Not all credit card makeovers are news items. In some cases, a card simply improves on its own during a period when few or no customers are paying attention and that's the simple story of the Miles&Smiles Premier Visa Signature card from Turkish Airlines.

This card, from Imprint, is a non-darling of the travel rewards world, and was issued with a $99 annual fee. The offer is still a bit lacking on the welcome front; the rebates won't entice anyone from a Chase or Amex card; and it's a niche player in the co-branded airline card space. The additional benefits, however, were introduced by Turkish Airlines sometime between May 2025, and these three benefits really made the card's value to a certain class of travelers worth considering at least that's how it was until recently.

New cards that have come out

The three additions that have slipped unnoticed into the Turkish Airlines credit card are significant enough to merit re-thinking the credit card product as a whole, and while they don't make it a best-of-the-best travel card, that's better than it was before they were added.

The new benefits are:

• When you are travelling with Turkish metal on Turkish Airlines, you will have access to the Turkish Airlines lounges around the world for free, for the primary cardholder.
• Priority check-in and boarding on all flights to and from the United States was extended for family members or one travel companion who is on the same booking.
• 125 status miles per $500 billed every billing month at a maximum of 5,000 Status Miles per calendar year.

The lounge is the best additional service for economy travellers

The Istanbul Airport lounge is one of the best airport lounges in the world and Turkish Airlines has other really cool airport lounges, too. Being able to go into the Turkish Airlines lounge without paying a premium fare or being an elite member of the group can be a practical difference in a long haul trip.

In addition to Turkish lounges at a variety of international airports such as New York JFK, Washington Dulles, Miami, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Tokyo Narita, Moscow Vnukovo and Nairobi, the lounge access also covers a wide range of domestic and international lounges inside of Türkiye including Istanbul Airport (domestic and international), Ankara, Izmir, Antalya and many others.

Priority Check-In and Boarding: Perk of the Lounge... but with extra generosity

Priority check-in and boarding is for all Turkish Airlines flights to and from the United States and it is not only limited to the main cardholder. Your spouse and children under 25 traveling on the same booking are treated at the same priority as well as one family member traveling at the same time on the same reservation. For a couple or a family, it means that the advantage is theirs not just one person's.

It is not exactly formal to use it you must show the checkout agent or gate agent a physical credit card along with your boarding pass in order to get priority boarding. It's wiser to get this noted at check-in not at the gate because if it's on your boarding pass you will have no doubts when you reach the gate.

If you're looking for an overview of spending, Status Miles on Spending provides helpful context and honest limits

The annual cap is 5,000 Status Miles per calendar year which is equivalent to spending $20,000 on the card. That's a worthwhile achievement towards achieving Elite status until you realise that the entry-level Elite status in Miles&Smiles is 25,000 Status Miles. Running up the card's earning potential is only 20% towards the lowest tier.

The benefit is best thought of as an adjunct and not a main accumulation tool. The 5,000 Status Miles cap certainly gives value to those already doing a considerable amount of flying and trying to reach a status level with Turkish Airlines by using the card. But if you're thinking that you'll upgrade to elite status by spending more on cards, the numbers won't work out.

This Card is best for

Truthfully, this card appeals to a very specific but legitimate market. It's not a card for the generalist travel rewards optimizer, not a card that we'd consider the Chase Sapphire, Amex Platinum or Capital One Venture X competitor in most spend situations.

For the frequent economy traveller, who flies on Turkish Airlines often, especially via Istanbul, the lounge access comes as a valuable bonus. One ticket to the Istanbul Airport lounge is worth as much or more experientially than the $99 fee per year. Priority check-in and boarding on U.S. flights, and the card also offers a real travel day upgrade for a price many airline co-branded cards demand but don't offer the same value.

The point of the card that is still the weakest is the Welcome Offer

It's fair to say that the offer to welcome has not matched the benefits of the card. New cardholders will receive up to 40,000 Miles&Smiles miles, 25,000 of which after spending $2,000 in their first 90 days and an additional 15,000 after $6,000 in spending within the first year. It's a two-stage bonus, with a $8,000 total spend, and the combined 40,000 miles is not that much compared to the amounts that competing airline and travel cards currently offer.

Turkish Airlines business class award alert to Istanbul from the U.S. only starts at 65,000 miles one-way (with Miles&Smiles) the card's maximum welcome offer is not enough to cover just one one-way business class ticket in Turkish Airlines' award chart. That's a significant difference, and that's why I can't really recommend the card to travelers in the U.S. as a main points card.

The earnings are also pretty standard for a $99 card: 3x on Turkish Airlines tickets, 2x on food, drink, entertainment, and hotel stays, and 1x on all other purchases. Earning 2x-5x the points for the same categories is a more difficult standard to live by when it comes to regular purchases.

The Bottom Line

The Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Premier Visa Signature card isn't going to be appearing in lots of travel wallets, and the weak welcome offer doesn't help make it a lot easier card to push. But the subtly added features free check-in and boarding for economy passengers, priority check-in and boarding for those who fly with their family members, and a status miles program have made the card worth a lot more at any price than it merited.

If you are a frequent traveller, travelling to and from any destination in economy class, and if you pass through Istanbul, the $99 per year membership fee is actually for a service of value. It's a much more straight forward proposition than any previous iteration of this card and for the intended users, the enhancements are noteworthy.