Award flight · one-way
A one-hour puddle-jump, and SriLankan owns the nonstop — dropping into Avios' cheapest band at 6,500 economy / 14,000 business, a flat-bed to Colombo for less than most domestic redemptions. Air India flies no COK–CMB nonstop and any hub routing is an absurd northward backtrack, so Maharaja sits it out. Small, cheap, entirely an Avios story.
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 Airlines nonstop (oneworld), partner distance band | 6,500 | — | ₹6,500 | the play |
| SriLankan FlySmiLes | SriLankan nonstop — FlySmiLes published zone chart (own metal, online price) — nonstop | 7,920 | — | ₹7,128 | 1.1× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→a South-Asia neighbour — Avianca LifeMiles | ~7,500 est. | — | ₹7,500 | 1.2× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | SriLankan Airlines nonstop COK-CMB (oneworld partner award), India→a South-Asia neighbour — Alaska Atmos | 7,500 | — | ₹7,500 | 1.2× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→a South-Asia neighbour — United MileagePlus | ~10,000 est. | — | ₹10,000 | 1.5× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→a South-Asia neighbour — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 12,500 | — | ₹12,500 | 1.9× |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance metal (Air India — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India→a South-Asia neighbour — EVA Infinity MileageLands | 15,000 | — | ₹15,000 | 2.3× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→a South-Asia neighbour — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 20,000 | — | ₹20,000 | 3.1× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→a South-Asia neighbour — TAP Miles&Go | 50,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 6.2× |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) the play | SriLankan Airlines nonstop (oneworld), partner distance band | 14,000 | — | ₹14,000 | the play |
| SriLankan FlySmiLes | SriLankan nonstop — FlySmiLes published zone chart (own metal, online price) — nonstop | 15,840 | — | ₹14,256 | 1.0× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→a South-Asia neighbour — Avianca LifeMiles | ~15,000 est. | — | ₹15,000 | 1.1× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | SriLankan Airlines nonstop COK-CMB (oneworld partner award), India→a South-Asia neighbour — Alaska Atmos | 15,000 | — | ₹15,000 | 1.1× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→a South-Asia neighbour — United MileagePlus | ~20,000 est. | — | ₹20,000 | 1.4× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→a South-Asia neighbour — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 21,000 | — | ₹21,000 | 1.5× |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance metal (Air India — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India→a South-Asia neighbour — EVA Infinity MileageLands | 22,500 | — | ₹22,500 | 1.6× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→a South-Asia neighbour — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 35,000 | — | ₹35,000 | 2.5× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→a South-Asia neighbour — TAP Miles&Go | 70,000 | — | ₹56,000 | 4.0× |
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) states that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards and United MileagePlus make you liable for one if the operating airline levies it, without saying whether it does. 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. 6 other programmes priced here publish nothing the desk could read.
Open this corridor in British Airways’ Flight Finder → It fills in your search — COK to CMB 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
6,500 Avios in the ≤650-mile band for SriLankan's nonstop economy. On a one-hour hop with cheap cash fares this is a wash at best, but it is the only fixed-price seat on the corridor — the business row is the smarter burn.
Feed it: 6,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 13,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 6,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
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
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: 22,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 45,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 15,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
SriLankan Airlines flies COK-CMB nonstop, ~314 miles, and Alaska Atmos bands partner awards by distance flown — the Asia-Pacific chart's sub-1,500-mile band: 7,500 economy / 15,000 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: 22,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 45,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 15,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~10,000 is a typical Saver partner level to a South-Asia neighbour. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India→a South-Asia neighbour 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: 5,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 25,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 30,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
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: 37,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 75,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 25,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 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: 15,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 100,000 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 375,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
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)
Star Alliance
TAP's 4 May 2026 chart repriced India — which sits in its "Asia" origin zone — and intra-Asia went from 40k/60k to 50k/70k one-way, still flat regardless of distance (fine to Tokyo, poor to Colombo). The Gulf was carved out into a Middle East zone of its own at 60k/80k, so Bangkok now undercuts Dubai. Heavy fuel surcharges on Lufthansa-group and TAP metal; steer via Turkish, EgyptAir or Ethiopian to dodge the YQ.
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
COK–CMB's 314 miles fall in Avios' ≤650-mile band: 14,000 for SriLankan business one-way. A short widebody/narrowbody J hop for the price of a domestic economy award — book it when SriLankan opens partner Saver space.
Feed it: 14,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 28,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 14,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
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
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)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
SriLankan Airlines flies COK-CMB nonstop, ~314 miles, and Alaska Atmos bands partner awards by distance flown — the Asia-Pacific chart's sub-1,500-mile band: 7,500 economy / 15,000 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: 45,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 90,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 30,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~20,000 is a typical Saver partner level to a South-Asia neighbour. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India→a South-Asia neighbour 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: 10,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 50,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
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 (2.86:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (5.71:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.9:1 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: 22,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 562,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
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)
Star Alliance
TAP's 4 May 2026 chart repriced India — which sits in its "Asia" origin zone — and intra-Asia went from 40k/60k to 50k/70k one-way, still flat regardless of distance (fine to Tokyo, poor to Colombo). The Gulf was carved out into a Middle East zone of its own at 60k/80k, so Bangkok now undercuts Dubai. Heavy fuel surcharges on Lufthansa-group and TAP metal; steer via Turkish, EgyptAir or Ethiopian to dodge the YQ.
Feed it: 180,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.57:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 360,000 RBL Reward Points (5.14:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.71:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into South Asia — 380 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.