Award flight · one-way
The Gulf corridor Air India's mainline doesn't fly — EK, flydubai and IndiGo own the nonstops — and business just got a new floor. Avios via Doha was the sweet spot at 38,500; now Aeroplan routes AMD–BOM–DXB on Air India at 22,500 J, in the 1,001–2,000-mile band — undercutting everything, 16,000 under Avios and 27,500 under Maharaja's 50,000-point backtrack. Skywards prices EK off a calculator; economy on points rarely beats cash. Want the flat bed? It's Aeroplan.
The play · economy
Which card mints this?
+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →
One of your cards is in those 7 — see it in the funnel →
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) the play | Qatar Airways via DOH (oneworld) — two segments, band-priced | 19,000 | — | ₹19,000 | the play |
| IndiGo BluChip | IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) | ~14,000 est. | — | ₹7,000 | 0.4× |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India via BOM or DEL (Star Alliance) — no AI nonstop from Ahmedabad | ~12,000 est. | — | ₹9,600 | 0.5× |
| Etihad Guest | Etihad nonstop to Abu Dhabi — ~90 min by road to Dubai | ~13,000 est. | — | ₹13,000 | 0.7× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Avianca LifeMiles | ~15,000 est. | — | ₹15,000 | 0.8× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — United MileagePlus | ~17,500 est. | — | ₹17,500 | 0.9× |
| Emirates Skywards | Emirates nonstop — Classic Rewards, calculator-priced | ~20,000 est. | — | ₹18,000 | 0.9× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 20,000 | — | ₹20,000 | 1.1× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 20,000 | — | ₹20,000 | 1.1× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | Qatar Airways via DOH (oneworld partner award), India→the Gulf — Alaska Atmos | ~25,000 est. | — | ₹25,000 | 1.3× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — TAP Miles&Go | 60,000 | — | ₹48,000 | 2.5× |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance metal (Air India — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India→the Gulf — EVA Infinity MileageLands | 51,000 | — | ₹51,000 | 2.7× |
The play · business
Which card mints this?
+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →
One of your cards is in those 7 — see it in the funnel →
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan the play | Air India via Mumbai (Star Alliance partner award) | 22,500 | — | ₹22,500 | the play |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Avianca LifeMiles | ~25,000 est. | — | ₹25,000 | 1.1× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 30,000 | — | ₹30,000 | 1.3× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — United MileagePlus | ~32,500 est. | — | ₹32,500 | 1.4× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 35,000 | — | ₹35,000 | 1.6× |
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) | Qatar Airways via DOH (oneworld) — two segments, band-priced | 38,500 | — | ₹38,500 | 1.7× |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India via BOM or DEL (Star Alliance) — no AI nonstop from Ahmedabad | ~50,000 est. | — | ₹40,000 | 1.8× |
| Emirates Skywards | Emirates nonstop — Classic Rewards, calculator-priced | ~45,000 est. | — | ₹40,500 | 1.8× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | Qatar Airways via DOH (oneworld partner award), India→the Gulf — Alaska Atmos | ~50,000 est. | — | ₹50,000 | 2.2× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — TAP Miles&Go | 80,000 | — | ₹64,000 | 2.8× |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance metal (Air India — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India→the Gulf — EVA Infinity MileageLands | 67,000 | — | ₹67,000 | 3.0× |
All-in ₹ = points × the program's house value (valuation index) + the sourced one-way surcharge; a dash means the carrier doesn't publish it and the ranking counts it ₹0 — the row's note carries the caveat. That surcharge is the airline's own cash charge on an award — YQ, as the notes below call it — and it is not the fuel-surcharge waiver your credit card advertises: that one hands back a hundred rupees or two at a petrol pump, this one runs to tens of thousands and decides whether the award is worth taking at all. “Dynamic” and estimated (~… est.) rows never compete for the play — the crown is always a verified, bookable price. Feed-ins come from the same transfer data as the optimizer, multi-hop chains included.
Chart-priced, not live seats. These prices are read off each programme’s published award chart and valued at our own house ₹/point. 37% of the 39,855 priced options on the board are stated estimates for programmes that publish no chart; they are marked ~ est. and never crowned the play. Nobody here can see whether a seat exists on your date — confirm the space with the programme before you transfer. Points that leave your issuer do not come back.
The cash on top of the miles. Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair), Etihad Guest and Emirates Skywards state that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. Air India Maharaja Points, United MileagePlus and Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards make you liable for one if the operating airline levies it, without saying whether it does. Air Canada Aeroplan states it adds none on its own metal. Government taxes and airport charges are payable in every case. Almost no programme publishes the amount, so the desk carries each one’s policy in its own words — on its programme hub — rather than a number nobody published. 6 other programmes priced here publish nothing the desk could read.
Open this corridor in British Airways’ Flight Finder → It fills in your search — AMD to DXB on 29/12/2026, which you change there. It does not show award space, and no link on this page can. It is the only carrier handoff the desk ships: Qatar returns CASH fares under award-looking parameters, Aeroplan discards them behind a login, KrisFlyer’s search has no URL to link to, and the Flying Blue template in circulation has never been verified.
Qatar Airways oneworld
Partner Avios per segment, summed on the post-15-Dec-2025 chart: AMD–DOH at 1,333 mi is 12,500 (Z3, 1,152–2,000) plus 6,500 for the Doha–Dubai hop (Z1) — 19,000 Avios total, routed the long way round. Economy is not this corridor's Avios story; the business row is. No peak/off-peak on partners.
Feed it: 19,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 38,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 19,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
IndiGo
BluChip has no award chart — chips offset the live fare at roughly ₹0.40–0.60 apiece (min 500), own metal only. IndiGo's AMD–DXB nonstop makes this the corridor's cash-fare floor; BluChips discount that fare rather than beat it.
Estimate IndiGo BluChip is revenue-linked ~Rs0.50/pt; ~= typical one-way IndiGo economy fare / Rs0.50 for ~1,098 mi - a rupee offset that moves 1:1 with the live fare. Own-metal only, no partners.
Feed it: 21,000 HSBC Reward Points (1.5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 70,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1) · 42,000 HDFC Reward Points (3:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Air India Star Alliance
Dubai sits on the flat 12,000-point Middle-East tier and the chart prices by zone, not metro — but AI mainline doesn't fly AMD–DXB, so it's a Bombay or Delhi connection on a 3-hour corridor. Verify the connecting itinerary prices at the flat zone rate.
Estimate Air India publishes no award chart. Its own Points Calculator states that “Fares indicated above are dependent on the time of booking and seat availability”, and Maharaja Club prices every award either as a Value fare (the discounted rate for booking well in advance) or as a higher Prime fare closer to departure. This number is the Value-fare floor as sampled after the April-2026 repricing — not a published chart cell: Value space is not always available on a given flight, and the same seat prices higher once it is gone. Pricing model re-verified against Air India’s Maharaja Club T&C and Points Calculator on 2026-08-09.
Feed it: 12,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 6,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 12,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
Etihad Airways
Etihad flies AMD–AUH nonstop, but Saver Award seats price dynamically off demand with no published Ahmedabad datapoint — and real prices run well past the theoretical distance chart. You land an emirate over; add the road transfer before calling it a Dubai redemption.
Estimate Etihad Guest Saver Award starting level for the ~1,140-mile flown itinerary (nonstop to AUH), read off Etihad's last published one-way distance-band structure (1,500-mile band). Etihad publishes no award chart today - GuestSeat became Saver Award on 13-Nov-2025 and pricing lives in the Miles Calculator - so fixed-rate space is limited and real quotes often run well above this floor.
Feed it: 6,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 13,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 32,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Star Alliance
LifeMiles prices Star partner metal off an unpublished grid; India→Europe business ~63k is the headline sweet spot (beats Aeroplan). Business is the value cabin here; economy is mediocre. The chart is semi-fixed/unpublished, so some bands are estimates.
Estimate LifeMiles publishes no award chart — Avianca withdrew its public zone table in 2023 and prices Star partner awards off an unpublished internal grid. This level is extrapolated from that historical zone pricing plus dated community booking reports, not a verified chart price.
Feed it: 45,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 90,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 30,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~17,500 is a typical Saver partner level to the Gulf. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India→the Gulf on Star Alliance metal; United went fully dynamic in 2020, so this is a typical Saver that moves with availability and cabin scarcity.
Feed it: 8,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 43,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 52,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
Emirates
No award chart — the Miles Calculator prices AMD–DXB per date. Economy Savers survived the 20-May-2026 devaluation unchanged, but with flydubai and IndiGo also on the nonstop, cash fares undercut most Saver maths. Check before transferring.
Estimate Emirates Skywards Saver calculator estimate for ~1,098 mi ex-India (India-DXB + DXB-destination summed); dynamic - no published chart, Saver space thin, peak/demand move it +-~20%.
Feed it: 40,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 SBI Travel Credits (2:1)
Star Alliance
Aegean Miles+Bonus prices Star partner metal off one region chart published as ROUND TRIPS — its own rule is that a one-way costs exactly half, and the halved figure is what we show. India sits in the "Near East & Central Asia" zone: the Far East is a flat 30k/45k one-way (Tokyo costs the same as Bangkok), Europe 35k/55k, North America 50k/75k. No Indian card feeds it — Marriott Bonvoy 3:1 is the only road in, and awards only display once you hold the full balance.
Feed it: 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
Copa ConnectMiles prices Star partner metal off its FIXED region chart (India sits in Copa’s "Central Asia" zone). Standout value — India→Europe 45k business, India→Sub-Saharan Africa 17.5k economy on Ethiopian (Cairo is a dearer 20k Middle East cell) — but NO Indian card feeds ConnectMiles (buy-miles or a US co-brand only), so treat it as a reference benchmark, not a wallet-reachable route.
Feed it: 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Qatar Airways oneworld
No Atmos partner flies AMD-DXB nonstop, so the 1,098-mile great circle never reaches the chart. Alaska bands what you actually fly: Qatar Airways via DOH is ~1,567 flown miles — the Asia-Pacific chart's 1,501-3,000 mi band, 25,000 economy / 50,000 business one-way, plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). One-way.
Estimate Priced at the flown-routing distance, not the nonstop great circle: Qatar Airways via DOH = ~1,567 mi summed great-circle (1.43x the 1,098-mi nonstop), which reads the Atmos Asia-Pacific partner chart's 1,501-3,000 mi band (25,000 economy / 50,000 business one-way). Atmos prices partner awards on total distance flown; the exact routing Alaska sells on this pair is not calculator-verified (alaskaair.com blocks automated reads).
Feed it: 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
The 4 May 2026 chart pulled the Gulf out of TAP's "Asia" zone and gave it a Middle East band of its own: India→Middle East went 40k/60k → 60k/80k one-way, +50% in economy and +33% in business on a short hop. Intra-Asia is now 50k/70k, so Bangkok and Singapore price below Dubai. Heavy fuel surcharges on Lufthansa-group and TAP metal; Turkish, EgyptAir and Ethiopian routings dodge most of the YQ.
Feed it: 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.5:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 300,000 RBL Reward Points (5:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 100,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.67:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Air India Star Alliance
EVA Infinity MileageLands prices Star metal off its zone chart (India = "Central/South Asia" zone; one-way = half round-trip). EVA own metal via Taipei covers Japan/N-Asia/SE-Asia/US/Europe; Gulf/Africa/Oceania are partner-metal only. India→US business ~97.5k (possibly ~55-60k on a fully-EVA routing).
Feed it: 51,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 340,000 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 1,275,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
Air India Star Alliance
The AMD–DXB nonstop is Air India Express, which Aeroplan can't book, so the award routes AMD–BOM–DXB on Air India mainline — 275 + 1,199 ≈ 1,474 flown miles, still inside the 1,001–2,000-mile band at 22,500 business. Chain-funded HDFC 2:1 / Bonvoy 3:1. Economy on a forced Mumbai connection is pointless — take the cash nonstop.
Feed it: 11,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 22,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 56,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Star Alliance
LifeMiles prices Star partner metal off an unpublished grid; India→Europe business ~63k is the headline sweet spot (beats Aeroplan). Business is the value cabin here; economy is mediocre. The chart is semi-fixed/unpublished, so some bands are estimates.
Estimate LifeMiles publishes no award chart — Avianca withdrew its public zone table in 2023 and prices Star partner awards off an unpublished internal grid. This level is extrapolated from that historical zone pricing plus dated community booking reports, not a verified chart price.
Feed it: 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 150,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 50,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
Star Alliance
Aegean Miles+Bonus prices Star partner metal off one region chart published as ROUND TRIPS — its own rule is that a one-way costs exactly half, and the halved figure is what we show. India sits in the "Near East & Central Asia" zone: the Far East is a flat 30k/45k one-way (Tokyo costs the same as Bangkok), Europe 35k/55k, North America 50k/75k. No Indian card feeds it — Marriott Bonvoy 3:1 is the only road in, and awards only display once you hold the full balance.
Feed it: 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.5:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 150,000 RBL Reward Points (5:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 50,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.67:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~32,500 is a typical Saver partner level to the Gulf. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India→the Gulf on Star Alliance metal; United went fully dynamic in 2020, so this is a typical Saver that moves with availability and cabin scarcity.
Feed it: 16,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 81,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 67,500 Amex Membership Rewards (2.08:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
Copa ConnectMiles prices Star partner metal off its FIXED region chart (India sits in Copa’s "Central Asia" zone). Standout value — India→Europe 45k business, India→Sub-Saharan Africa 17.5k economy on Ethiopian (Cairo is a dearer 20k Middle East cell) — but NO Indian card feeds ConnectMiles (buy-miles or a US co-brand only), so treat it as a reference benchmark, not a wallet-reachable route.
Feed it: 90,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.57:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 180,000 RBL Reward Points (5.14:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 60,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.71:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Qatar Airways oneworld
24,500 for AMD–DOH (Z3, 1,152–2,000 mi — Qsuite on widebody rotations) plus 14,000 for DOH–DXB (Z1) = 38,500 Avios for Qatar's business cabin, the cheapest fixed-price premium seat on the corridor and 23% under Maharaja's 50,000. No peak/off-peak on partner awards; the Doha detour is the only tax.
Feed it: 38,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 77,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 38,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Air India Star Alliance
50,000 points after the April-2026 Gulf hike (31,000 → 50,000, per the chart's AUH–Mumbai example), plus a connection. Avios via Doha books a straighter premium ride for 38,500 — the rare corridor where Maharaja is the overpriced routing.
Estimate Air India publishes no award chart. Its own Points Calculator states that “Fares indicated above are dependent on the time of booking and seat availability”, and Maharaja Club prices every award either as a Value fare (the discounted rate for booking well in advance) or as a higher Prime fare closer to departure. This number is the Value-fare floor as sampled after the April-2026 repricing — not a published chart cell: Value space is not always available on a given flight, and the same seat prices higher once it is gone. Pricing model re-verified against Air India’s Maharaja Club T&C and Points Calculator on 2026-08-09.
Feed it: 50,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 25,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 50,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
Emirates
Calculator-priced and lifted ~15% in the 20-May-2026 devaluation, with EK's carrier surcharges on top. One-way business Savers now price at 50% of return — weigh whatever the calculator says against Avios' fixed 34,500 one row down.
Estimate Emirates Skywards Saver calculator estimate for ~1,098 mi ex-India (India-DXB + DXB-destination summed); dynamic - no published chart, Saver space thin, peak/demand move it +-~20%.
Feed it: 90,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (5.33:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 90,000 SBI Travel Credits (2:1)
Qatar Airways oneworld
No Atmos partner flies AMD-DXB nonstop, so the 1,098-mile great circle never reaches the chart. Alaska bands what you actually fly: Qatar Airways via DOH is ~1,567 flown miles — the Asia-Pacific chart's 1,501-3,000 mi band, 25,000 economy / 50,000 business one-way, plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). One-way.
Estimate Priced at the flown-routing distance, not the nonstop great circle: Qatar Airways via DOH = ~1,567 mi summed great-circle (1.43x the 1,098-mi nonstop), which reads the Atmos Asia-Pacific partner chart's 1,501-3,000 mi band (25,000 economy / 50,000 business one-way). Atmos prices partner awards on total distance flown; the exact routing Alaska sells on this pair is not calculator-verified (alaskaair.com blocks automated reads).
Feed it: 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 80,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
The 4 May 2026 chart pulled the Gulf out of TAP's "Asia" zone and gave it a Middle East band of its own: India→Middle East went 40k/60k → 60k/80k one-way, +50% in economy and +33% in business on a short hop. Intra-Asia is now 50k/70k, so Bangkok and Singapore price below Dubai. Heavy fuel surcharges on Lufthansa-group and TAP metal; Turkish, EgyptAir and Ethiopian routings dodge most of the YQ.
Feed it: 195,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.44:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 390,000 RBL Reward Points (4.88:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 130,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.63:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Air India Star Alliance
EVA Infinity MileageLands prices Star metal off its zone chart (India = "Central/South Asia" zone; one-way = half round-trip). EVA own metal via Taipei covers Japan/N-Asia/SE-Asia/US/Europe; Gulf/Africa/Oceania are partner-metal only. India→US business ~97.5k (possibly ~55-60k on a fully-EVA routing).
Feed it: 67,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 446,667 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 1,675,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into Middle East — 207 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.