Award route card · one-way

Bengaluru Malé

BLR → MLE 1,102 km · 685 mi — short-haul international, ~2 hours 4 programs priced as of 2026-07-22

The Maldives run the April-2026 chart newly priced. Air India added Bengaluru–Malé at 8,000 Maharaja points economy — below the 10,000 South Asia tier Delhi pays, ₹6,400 at house value against ₹10–20k cash on a honeymoon-inflated route, a genuine buy when Value space shows. IndiGo flies the nonstop too, chart-less on BluChip. The Gulf carriers will sell you the long way round — Emirates via Dubai, Etihad via Abu Dhabi, both a westward backtrack their calculators price dynamically and nobody should pay for a 2-hour hop. Maharaja's 8,000 is the play; everything else is detour.

Economy

The play · economy

Air India Maharaja Points

Air India (Star Alliance), Value tier — BLR–MLE newly priced Apr-2026

Feed it: 8,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 4,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 8,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)

8,000 pts
surcharge not published
₹6,400 all-in at house ₹
Program Metal / routing Points Surcharge All-in ₹ vs play
Air India Maharaja Points Air India (Star Alliance), Value tier — BLR–MLE newly priced Apr-2026 8,000 ₹6,400 the play
IndiGo BluChip IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) dynamic
Emirates Skywards Emirates via DXB (BLR–DXB–MLE) — Classic Rewards, calculator-priced dynamic
Etihad Guest Etihad via AUH (BLR–AUH–MLE) — dynamic Guest pricing dynamic

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. “Dynamic” rows never compete for the play. Feed-ins come from the same transfer data as the optimizer, multi-hop chains included.

Row by row

Economy

Air India Maharaja Points

the play 8,000 pts

Air India (Star Alliance), Value tier — BLR–MLE newly priced Apr-2026

The April-2026 chart newly prices Bengaluru–Malé at 8,000 points — below the 10,000 flat South Asia tier Delhi–Malé pays, because Air India prices routes, not distance. Whether AI runs it nonstop or connects through a South-India hub isn't confirmed by the chart; the route-level price is the sourced fact. IndiGo also flies the nonstop. Taxes unpublished; Maldives departure levies land on the return.

Feed it: 8,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 4,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 8,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)

as of 2026-07-22 magnify.club
Economy

IndiGo BluChip

dynamic

IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced)

IndiGo flies Bengaluru–Malé nonstop, but BluChip prices every seat off the live fare — dynamic ₹0.40–0.60 per BluChip, no chart, minimum 500, taxes cash-only. On a route where honeymoon-season fares run rich, the revenue-priced award just mirrors that; the fixed Maharaja 8,000 is the plan.

Ways in: HSBC Reward Points 1.5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL) · Axis EDGE Reward Points 5:1 · HDFC Reward Points 3:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)

as of 2026-07-22 cardinsider.com
Economy

Emirates Skywards

dynamic

Emirates via DXB (BLR–DXB–MLE) — Classic Rewards, calculator-priced

Emirates connects Bengaluru–Malé through Dubai but publishes no chart — the Miles Calculator prices it per date, the May-2026 devaluation lifted premium ~15%, and EK's surcharges are heavy. A westward Gulf backtrack roughly quadrupling the nonstop distance; never the value buy on a 2-hour leisure hop.

Ways in: Amex Membership Rewards 2:1 · RBL Reward Points 4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy · Axis EDGE Miles 1:1.25 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy

as of 2026-07-22 awardwallet.com
Economy

Etihad Guest

dynamic

Etihad via AUH (BLR–AUH–MLE) — dynamic Guest pricing

Etihad serves Bengaluru–Malé through Abu Dhabi but Guest prices dynamically with no published number and carrier surcharges. Another westward Gulf detour; check the Guest calculator against cash only if you're already flying Etihad — otherwise Maharaja's nonstop-priced 8,000 wins outright.

Ways in: Axis EDGE Miles 1:2 · HSBC Reward Points 1:1 · SBI Travel Credits 1:1

as of 2026-07-22 pointsdojo.com