Award flight · one-way

Bangkok to Chennai on points

17,500 pts cheapest economy · Thai Royal Orchid Plus BKK → MAA great-circle 2,227 km · 1,384 mi 15 programs priced as of

Bangkok → Chennai on points: 31 options, the board now symmetric with Chennai → Bangkok. Award charts price the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so every program that prices the reverse heading is mirrored here — a mirror still flagged as an estimate never takes the crown. The cheapest verified business seat on the board is 27,500 via Thai Royal Orchid Plus, and economy starts at 17,500. 16 rows are first-hand chart reads.

read the full take fold the take back up

Economy

The play · economy

Thai Royal Orchid Plus

Thai Airways International own metal from BKK, region award

17,500 pts
surcharge not published
₹17,500 all-in at house ₹

Which card mints this?

+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →

Program Metal / routing Points Surcharge All-in ₹ vs play
Thai Royal Orchid Plus the play Thai Airways International own metal from BKK, region award 17,500 — ₹17,500 the play
IndiGo BluChip IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) ~14,000 est. — ₹7,000 0.4×
Air China PhoenixMiles Star Alliance metal (SQ/TG partner metal — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Air China PhoenixMiles ~15,000 est. — ₹13,500 0.8×
Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) SriLankan via CMB (oneworld) — Avios partner chart, per-segment ~19,000 est. — ₹19,000 1.1×
United MileagePlus Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — United MileagePlus ~20,000 est. — ₹20,000 1.1×
Avianca LifeMiles Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Avianca LifeMiles ~20,000 est. — ₹20,000 1.1×
Lufthansa Miles & More Thai Airways nonstop — Star Alliance partner award, fixed Miles & More chart 21,000 — ₹21,000 1.2×
Air France-KLM Flying Blue Malaysia Airlines via KUL (BKK–KUL–MAA) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) ~22,500 est. — ₹22,500 1.3×
Air Canada Aeroplan Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (2,227 km) 25,000 — ₹25,000 1.4×
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands Star Alliance metal (Air India/SQ/TG — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — EVA Infinity MileageLands 25,000 — ₹25,000 1.4×
American Airlines AAdvantage oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Malaysia Airlines via KUL, or SriLankan Airlines via CMB 25,000 — ₹25,000 1.4×
Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards SriLankan Airlines via CMB (oneworld partner award), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Alaska Atmos ~25,000 est. — ₹25,000 1.4×
Aegean Miles+Bonus Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Aegean Miles+Bonus 30,000 — ₹30,000 1.7×
Copa Airlines ConnectMiles Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) 35,000 — ₹35,000 2.0×
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — TAP Miles&Go ~50,000 est. — ₹40,000 2.3×

Business

The play · business

Thai Royal Orchid Plus

Thai Airways International own metal from BKK, region award

27,500 pts
surcharge not published
₹27,500 all-in at house ₹

Which card mints this?

+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →

Program Metal / routing Points Surcharge All-in ₹ vs play
Thai Royal Orchid Plus the play Thai Airways International own metal from BKK, region award 27,500 — ₹27,500 the play
Air China PhoenixMiles Star Alliance metal (SQ/TG partner metal — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Air China PhoenixMiles ~27,000 est. — ₹24,300 0.9×
Avianca LifeMiles Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Avianca LifeMiles ~37,000 est. — ₹37,000 1.3×
Lufthansa Miles & More Thai Airways nonstop — Star Alliance partner award, fixed Miles & More chart 37,500 — ₹37,500 1.4×
Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) SriLankan business via CMB (oneworld) — Avios partner chart, per-segment ~38,500 est. — ₹38,500 1.4×
United MileagePlus Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — United MileagePlus ~40,000 est. — ₹40,000 1.5×
American Airlines AAdvantage oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Malaysia Airlines via KUL, or SriLankan Airlines via CMB 40,000 — ₹40,000 1.5×
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands Star Alliance metal (Air India/SQ/TG — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — EVA Infinity MileageLands 42,500 — ₹42,500 1.5×
Air France-KLM Flying Blue Malaysia Airlines via KUL (BKK–KUL–MAA) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) ~45,000 est. — ₹45,000 1.6×
Aegean Miles+Bonus Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Aegean Miles+Bonus 45,000 — ₹45,000 1.6×
Air Canada Aeroplan Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (2,227 km) 47,500 — ₹47,500 1.7×
Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards SriLankan Airlines via CMB (oneworld partner award), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Alaska Atmos ~50,000 est. — ₹50,000 1.8×
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — TAP Miles&Go ~70,000 est. — ₹56,000 2.0×
Copa Airlines ConnectMiles Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) 60,000 — ₹60,000 2.2×

First

The play · first

American Airlines AAdvantage

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Malaysia Airlines via KUL, or SriLankan Airlines via CMB

50,000 pts
surcharge not published
₹50,000 all-in at house ₹

Which card mints this?

+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →

Program Metal / routing Points Surcharge All-in ₹ vs play
American Airlines AAdvantage the play oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Malaysia Airlines via KUL, or SriLankan Airlines via CMB 50,000 — ₹50,000 the play
Air Canada Aeroplan Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (2,227 km) 55,000 — ₹55,000 1.1×

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), Lufthansa Miles & More and Air France-KLM Flying Blue state that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. United MileagePlus, American Airlines AAdvantage 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. 8 other programmes priced here publish nothing the desk could read.

Open this corridor in British Airways’ Flight Finder → It fills in your search — BKK to MAA 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.

Row by row

31 options · 15 sourced charts
Economy

Thai Royal Orchid Plus

the play 17,500 pts

Thai Airways International own metal from BKK, region award

Thai Airways Star Alliance

Thai Airways International own-metal Bangkok→Chennai. Royal Orchid Plus awards on Thai metal carry carrier-imposed (YQ/YR) surcharges plus government taxes and Thai airport fees — the Europe and Japan/Korea long-hauls carry the heaviest cash add-on, so these are points-plus-cash redemptions. A valid Thai Airways International routing is assumed.

Feed it: 8,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 17,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 17,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)

as of 10xtravel.com
Economy

IndiGo BluChip

~14,000 pts est.

IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced)

IndiGo

IndiGo BluChip has no award chart at all — redemptions track the live fare at a dynamic ₹0.40–0.60 per BluChip, minimum 500 points, taxes cash-only, own metal only with no partners. It is a rupee offset wearing points clothing, not a chart price. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 14,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — IndiGo BluChip prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. IndiGo BluChip is revenue-linked ~Rs0.50/pt; ~= typical one-way IndiGo economy fare / Rs0.50 for ~1,384 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))

as of pointsmath.com
Economy

Air China PhoenixMiles

~15,000 pts est.

Star Alliance metal (SQ/TG partner metal — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Air China PhoenixMiles

Singapore AirlinesThai Airways Star Alliance

PhoenixMiles publishes no India-origin level and its zone tables do not map cleanly onto this city pair, so the value is extrapolated off the nearest published anchors. North Asia is Air China’s only genuine strength; elsewhere it is a weak Star pricer with heavy fuel surcharges. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 15,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — Air China PhoenixMiles prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. PhoenixMiles' official zone division could not be reconciled with this corridor — Air China publishes no India-origin level, and its published zone tables do not map cleanly onto these city pairs. This value is extrapolated from the nearest published anchors, not a verified chart price.

Feed it: 18,750 HSBC Reward Points (1.25:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 45,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 90,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

as of ffp.airchina.com.cn
Economy

Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair)

~19,000 pts est.

SriLankan via CMB (oneworld) — Avios partner chart, per-segment

SriLankan Airlines oneworld

Avios prices partner awards PER SEGMENT off the published distance-zone table shared by British Airways, Qatar, Iberia, Finnair and Aer Lingus, so a connecting build is a sum of bands rather than one cell, and the December-2025 reset moved those bands. One balance spends across all five programmes; BA and Iberia metal carry the heavy carrier-imposed surcharges. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 19,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.

Feed it: 19,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 38,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 19,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)

as of milelion.com
Economy

United MileagePlus

~20,000 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — United MileagePlus

Star Alliance

United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so this is a typical Saver partner level on Star metal for this pair. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 20,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — United MileagePlus prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India ⇄ Southeast Asia 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: 10,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 50,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)

as of awardwallet.com
Economy

Avianca LifeMiles

~20,000 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Avianca LifeMiles

Star Alliance

LifeMiles publishes no chart: Avianca withdrew its public zone table in 2023 and prices Star partner awards off an unpublished internal grid — its one real edge. Business is the value cabin here; economy is mediocre. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 20,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — Avianca LifeMiles prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. 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: 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)

as of awardtravelfinder.com
Economy

Lufthansa Miles & More

21,000 pts

Thai Airways nonstop — Star Alliance partner award, fixed Miles & More chart

Thai Airways Star Alliance

The same fixed partner chart — the one the 3-Jun-2025 dynamic switch left alone — prices India↔South East Asia economy at 42,000 miles RETURN, halved to 21,000 one-way by Miles & More’s published one-way rule (General terms and conditions for Award Flights, §1.1: a single leg costs “50% fewer miles than a standard Award Flight”). It does not win here: Thai Royal Orchid Plus prices the same cabin at 17,500. What it buys is a FIXED number and a partner-metal cash bill. Thai Airways flies it nonstop. Burn a stranded Miles & More balance here if you must; the business cell at 37,500 is where this chart actually earns its keep. The chart is miles-only: the PDF still makes you pay “taxes, fees, airline surcharges payable to the respective airlines”, so the cash bill follows the OPERATING carrier — which is exactly why partner metal escapes the EUR 395–885 one-way that Lufthansa and SWISS own metal carries.

Feed it: 52,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 21,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:1) · 105,000 HDFC Reward Points (5:1 via Wyndham Rewards)

as of miles-and-more.com
Economy

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

~22,500 pts est.

Malaysia Airlines via KUL (BKK–KUL–MAA) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic)

Malaysia Airlines oneworld

No SkyTeam metal touches Chennai — Chennai's own airline table lists no Air France, KLM, Korean, Vietnam, China Eastern, Kenya, Saudia or Delta. Flying Blue's Chennai door is its non-alliance partner Malaysia Airlines, connecting at Kuala Lumpur. Only economy and business are bookable with Miles on these partners — no first. Partner awards carry the operating carrier's surcharges (the published Oman Air datapoints run US$190–390 one-way), which Flying Blue does not publish per route.

Estimate Flying Blue is dynamic and prices partner awards PER SEGMENT (One Mile at a Time, 6-Jun-2024: "you're paying the per segment pricing anyway"). No SkyTeam carrier serves Chennai at all, so this row rides Malaysia Airlines — a Flying Blue redemption partner a named Flying Blue partner — via KUL: 2,629 km + 1,222 km banded to 15,000 + 7,500 = 22,500 economy. Bands anchored on published Flying Blue partner datapoints (business one-way: Muscat–Dubai 6,100, Abu Dhabi–Kuwait 9,500, Muscat–Bangkok 42,900, Abu Dhabi–Bangkok 45,000, Muscat–Munich 45,800, Abu Dhabi–Johannesburg 48,000, Abu Dhabi–Washington 87,000); economy is half of business, the one published economy anchor. Dates and demand move the real number.

Feed it: 22,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 11,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 22,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)

as of princeoftravel.com
Economy

Air Canada Aeroplan

25,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (2,227 km)

Star Alliance

Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN. This row is the direct great-circle band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. A valid Star routing (nonstop or via a Star hub within the maximum permitted mileage) is assumed.

Feed it: 12,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 25,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 62,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)

as of aircanada.com
Economy

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands

25,000 pts

Star Alliance metal (Air India/SQ/TG — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — EVA Infinity MileageLands

Air IndiaSingapore AirlinesThai Airways Star Alliance

EVA Infinity MileageLands prices Star metal off its zone chart (India sits in "Central/South Asia"; one-way = half round-trip). EVA serves no Indian city, so the award rides partner metal end to end. EVA's own Star Alliance requirement table is a triangular ORIGIN/DESTINATION REGIONAL ZONES matrix carrying one cell per region pair, so no second number exists for this heading.

Feed it: 25,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 166,667 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 625,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)

as of evaair.com
Economy

American Airlines AAdvantage

25,000 pts

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Malaysia Airlines via KUL, or SriLankan Airlines via CMB

Malaysia AirlinesSriLankan Airlines oneworld

AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.

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 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

as of aa.com
Economy

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

~25,000 pts est.

SriLankan Airlines via CMB (oneworld partner award), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Alaska Atmos

SriLankan AirlinesMalaysia Airlines oneworld

Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle, so a connecting build can read a higher band than the map suggests — plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 25,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Priced at the flown-routing distance, not the nonstop great circle: SriLankan Airlines via CMB = ~1,889 mi summed great-circle (1.36x the 1,384-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)

as of upgradedpoints.com
Economy

Aegean Miles+Bonus

30,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Aegean Miles+Bonus

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. That chart is a single upper-triangular ZONE-PAIR matrix — 45 published cells for 9 zones, exactly one per unordered pair — so BKK → MAA and MAA → BKK resolve to the same cell. Re-read against the chart and promoted from mirror-estimate to chart read on 2026-08-06. 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)

as of upgradedpoints.com
Economy

Copa Airlines ConnectMiles

35,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart)

Star Alliance

Copa ConnectMiles prices Star partner metal off a FIXED region chart (India sits in Copa’s "Central Asia" zone). 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. Copa's partner chart is a strictly upper-triangular region matrix — one cell per unordered region pair, no direction axis at all — so 35,000 is the same published cell as maa-bkk, re-read off the official Copa PDF on 2026-08-06 rather than inferred.

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)

as of copaair.com
Economy

TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go

~50,000 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — TAP Miles&Go

Star Alliance

TAP Miles&Go prices Star partner metal off its region chart, and the 4-May-2026 devaluation lifted its long-haul cells. A cell holds only while the itinerary stays inside two TAP regions — a build that crosses a third region is billed flight by flight and summed. Lufthansa-group metal carries the heaviest surcharges on Star. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 50,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.

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)

Business

Thai Royal Orchid Plus

the play 27,500 pts

Thai Airways International own metal from BKK, region award

Thai Airways Star Alliance

Thai Airways International own-metal Bangkok→Chennai. Royal Orchid Plus awards on Thai metal carry carrier-imposed (YQ/YR) surcharges plus government taxes and Thai airport fees — the Europe and Japan/Korea long-hauls carry the heaviest cash add-on, so these are points-plus-cash redemptions. A valid Thai Airways International routing is assumed.

Feed it: 13,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 27,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 27,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)

as of 10xtravel.com
Business

Air China PhoenixMiles

~27,000 pts est.

Star Alliance metal (SQ/TG partner metal — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Air China PhoenixMiles

Singapore AirlinesThai Airways Star Alliance

PhoenixMiles publishes no India-origin level and its zone tables do not map cleanly onto this city pair, so the value is extrapolated off the nearest published anchors. North Asia is Air China’s only genuine strength; elsewhere it is a weak Star pricer with heavy fuel surcharges. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 27,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — Air China PhoenixMiles prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. PhoenixMiles' official zone division could not be reconciled with this corridor — Air China publishes no India-origin level, and its published zone tables do not map cleanly onto these city pairs. This value is extrapolated from the nearest published anchors, not a verified chart price.

Feed it: 66,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.44:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 132,000 RBL Reward Points (4.89:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 33,750 HSBC Reward Points (1.25:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))

as of ffp.airchina.com.cn
Business

Avianca LifeMiles

~37,000 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Avianca LifeMiles

Star Alliance

LifeMiles publishes no chart: Avianca withdrew its public zone table in 2023 and prices Star partner awards off an unpublished internal grid — its one real edge. Business is the value cabin here; economy is mediocre. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 37,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — Avianca LifeMiles prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. 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: 111,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 222,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 74,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)

as of awardtravelfinder.com
Business

Lufthansa Miles & More

37,500 pts

Thai Airways nonstop — Star Alliance partner award, fixed Miles & More chart

Thai Airways Star Alliance

Miles & More's PARTNER chart is the one thing the 3-Jun-2025 switch to dynamic pricing did not touch, and the official Award Flight chart (correct as of 3 March 2026) gives INDIA its own region, separate from South East Asia and from Central Asia/Far East. India↔South East Asia in business is 75,000 miles RETURN. The halving is published, not assumed: Miles & More's General terms and conditions for Award Flights, §1.1 One-way Award Flight, reads “One-way Award Flights allow you to book an Award Flight for a single leg for 50% fewer miles than a standard Award Flight”, and carves out only Lufthansa/SWISS/Austrian metal, where the saving tracks the dynamic online offer. That puts this corridor at 37,500 one-way, fixed and published — the single best use of a Miles & More balance from India. It does not win here: Thai Royal Orchid Plus prices the same cabin at 27,500. What it buys is a FIXED number and a partner-metal cash bill. Thai Airways flies it nonstop. Thai releases partner Saver business far more freely than Singapore Airlines does, which is what makes this cell bookable rather than theoretical. The chart is miles-only: the PDF still makes you pay “taxes, fees, airline surcharges payable to the respective airlines”, so the cash bill follows the OPERATING carrier — which is exactly why partner metal escapes the EUR 395–885 one-way that Lufthansa and SWISS own metal carries.

Feed it: 93,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 37,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:1) · 187,500 HDFC Reward Points (5:1 via Wyndham Rewards)

as of miles-and-more.com
Business

Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair)

~38,500 pts est.

SriLankan business via CMB (oneworld) — Avios partner chart, per-segment

SriLankan Airlines oneworld

Avios prices partner awards PER SEGMENT off the published distance-zone table shared by British Airways, Qatar, Iberia, Finnair and Aer Lingus, so a connecting build is a sum of bands rather than one cell, and the December-2025 reset moved those bands. One balance spends across all five programmes; BA and Iberia metal carry the heavy carrier-imposed surcharges. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 38,500 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.

Feed it: 38,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 77,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 38,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)

as of milelion.com
Business

United MileagePlus

~40,000 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — United MileagePlus

Star Alliance

United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so this is a typical Saver partner level on Star metal for this pair. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 40,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — United MileagePlus prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India ⇄ Southeast Asia 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: 20,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 100,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 90,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.25:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)

as of awardwallet.com
Business

American Airlines AAdvantage

40,000 pts

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Malaysia Airlines via KUL, or SriLankan Airlines via CMB

Malaysia AirlinesSriLankan Airlines oneworld

AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.

Feed it: 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 80,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

as of aa.com
Business

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands

42,500 pts

Star Alliance metal (Air India/SQ/TG — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — EVA Infinity MileageLands

Air IndiaSingapore AirlinesThai Airways Star Alliance

EVA Infinity MileageLands prices Star metal off its zone chart (India sits in "Central/South Asia"; one-way = half round-trip). EVA serves no Indian city, so the award rides partner metal end to end. EVA's own Star Alliance requirement table is a triangular ORIGIN/DESTINATION REGIONAL ZONES matrix carrying one cell per region pair, so no second number exists for this heading.

Feed it: 42,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 283,334 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 1,062,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)

as of evaair.com
Business

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

~45,000 pts est.

Malaysia Airlines via KUL (BKK–KUL–MAA) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic)

Malaysia Airlines oneworld

No SkyTeam metal touches Chennai — Chennai's own airline table lists no Air France, KLM, Korean, Vietnam, China Eastern, Kenya, Saudia or Delta. Flying Blue's Chennai door is its non-alliance partner Malaysia Airlines, connecting at Kuala Lumpur. Only economy and business are bookable with Miles on these partners — no first. Partner awards carry the operating carrier's surcharges (the published Oman Air datapoints run US$190–390 one-way), which Flying Blue does not publish per route.

Estimate Flying Blue is dynamic and prices partner awards PER SEGMENT (One Mile at a Time, 6-Jun-2024: "you're paying the per segment pricing anyway"). No SkyTeam carrier serves Chennai at all, so this row rides Malaysia Airlines — a Flying Blue redemption partner a named Flying Blue partner — via KUL: 2,629 km + 1,222 km banded to 30,000 + 15,000 = 45,000 business. Bands anchored on published Flying Blue partner datapoints (business one-way: Muscat–Dubai 6,100, Abu Dhabi–Kuwait 9,500, Muscat–Bangkok 42,900, Abu Dhabi–Bangkok 45,000, Muscat–Munich 45,800, Abu Dhabi–Johannesburg 48,000, Abu Dhabi–Washington 87,000); economy is half of business, the one published economy anchor. Dates and demand move the real number.

Feed it: 45,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 22,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 45,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)

as of princeoftravel.com
Business

Aegean Miles+Bonus

45,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Aegean Miles+Bonus

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. That chart is a single upper-triangular ZONE-PAIR matrix — 45 published cells for 9 zones, exactly one per unordered pair — so BKK → MAA and MAA → BKK resolve to the same cell. Re-read against the chart and promoted from mirror-estimate to chart read on 2026-08-06. 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: 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.67:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (5.33:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 80,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.78:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

as of upgradedpoints.com
Business

Air Canada Aeroplan

47,500 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (2,227 km)

Star Alliance

Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN. This row is the direct great-circle band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. A valid Star routing (nonstop or via a Star hub within the maximum permitted mileage) is assumed.

Feed it: 23,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 47,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 118,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)

as of aircanada.com
Business

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

~50,000 pts est.

SriLankan Airlines via CMB (oneworld partner award), India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Alaska Atmos

SriLankan AirlinesMalaysia Airlines oneworld

Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle, so a connecting build can read a higher band than the map suggests — plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 50,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Priced at the flown-routing distance, not the nonstop great circle: SriLankan Airlines via CMB = ~1,889 mi summed great-circle (1.36x the 1,384-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)

as of upgradedpoints.com
Business

TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go

~70,000 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — TAP Miles&Go

Star Alliance

TAP Miles&Go prices Star partner metal off its region chart, and the 4-May-2026 devaluation lifted its long-haul cells. A cell holds only while the itinerary stays inside two TAP regions — a build that crosses a third region is billed flight by flight and summed. Lufthansa-group metal carries the heaviest surcharges on Star. Mirrored from maa-bkk: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 70,000 is the maa-bkk number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of maa-bkk — TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the maa-bkk business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.

Feed it: 180,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.57:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 360,000 RBL Reward Points (5.14:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.71:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

Business

Copa Airlines ConnectMiles

60,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ Southeast Asia — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart)

Star Alliance

Copa ConnectMiles prices Star partner metal off a FIXED region chart (India sits in Copa’s "Central Asia" zone). 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. Copa's partner chart is a strictly upper-triangular region matrix — one cell per unordered region pair, no direction axis at all — so 60,000 is the same published cell as maa-bkk, re-read off the official Copa PDF on 2026-08-06 rather than inferred.

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)

as of copaair.com
First

American Airlines AAdvantage

the play 50,000 pts

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Malaysia Airlines via KUL, or SriLankan Airlines via CMB

Malaysia AirlinesSriLankan Airlines oneworld

AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.

Feed it: 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 300,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 100,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)

as of aa.com
First

Air Canada Aeroplan

55,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (2,227 km)

Star Alliance

Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN. This row is the direct great-circle band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. A valid Star routing (nonstop or via a Star hub within the maximum permitted mileage) is assumed.

Feed it: 27,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 55,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 137,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)

as of aircanada.com

More corridors

39 from BKK · 40 to MAA

Flying back? Chennai to Bangkok on points (MAA–BKK). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into South Asia — 380 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.