Award route card · one-way
Thai Airways flies HYD–BKK nonstop, and Royal Orchid Plus prices Royal Silk at just 27,500 miles — the standout business rate, on the nonstop. Air India's flat 12,000 economy undercuts Thai's 17,500 if you'll take a hub connection (50,000 in business via mainline). Aeroplan books the Thai nonstop at 47,500; KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, AA and Avios (SriLankan via Colombo) round out the oneworld/Star field.
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 via DEL/BOM (HYD-hub-BKK, mainline one award — Star Alliance), Value tier | 50,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 1.5× |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | SriLankan business via CMB (oneworld partner award) | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 1.5× |
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) | SriLankan business via CMB (oneworld) — Avios partner chart, per-segment | 43,000 | — | ₹43,000 | 1.6× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Thai Airways nonstop (Star Alliance partner award) | 47,500 | — | ₹47,500 | 1.7× |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Singapore Airlines via SIN (one stop), Saver | 47,500 | — | ₹52,250 | 1.9× |
| Cathay Asia Miles | Cathay Pacific business via HKG (oneworld), Standard award — cumulative-distance pricing | 60,000 | — | ₹60,000 | 2.2× |
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 via DEL/BOM (HYD-hub-BKK, mainline one award — 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× |
| Cathay Asia Miles | Cathay Pacific via HKG (oneworld), Standard award — cumulative-distance pricing | 20,000 | — | ₹20,000 | 2.1× |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Singapore Airlines via SIN (one stop), Saver | 20,000 | — | ₹22,000 | 2.3× |
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) | SriLankan via CMB (oneworld) — Avios partner chart, per-segment | 22,500 | — | ₹22,500 | 2.3× |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | SriLankan via CMB (oneworld partner award) | 25,000 | — | ₹25,000 | 2.6× |
| IndiGo BluChip | IndiGo nonstop — revenue-based BluChip pricing | dynamic | — | — | — |
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, multi-hop chains included.
27,500 for Royal Silk on the nonstop — the cheapest business seat to Bangkok on the board, under Aeroplan's 47,500 for the same Thai metal. The catch is feeding ROP from India.
Feed it: 13,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 27,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 27,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
SE-Asia business rose to 50,000 in April 2026 — and adds a hub connection. Thai's own Royal Silk nonstop is 27,500 for the better routing; Maharaja business here is the fallback when Thai space is dry.
Feed it: 50,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 25,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 50,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
40,000 AA miles business via Colombo — 120,000 Bonvoy at 3:1. Fixed region pricing above the 43,000 Avios sum, but only Bonvoy feeds it.
Feed it: 1,20,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 2,40,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
18,500 (HYD-CMB, Z2) + 24,500 (CMB-BKK, Z3) = 43,000 Avios in SriLankan business via Colombo — cheaper than Delhi's 49,000 because the shorter HYD-CMB hop drops into Zone 2. A one-stop backtrack; Thai's 27,500 nonstop wins on both points and routing.
Feed it: 43,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 86,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 43,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
HYD-BKK's 1,505 miles sit in Aeroplan's 0-2,500-mile Atlantic-Pacific band — 47,500 business post-June-2026, surcharge-free, booking Thai's own nonstop. Fixed and clean, but ROP prices the identical seat at 27,500 if you can feed it.
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)
47,500 business via Singapore — a full SQ flat bed, but two legs and a backtrack for a 4-hour city. The KrisFlyer firepower four Indian issuers feed is better spent on HYD-SIN itself.
Feed it: 47,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 23,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 95,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1)
60,000 business via Hong Kong — Cathay metal but a long detour for Bangkok. Thai's 27,500 nonstop or Aeroplan's 47,500 both beat it here.
Feed it: 1,20,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 60,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 2,88,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
The flat 12,000-point SE-Asia tier — cheapest economy to Bangkok, but AI has no HYD-BKK nonstop, so it's a Delhi or Bombay connection on Air India mainline (one award at the zone rate, feeder included). Verify at booking; Thai's 17,500 nonstop is the no-connection alternative.
Feed it: 12,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 6,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 12,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
Thai's own program on its own HYD-BKK nonstop — 17,500 in the India zone, a fair economy price for a 4-hour hop and the cleanest way to Bangkok without a connection. No Indian card feeds ROP directly, though.
Feed it: 8,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 17,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 17,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
HYD-HKG-BKK on Cathay is ~3,378 flown miles — the 2,751-5,000-mile band, 20,000 economy. A big eastward detour via Hong Kong; listed for completeness, not as the play.
Feed it: 40,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 20,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 96,001 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Zone 6 to Zone 3 Saver, 20,000 economy — but the HYD-SIN-BKK routing overshoots south to Singapore and backtracks north (an over-MPM path KrisFlyer may not always price). Thai's nonstop is fewer miles and no detour.
Feed it: 20,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 10,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 40,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1)
RE-DERIVED for HYD, not copied from Delhi: 10,000 (HYD-CMB, 701 mi Z2 — Hyderabad is closer to Colombo than Delhi is) + 12,500 (CMB-BKK, 1,486 mi Z3) = 22,500 Avios on SriLankan, under Delhi's 25,000 for the same routing.
Feed it: 22,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 45,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 22,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
25,000 AA miles Indian Subcontinent to Asia Region 2 — 75,000 Bonvoy at 3:1 (see /transfers/to/american-aadvantage). Region-priced, so the Colombo connection is included.
Feed it: 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 1,50,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 25,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
IndiGo flies HYD-BKK nonstop; a BluChip is worth ₹0.40-0.60 against the 6E fare, no chart. The cash-fare governor on the cheap end next to Thai's nonstop.
Ways in: HSBC Reward Points 1.5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL) · Axis EDGE Reward Points 5:1 · HDFC Reward Points 3:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)