Award route card · one-way
The ultra-long-haul, where most programs simply have nothing published: Turkish and LifeMiles print no India–US datapoint, United went dynamic years ago, so the board is a two-program duel. Air India's April-2026 overhaul cut business 28% to 130,000 and floors economy at 40,000 for the Newark nonstop; Aeroplan's 90,000 business was the ONE band the June-2026 revision left untouched — the last fixed 90k business seat between India and America, surcharge-free. Fifteen hours is where flat beds stop being vanity; spend here, not on the Gulf hops.
The play · business
Feed it: 45,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 90,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 2,25,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner award (Air India nonstop bookable) | 90,000 | — | ₹90,000 | the play |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India nonstop (Star Alliance), Value tier | 1,30,000 | — | ₹1,04,000 | 1.2× |
The play · economy
Feed it: 40,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 20,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 40,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India nonstop to Newark (Star Alliance), Value tier | 40,000 | — | ₹32,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner award (Air India nonstop bookable) | 60,000 | — | ₹60,000 | 1.9× |
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.
90,000 — unchanged in the June-2026 revision, the only India band that didn't move. Fixed pricing, no fuel surcharges, 15 hours flat: the single best use of an Aeroplan balance from India. SBI 1:1 and Axis 1:2 feed it directly; space, as ever, is the fight.
Feed it: 45,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 90,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 2,25,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Delhi–JFK cut 28% in April 2026 (180,000 → 130,000) — the overhaul's flagship reduction, with the A350 on the route. ₹1.04L at house value; Aeroplan below does it for 90,000 points if you can find partner space.
Feed it: 1,30,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 65,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 1,30,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
TPG's chart prices Delhi–Newark at 40,000–90,000 points in economy; 40,000 is the Value-tier floor (JFK isn't separately published). ₹32,000 at house value for a 15-hour flight is honest value — when Value space exists.
Feed it: 40,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 20,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 40,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
The 6,001–8,000-mile within-Atlantic band rose 55,000 → 60,000 in June 2026 (+9%). ₹60,000 of points for an economy seat loses to most cash fares — on this corridor Aeroplan is a business-class instrument.
Feed it: 30,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 60,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 1,50,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)