Award route card · one-way
The corridor Bengaluru just won outright. Japan Airlines flies BLR-Narita NONSTOP, and JMB's own base chart sells it at 17,500 miles economy / 40,000 business one-way — direct-fed (HSBC 1:1, Axis EDGE 1:2, SBI 2:1), no hotel gymnastics, no Changi detour. KrisFlyer's Zone6→7 via Singapore wants 42,000/88,000 for two SQ legs and a ~5-hour backtrack; Asia Miles via Hong Kong and Aeroplan on a Star hub round out the board. When the direct-fed program flies the nonstop, everyone else is completeness.
The play · business
Feed it: 20,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 40,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 1,00,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Airlines Mileage Bank | Japan Airlines nonstop to Narita (oneworld), base award | 40,000 | — | ₹44,000 | the play |
| Cathay Asia Miles | Cathay Pacific business via HKG (oneworld), Standard award — cumulative-distance pricing | 60,000 | — | ₹60,000 | 1.4× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner award via hub (ANA/SQ/TG metal) — JAL is oneworld, not Aeroplan-bookable | 75,000 | — | ₹75,000 | 1.7× |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Singapore Airlines via SIN (one stop), Saver | 88,000 | — | ₹96,800 | 2.2× |
The play · economy
Feed it: 8,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 17,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 43,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Airlines Mileage Bank | Japan Airlines nonstop to Narita (oneworld), base award | 17,500 | — | ₹19,250 | the play |
| Cathay Asia Miles | Cathay Pacific via HKG (oneworld), Standard award — cumulative-distance pricing | 20,000 | — | ₹20,000 | 1.0× |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Singapore Airlines via SIN (one stop), Saver | 42,000 | — | ₹46,200 | 2.4× |
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.
40,000 base miles one-way in business on the BLR-Narita nonstop — the best chart rate any directly-fed program posts to Tokyo, and now a nonstop from Bengaluru. HSBC TravelOne's instant 1:1 makes this the low-friction play; the whole corridor is JMB's to lose.
Feed it: 20,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 40,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 1,00,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
60,000 Standard for two Cathay business legs through Hong Kong — 1.5× JAL's 40,000 nonstop and a longer trip. SBI feeds Asia Miles 1:1 with no hotel gymnastics, but on this corridor JAL's own chart wins and it's not close. Standard space capped; dynamic "Choice" takes over when it's gone.
Feed it: 1,20,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 60,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 2,88,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Bengaluru→Tokyo prices at 75,000 in business on the June-2026 chart — but JAL's nonstop is oneworld, so Aeroplan routes you via a Star hub (SIN on SQ, BKK on Thai, then ANA/partner metal to Japan). 1.9× JAL's own 40,000 nonstop; exists only because Aeroplan is reachable 1:1 from SBI and 1:2 from Atlas without touching a hotel program.
Feed it: 37,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 75,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 1,87,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
88,000 Saver in business via Changi — 2.2× JAL's 40,000 nonstop for a detour and an extra stop. Zone 6 → Zone 7, asterisked (over-MPM routing recomputes above the printed fare). Direct-fed and bookable, but on this corridor the JAL nonstop is cheaper AND faster; completeness.
Feed it: 88,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 44,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 1,76,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1)
17,500 base miles one-way on JAL's own BLR-Narita nonstop — the same India↔Japan base rate that survived the June-2025 hikes, now bookable from Bengaluru without a connection. Directly fed: HSBC 1:1, Axis EDGE 1:2, SBI 2:1. When base space is gone, dynamic "PLUS" pricing balloons past 130,000 — never pay it.
Feed it: 8,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 17,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 43,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
BLR-HKG-NRT totals ~4,298 flown miles — the 2,751-5,000 band at 20,000 Standard, the band charging India no type-2 premium. 2,500 over JAL's 17,500 nonstop, plus a Hong Kong dog-leg; a row for SBI-fed Asia Miles, not the play.
Feed it: 40,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 20,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 96,001 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Zone 6 → Zone 7 (Japan & Korea) on the official 1-Nov-2025 chart: 42,000 Saver for two SQ legs through Changi — 2.4× JAL's own 17,500 nonstop, for a ~5-hour southbound detour. ASTERISKED: no India-Japan SQ nonstop, the SIN routing backtracks and can exceed MPM, so 42,000 is the published reference and a floor. Exists because KrisFlyer is the balance four Indian issuers hold; the JAL nonstop is the buy.
Feed it: 42,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 21,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 84,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1)