Award flight · one-way
Colombo → Dubai on points: 31 options, the board now symmetric with Dubai → Colombo. Award charts price the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so every program that prices the reverse heading is mirrored here — a mirror still flagged as an estimate never takes the crown. The cheapest verified business seat on the board is 30,000 via Aegean Miles+Bonus, and economy starts at 14,500. 19 rows are 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) the play | SriLankan nonstop (oneworld), partner distance band | 14,500 | — | ₹14,500 | the play |
| IndiGo BluChip | IndiGo via BLR (one stop) — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) | ~20,000 est. | — | ₹10,000 | 0.7× |
| Emirates Skywards | Emirates nonstop — Classic Rewards, calculator-priced | ~15,000 est. | — | ₹13,500 | 0.9× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Avianca LifeMiles | ~15,000 est. | — | ₹15,000 | 1.0× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — United MileagePlus | ~17,500 est. | — | ₹17,500 | 1.2× |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Qatar via DOH, or Qatar Airways via DOH | 17,500 | — | ₹17,500 | 1.2× |
| Etihad Guest | Etihad nonstop to AUH — lands Abu Dhabi, not Dubai | ~20,000 est. | — | ₹20,000 | 1.4× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 20,000 | — | ₹20,000 | 1.4× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 20,000 | — | ₹20,000 | 1.4× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | SriLankan Airlines nonstop CMB-DXB (oneworld partner award), India→the Gulf — Alaska Atmos | 25,000 | — | ₹25,000 | 1.7× |
| SriLankan FlySmiLes | SriLankan nonstop — FlySmiLes published zone chart (own metal, online price) — nonstop | 30,195 | — | ₹27,176 | 1.9× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air India via Mumbai (Star Alliance partner award) | 30,000 | — | ₹30,000 | 2.1× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | China Eastern via PVG (CMB–PVG–DXB) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) | ~47,500 est. | — | ₹47,500 | 3.3× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — TAP Miles&Go | 60,000 | — | ₹48,000 | 3.3× |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance metal (Air India — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India→the Gulf — EVA Infinity MileageLands | 51,000 | — | ₹51,000 | 3.5× |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aegean Miles+Bonus the play | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 30,000 | — | ₹30,000 | the play |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Avianca LifeMiles | ~25,000 est. | — | ₹25,000 | 0.8× |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Qatar via DOH, or Qatar Airways via DOH | 30,000 | — | ₹30,000 | 1.0× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — United MileagePlus | ~32,500 est. | — | ₹32,500 | 1.1× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 35,000 | — | ₹35,000 | 1.2× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air India via Mumbai (Star Alliance partner award) | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 1.3× |
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) | SriLankan nonstop (oneworld), partner distance band | 43,000 | — | ₹43,000 | 1.4× |
| Emirates Skywards | Emirates nonstop — Classic Rewards, calculator-priced | ~50,000 est. | — | ₹45,000 | 1.5× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | SriLankan Airlines nonstop CMB-DXB (oneworld partner award), India→the Gulf — Alaska Atmos | 50,000 | — | ₹50,000 | 1.7× |
| SriLankan FlySmiLes | SriLankan nonstop — FlySmiLes published zone chart (own metal, online price) — nonstop | 60,390 | — | ₹54,351 | 1.8× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→the Gulf — TAP Miles&Go | 80,000 | — | ₹64,000 | 2.1× |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance metal (Air India — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India→the Gulf — EVA Infinity MileageLands | 67,000 | — | ₹67,000 | 2.2× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | China Eastern via PVG (CMB–PVG–DXB) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) | ~95,000 est. | — | ₹95,000 | 3.2× |
The play · first
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines AAdvantage the play | oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Qatar via DOH, or Qatar Airways via DOH | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air India via Mumbai (Star Alliance partner award) | ~75,000 est. | — | ₹75,000 | 1.9× |
| Emirates Skywards | Emirates nonstop — Classic Rewards, calculator-priced | ~107,000 est. | — | ₹96,300 | 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. 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.
Chart-priced, not live seats. These prices are read off each programme’s published award chart and valued at our own house ₹/point. 37% of the 39,855 priced options on the board are stated estimates for programmes that publish no chart; they are marked ~ est. and never crowned the play. Nobody here can see whether a seat exists on your date — confirm the space with the programme before you transfer. Points that leave your issuer do not come back.
The cash on top of the miles. Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair), Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest and Air France-KLM Flying Blue state that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. United MileagePlus, American Airlines AAdvantage and Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards make you liable for one if the operating airline levies it, without saying whether it does. Air Canada Aeroplan states it adds none on its own metal. Government taxes and airport charges are payable in every case. Almost no programme publishes the amount, so the desk carries each one’s policy in its own words — on its programme hub — rather than a number nobody published. 7 other programmes priced here publish nothing the desk could read.
Open this corridor in British Airways’ Flight Finder → It fills in your search — CMB to DXB on 29/12/2026, which you change there. It does not show award space, and no link on this page can. It is the only carrier handoff the desk ships: Qatar returns CASH fares under award-looking parameters, Aeroplan discards them behind a login, KrisFlyer’s search has no URL to link to, and the Flying Blue template in circulation has never been verified.
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
The 2,001–3,000-mile band: 14,500 Avios one-way post-Dec-2025 (was 13,000). A fine price for a 4½-hour flight — but weigh it against the corridor's chronically cheap cash fares before transferring.
Feed it: 14,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 29,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 14,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
IndiGo
IndiGo runs Colombo–Bengaluru–Dubai on its own aircraft, but BluChip is fare-linked at roughly ₹0.40–0.60 per point, min 500 chips, no chart. Emirates and SriLankan fly it nonstop; the BluChip row is for completeness.
Estimate IndiGo BluChip is revenue-linked ~Rs0.50/pt; ~= typical one-way IndiGo economy fare / Rs0.50 for ~2,043 mi - a rupee offset that moves 1:1 with the live fare. Own-metal only, no partners.
Feed it: 30,000 HSBC Reward Points (1.5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 100,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1) · 60,000 HDFC Reward Points (3:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Emirates
No chart — the Miles Calculator prices CMB–DXB per date, and economy Savers came through the May-2026 devaluation unchanged. Ex-CMB carrier charges are lighter than ex-Europe but unpublished. Check the calculator against a cash fare that's often too cheap to beat.
Estimate Emirates Skywards one-way Saver estimate, re-marked 01-Aug-2026 to the official miles-calculator pull of 25-Jul-2026 (post the 20-May-2026 devaluation, premium cabins +~15%; connecting corridors summed per leg); dynamic - no published chart, Saver space thin, Flex/Flex Plus price well above.
Feed it: 30,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 90,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 30,000 SBI Travel Credits (2:1)
Star Alliance
LifeMiles prices Star partner metal off an unpublished grid; India→Europe business ~63k is the headline sweet spot (beats Aeroplan). Business is the value cabin here; economy is mediocre. The chart is semi-fixed/unpublished, so some bands are estimates.
Estimate LifeMiles publishes no award chart — Avianca withdrew its public zone table in 2023 and prices Star partner awards off an unpublished internal grid. This level is extrapolated from that historical zone pricing plus dated community booking reports, not a verified chart price.
Feed it: 45,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 90,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 30,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~17,500 is a typical Saver partner level to the Gulf. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India→the Gulf on Star Alliance metal; United went fully dynamic in 2020, so this is a typical Saver that moves with availability and cabin scarcity.
Feed it: 8,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 43,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 52,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
Qatar Airways oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. First is the chart’s top cabin for this region pair, so the cell is easier to read than to book wherever no oneworld carrier flies a first cabin on the sector. That region-to-region cell is the PAIR, not the direction: every Indian-Subcontinent cell reads identically from either origin chart, so this heading has one published number.
Feed it: 52,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 105,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 35,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Etihad Airways
Etihad flies Colombo–Abu Dhabi daily, 90 road-minutes from Dubai — the same near-miss the desk prints for Dhaka and Malé. Saver Award pricing is demand-based with a theoretical chart floor, plus Etihad's signature surcharges; only worth pricing if an Etihad Guest balance is already stranded.
Estimate Etihad Guest Saver Award starting level for the ~2,051-mile flown itinerary (nonstop to AUH), read off Etihad's last published one-way distance-band structure (2,500-mile band). Etihad publishes no award chart today - GuestSeat became Saver Award on 13-Nov-2025 and pricing lives in the Miles Calculator - so fixed-rate space is limited and real quotes often run well above this floor.
Feed it: 10,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 20,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 50,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Star Alliance
Aegean Miles+Bonus prices Star partner metal off one region chart published as ROUND TRIPS — its own rule is that a one-way costs exactly half, and the halved figure is what we show. India sits in the "Near East & Central Asia" zone: the Far East is a flat 30k/45k one-way (Tokyo costs the same as Bangkok), Europe 35k/55k, North America 50k/75k. No Indian card feeds it — Marriott Bonvoy 3:1 is the only road in, and awards only display once you hold the full balance.
Feed it: 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
Copa ConnectMiles prices Star partner metal off its FIXED region chart (India sits in Copa’s "Central Asia" zone). Standout value — India→Europe 45k business, India→Sub-Saharan Africa 17.5k economy on Ethiopian (Cairo is a dearer 20k Middle East cell) — but NO Indian card feeds ConnectMiles (buy-miles or a US co-brand only), so treat it as a reference benchmark, not a wallet-reachable route.
Feed it: 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
SriLankan AirlinesQatar Airways oneworld
SriLankan Airlines flies CMB-DXB nonstop, ~2,043 miles, and Alaska Atmos bands partner awards by distance flown — the Asia-Pacific chart's 1,501-3,000 mi band: 25,000 economy / 50,000 business one-way, plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). One-way.
Feed it: 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
FlySmiLes 20-zone published chart (official PDF, effective 01-Sep-2022, machine-validated cell-by-cell — spec: docs/research/hub-grid/specs/srilankan-flysmiles.json). ONLINE one-way price on UL own metal (phone bookings cost ~11% more); YQ passes on awards. SriLankan is the only oneworld carrier at Colombo, so this is CMB's own-metal door.
Air India Star Alliance
Aeroplan routes CMB–DXB via Mumbai on Air India mainline (SriLankan and Emirates aren't partners) — 947 + 1,199 ≈ 2,146 flown miles, the 2,001–4,000-mile Within-Atlantic band at 30,000 economy. Cash beats it; the business seat is the case.
Feed it: 15,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 30,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 75,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
China Eastern SkyTeam
Flying Blue prices dynamically — no fixed chart — and bills partner awards PER SEGMENT, so a connection is a sum. Air France/KLM pass carrier (YQ) surcharges on own metal, and only economy and business are bookable on partners. Mirrored from dxb-cmb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 47,500 is the dxb-cmb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of dxb-cmb — Air France-KLM Flying Blue prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the dxb-cmb economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Flying Blue publishes no chart, but prices PARTNER awards PER SEGMENT — One Mile at a Time, 6-Jun-2024 on the Oman Air launch: "you're paying the per segment pricing anyway", and the additive structure reproduces all four published connection datapoints inside 5%. This row rides China Eastern (a Flying Blue SkyTeam and non-alliance partner redemption — Flying Blue runs ONE partner engine over SkyTeam and non-alliance metal alike, which the 13-Jan-2025 repricing proved by moving Etihad and Delta together), so it is banded segment by segment: DXB–PVG 6,449 km ⇄ 25,000 + PVG–CMB 5,099 km ⇄ 22,500 = 47,500 economy. Bands anchored on the published Flying Blue partner datapoints (one-way business: Muscat–Dubai 6,100, Abu Dhabi–Kuwait 9,500, Muscat–Bangkok 42,900, Abu Dhabi–Bangkok 45,000, Muscat–Munich 45,800, Abu Dhabi–Johannesburg 48,000, Abu Dhabi–Washington 87,000), with economy at half of business — the one published economy anchor is Toronto–Abu Dhabi 43,500 against an ~87,000 business segment of the same length. Dates and demand move the real number. CARRIER CAVEAT: the desk's bands are fitted on Gulf-carrier datapoints and China Eastern consistently prices ABOVE them in published quotes (roughly +40% to +120%), so read this as a floor rather than a midpoint.
Feed it: 47,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 23,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 47,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Star Alliance
The 4 May 2026 chart pulled the Gulf out of TAP's "Asia" zone and gave it a Middle East band of its own: India→Middle East went 40k/60k → 60k/80k one-way, +50% in economy and +33% in business on a short hop. Intra-Asia is now 50k/70k, so Bangkok and Singapore price below Dubai. Heavy fuel surcharges on Lufthansa-group and TAP metal; Turkish, EgyptAir and Ethiopian routings dodge most of the YQ.
Feed it: 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.5:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 300,000 RBL Reward Points (5:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 100,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.67:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Air India Star Alliance
EVA Infinity MileageLands prices Star metal off its zone chart (India = "Central/South Asia" zone; one-way = half round-trip). EVA own metal via Taipei covers Japan/N-Asia/SE-Asia/US/Europe; Gulf/Africa/Oceania are partner-metal only. India→US business ~97.5k (possibly ~55-60k on a fully-EVA routing).
Feed it: 51,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 340,000 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 1,275,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
Star Alliance
Aegean Miles+Bonus prices Star partner metal off one region chart published as ROUND TRIPS — its own rule is that a one-way costs exactly half, and the halved figure is what we show. India sits in the "Near East & Central Asia" zone: the Far East is a flat 30k/45k one-way (Tokyo costs the same as Bangkok), Europe 35k/55k, North America 50k/75k. No Indian card feeds it — Marriott Bonvoy 3:1 is the only road in, and awards only display once you hold the full balance.
Feed it: 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.5:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 150,000 RBL Reward Points (5:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 50,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.67:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
LifeMiles prices Star partner metal off an unpublished grid; India→Europe business ~63k is the headline sweet spot (beats Aeroplan). Business is the value cabin here; economy is mediocre. The chart is semi-fixed/unpublished, so some bands are estimates.
Estimate LifeMiles publishes no award chart — Avianca withdrew its public zone table in 2023 and prices Star partner awards off an unpublished internal grid. This level is extrapolated from that historical zone pricing plus dated community booking reports, not a verified chart price.
Feed it: 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 150,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 50,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
Qatar Airways oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. First is the chart’s top cabin for this region pair, so the cell is easier to read than to book wherever no oneworld carrier flies a first cabin on the sector. That region-to-region cell is the PAIR, not the direction: every Indian-Subcontinent cell reads identically from either origin chart, so this heading has one published number.
Feed it: 90,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 180,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 60,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~32,500 is a typical Saver partner level to the Gulf. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India→the Gulf on Star Alliance metal; United went fully dynamic in 2020, so this is a typical Saver that moves with availability and cabin scarcity.
Feed it: 16,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 81,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 67,500 Amex Membership Rewards (2.08:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
Copa ConnectMiles prices Star partner metal off its FIXED region chart (India sits in Copa’s "Central Asia" zone). Standout value — India→Europe 45k business, India→Sub-Saharan Africa 17.5k economy on Ethiopian (Cairo is a dearer 20k Middle East cell) — but NO Indian card feeds ConnectMiles (buy-miles or a US co-brand only), so treat it as a reference benchmark, not a wallet-reachable route.
Feed it: 90,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.57:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 180,000 RBL Reward Points (5.14:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 60,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.71:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Air India Star Alliance
40,000 in the 2,001–4,000-mile band for Air India business CMB–BOM–DXB (≈2,146 flown miles), — the Star routing from Colombo to Dubai. Chain-funded HDFC 2:1 / Bonvoy 3:1; a Mumbai connection is the price of a fixed, flat bed.
Feed it: 20,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 40,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 100,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
43,000 Avios — the price of crossing the 2,000-mile line by 43 miles (the band below charges 24,500). Post-Dec-2025 value, up from 38,750. Still the only published business price ex-CMB to Dubai; whether it beats a cash fare is a per-date question.
Feed it: 43,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 86,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 43,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Emirates
Calculator-only pricing, and the 20-May-2026 devaluation lifted premium Classic Rewards ~15% network-wide. One-way business Savers now book at 50% of the return rate — the one mercy. Verify the per-date price before moving Amex MR or SBI points.
Estimate Emirates Skywards one-way Saver estimate, re-marked 01-Aug-2026 to the official miles-calculator pull of 25-Jul-2026 (post the 20-May-2026 devaluation, premium cabins +~15%; connecting corridors summed per leg); dynamic - no published chart, Saver space thin, Flex/Flex Plus price well above.
Feed it: 100,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 100,000 SBI Travel Credits (2:1)
SriLankan AirlinesQatar Airways oneworld
SriLankan Airlines flies CMB-DXB nonstop, ~2,043 miles, and Alaska Atmos bands partner awards by distance flown — the Asia-Pacific chart's 1,501-3,000 mi band: 25,000 economy / 50,000 business one-way, plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). One-way.
Feed it: 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 80,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
FlySmiLes 20-zone published chart (official PDF, effective 01-Sep-2022, machine-validated cell-by-cell — spec: docs/research/hub-grid/specs/srilankan-flysmiles.json). ONLINE one-way price on UL own metal (phone bookings cost ~11% more); YQ passes on awards. SriLankan is the only oneworld carrier at Colombo, so this is CMB's own-metal door.
Star Alliance
The 4 May 2026 chart pulled the Gulf out of TAP's "Asia" zone and gave it a Middle East band of its own: India→Middle East went 40k/60k → 60k/80k one-way, +50% in economy and +33% in business on a short hop. Intra-Asia is now 50k/70k, so Bangkok and Singapore price below Dubai. Heavy fuel surcharges on Lufthansa-group and TAP metal; Turkish, EgyptAir and Ethiopian routings dodge most of the YQ.
Feed it: 195,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.44:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 390,000 RBL Reward Points (4.88:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 130,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.63:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Air India Star Alliance
EVA Infinity MileageLands prices Star metal off its zone chart (India = "Central/South Asia" zone; one-way = half round-trip). EVA own metal via Taipei covers Japan/N-Asia/SE-Asia/US/Europe; Gulf/Africa/Oceania are partner-metal only. India→US business ~97.5k (possibly ~55-60k on a fully-EVA routing).
Feed it: 67,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 446,667 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 1,675,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
China Eastern SkyTeam
Flying Blue prices dynamically — no fixed chart — and bills partner awards PER SEGMENT, so a connection is a sum. Air France/KLM pass carrier (YQ) surcharges on own metal, and only economy and business are bookable on partners. Mirrored from dxb-cmb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 95,000 is the dxb-cmb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of dxb-cmb — Air France-KLM Flying Blue prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the dxb-cmb business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Flying Blue publishes no chart, but prices PARTNER awards PER SEGMENT — One Mile at a Time, 6-Jun-2024 on the Oman Air launch: "you're paying the per segment pricing anyway", and the additive structure reproduces all four published connection datapoints inside 5%. This row rides China Eastern (a Flying Blue SkyTeam and non-alliance partner redemption — Flying Blue runs ONE partner engine over SkyTeam and non-alliance metal alike, which the 13-Jan-2025 repricing proved by moving Etihad and Delta together), so it is banded segment by segment: DXB–PVG 6,449 km ⇄ 50,000 + PVG–CMB 5,099 km ⇄ 45,000 = 95,000 business. Bands anchored on the published Flying Blue partner datapoints (one-way business: Muscat–Dubai 6,100, Abu Dhabi–Kuwait 9,500, Muscat–Bangkok 42,900, Abu Dhabi–Bangkok 45,000, Muscat–Munich 45,800, Abu Dhabi–Johannesburg 48,000, Abu Dhabi–Washington 87,000), with economy at half of business — the one published economy anchor is Toronto–Abu Dhabi 43,500 against an ~87,000 business segment of the same length. Dates and demand move the real number. CARRIER CAVEAT: the desk's bands are fitted on Gulf-carrier datapoints and China Eastern consistently prices ABOVE them in published quotes (roughly +40% to +120%), so read this as a floor rather than a midpoint.
Feed it: 95,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 47,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 95,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Qatar Airways oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. First is the chart’s top cabin for this region pair, so the cell is easier to read than to book wherever no oneworld carrier flies a first cabin on the sector. That region-to-region cell is the PAIR, not the direction: every Indian-Subcontinent cell reads identically from either origin chart, so this heading has one published number.
Feed it: 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 80,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
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 dxb-cmb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 75,000 is the dxb-cmb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of dxb-cmb — Air Canada Aeroplan prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the dxb-cmb first cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.
Feed it: 37,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 75,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 187,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Emirates
Emirates prices Classic Rewards off its calculator, not a chart, and the 20-May-2026 devaluation lifted premium cabins ~15%. Saver space is thin and Flex/Flex Plus price well above; connecting corridors are summed per leg. Mirrored from dxb-cmb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 107,000 is the dxb-cmb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of dxb-cmb — Emirates Skywards prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the dxb-cmb first cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way first level Dubai ⇄ Colombo (range varies); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.
Feed it: 214,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 522,000 RBL Reward Points (4.88:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 214,000 SBI Travel Credits (2:1)
Flying back? Dubai to Colombo on points (DXB–CMB). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into Middle East — 207 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.