Urgent! Best flight partner for Turkey

[Hisoka]

Hey everyone, as it's already August end. We finalised the country for our international trip, which is Turkey
20k miles is pretty good for Delhi to Istanbul. I was about to transfer my points but thought just to see the final tax which is to be paid per flight. And holy cow that's 7k per flight

Is there any other flight partner which can book turkey with similar rate but with reasonable taxes. Else my second option is Singapore airlines (backup country as Singapore) which is taking 20k miles plus 1.8k taxes

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks a lot

 

[CardsHoarder]

What do you mean by "as its already August end"? Is that supposed to mean something?

Also this should be under https://www.technofino.in/community/forums/trip-planning.141/; certainly not under Axis credit card forum.

 

[Hisoka]

I’ve to transfer my Axis points before first September. So I think I’ve posted in the right thread

 

[gurbina]

Hey everyone, as it's already August end. We finalised the country for our international trip, which is Turkey
20k miles is pretty good for Delhi to Istanbul. I was about to transfer my points but thought just to see the final tax which is to be paid per flight. And holy cow that's 7k per flight

Is there any other flight partner which can book turkey with similar rate but with reasonable taxes. Else my second option is Singapore airlines (backup country as Singapore) which is taking 20k miles plus 1.8k taxes

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks a lot

You can't have the cherry and the cake.

If you go for SIA then you'll likely end up with more restricted availability on partner and star alliance airlines.

Since you said "we" that should be your first concern.

Did you try looking for the suitable flights with the required amount of passengers and date availability?

Because in SIA I can't even see the saver awards of 20k in the upcoming weeks. They're all 39k+ points. For Turkish nearly every day there is availability with plenty of seats.

 

[Hisoka]

You can't have the cherry and the cake.

If you go for SIA then you'll likely end up with more restricted availability on partner and star alliance airlines.

Since you said "we" that should be your first concern.

Did you try looking for the suitable flights with the required amount of passengers and date availability?

Because in SIA I can't even see the saver awards of 20k in the upcoming weeks. They're all 39k+ points. For Turkish nearly every day there is availability with plenty of seats.

Date is not the concern. We’re flexible in that regard. I checked for Jan-Feb and seats were available for 20k points in Singapore. But that was just for 1 passenger. Maybe for 4 I’ve to check again

But 6k for just taxes is insane. 14-15k me toh normal flight hi ho rahi hai

 

[gurbina]

There's different bucket classes. It is very possible you won't be able to get all seats at 20k points on SIA.

Also most of these flights are INR 30k-40k+ one way for nonstop flights.

Compare apples to apples, not apple to oranges in case you found flights with wizzair or some other bad LCC.

Yes sure I can fly Vietjet to Indonesia for 15k+ compared to 30k+ with SIA but the level of service and support isn't there.
Needless to say once you start counting baggage fees the price difference is negligible when it comes to many LCC or these very low cost tickets usually do not include any baggage and sometimes not even carry-on.

You'll likely have to deal with low cost remote terminal.
Delayed or cancelled flights? They won't book you in another airline and they might not have the capacity to get you on your way for days.
They won't pay for your incurred expenses due to delays and cancellations.

14k-15k is either a very exceptional offer, a LCC that doesn't where even bringing a carry-on and bags will end up being more expensive than the ticket itself, with multiple stops, odd timings, long connection times or overnight layovers, or a combination of these plus the aforementioned issues above.

Take in consideration you might not be able to transit in certain countries before you book your flights as well, sometimes not even be able switch between terminals or airports as some OTA can include connections which involve an airport transfer to give you very "cheap" flights. This happens often with connecting flights through DXB and DWC.

 

[Hisoka]

So you're saying even if I book using cash I might have to pay extra? And 5-6k tax for 20k miles is a decent rate as per you right?

 

[gurbina]

So you're saying even if I book using cash I might have to pay extra? And 5-6k tax for 20k miles is a decent rate as per you right?

Depending on the airline and fare bucket, YES. Usually for these ultra low fares that's the case.

The flight you're looking at from TK is INR 72k one way or 20k points + taxes. So yes it's worth it, even the cheapest nonstop flight is 30k+ one way.

The ones you're talking about, I found them, they are with Etihad, they include baggage but they're 18 hours (10 hour overnight layover in AUH, you'll have to sleep at the airport) vs TK 7 hour nonstop flight.

Whether that's worth it to you or not, it's for you to decide.

 

[Hisoka]

Depending on the airline and fare bucket, YES. Usually for these ultra low fares that's the case.

The flight you're looking at from TK is INR 72k one way or 20k points + taxes. So yes it's worth it, even the cheapest nonstop flight is 30k+ one way.

The ones you're talking about, I found them, they are with Etihad, they include baggage but they're 18 hours (10 hour overnight layover in AUH, you'll have to sleep at the airport) vs TK 7 hour nonstop flight.

Whether that's worth it to you or not, it's for you to decide.

Bro but that's the case no, Turkish using cash is expensive. But if you check on MMT it's easily for 14-15k. I just asked that is there any alternative transfer partner which I can book?

Like Etihad, Air India, Air Asia etc?

 

[gurbina]

Bro but that's the case no, Turkish using cash is expensive. But if you check on MMT it's easily for 14-15k. I just asked that is there any alternative transfer partner which I can book?

Like Etihad, Air India, Air Asia etc?

At those points rate, from India, nonstop, with several seat availability bookable in group and with decent availability, none.

Turkish is your best bet.

Only Star Alliance airlines will have access to that inventory and has good access in this part of the world. One World and Sky team suck here and you won't find many partners or routes available.

Not sure what's the routing like in JAL which could have been an alternative but they will have stops most likely if you can even find any.

AwardHacker

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[chasni]

Bro but that's the case no, Turkish using cash is expensive. But if you check on MMT it's easily for 14-15k. I just asked that is there any alternative transfer partner which I can book?

Like Etihad, Air India, Air Asia etc?

Some FFs require more cash in taxes compared to others. However, for these FFs the miles requirement is usually lower compared to the ones that require low cash. So it depends on what you want.

You wont' find a return flight in less than ~40k (stop-over) for Istanbul at any time in the year. Moreover, the cheapest option is either Indigo which is a very crowded (They have an agreement with TK where they run 777 leased from TK on this route but it has ~530 seats). The other non-stop option is TK which is usually expensive but it is a better economy product than Indigo in terms of comfort.

The other option could be with a stop-over flight which would make the total trip over 12 hours at least. So it is your call to decide what you value more comfort, miles, money or your time.

 

[gurbina]

Some FFs require more cash in taxes compared to others. However, for these FFs the miles requirement is usually lower compared to the ones that require low cash. So it depends on what you want.

You wont' find a return flight in less than ~40k (stop-over) for Istanbul at any time in the year. Moreover, the cheapest option is either Indigo which is a very crowded (They have an agreement with TK where they run 777 leased from TK on this route but it has ~530 seats). The other non-stop option is TK which is usually expensive but it is a better economy product than Indigo in terms of comfort.

The other option could be with a stop-over flight which would make the total trip over 12 hours at least. So it is your call to decide what you value more comfort, miles, money or your time.

Yikes, I was wondering about that Indigo flight "operated by Turkish Airlines" and it's no joke.

7 business class seats in the first row and 524 economy seats.

Seat map ratings of IndiGo Boeing 777-300ER

Review the seating amenities, legroom and recline data for IndiGo Boeing 777-300ER. Includes ratings for First, Business, and Economy cabins

seatmaps.com

Nightmare material.

People talking out loud, kids wailing, Karens yelling... way overcrowded beyond manageable moreover filled with known unruly and inconsiderate passengers with poor hygiene. Can't imagine the bathrooms or service with so many passengers.

No wonder the pricing being half of the other flight, both even depart roughly at the same time.

That's a whole new level of cattle class.

 

[chasni]

Yikes, I was wondering about that Indigo flight "operated by Turkish Airlines" and it's no joke.

7 business class seats in the first row and 524 economy seats.

Seat map ratings of IndiGo Boeing 777-300ER

Review the seating amenities, legroom and recline data for IndiGo Boeing 777-300ER. Includes ratings for First, Business, and Economy cabins

seatmaps.com

Nightmare material.

People talking out loud, kids wailing, Karens yelling... way overcrowded beyond manageable moreover filled with known unruly and inconsiderate passengers with poor hygiene. Can't imagine the bathrooms or service with so many passengers.

No wonder the pricing being half of the other flight, both even depart roughly at the same time.

That's a whole new level of cattle class.

Indigo is fine for 3-4 hours of journey but anything beyond that feels like traveling on a bench inside a bus. But from a value for money point of view, it is good.

 

[Hisoka]

Finally went with Turkish Airlines, just checked afterwards the rates of Etihad and it was 8k points plus 13k tax. They were also providing Abu Dhabi stopover with complimentary stay at the Ferrari theme park. Guess no one in the community knew this else I’d have made the right decision

Now I basically wasted all my hard earned points

 

[DrTS]

Finally went with Turkish Airlines, just checked afterwards the rates of Etihad and it was 8k points plus 13k tax. They were also providing Abu Dhabi stopover with complimentary stay at the Ferrari theme park. Guess no one in the community knew this else I’d have made the right decision

Now I basically wasted all my hard earned points

are you talking 8k miles to turkey ?

 

[Hisoka]

are you talking 8k miles to turkey ?

Yes, although in off season. From October to March it's 6.7k miles for cabin baggage only and 8.3k miles for 30kg allowance. From April it's 20k miles

 

[DrTS]

Yes, although in off season. From October to March it's 6.7k miles for cabin baggage only and 8.3k miles for 30kg allowance. From April it's 20k miles

Strange, I cant see these rates. I also transferred to Turkish.

 

[suhas.gopal]

Yes, although in off season. From October to March it's 6.7k miles for cabin baggage only and 8.3k miles for 30kg allowance. From April it's 20k miles

In Etihad or Turkish?

 

[gurbina]

Math must be off, because neither searches or redemption chart add up to these claims..
Even BOM-AUH is 15k points + lots of taxes.

And seems Etihad had some sweet spots but it lost so much value that most people avoid it as far as FFPs go.

Finally went with Turkish Airlines, just checked afterwards the rates of Etihad and it was 8k points plus 13k tax. They were also providing Abu Dhabi stopover with complimentary stay at the Ferrari theme park. Guess no one in the community knew this else I’d have made the right decision

Now I basically wasted all my hard earned points

 

[chasni]

Math must be off, because neither searches or redemption chart add up to these claims..
Even BOM-AUH is 15k points + lots of taxes.

And seems Etihad had some sweet spots but it lost so much value that most people avoid it as far as FFPs go.

Check his username and DP. If you have seen HxH anime. lol