willing to sell LHR IST BKK in "J" if requested as a through ticket. If the TK agent books the first segment in "J", the second one will all the sudden show "J" 0. So the flight will show the TK agent a different availability depending on the first segment in your booking and even depending on the date of your return flight. That happened to me but TK can wait list you in that case and my flights got confirmed within days.
Aug 20, 2013, 8:27 am
#98
Join Date: Jul 2012
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 37
What is the most reliable source for checking availability in J? I have used expertflyer.com, which is usually great, but I have now had 3 incidents over the last 2 weeks, where expertflyer.com have told me there were available seats in J, while the TK agent say there is no seats. Don't know if it's expertflyer.com that doesn't get updated frequently or the TK agents that lies, but it's quiet annoying nevertheless.
Aug 21, 2013, 3:46 am
#99
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 602
Thanks for the feedback. I have tried again today, this time only on single segments, direct flight. Expertflyer and FlidhtStats.com shows availability in J (4 and 5 seats) but TK agent say "no availability". This is really frustrating and just yet another hurdle in the ever more difficult game of actually using your miles and vouchers.
Aug 21, 2013, 4:06 am
#100
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 602
Well, this is getting completely ridiculous. Tried one more time now, on a flight two months from now, on a route where I know there is hardly anyone in C at any time (always tons of available seats). Flightstats and Expertflyer show 9 seats (at least) in J, TK agent says "no availability".
Why are TK making it so hard for their most loyal customers to use their hard earned perks? It simply makes the entire Miles and Smiles program look like a joke.
Why are TK making it so hard for their most loyal customers to use their hard earned perks? It simply makes the entire Miles and Smiles program look like a joke.
Aug 21, 2013, 4:24 am
#101
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: HEL
Programs: *G, used to be with TK but left due to their corruption and political ties
Posts: 4,406
Well, this is getting completely ridiculous. Tried one more time now, on a flight two months from now, on a route where I know there is hardly anyone in C at any time (always tons of available seats). Flightstats and Expertflyer show 9 seats (at least) in J, TK agent says "no availability".
Why are TK making it so hard for their most loyal customers to use their hard earned perks? It simply makes the entire Miles and Smiles program look like a joke.
Why are TK making it so hard for their most loyal customers to use their hard earned perks? It simply makes the entire Miles and Smiles program look like a joke.
As others have mentioned TK availability depends not only on actual availability but also if it is married (ie. in conjunction with another fligth) and what flights are already booked in the pnr.
A recent example:
BKK-IST-CAI showed J2. However when you first booked CAI-IST-BKK in the pnr then availability changed to J0.
On the same trip I also had HEL-IST-SSH. The flight IST-BKK 3 days later I wanted showed J0 with a blank pnr but if I inserted HEL-IST-SSH first then IST-BKK showed J5.
Aug 21, 2013, 5:24 pm
#102
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: DTW
Programs: TK E+, WY, Radisson R
Posts: 2,360
Are you asking this with a totally blank pnr? Ie. don't open your reservation, don't book any other flights, just call and ask if they have J on the direct route XXX-XXX.
As others have mentioned TK availability depends not only on actual availability but also if it is married (ie. in conjunction with another fligth) and what flights are already booked in the pnr.
As others have mentioned TK availability depends not only on actual availability but also if it is married (ie. in conjunction with another fligth) and what flights are already booked in the pnr.
Aug 21, 2013, 10:05 pm
#103
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: HEL
Programs: *G, used to be with TK but left due to their corruption and political ties
Posts: 4,406
Sorry, I think I may have expressed myself unclearly. What I meant by blank pnr was that you start a completely new reservation, so that when you check availability it its not impacted by any other flights.
Aug 21, 2013, 10:48 pm
#104
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: DTW
Programs: TK E+, WY, Radisson R
Posts: 2,360
It seems like it's easiest to redeem the vouchers with a simple round trip IST-XXX and book early, like 6+ months ahead where you'd see J9 on flightstats.com.
The married segment seems to dictate the availabilities of J Class, as well as Comfort Class (A vs O), and this can drive casual flyers insane.
For example, I wanted to book JFK-IST on Comfort Class on certain periods, it gives you A fares only on selected/few departure dates. However, if I book it with connections, JFK-IST-XXX (IST-XXX is economy), A fares are widely available during the same period.
To make things even crazier into another dimension, different connection times dictate availabilities on the same segment(s). In the example above, JFK-IST-XXX, the connecting flight IST-XXX (multiple dailies) with shortest layover at IST doesn't have A fare at all (you have to purchase O or U fares on JFK-IST), even though you're taking exactly the same JFK-IST flight in the same cabin.
Sep 11, 2013, 10:59 pm
#105
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: TK E+
Posts: 602
I posted my frustration about the difficulties of using the vouchers, a few week back, but yesterday I had a very good experience; I stopped by the TK office here in Saigon and after 10 min. I got an upgrade for SGN-BKK-IST-OSL later this month. One voucher for all segments. I have gotten the exact same upgrade once before, also that through the TK office in Saigon. Guess its better to keep a personal relationship with the staff there, than trying to call the TK CS in Istanbul to upgrade :-)