Award sweet spots · from India
Fully dynamic since March 2025, which means the "chart" is whatever the cash rate says it is — and our ₹0.65 house value already prices that in. What's left in India: the HDFC co-brand's 15,000-point Free Night Award (top-up limit now 25,000 points), the fifth-night-free rule, and off-peak weekday redemptions at select-service properties. Nobody should be transferring bank points into Bonvoy at 2:1 in 2026; earn it on-property or via the co-brand or not at all.
| Redemption | Points | Surcharge | Typical cash | ₹ / pt | vs index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Night Award (15k) at Fairfield/Four Points/Courtyard, peak dates | 15,000 | ₹0 | ₹8,500 | ₹0.57 | 0.9× |
| FNA + 25k top-up → 40k-point nights (e.g. Courtyard Mumbai Intl Airport) | 40,000 | — | — | — | — |
| Any 5-night award stay — fifth night free | — | — | — | — | — |
₹/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.
Select-service rates cross ₹7,000–10,000 on peak dates while staying at or under the 15k-point cap — cpp computed at the ₹8,500 midpoint is ₹0.57/point, a shade under our ₹0.65 index. The FNA is the card's value engine, not a jackpot; CardExpert's metro baseline is ~₹0.50/point.
Feed it: HDFC Marriott Bonvoy co-brand (FNA on joining + renewal) · Amex MR 1:1 · HSBC 1:1
March 2026 buff: top-up limit rose from 15k to 25k points, putting 34–36k dynamic prints like Courtyard Mumbai International Airport in FNA range. No cpp claimed — a 36k-point airport Courtyard is dynamic-pricing bloat, not value; the row exists because it rescues expiring FNAs. Single-night stays only, and it can't stack with fifth-night-free.
Feed it: HDFC Marriott co-brand FNA + Bonvoy balance (earn 8/₹150 on-property with the card)
The one lever dynamic pricing can't touch: book five award nights, pay for four — a flat 20% discount on whatever the algorithm demands. On a Goa or Himalayas resort week this is the difference between Bonvoy clearing our index and missing it.
Feed it: Works on any Bonvoy balance, however earned
Live ratios from our transfer data — our points : partner points, exactly as tracked in data/transfer-partners.yaml.