ISTFlyer

Elite upgrades are not so frequent on most routes but there are some cases where you would be upgraded more than %50+. These cases are
- Aircraft change from a 3-3 Euro J seat aircraft to a 2-2 Real Business Class seat aircraft change.
- Flying to/from Germany, The Netherlands, and Austria in peak season
- Ankara and Izmir routes in peak hours during the week. ( This applies mostly for Elite Plus )

For long-haul, you have less chance because there are usually people in the upgrade waitlist which reduces the percentage of being upgraded on longer routes.

melafafon

Thank you! Does TK do any Business Class sales throughout the year? I am tempted to go to Asia at some point in winter - flying out of the UK seems to be pricier than from other places in Europe.

ISTFlyer

Assuming that you are LHR or LGW based, from your profile, in some part of the year, you could find cheap Business Class deals on long haul flights.
However, if you do an additional stopover in Scandinavia or the Baltics, you would find better deals to Asia.

Vasco Pridat

Its in your personal part of the profile at the bottom.
It sounds like you know.. Just make sure these 15k miles have to be on tk.

flyuk

I made the mistake of thinking that it could be 15,000 miles on any Star Alliance airline for 24 months, so I tried a bunch of other airlines to compare their Gold service. I don't think, compared to Oneworld, the services are better in any way. It was kind of Turkish to status match, and I recommend you try it to see if it suits your alliance use, but I'm going to let it expire at the end of the first 12 months.



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Vasco Pridat

4/11/2017 - CoweyB. TK has clarified that once a status match is given any miles collected during the first year of the match do not count for renewal - despite the email suggesting that 25,000 miles collected in the first year will secure renewal. TK has said that it is necessary to collect 37,500 in the second year to maintain Elite status for a further two years once the period of the status match ends.

is this definately valid?.. I have 24.000 miles now in my first 2 years.. like 20 on TK and 4 on other Stars... I was thinking of doing another small hop to cross 25 to keep my gold status..
but i am not interested in flying TK anymore or working for another 13.000 to get 37500 ... what have others experienced? thank you

craigthemif

You must "qualify" before you can "renew". The 15k is to "qualify" - but only for one more year - and 37.5k is needed to renew. (with the 15k not counting).

Of course the 37.5k to renew - within a specific 12 month period - can easily be considered to be harder than simply doing the standard 40k over any 12-month rolling period that suits you...

B0gdan

I've gotten myself in a bit of a predicament with the helf of Chrome autocomplete. When booking the flight I need for the first year status match, I mixed up first and last name. I didn't add a Miles&Smiles number to my booking since the booking is in winter and I haven't asked for the Status Match yet. I've contacted Turkish to switch the names but they didn't get back to me and someone on the phone said there's no guarantee they will.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Should I create a new M&S account with my mixed up first and last name as it shows in the ticket and try to ask for a match for that?

Vasco Pridat

they dont care at all at TK about first and last name.. i get it mixed all the time.. dont worry..
you can also call them up and ask them to change it .. maybe it is because in their language they do it the other way.. but its an easy problem

you can even check in and board with those mixed up.. you just wont be able to add your MM number .. but they can at check in

B0gdan

Thank you! That's the problem though. I think I need first and last name on my ticket to match what's on my Miles&Smiles account so that the flight gets properly credited and I get my status extended to another 8 months. So in this case, it's less about boarding the flight, more about getting it properly credited.

Vasco Pridat

I Stil don't think that's a problem.. They will be able to add ur msm number at check in. And I always got credit.. So I'm pretty sure it will work automatically afterwards.. But.. Alas. It's tk..
I had 2 horrible flights lately and their service is non existing... And to requalify I need 35k in one year.. And realized star status doesn't help a. Lot.
So I'm out anyway.. Haha.
Good luck.. I would keep it.

B0gdan

I've been reading up on their spotty and inconsistent customer service that's why I was asking. 1 flight for 1 year of *A is good for me with a match from Skyteam but getting those 35k is too costly so I'll probably give it up after one year. Will probably go to Skyteam after that.

SFOTraveler1984

The check-in desk a the airport should be able to add your M&S number. Make sure the number is shown on your boarding pass and keep the boarding pass until the miles have credited.
They may not credit automatically due to the first/last name mix-up, but you should be able to credit them manually via the Feedback Form after a few days (include a copy of your boarding pass showing your M&S number).

Vasco Pridat

Agreed.. my experience and conlusion after 2 years of *A.... is the question: what is that status worth for ME ?... almost nothing.

I mostly fly Business or First.. where you dont really need status.. with OW.. as emerald you get First lounge access. well the gold lounges of * are nothing worth for me.. in FRA you get chilli con carne compared to champagne at LHR.

ok.. so what is the status worth if you fly eco ?.. yes.. you get to check in at the C counter.. that is very nice.. of course... but the best value of the OW emerald status when flying eco is that you can choose seats and even extra leg room seats on any OW carrier!!. THAT is worth hundreds of euros and dollars if you fly Y.. but hey.. as *A ??? NOTHING..

so I fly TXL to OPT thru VIE.. thats 4 legas return and they want 25euro per leg per seat?.. thats double the price of the ticket.. as *gold.. ??.. . ok.. I get a free bag.. which I mostly dont need personally...
fast track security?.. nope.. not for *gold..

so I decided.. it was a DYKWI year as *gold.. but thats it.. done :-)

nixande

The timelines always where a problem. To my understanding the main benefit of the match is the frontloading of the status, then one time harder earning. So if you intend on staying with TK, this is what I gathered - happy to hear if I went wrong anywhere.

1) You sign up for the match and get it granted - you get the Gold status right away for a duration of 4 months. It is a once in a lifetime match.
2) you then need to take one international flight on TK only to guarantee it for up to a year (=+8 months)
3) you then / additionally need 15K on TK only in that timeframe of the year to extend it for +12 months for a second year.
This is where i have questions. Does it need to be the one flight and once that is in the system, then your 15K start, or can 2+3 be done parallel? Is there a time delay for TK to recognize between the one international flight and the 15k?
4) Once you have the first full year, nothing you do in that year counts for renewal. But once your second year starts, you need 37,5k in those 12 months to then extend additional two years.
5) After year two, once you start your 3rd year, you are back to the normal system - lower number of miles in the first year, higher in the second.

Benefit I can see: If I can manage this match, and I have one big flight planned (like I do for going EU to Asia in biz), I can get status right away and I will earn right away 160% instead of 125%. Which will already be benefitial. For the rest of that time I can use my Gold status, but credit elsewhere if I want to. Regaining Gold thne only takes 37.5K in year two - which in comparison to normal turkish is a lot, but compared to other airlines fine, especially with the elite bonus.

Anything I missed?
Question:
Assume my membership year starts on Jan 1st. I get a status match on August 1st. I assume from reading that my timeframe then is August plus 4 months.
Once I do the international flight, it gets extended to a year, meaning August to August - and my 'membership' year then is reset to this time frame?
When does my second year in the sense of the renewal starts? Jan or August?

And the biggest question - what is the relation between the one international flight, can this be the same as the 15K requirement.