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Geopolitical and security concerns have kept tourists at bay for several years, but over the past 12 months that trend has started to reverse as foreign currencies stretch further. Having visited Istanbul myself, 4 years ago, it’s most certainly a location that should be on any wanderlust’s bucket list offering delicious food, rich culture, and an incredibly diverse and complicated history.
To get a taste of that complexity, look no further than Hagia Sophia, Istanbul’s leading tourist attraction. Built in 537 AD, Hagia Sophia was first a Greek Orthodox Christian Basilica, then an Ottoman Mosque, but it was Ataturk, in 1935, who transformed it into a secular national museum to quell religious tensions. Recently, controversy has arisen again when, for the first time in 85 years, a Muslim prayer was recited in Hagia Sophia in 2016, and then in early 2018, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recited the first verse of the Quran and dedicated it to : “souls of all who left us this work as inheritance, especially Istanbul’s conqueror.”
Certainly a rich and complex history is alluring, and I plan to go back at some point, if for no other reason to visit the coastal Riviera and see 2 of the Ancient Wonders of the World: The ruins of the Mausoleum of Maussollos in Halicarnassus; and the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. But, currently I’m evaluating.
Recently, US President Trump has ramped up sanctions on Turkey leading to a rapid currency drop.
According to CBS, the administration doubled tariffs on Aluminum and Steel to 20% and 50%, respectively. The Lira crashed, adding to a year long devaluation. Below is a table that shows the drop from the mid 3s to mid 6s ( intra-day its eclipsed 7 lira to USD).
In 24 hours…the Lira has lost 20% of its value.
Tourism had been coming back amid concerns and deals. More Complexity.
By the numbers, Turkey was the 6th most visited country in 2015, welcoming 42 million visitors. That number dropped to just 24 million in 2016 as news of a military coup circled and a terrorist attack at Ataturk airport deterred tourists from the country. I was one of them. Since then, the Lira has plummeted and the consulates of various countries have a mixed bag of recommendations. This is par for the course, but adds to the difficulties Turkey is already facing in attracting back tourism.
But a deal is a deal is a deal.
According to the Independent:
Tour operator Thomas Cook has reported a 63 per cent year-on-year increase in bookings to Turkey during 2018, with Antalya overtaking Mallorca’s Palma airport as the company’s most served for UK customers, according to reports from PA.
In 2017, tourism numbers jumped back to 32 million, and continue to increase thus far in 2018.
If you’re thinking of taking advantage of deals we’d recommend you research travel advisories from not only your home country, but from others as well.
As we noted above, depending on the state department you quote, recommendations vary. Recommendations are certainly prone to geopolitical influence and reading the recommendations from varying countries will give you a more global view of the situation.
If you do end up going: We highly recommend getting going to a Turkish bath. We enjoyed this one:
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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