Miles and Smile down November 17 - 19
Nov 13, 2018, 12:14 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: MD/DC
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, TK Gold
Posts: 1,536
Miles and Smile down November 17 - 19
Just got this:
The e-mail header says "System Transition Announcement".
Anyone knows is it about?
Dear Member,
In order to give you a better service, we are maintaining Miles&Smiles, Frequent Flyer Program of Turkish Airlines. Due to infrastracture works, our system will be out of service between 17 - 19 November. In the meantime, you will not be able to log in to your membership account and will not have access from any channels including our sales offices, agents and call center.
We kindly request that you perform all your transactions, such as award ticket issuance, upgrade services and shopping at shopandmiles.com, outside of the specified date range.
Thank you for your understanding.
Miles&Smiles
In order to give you a better service, we are maintaining Miles&Smiles, Frequent Flyer Program of Turkish Airlines. Due to infrastracture works, our system will be out of service between 17 - 19 November. In the meantime, you will not be able to log in to your membership account and will not have access from any channels including our sales offices, agents and call center.
We kindly request that you perform all your transactions, such as award ticket issuance, upgrade services and shopping at shopandmiles.com, outside of the specified date range.
Thank you for your understanding.
Miles&Smiles
Anyone knows is it about?
Nov 14, 2018, 12:17 pm
#5
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: TK M&S, LH MM, Global Entry, Hertz Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,087
Merge posts?
Miles and Smile down November 17 - 19
re: enhancements: I wouldn’t be surprised, it’s a pretty generous program compared to most others.
Miles and Smile down November 17 - 19
re: enhancements: I wouldn’t be surprised, it’s a pretty generous program compared to most others.
Nov 17, 2018, 10:35 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,347
How exactly is it generous? Roughly the exact same as every European carrier for short haul, long haul upgrade and ticket levels actually quite high, and the same lesser earning levels as other programs. Roughly the same in extra baggage, but HAS three year expiration of miles, even if you are top elite which no serious program has, also charges elites for Emergency exit reservations, and is somewhat convoluted to use with alliance partners.
Nov 17, 2018, 4:01 pm
#8
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: TK M&S, LH MM, Global Entry, Hertz Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,087
How exactly is it generous? Roughly the exact same as every European carrier for short haul, long haul upgrade and ticket levels actually quite high, and the same lesser earning levels as other programs. Roughly the same in extra baggage, but HAS three year expiration of miles, even if you are top elite which no serious program has, also charges elites for Emergency exit reservations, and is somewhat convoluted to use with alliance partners.
EDIT: Please do let us know what you would count as a “SERIOUS” FFP.
Last edited by gr8pirate; Nov 17, 2018 at 6:08 pm
Nov 17, 2018, 4:05 pm
#9
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: DXB
Programs: TK Elite Plus
Posts: 413
How exactly is it generous? Roughly the exact same as every European carrier for short haul, long haul upgrade and ticket levels actually quite high, and the same lesser earning levels as other programs. Roughly the same in extra baggage, but HAS three year expiration of miles, even if you are top elite which no serious program has, also charges elites for Emergency exit reservations, and is somewhat convoluted to use with alliance partners.
miles within a calendar year, but just past 12 months, soft landing to next level if you do not requalify, easy requalification with less milage requirement etc. Once you are elite plus, just need 60,000 miles in 2 years to requalify.
Nov 17, 2018, 7:00 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,347
Well I was not including ME3 carriers as they are worse in so many ways. I was referring to pretty much every European and US trunk carrier. Honestly I did not really say anything about the 40k/60k thing because I generally polish off the 40k in a couple of months and my 2 year rolliong is normally between 100-200k so it really does not matter to me.
What I know is this, as a TK E+ in a situation where I am buying a last minute Y fare for 1000 EUR, I am unable to reserve an Emergency Exit seat within 48 hours for neither love nor money, and some guy who paid 100 EUR sand who flies once a decade, will probably get the seat because if its free he'll be at the airport 4 hours before. Oh, and if I do buy the ticket more than 48 hours before AND apy for it (something no other airline makes its top tier elites do), if they swap the aircraft, which happens all the time especially lately, they will not bother to change my seat to what is now an Emergency Exit, neither the TGS people nor the crew will really care, and I have to suffer the indignity of repeatedly writing in for a refund and get inane answers back like, "But you did receive your assigned seat 21A, so we will not refund you" despite the fact that it is clear that 21A is a great EE seat on an A321, as I booked it, but is a garbage seat on a 737.......
I also know that while BA, AF, KL, LH, AA, IB, DL, UA, and pretty much every serious carrier will bend over backwards to FIM their top tier pax onto whatever airline is flying the route in an IRROPS situation, with TK I have to fight TGS children who do not understand why I don't think it is awesome that they are offering me a free hotel room and meal at the airport rather than putting me on another carrier, even when my original fare was a high level Biz fare, and they have to then try and track down the SINGLE TK manager at the entire airport, their own hub, who might be able to okay it.
So you can requalify quicker and with less miles, but if you are doing at those 2 year minimums you will NEVER EVER amass enough miles to redeem for anything meaningful on TK. This past summer TK blocked out 3 months of summer travel IST-JFK for lower level miles, you needed 180k for a Biz ticket (rather than 90k), that would have been fine if the flights were jammed, some were, some were not. So two pax 360k, four pax 720k. How many TK Elite Plus members are able to amass and spend 720k within three years? You think this is a more generous and better program? Think again.
Five years ago when almost all Y fares earned 100% and all J fares earned 200% and the double mile redemptions were better, it was arguably as generous or more generous, today it is not, but has enough "quirks" to make some think that it is.
What I know is this, as a TK E+ in a situation where I am buying a last minute Y fare for 1000 EUR, I am unable to reserve an Emergency Exit seat within 48 hours for neither love nor money, and some guy who paid 100 EUR sand who flies once a decade, will probably get the seat because if its free he'll be at the airport 4 hours before. Oh, and if I do buy the ticket more than 48 hours before AND apy for it (something no other airline makes its top tier elites do), if they swap the aircraft, which happens all the time especially lately, they will not bother to change my seat to what is now an Emergency Exit, neither the TGS people nor the crew will really care, and I have to suffer the indignity of repeatedly writing in for a refund and get inane answers back like, "But you did receive your assigned seat 21A, so we will not refund you" despite the fact that it is clear that 21A is a great EE seat on an A321, as I booked it, but is a garbage seat on a 737.......
I also know that while BA, AF, KL, LH, AA, IB, DL, UA, and pretty much every serious carrier will bend over backwards to FIM their top tier pax onto whatever airline is flying the route in an IRROPS situation, with TK I have to fight TGS children who do not understand why I don't think it is awesome that they are offering me a free hotel room and meal at the airport rather than putting me on another carrier, even when my original fare was a high level Biz fare, and they have to then try and track down the SINGLE TK manager at the entire airport, their own hub, who might be able to okay it.
So you can requalify quicker and with less miles, but if you are doing at those 2 year minimums you will NEVER EVER amass enough miles to redeem for anything meaningful on TK. This past summer TK blocked out 3 months of summer travel IST-JFK for lower level miles, you needed 180k for a Biz ticket (rather than 90k), that would have been fine if the flights were jammed, some were, some were not. So two pax 360k, four pax 720k. How many TK Elite Plus members are able to amass and spend 720k within three years? You think this is a more generous and better program? Think again.
Five years ago when almost all Y fares earned 100% and all J fares earned 200% and the double mile redemptions were better, it was arguably as generous or more generous, today it is not, but has enough "quirks" to make some think that it is.
Nov 17, 2018, 10:55 pm
#11
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: TK M&S, LH MM, Global Entry, Hertz Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,087
Well I was not including ME3 carriers as they are worse in so many ways. I was referring to pretty much every European and US trunk carrier. Honestly I did not really say anything about the 40k/60k thing because I generally polish off the 40k in a couple of months and my 2 year rolliong is normally between 100-200k so it really does not matter to me.
What I know is this, as a TK E+ in a situation where I am buying a last minute Y fare for 1000 EUR, I am unable to reserve an Emergency Exit seat within 48 hours for neither love nor money, and some guy who paid 100 EUR sand who flies once a decade, will probably get the seat because if its free he'll be at the airport 4 hours before. Oh, and if I do buy the ticket more than 48 hours before AND apy for it (something no other airline makes its top tier elites do), if they swap the aircraft, which happens all the time especially lately, they will not bother to change my seat to what is now an Emergency Exit, neither the TGS people nor the crew will really care, and I have to suffer the indignity of repeatedly writing in for a refund and get inane answers back like, "But you did receive your assigned seat 21A, so we will not refund you" despite the fact that it is clear that 21A is a great EE seat on an A321, as I booked it, but is a garbage seat on a 737.......
I also know that while BA, AF, KL, LH, AA, IB, DL, UA, and pretty much every serious carrier will bend over backwards to FIM their top tier pax onto whatever airline is flying the route in an IRROPS situation, with TK I have to fight TGS children who do not understand why I don't think it is awesome that they are offering me a free hotel room and meal at the airport rather than putting me on another carrier, even when my original fare was a high level Biz fare, and they have to then try and track down the SINGLE TK manager at the entire airport, their own hub, who might be able to okay it.
So you can requalify quicker and with less miles, but if you are doing at those 2 year minimums you will NEVER EVER amass enough miles to redeem for anything meaningful on TK. This past summer TK blocked out 3 months of summer travel IST-JFK for lower level miles, you needed 180k for a Biz ticket (rather than 90k), that would have been fine if the flights were jammed, some were, some were not. So two pax 360k, four pax 720k. How many TK Elite Plus members are able to amass and spend 720k within three years? You think this is a more generous and better program? Think again.
Five years ago when almost all Y fares earned 100% and all J fares earned 200% and the double mile redemptions were better, it was arguably as generous or more generous, today it is not, but has enough "quirks" to make some think that it is.
What I know is this, as a TK E+ in a situation where I am buying a last minute Y fare for 1000 EUR, I am unable to reserve an Emergency Exit seat within 48 hours for neither love nor money, and some guy who paid 100 EUR sand who flies once a decade, will probably get the seat because if its free he'll be at the airport 4 hours before. Oh, and if I do buy the ticket more than 48 hours before AND apy for it (something no other airline makes its top tier elites do), if they swap the aircraft, which happens all the time especially lately, they will not bother to change my seat to what is now an Emergency Exit, neither the TGS people nor the crew will really care, and I have to suffer the indignity of repeatedly writing in for a refund and get inane answers back like, "But you did receive your assigned seat 21A, so we will not refund you" despite the fact that it is clear that 21A is a great EE seat on an A321, as I booked it, but is a garbage seat on a 737.......
I also know that while BA, AF, KL, LH, AA, IB, DL, UA, and pretty much every serious carrier will bend over backwards to FIM their top tier pax onto whatever airline is flying the route in an IRROPS situation, with TK I have to fight TGS children who do not understand why I don't think it is awesome that they are offering me a free hotel room and meal at the airport rather than putting me on another carrier, even when my original fare was a high level Biz fare, and they have to then try and track down the SINGLE TK manager at the entire airport, their own hub, who might be able to okay it.
So you can requalify quicker and with less miles, but if you are doing at those 2 year minimums you will NEVER EVER amass enough miles to redeem for anything meaningful on TK. This past summer TK blocked out 3 months of summer travel IST-JFK for lower level miles, you needed 180k for a Biz ticket (rather than 90k), that would have been fine if the flights were jammed, some were, some were not. So two pax 360k, four pax 720k. How many TK Elite Plus members are able to amass and spend 720k within three years? You think this is a more generous and better program? Think again.
Five years ago when almost all Y fares earned 100% and all J fares earned 200% and the double mile redemptions were better, it was arguably as generous or more generous, today it is not, but has enough "quirks" to make some think that it is.
Nov 18, 2018, 5:34 am
#12
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 246
Or was the criticsm on M&S the answer itself, like every other FFP is serious?
Nov 18, 2018, 11:22 pm
#13
Join Date: May 2013
Location: YYZ, IST
Programs: TK*G
Posts: 122
I just logged into my account and there is a section to book Star Alliance award tickets in the "miles transactions" page. I don't think that was there before. The link/button doesn't do anything though.
Nov 19, 2018, 12:52 am
#14
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: DXB
Programs: TK Elite Plus
Posts: 413
Someone elsewhere on this forum mentioned that it is a Star Alliance requirement for all member airlines, that their website should allow award bookings om partner airlines before end of the year.