Award sweet spots · from India
The rare program moving in your favour. The 1 April 2026 overhaul cut award pricing across the chart — domestic economy from 1,500 points, flagship long-haul business down 23–28% (Gulf business quietly rose 61%) — and points now credit within hours. Five Indian corridors feed it at 1:1 or better, which makes Maharaja the most accessible premium-cabin currency in the country. The catch nobody mentions: international ECONOMY redemptions still price below ₹0.7/point. This chart rewards the front of the plane and the shortest domestic hops, nothing in between.
| Redemption | Points | Surcharge | Typical cash | ₹ / pt | vs index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLR ↔ MAA, economy (one-way) | 1,500 | ₹1,600 | ₹4,290 | ₹1.79 | 2.2× |
| DEL → SIN, economy (one-way) | 12,000 | ₹4,000 | ₹11,315 | ₹0.61 | 0.8× |
| DEL → JFK, business (one-way) | 1,30,000 | ₹5,000 | ₹3,24,000 | ₹2.45 | 3.1× |
| Cabin upgrade, domestic (one-way) | 4,000 | — | — | — | — |
₹/pt = (typical cash − surcharge) ÷ points, computed only from sourced numbers — the build fails if a row's arithmetic doesn't. A dash means no honest cash anchor exists; the row's note below says why. Dynamic-priced programs are framed as “typical”, never guaranteed.
The cheapest award in Indian aviation after the Apr-2026 cuts (was 2,000). Points cover the base fare only; TPG pegs domestic award fees around US$18. Against Air India's own from-₹4,290 fare that's ₹1.79/point — 2.2× our index, on an ECONOMY hop. The chart's best-kept secret.
Feed it: ICICI 1:1 · HSBC TravelOne 1:1 · SBI MILES ELITE 1:1 · Axis Atlas 1:2 · HDFC 2:1
Magnify calls 12,000 points a sweet spot because it beats KrisFlyer's 19,000. True — and still poor: Air India sells the same seat from ₹11,315, so with a few thousand in taxes you net ₹0.61/point, below our ₹0.80 index. Cheaper than the alternative isn't the same as good.
Feed it: Same corridors — but run the math before you burn
Down from 180,000 points (−28%) in the Apr-2026 overhaul; Ahmedabad–London fell to 100,000. Cash anchor is a US-site from-fare of ~US$3,687 for the route (ex-India often prices lower) — even at HALF that fare you clear ₹1.2/point. New Vihaan-cabin metal is rolling onto these routes through 2026.
Feed it: ICICI Emeralde Private 1:1 · HSBC 1:1 · SBI 1:1 · Axis Atlas 1:2
Official Apr-2026 pricing: upgrades from 4,000 points. No cpp claimed — upgrade value depends entirely on the fare gap on your date — but as a points-dump for a balance under 10k, it beats letting them hit the 24-month expiry cliff.
Feed it: Any corridor above; upgrades book against paid AI tickets
Live ratios from our transfer data — our points : partner points, exactly as tracked in data/transfer-partners.yaml.