This is a great deal to Istanbul from San Francisco.

Photo: David Spender, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)

Sample Travel Date:

• February 3rd – 10th, 2014

Fare Availability:

• Valid for travel from February 1st, 2014 – March 27th, 2014. Must purchase by November 30th

How to Search for Availability:

• Use ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search and flexible month search to see availability — enable advanced routing codes and enter “ua fra” on the outbound advanced routing code field and enter “fra ua” on the return advanced routing field to search for this fare.
• Beginner’s Guide on How to Use Matrix by ITA Software
• How to Read Airfare Rules and Use It to Your Advantage

Elite Qualifying Dollars:

• $465

Routing:

• SFO – FRA (Frankfurt) – IST (Istanbul) – FRA – SFO. For maximum mileage earning, ensure that the segments between the United States and Germany is operated by United. If it is operated by any other carrier, you will unlikely to earn miles. The segments between Germany and Istanbul will be operated by Lufthansa or Turkish Airlines.

Stopover:

• Not permitted
• How to Take Advantage of a Stopover

Global Premier Upgrade Fare (for United 1K and GS members):

• W Class
• $1,227

Mileage:

• 13,708 miles or 4.4 cents per mile. The segments between Munich and Istanbul will unlikely to earn miles, as such, this will earn 11,370 miles or 5.4 cents per mile when crediting to United.

How to Buy:

• Support us by using our  Orbitz link to book with dates found on ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search. Make sure you select “Additional Search Options” and then “Narrow the search to my preferred airlines” and select United on Airline 1 and Lufthansa on Airline 2

Accommodations

For hotel bookings, we recommend that you only book using online travel agencies (Hotels.com or Hotwire.com) if it is a non-chain hotel. We don’t want you to miss out on earning rewards with chain hotels.

• Accor Hotels
  • Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis
• CheapTickets
• Country Inns and Suites
• Design Hotels
• Expedia
• Hilton Hotels
  • Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Home2
• HomeAway.com
• Hotels.com
• Intercontinental Group
  • Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites
• Marriott International
  • Marriott, JW Marriott, Courtyard y Marriott, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Springhill Suites, Delta Hotels, Moxy, AC Hotels, TownePlace, Autograph Collection, Protea Hotels.
• Orbitz
• Preferred Hotels & Resorts
  • Preferred, Sterling, Summit
• Radisson Hotels
  • Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn, Hotel Missioni
• Venere
• Wyndham Hotels
  • Wyndham, Tryp, Wingate, Hawthorn, Microtel, Dream, Planet Hollywood, Ramada, Night, Baymont, Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn

Car Rentals

• Avis – US and Canadian Rentals
• CarRentals.com
• Fox Rent A Car
• Hotwire
• Orbitz
• Payless Car Rental
• Sixt Car Rental – Good Agency for Rentals in Europe

Background Information:

• Visa: US Citizens – $20 on Arrival. Other nationals, check the TIMATIC Visa Database
• Currency: Turkish Lira (TRY). $1USD = 1.94 TRY

Tips for saving when using credit cards at international destinations:

• No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards to save on international purchases
• Don’t get hit with Dynamic Currency Conversion
• Get your taxes refunded when shopping
• How to Avoid International Data Roaming Charges

For more of the latest cheap San Francisco / Bay Area Flight Deals:

• Go to the The San Francisco / Bay Area Flight Deals page

* The Flight Deal will receive a small commission if you use the Orbitz, accommodation or car rental affiliate links to make a booking. Thank you for your continuing support.

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The Flight Deal does not sell travel products or services. We provide you with information about third-party travel suppliers’ offers, and link you to their sites. The information posted by The Flight Deal is valid at the time of publication. However, we have no control over the suppliers, and we therefore do not warrant or guarantee that their offers will not change or become unavailable. Nor are we responsible for their products, services or site content. Please see their sites for their most up-to-date offer information and all applicable terms and conditions.