Award flight · one-way
Cut 40%, and still not a mainline flight. Bengaluru–Ahmedabad fell from 7,500 to 4,500 Maharaja points in April 2026 — the deepest domestic economy cut in this batch — but the nonstop metal is Air India Express and Akasa, not Air India. That decides the front cabin: Express sells economy only, so the chart's 20,000-point business cell is flyable only as a mainline one-stop through Mumbai, which at 1,278 km against a 1,222 km great circle is one of the few Indian doglegs that genuinely stays on the way. Fly that same routing on Aeroplan and the 794 miles flown land in the cheapest Within-Atlantic band instead. The cheapest verified business seat on the board is 12,500 via Air Canada Aeroplan, and economy starts at 7,500. Five options, four of them first-hand chart reads.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan the play | Air India mainline one-stop via Mumbai (Star Alliance partner award) — no Star nonstop on this pair | 7,500 | — | ₹7,500 | the play |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India Express nonstop (economy only), or Air India mainline one-stop via Mumbai — same calculator cell either way | ~4,500 est. | — | ₹3,600 | 0.5× |
| IndiGo BluChip | IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) | ~10,400 est. | — | ₹5,200 | 0.7× |
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 mainline one-stop via Mumbai (Star Alliance partner award) — no Star nonstop on this pair | 12,500 | — | ₹12,500 | the play |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India mainline one-stop via Mumbai (Star Alliance) — the Air India Express nonstop is economy-only | ~20,000 est. | — | ₹16,000 | 1.3× |
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.
Air India Star Alliance
Aeroplan prices total distance FLOWN, and Bengaluru–Mumbai–Ahmedabad is 794 miles — inside the 0–1,000-mile Within-Atlantic band at 7,500 points, surcharge-free. Maharaja sells the Express nonstop for 4,500, so this row is completeness: it exists because Air Canada will issue the mainline connection, not because you should buy it.
Feed it: 3,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 7,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 18,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Air India ExpressAir India
Cut 40% in April 2026 (7,500 → 4,500), the deepest domestic economy cut in this batch and part of the tier-2 Ahmedabad haircut. ₹3,600 at house value against ₹4–7k cash. Air India Express seats went redeemable with Maharaja Points on 21-May-2026, so the nonstop is the easy booking; the mainline one-stop via Mumbai prices at the same cell. The published range tops out at 12,500. Taxes are cash on top.
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: 4,500 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 2,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 4,500 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
IndiGo
IndiGo and Akasa both fly Bengaluru–Ahmedabad nonstop, but only IndiGo has a currency, and BluChip has no award chart — redemptions track the live fare at ₹0.40–0.60 per BluChip, minimum 500, taxes cash-only. Against a 4,500-point fixed cell, it is not close.
Estimate IndiGo BluChip is revenue-linked ~Rs0.50/pt; ~= typical one-way IndiGo economy fare / Rs0.50 for ~759 mi - a rupee offset that moves 1:1 with the live fare. Own-metal only, no partners.
Feed it: 15,600 HSBC Reward Points (1.5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 52,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1) · 31,200 HDFC Reward Points (3:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Air India Star Alliance
The same Bengaluru–Mumbai–Ahmedabad mainline itinerary Maharaja charges 20,000 for, priced at 12,500 in the 0–1,000-mile band — fixed, surcharge-free, a 38% discount routed through Toronto. Chain-funded HDFC 2:1 / Bonvoy 3:1. The only way to the front of this corridor that is worth the points.
Feed it: 6,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 12,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 31,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Air India Star Alliance
Held at 20,000 through the April-2026 overhaul, and it needs an asterisk the chart does not print: there is no nonstop business cabin on this pair. Air India Express carries none, so the cell is only flyable Bengaluru–Mumbai–Ahmedabad on mainline metal — 1,278 km against a 1,222 km great circle, a 1.05× detour that comfortably stays on the way. ₹16,000 of points for that, when Aeroplan prices the identical routing at 12,500.
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: 20,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 10,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 20,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into South Asia — 360 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,430 corridors priced.