Award route card · one-way
Delhi's cheapest-business-corridor story, retold from Mumbai — because Thai's chart is zone-based, not distance-based, and all of India is Zone 3. Royal Silk to TG's own hub still costs 27,500 miles one-way, Maharaja's flat 12,000-point economy tier still undercuts everything, and Aeroplan still can't compete at 47,500. Same two honest plays, 700 kilometres further west.
The play · business
Feed it: 13,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 27,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 27,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai Royal Orchid Plus | Thai Airways nonstop (Star Alliance), Royal Silk | 27,500 | — | ₹27,500 | the play |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India nonstop (Star Alliance), Value tier | 50,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 1.5× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Thai Airways or Air India metal (Star Alliance partner award) | 47,500 | — | ₹47,500 | 1.7× |
The play · economy
Feed it: 12,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 6,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 12,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India nonstop (Star Alliance), Value tier | 12,000 | — | ₹9,600 | the play |
| Thai Royal Orchid Plus | Thai Airways nonstop (Star Alliance), zone chart | 17,500 | — | ₹17,500 | 1.8× |
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, 2-hop chains included.
27,500 miles one-way in Royal Silk — the standout published business rate on any India corridor, ex-Mumbai edition. HDFC (2:1), Axis (1:2), HSBC (1:1) and SBI (1:1) all feed ROP; mind the hard 3-year expiry and stick to TG-operated flights.
Feed it: 13,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 27,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 27,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
The 50,000-point SE Asia business tier — 1.8× Thai's 27,500 for the same corridor, a gap even Maharaja's cheaper ₹/point can't close. Fly TG up front here.
Feed it: 50,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 25,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 50,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
BOM–BKK's 1,883 great-circle miles sit in the 0–2,500-mile Atlantic–Pacific band — 47,500 after the June-2026 hike, same as Delhi. Surcharge-free but 1.7× Thai's own chart; only for points already stranded in Aeroplan.
Feed it: 23,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 47,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 1,18,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Bangkok is named on the flat 12,000-point SE Asia tier — ₹9,600 at house value, the cheapest way across the Bay of Bengal on points.
Feed it: 12,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 6,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 12,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
Zone 3 (all of India) → Bangkok: 17,500 in economy, identical to Delhi because Thai prices by country zone, not miles. ₹8–14k cash fares make this a skip; the business row is the reason ROP exists.
Feed it: 8,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 17,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 17,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)