Air India nonstop (Star Alliance), Value tier
Air India Star Alliance
Cut 13% in April 2026 (8,000 → 7,000) — the same route table also trimmed premium economy to 14,000 (no PE cabin on this desk). ₹5,600 at house value against ₹5–9k cash; taxes unpublished, budget a few thousand rupees. Six issuers feed Maharaja at 1:1 or better.
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: 7,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 3,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 7,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced)
IndiGo
IndiGo runs the highest frequency on this trunk, but BluChip has no award chart — redemptions track the live fare at a dynamic ₹0.40–0.60 per BluChip, minimum 500, taxes plus convenience fees cash-only. Nothing to plan around; useful only to bleed a balance onto a fare you'd have paid anyway.
Estimate IndiGo BluChip is revenue-linked ~Rs0.50/pt; ~= typical one-way IndiGo economy fare / Rs0.50 for ~1,062 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 nonstop (Star Alliance partner award)
Air India Star Alliance
Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN — only a CA$39 partner booking fee plus taxes. First is the published top cabin for this band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. Mirrored from del-blr: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 15,000 is the del-blr number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of del-blr — Air Canada Aeroplan prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the del-blr economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.
Feed it: 7,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 15,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 37,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Business ~25,000 pts est. Air India nonstop (Star Alliance), Value tier
Air India Star Alliance
Cut 19% in April 2026 (31,000 → 25,000) — the deepest domestic business cut on a metro trunk. Still ₹20,000 of points for under three hours in a narrowbody recliner; the chart rewards the front of the A350 long-haul, not this.
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: 25,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 12,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 25,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
Business ~22,500 pts est. Air India nonstop (Star Alliance partner award)
Air India Star Alliance
Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN — only a CA$39 partner booking fee plus taxes. First is the published top cabin for this band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. Mirrored from del-blr: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 22,500 is the del-blr number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of del-blr — Air Canada Aeroplan prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the del-blr business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.
Feed it: 11,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 22,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 56,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)