travels007

I have some miles expiring in a few weeks but cannot find any flights for an upcoming trip I am planning to Hawaii. I am trying to book on a United partner flight but the availability looks limited. I am thinking of booking a placeholder flight in the future that will most likely be changed. I couldn't find any information on Turkish airlines website about award tickets in Covid times.

If I book an award flight (United partner flight) in the future, say Feb 2021 or something.
1. If I change my mind, can I cancel without any fees?
1a. Will I lose the miles that are expiring if I do this?
2. If I change my mind, can I change the flight to say March 2021 without any fees (assuming that there is availability)?
2a. Does the change still require the same departure and arrival airports?

Thanks for replies in advance.

SK AAR

Most likely the expiration of M&S Miles will be extended again.

craigthemif

TK miles usually expire at the end of December so I'm not sure where the "next few weeks" comes from.

And we are already past Feb/Mar 2021, but I guess the OP means 2022....

But AFAIK if you cancel an award booking after the underlying miles have expired, you don't get the miles back.

ISTFlyer

TK extended the validity of miles originally expiring on 31 December 2021 to 30 June 2021 so many members would have expiring miles ( as it stands ) within 14 days.
Again, TK might wait until the last day to announce an extension to encourage people spending them for speculative bookings and lose them when they aren't flying.

So here are the answers;

1. You would need to pay a $25 cancellation fee. As the tax for a US domestic ticket is $5.60 one-way and $11.20 round-trip, it might make more sense to just ditch it.
1a. Yes, you would lose the miles in case of a voluntary situation and just in case the validity of the miles have not been extended.
2. Yes, although, for *A partner awards, you wouldn't be able to do this online. You would need to call the hotline and in some situations you would need to contact a sales office. There is no change fee due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2a. No, you should be able to change the airports but 95% this would involve an interaction with a sales office.

So, my idea is to wait until 28-29 June ( if possible 30 June just before 23:59 Turkey time ) and book something then. TK might do a last minute trick and extend the validity of miles like they did for status extensions in March 2021 and October 2021.

ericw

I have some miles expiring June 30. There were tons of availabilities on AC and UA earlier this month, but there have been zero availabilities no matter what I search the last 2 days... Is TK trying to stop people using the miles?

ISTFlyer

Availability on partner flights are not controlled by Turkish Airlines.
It is controlled by the operating carrier.

ericw

I understand, but it seems it is either a glitch on TK end or they intentionally blocked them. There were lots of award availability via other carriers, but none on TK website.

ISTFlyer

Glitches are common in the Miles&Smiles *A partner award online booking tool.
It might also be done intentionally to encourage people purchasing TK awards on TK metal.
I am not sure which one is the case here.

However, you could always call TK and book any partner flight that has "X" or "I" fare availability on the phone.
Alternatively, you could always contact or visit a sales office/airport ticketing desk.
Yes, I know it's not the most convenient option but this is the reality of how the TK Miles&Smiles program works.

ericw

Thanks. I will try the call centre. My local YYZ office never responds to emails and their downtown office has been closed since last year...