The Future of Premium Payment Propositions in Türkiye
A growing travel economy creates new opportunities for payments
In July 2026, Istanbul Airport became Europe’s busiest airport, welcoming 8.15 million passengers and overtaking London Heathrow’s 7.86 million. The milestone reflects Türkiye’s growing importance as a hub for international travel, commerce and connectivity.
While significant for the aviation sector, its importance extends well beyond passenger numbers. Together with rising domestic travel demand, it signals a market where travel is becoming an increasingly important part of consumers' lifestyles and spending priorities.
Türkiye's position at the intersection of Europe, Asia and the Middle East continues to strengthen its role as a hub for international travel and commerce, while its sophisticated and fast-evolving payment ecosystem serves a large and increasingly digital consumer base.
The growth extends beyond aviation. Türkiye welcomed nearly 64 million visitors in 2025 and generated a record US$65.2 billion in tourism revenue. Momentum has continued into 2026, with 9.2 million international visitors arriving in the first quarter alone.
According to TurkStat, domestic travellers spent more than TL102 billion on travel in the first quarter of 2026, a 33.9% increase year-on-year. Overnight domestic trips also increased by 12%, highlighting the extent to which travel remains a priority spending category for Turkish consumers.
In total, 11.5 million Turkish residents took domestic trips during the quarter, generating more than 14 million overnight journeys.
For payment schemes and issuers, this convergence presents a significant opportunity.
As consumers continue to prioritise travel and seek experiences that enhance every stage of their journey, their expectations of premium financial products are also evolving. The question is no longer simply how premium cards function. It is increasingly how they create meaningful value throughout the customer journey.
Premium payment propositions that connect everyday spending with meaningful travel benefits, are well positioned to meet these evolving expectations, driving engagement, stronger differentiation, and long-term loyalty.
Premium Customers Increasingly Value Experiences
Security, reliability, and functionality remain essential foundations of any premium payment product. However, these are increasingly baseline expectations.
As Türkiye’s travel economy expands and consumers become more frequent travellers, differentiation is increasingly being driven by the experiences attached to the payment product rather than the payment product alone.
Travel is becoming a more visible part of consumer spending behaviour. Domestic travel spending exceeded TL102 billion in the first quarter of 2026, while both inbound and outbound travel volumes continue to rise.
According to Collinson research, 62% of bank programme members say travel-related benefits encourage them to stay with their bank, highlighting the growing role these experiences play in customer retention and engagement.
As a result, the strongest premium propositions are increasingly built around benefits that customers actively use and remember.
Travel Creates Meaningful and Memorable Value
Travel occupies a unique position within premium propositions because customers immediately understand and appreciate its value.
Whether it is lounge access, Airport fast track, dining, wellness or relaxation experiences, travel benefits help transform a payment product into something customers actively use throughout their journey.
The value of these benefits is reflected in both customer preferences and traveller behaviour. Priority Pass lounge visits at Istanbul Airport increased by 26% between 2025 and 2026, highlighting growing demand for premium travel experiences at one of Europe’s fastest-growing aviation hubs.
At the same time, TurkStat reports that Turkish residents made 11.9 million trips abroad in 2025, reinforcing demand for benefits that can deliver value beyond the domestic market.
As travel demand across Türkiye continues to grow, travel benefits are a strategic component of the premium value proposition rather than an ancillary reward.
Payment Schemes Occupy a Distinctive Position Within the Ecosystem
Türkiye’s sophisticated payment ecosystem creates opportunities for schemes and issuers to collaborate on differentiated premium propositions.
As travel becomes a larger component of Turkish consumer spending and lifestyle aspirations, schemes can help issuers respond to evolving customer expectations through shared partnerships, travel experiences and access models.
This enables issuers to deliver richer premium propositions while maintaining flexibility across products and customer segments.
Local relevance. Global reach
As Turkish consumers travel more frequently both within Türkiye and internationally, expectations of premium payment products are evolving.
Turkish travellers increasingly expect the benefits attached to their payment products to travel with them.
The strongest premium propositions therefore combine local relevance with global accessibility, providing value both within Türkiye and wherever customers travel.
Beyond lounge access
Airport lounge access remains one of the most recognised premium benefits. However, customer expectations increasingly extend beyond a single experience.
From Airport fast track, dining, wellness and spa services, sleep and relaxation facilities, travellers are looking for benefits that make the entire journey more seamless and enjoyable.
The opportunity is no longer simply providing access to a benefit. It is creating connected travel experiences that deliver value at multiple points throughout the travel journey.
The next generation of premium propositions
As Türkiye's influence on global travel continues to grow, payment schemes and issuers have an opportunity to create propositions that reflect the evolving needs of increasingly travel-focused consumers.
As Christopher Evans, CEO of Collinson International, puts it, “Türkiye’s growing position as a global travel hub creates a significant opportunity for its payments ecosystem. As travel becomes a bigger part of consumers’ lives, there’s an opportunity for banks and payment schemes to think differently about the role travel benefits can play in their premium propositions.
The strongest propositions will be those that understand what customers value and can deliver experiences that are relevant both at home and when they travel. For payment schemes in particular, there’s an opportunity to help issuers do that consistently and at scale.”
The most successful premium propositions are likely to share five characteristics:
- Local relevance
- Global reach
- Flexibility
- Connected travel experiences
- The ability to evolve alongside changing customer expectations
The next generation of premium propositions will not be defined by the number of benefits they offer. They will be defined by the relevance of those benefits, the quality of the customer experience they create and their ability to deliver value consistently across the customer journey.
