Award flight · one-way

Dubai to Colombo on points

17,500 pts cheapest economy · American Airlines AAdvantage DXB → CMB great-circle 3,288 km · 2,043 mi 15 programs priced as of

Dubai → Colombo on points: 31 options, the board now symmetric with Colombo → Dubai. 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 American Airlines AAdvantage, and economy starts at 17,500. 14 rows are first-hand chart reads.

read the full take fold the take back up

Economy

The play · economy

American Airlines AAdvantage

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Qatar via DOH, or Qatar Airways via DOH

17,500 pts
surcharge not published
₹17,500 all-in at house ₹

Which card mints this?

+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →

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 17,500 — ₹17,500 the play
IndiGo BluChip IndiGo via BLR (one stop) — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) ~20,000 est. — ₹10,000 0.6×
Emirates Skywards Emirates own metal from DXB, calculator quote ~15,000 est. — ₹13,500 0.8×
Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) SriLankan nonstop (oneworld), partner distance band ~14,500 est. — ₹14,500 0.8×
Avianca LifeMiles Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Avianca LifeMiles ~15,000 est. — ₹15,000 0.9×
United MileagePlus Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — United MileagePlus ~17,500 est. — ₹17,500 1.0×
Etihad Guest Etihad nonstop to AUH — lands Abu Dhabi, not Dubai ~20,000 est. — ₹20,000 1.1×
Aegean Miles+Bonus Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Aegean Miles+Bonus 20,000 — ₹20,000 1.1×
Copa Airlines ConnectMiles Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) 20,000 — ₹20,000 1.1×
Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards SriLankan Airlines nonstop DXB-CMB (oneworld partner award), India ⇄ the Gulf — Alaska Atmos ~25,000 est. — ₹25,000 1.4×
SriLankan FlySmiLes SriLankan nonstop — FlySmiLes published zone chart (own metal, online price) — nonstop 30,195 — ₹27,176 1.6×
Air Canada Aeroplan Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (3,288 km) — or Air India via DEL 30,000 — ₹30,000 1.7×
Air France-KLM Flying Blue China Eastern via PVG (DXB–PVG–CMB) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) ~47,500 est. — ₹47,500 2.7×
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — TAP Miles&Go ~60,000 est. — ₹48,000 2.7×
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 2.9×

Business

The play · business

American Airlines AAdvantage

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Qatar via DOH, or Qatar Airways via DOH

30,000 pts
surcharge not published
₹30,000 all-in at house ₹

Which card mints this?

+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →

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 30,000 — ₹30,000 the play
Avianca LifeMiles Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Avianca LifeMiles ~25,000 est. — ₹25,000 0.8×
Aegean Miles+Bonus Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Aegean Miles+Bonus 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 Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (3,288 km) — or Air India via DEL 40,000 — ₹40,000 1.3×
Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) SriLankan nonstop (oneworld), partner distance band ~43,000 est. — ₹43,000 1.4×
Emirates Skywards Emirates own metal from DXB, calculator quote ~50,000 est. — ₹45,000 1.5×
Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards SriLankan Airlines nonstop DXB-CMB (oneworld partner award), India ⇄ the Gulf — Alaska Atmos ~50,000 est. — ₹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 est. — ₹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 (DXB–PVG–CMB) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) ~95,000 est. — ₹95,000 3.2×

First

The play · first

American Airlines AAdvantage

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Qatar via DOH, or Qatar Airways via DOH

40,000 pts
surcharge not published
₹40,000 all-in at house ₹

Which card mints this?

+7 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →

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 Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (3,288 km) — or Air India via DEL 75,000 — ₹75,000 1.9×
Emirates Skywards Emirates own metal from DXB, calculator quote ~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. Emirates Skywards, Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair), Etihad Guest and Air France-KLM Flying Blue state that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. American Airlines AAdvantage, United MileagePlus 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 — DXB 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.

Row by row

31 options · 15 sourced charts
Economy

American Airlines AAdvantage

the play 17,500 pts

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Qatar via DOH, or Qatar Airways via DOH

Qatar Airways oneworld

AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.

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)

as of aa.com
Economy

IndiGo BluChip

~20,000 pts est.

IndiGo via BLR (one stop) — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced)

IndiGo

IndiGo BluChip has no award chart at all — redemptions track the live fare at a dynamic ₹0.40–0.60 per BluChip, minimum 500 points, taxes cash-only, own metal only with no partners. It is a rupee offset wearing points clothing, not a chart price. Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 20,000 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — IndiGo BluChip prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. 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))

as of pointsmath.com
Economy

Emirates Skywards

~15,000 pts est.

Emirates own metal from DXB, calculator quote

Emirates

Emirates own-metal Dubai→Colombo. Emirates passes heavy carrier-imposed surcharges on Skywards Classic Rewards — Dubai–London business runs about £945 in taxes and charges return (~£470 one-way) on top of the miles, and US routes are similar; budget the cash side before calling any of these a deal. eco/biz are Emirates' own published one-way Saver Classic Reward levels pulled from the official Skywards miles calculator on 25 Jul 2026 (post the 20 May 2026 devaluation, which raised premium cabins ~15% and introduced one-way Business Saver at 50% of the return price); the ranges span Saver → Flex Plus, the two levels Emirates actually sells. Emirates publishes no First Saver one-way, so first is an estimate at ~1.26× the one-way Business Flex Plus level, calibrated to AwardWallet's Feb-2026 published one-way First fares (YYZ/IAD–DXB 174k, LAX–DXB 198k, JFK–MXP 108k) plus the May-2026 +15%. Seattle carries no first: Emirates pulled the First cabin off DXB–SEA from 29 March 2026 when the 302-seat 777-200LR took the route. Doha, Abu Dhabi and Vancouver are absent because Emirates does not fly them. A valid Emirates routing is assumed.

Estimate Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way economy level Dubai→Colombo (range 15k–25k); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.

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)

as of emirates.com
Economy

Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair)

~14,500 pts est.

SriLankan nonstop (oneworld), partner distance band

SriLankan Airlines oneworld

Avios prices partner awards PER SEGMENT off the published distance-zone table shared by British Airways, Qatar, Iberia, Finnair and Aer Lingus, so a connecting build is a sum of bands rather than one cell, and the December-2025 reset moved those bands. One balance spends across all five programmes; BA and Iberia metal carry the heavy carrier-imposed surcharges. Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 14,500 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.

Feed it: 14,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 29,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 14,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)

as of milelion.com
Economy

Avianca LifeMiles

~15,000 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Avianca LifeMiles

Star Alliance

LifeMiles publishes no chart: Avianca withdrew its public zone table in 2023 and prices Star partner awards off an unpublished internal grid — its one real edge. Business is the value cabin here; economy is mediocre. Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 15,000 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — Avianca LifeMiles prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. 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)

as of awardtravelfinder.com
Economy

United MileagePlus

~17,500 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — United MileagePlus

Star Alliance

United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so this is a typical Saver partner level on Star metal for this pair. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower. Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 17,500 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — United MileagePlus prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. 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)

as of awardwallet.com
Economy

Etihad Guest

~20,000 pts est.

Etihad nonstop to AUH — lands Abu Dhabi, not Dubai

Etihad Airways

Etihad publishes no award chart today — GuestSeat became Saver Award on 13-Nov-2025 and pricing lives in the Miles Calculator — so this is the last published distance-band floor, which real availability rarely touches, on top of heavy carrier charges. Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 20,000 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — Etihad Guest prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. 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)

as of pointsdojo.com
Economy

Aegean Miles+Bonus

20,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Aegean Miles+Bonus

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. That chart is a single upper-triangular ZONE-PAIR matrix — 45 published cells for 9 zones, exactly one per unordered pair — so DXB → CMB and CMB → DXB resolve to the same cell. Re-read against the chart and promoted from mirror-estimate to chart read on 2026-08-06. 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)

as of upgradedpoints.com
Economy

Copa Airlines ConnectMiles

20,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart)

Star Alliance

Copa ConnectMiles prices Star partner metal off a FIXED region chart (India sits in Copa’s "Central Asia" zone). 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. Copa's partner chart is a strictly upper-triangular region matrix — one cell per unordered region pair, no direction axis at all — so 20,000 is the same published cell as cmb-dxb, re-read off the official Copa PDF on 2026-08-06 rather than inferred.

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)

as of copaair.com
Economy

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

~25,000 pts est.

SriLankan Airlines nonstop DXB-CMB (oneworld partner award), India ⇄ the Gulf — Alaska Atmos

SriLankan AirlinesQatar Airways oneworld

Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle, so a connecting build can read a higher band than the map suggests — plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 25,000 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.

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)

as of upgradedpoints.com
Economy

SriLankan FlySmiLes

30,195 pts

SriLankan nonstop — FlySmiLes published zone chart (own metal, online price) — nonstop

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.

as of flysmiles.com
Economy

Air Canada Aeroplan

30,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (3,288 km) — or Air India via DEL

Air India Star Alliance

Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN. This row is the direct great-circle band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. A valid Star routing (nonstop or via a Star hub within the maximum permitted mileage) is assumed.

Feed it: 15,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 30,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 75,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)

as of aircanada.com
Economy

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

~47,500 pts est.

China Eastern via PVG (DXB–PVG–CMB) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic)

China Eastern SkyTeam

Flying Blue has no award chart, but its partner awards are additive per segment, so this routing bands to 47,500 economy (DXB–PVG 6,449 km → 25,000 + PVG–CMB 5,099 km → 22,500 = 47,500 economy). Partner awards pass the operating carrier's surcharges — the published Oman Air datapoints run US$190–390 one-way — and Flying Blue publishes no per-route table, so this row's cash side stays unpublished. Cabin scope: Etihad sells Flying Blue awards in economy and business only — first, including the Apartment, is not bookable with Miles. First IS bookable on a short list of other partners (Oman Air on Muscat–Bangkok alone, China Eastern, Garuda), none of which is a first routing this board prices, so there is no Flying Blue first row here.

Estimate 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)

as of princeoftravel.com
Economy

TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go

~60,000 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — TAP Miles&Go

Star Alliance

TAP Miles&Go prices Star partner metal off its region chart, and the 4-May-2026 devaluation lifted its long-haul cells. A cell holds only while the itinerary stays inside two TAP regions — a build that crosses a third region is billed flight by flight and summed. Lufthansa-group metal carries the heaviest surcharges on Star. Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 60,000 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.

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)

Economy

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands

51,000 pts

Star Alliance metal (Air India — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India ⇄ the Gulf — EVA Infinity MileageLands

Air India Star Alliance

EVA Infinity MileageLands prices Star metal off its zone chart (India sits in "Central/South Asia"; one-way = half round-trip). EVA serves no Indian city, so the award rides partner metal end to end. EVA's own Star Alliance requirement table is a triangular ORIGIN/DESTINATION REGIONAL ZONES matrix carrying one cell per region pair, so no second number exists for this heading.

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)

as of evaair.com
Business

American Airlines AAdvantage

the play 30,000 pts

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Qatar via DOH, or Qatar Airways via DOH

Qatar Airways oneworld

AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.

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)

as of aa.com
Business

Avianca LifeMiles

~25,000 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Avianca LifeMiles

Star Alliance

LifeMiles publishes no chart: Avianca withdrew its public zone table in 2023 and prices Star partner awards off an unpublished internal grid — its one real edge. Business is the value cabin here; economy is mediocre. Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 25,000 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — Avianca LifeMiles prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. 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)

as of awardtravelfinder.com
Business

Aegean Miles+Bonus

30,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Aegean Miles+Bonus

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. That chart is a single upper-triangular ZONE-PAIR matrix — 45 published cells for 9 zones, exactly one per unordered pair — so DXB → CMB and CMB → DXB resolve to the same cell. Re-read against the chart and promoted from mirror-estimate to chart read on 2026-08-06. 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)

as of upgradedpoints.com
Business

United MileagePlus

~32,500 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — United MileagePlus

Star Alliance

United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so this is a typical Saver partner level on Star metal for this pair. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower. Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 32,500 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — United MileagePlus prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. 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)

as of awardwallet.com
Business

Copa Airlines ConnectMiles

35,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart)

Star Alliance

Copa ConnectMiles prices Star partner metal off a FIXED region chart (India sits in Copa’s "Central Asia" zone). 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. Copa's partner chart is a strictly upper-triangular region matrix — one cell per unordered region pair, no direction axis at all — so 35,000 is the same published cell as cmb-dxb, re-read off the official Copa PDF on 2026-08-06 rather than inferred.

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)

as of copaair.com
Business

Air Canada Aeroplan

40,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (3,288 km) — or Air India via DEL

Air India Star Alliance

Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN. This row is the direct great-circle band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. A valid Star routing (nonstop or via a Star hub within the maximum permitted mileage) is assumed.

Feed it: 20,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 40,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 100,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)

as of aircanada.com
Business

Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair)

~43,000 pts est.

SriLankan nonstop (oneworld), partner distance band

SriLankan Airlines oneworld

Avios prices partner awards PER SEGMENT off the published distance-zone table shared by British Airways, Qatar, Iberia, Finnair and Aer Lingus, so a connecting build is a sum of bands rather than one cell, and the December-2025 reset moved those bands. One balance spends across all five programmes; BA and Iberia metal carry the heavy carrier-imposed surcharges. Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 43,000 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.

Feed it: 43,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 86,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 43,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)

as of milelion.com
Business

Emirates Skywards

~50,000 pts est.

Emirates own metal from DXB, calculator quote

Emirates

Emirates own-metal Dubai→Colombo. Emirates passes heavy carrier-imposed surcharges on Skywards Classic Rewards — Dubai–London business runs about £945 in taxes and charges return (~£470 one-way) on top of the miles, and US routes are similar; budget the cash side before calling any of these a deal. eco/biz are Emirates' own published one-way Saver Classic Reward levels pulled from the official Skywards miles calculator on 25 Jul 2026 (post the 20 May 2026 devaluation, which raised premium cabins ~15% and introduced one-way Business Saver at 50% of the return price); the ranges span Saver → Flex Plus, the two levels Emirates actually sells. Emirates publishes no First Saver one-way, so first is an estimate at ~1.26× the one-way Business Flex Plus level, calibrated to AwardWallet's Feb-2026 published one-way First fares (YYZ/IAD–DXB 174k, LAX–DXB 198k, JFK–MXP 108k) plus the May-2026 +15%. Seattle carries no first: Emirates pulled the First cabin off DXB–SEA from 29 March 2026 when the 302-seat 777-200LR took the route. Doha, Abu Dhabi and Vancouver are absent because Emirates does not fly them. A valid Emirates routing is assumed.

Estimate Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way business level Dubai→Colombo (range 50k–85k); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.

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)

as of emirates.com
Business

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards

~50,000 pts est.

SriLankan Airlines nonstop DXB-CMB (oneworld partner award), India ⇄ the Gulf — Alaska Atmos

SriLankan AirlinesQatar Airways oneworld

Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle, so a connecting build can read a higher band than the map suggests — plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 50,000 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.

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)

as of upgradedpoints.com
Business

SriLankan FlySmiLes

60,390 pts

SriLankan nonstop — FlySmiLes published zone chart (own metal, online price) — nonstop

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.

as of flysmiles.com
Business

TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go

~80,000 pts est.

Star Alliance partner metal, India ⇄ the Gulf — TAP Miles&Go

Star Alliance

TAP Miles&Go prices Star partner metal off its region chart, and the 4-May-2026 devaluation lifted its long-haul cells. A cell holds only while the itinerary stays inside two TAP regions — a build that crosses a third region is billed flight by flight and summed. Lufthansa-group metal carries the heaviest surcharges on Star. Mirrored from cmb-dxb: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 80,000 is the cmb-dxb number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.

Estimate Reverse of cmb-dxb — TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the cmb-dxb business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.

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)

Business

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands

67,000 pts

Star Alliance metal (Air India — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India ⇄ the Gulf — EVA Infinity MileageLands

Air India Star Alliance

EVA Infinity MileageLands prices Star metal off its zone chart (India sits in "Central/South Asia"; one-way = half round-trip). EVA serves no Indian city, so the award rides partner metal end to end. EVA's own Star Alliance requirement table is a triangular ORIGIN/DESTINATION REGIONAL ZONES matrix carrying one cell per region pair, so no second number exists for this heading.

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)

as of evaair.com
Business

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

~95,000 pts est.

China Eastern via PVG (DXB–PVG–CMB) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic)

China Eastern SkyTeam

Flying Blue has no award chart, but its partner awards are additive per segment, so this routing bands to 95,000 business (DXB–PVG 6,449 km → 50,000 + PVG–CMB 5,099 km → 45,000 = 95,000 business). Partner awards pass the operating carrier's surcharges — the published Oman Air datapoints run US$190–390 one-way — and Flying Blue publishes no per-route table, so this row's cash side stays unpublished. Cabin scope: Etihad sells Flying Blue awards in economy and business only — first, including the Apartment, is not bookable with Miles. First IS bookable on a short list of other partners (Oman Air on Muscat–Bangkok alone, China Eastern, Garuda), none of which is a first routing this board prices, so there is no Flying Blue first row here.

Estimate 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)

as of princeoftravel.com
First

American Airlines AAdvantage

the play 40,000 pts

oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Qatar via DOH, or Qatar Airways via DOH

Qatar Airways oneworld

AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.

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)

as of aa.com
First

Air Canada Aeroplan

75,000 pts

Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (3,288 km) — or Air India via DEL

Air India Star Alliance

Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN. This row is the direct great-circle band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. A valid Star routing (nonstop or via a Star hub within the maximum permitted mileage) is assumed.

Feed it: 37,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 75,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 187,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)

as of aircanada.com
First

Emirates Skywards

~107,000 pts est.

Emirates own metal from DXB, calculator quote

Emirates

Emirates own-metal Dubai→Colombo. Emirates passes heavy carrier-imposed surcharges on Skywards Classic Rewards — Dubai–London business runs about £945 in taxes and charges return (~£470 one-way) on top of the miles, and US routes are similar; budget the cash side before calling any of these a deal. eco/biz are Emirates' own published one-way Saver Classic Reward levels pulled from the official Skywards miles calculator on 25 Jul 2026 (post the 20 May 2026 devaluation, which raised premium cabins ~15% and introduced one-way Business Saver at 50% of the return price); the ranges span Saver → Flex Plus, the two levels Emirates actually sells. Emirates publishes no First Saver one-way, so first is an estimate at ~1.26× the one-way Business Flex Plus level, calibrated to AwardWallet's Feb-2026 published one-way First fares (YYZ/IAD–DXB 174k, LAX–DXB 198k, JFK–MXP 108k) plus the May-2026 +15%. Seattle carries no first: Emirates pulled the First cabin off DXB–SEA from 29 March 2026 when the 302-seat 777-200LR took the route. Doha, Abu Dhabi and Vancouver are absent because Emirates does not fly them. A valid Emirates routing is assumed.

Estimate 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)

as of emirates.com

More corridors

39 from DXB · 48 to CMB

Flying back? Colombo to Dubai on points (CMB–DXB). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into South Asia — 380 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.