misterno

I used to get IAH-ADB with nonstop to Istanbul by using UA miles for Turkish Airlines flight But for some time, this is not possible and UA website does not show any availability of non stop flights between US and Turkey.

Currently all the flights have 2 legs and with children and 31 hours flight, this is not desirable.

I also have minimal Turkish Airline miles and when I check their website there are tons of non stop flights on any given day on season or off season.
Is there a way to convert UA miles to TK miles?

I called both Turkish Airlines and United Airlines with no avail. Also it was not possible to transfer between 2 airlines thru their apps.
Since there is no other airlines flying nonstop between US and Turkey, are my options limited?

Maybe using a miles broker to exchange UA with TK miles?

Any ideas, thoughts on this?

LondonElite

You can’t transfer between programs and using a mileage broker is a terrible idea which may result in you having your account(s) closed without warning.

misterno

okay so what are my options?

LondonElite

TK does not release the same amount of award flights to its partners that it does to its own members. This is fairly common across carriers, particularly for premium cabins.

Your options are to either buy tickets for cash if you must have a particular flight, or call UA to see if the see inventory that is not displayed on the website, for whatever reason. I don’t think this will prove successful but it is worth a try.

TPJ

1. Check TK web site for the award availability for a particular flight/day - you need to search for Fixed Awards as they require a special booking class/inventory
2. Call UA to check if they see this availability in this special booking class - I think it is X for Coach and I for Business
3. If UA doesn't see this class/inventory ask them if they can use long sell. It is a GDS entry when you input everything manually and it sends an EDIFACT message to the other system asking to confirm/reject the sale. Senior agents will know what you mean, junior ones will have no clue as airlines do not want them to use it. Maybe you will find an agent who would be able to do this for you.

misterno

When you say agent, do you mean an independent travel agent?

nacho

UA Mileage plus agents.

craigthemif

I would assume that the OP is seeing guaranteed award seat space through TK, not the "promotional" space that UA might see or possibly be able to longsell...

L4ibsch

What dates and cabin class are you looking at?

I can verify award availability on united.com for IAH-IST-ADB in Eco on TK for the 15th of March and the following days.

misterno

I was looking for late may and coming back august 14
I am seeing.tons of award eco.flights but all of them require more than 30 hours flights with 2 stops

misterno

how can I tell the difference?

My flights are always coded X if it makes a difference

craigthemif

If TK wants to charge you 45k per person in Economy each way, that's "guaranteed" space. "Promotional" or saver space would cost 30k.

misterno

Yes I see those 30K flights all the time if I am trying to book 1 year or 9 months ahead. So that means I have to call UA customer service way before the flight.

I understand the difference between 30K and 45K now. So there is only 3 months left and all X coded flights are 45K. I am too late for this summer.

craigthemif

When available via UA, you will see it online. No need to call...

Award seats can easily open up closer to the time.

Also, don't ignore the option to fly into Istanbul and spend a day or two there before continuing to Izmir. Domestic flights are cheap enough that you don't want to pass on a good award flight to IST just because TK doesn't have award space on a connecting flight to Izmir...