Miles&Smiles, frequent flyer program of Turkish Airlines joins forces with utu to boost bigger VAT refunds for members on tax-free shopping

SINGAPORE, May 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles has joined the growing roster of international airline loyalty programs taking advantage of travel tech company utu’s 40% tax refund boost for travellers.

Sanjay Chinchwade, Chief Commercial Officer, Partnerships, said, “Our goal is to transform tax free shopping by providing travellers with the best value for their overseas purchases. This partnership not only allows Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles members to earn 40% more on their VAT refunds but to enjoy their travel more as well, as they collect bonus Miles from their tax-free Shopping.”

Turkish Airlines Director of Marketing Arif Ali Gezmişoğlu stated: “At Turkish Airlines, we continuously strive to enhance our passengers’ travel experience. This partnership with utu allows us to offer our Miles&Smiles members even more value on their journeys, transforming their tax-free shopping into rewarding travel benefits. It’s another step in our commitment to making every trip with Turkish Airlines a truly rewarding experience.”

From today, members of Miles&Smiles can use their utu Tax Free Card to receive an upsized value of USD 125 (4,167) worth of air Miles for every USD 100 in tax-free refunds claimed while shopping overseas – allowing travellers to earn and grow their Miles as they shop.

For Turkish Airlines’ Classic Plus, Elite and Elite Plus Miles&Smiles members the enhancement is even greater. utu is extending an automatic ‘status match’ to Turkish Airlines’ premium members, matching their status with Miles&Smiles and offering up to 40% increase in air Miles without needing to qualify separately or pay for a subscription.

To start claiming more Miles, travellers just download the utu Tax Free app, available on both Google Play and the App Store. After registering for the utu Tax Free Card, they simply choose Miles&Smiles as their preferred Rewards Program. Members of Miles&Smiles will be receiving an exclusive invitation to accept the status match.

At a store, when choosing how to receive their tax refund, utu members fill in their utu Tax Free Card number on any provided tax-free form and complete the standard Tax Refund Validation Process at the airport before departure. Once completed, the upsized value of the refund in Miles&Smiles is credited to their Miles&Smiles account.

The latest addition to utu’s tax-refund revolution takes the total number of partners to fourteen, with more partners in aviation and hospitality to be announced soon. Follow utu Instagram or visit utu.global for the latest news and benefit announcements.

About utu

utu (pronounced “you-too”) is transforming tax-free shopping worldwide by empowering travellers with the freedom to obtain a higher VAT refund by going beyond digitising refunds to re-engineer the tax-free shopping value chain to benefit travellers. The utu management team has deep domain knowledge in tax-free shopping developed over 25 years of refunding VAT and GST worldwide. By bringing the worlds of refunds and rewards together, utu unlocks new value in rewards from retailers, airlines, hotels, and others. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Singapore, utu’s products can be used in over 50 countries.

For more information, visit www.utu.global or download the utu app at https://utu.global/get-the-app/.

About Turkish Airlines:

Established in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines has a fleet of 440 (passenger and cargo) aircraft flying to 345 worldwide destinations as 292 international and 53 domestics in 129 countries. More information about Turkish Airlines can be found on its official website www.turkishairlines.com or its social media accounts on veya Facebook, X, Youtube, Linkedin ve Instagram. 

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