It is widely anticipated that airlines will be doing everything they can to lure back customers in the coming period, as travel recovers from the COVID-19 shutdown. Cheap airfares, loyalty programs and special promotions will form a large part of that.
Last month, we already saw a “triple frequent flyer points” offer from Qantas. It is also quite likely that we’ll see more double status credits offers from both Qantas and Virgin Australia in the future. But one airline has already taken this a step further by offering the equivalent of triple status credits!
Last year, Australian Frequent Flyer published an article about Qantas offering triple status credits on April Fool’s Day. That was of course a joke, but this latest promotion from Star Alliance’s Turkish Airlines is not.
Turkish Airlines has sent targeted offers of triple Miles&Smiles miles and status miles (which count towards elite status) to selected members that book Turkish Airlines flights between 17 July and 3 August 2020. Travel would need to be completed by 15 September 2020 and the bonus status miles will be valid until the end of this year.
Turkish Airlines has already provided its Miles&Smiles elite members with six-month status extensions. This new promotion will help members to retain their status beyond this period or to upgrade to a higher tier.
Could we see more offers like this?
Although this particular offer is only available to selected Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles members, we could see more similar offers from other airlines as the fight to win back customers during the post-covid recovery evolves. Let’s hope so, anyway!