Award route card · one-way
Cathay flies HYD–HKG nonstop, so its own Asia Miles is the play at 13,000 economy / 33,000 business on the single-award distance band — the best rate on the corridor. JAL prices the same nonstop at 23,000/42,000, AA at 25,000/40,000. Air India's Hong Kong service is suspended, so Maharaja is deliberately absent; KrisFlyer and Aeroplan cover the connections.
The play · business
Feed it: 66,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 33,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 1,58,400 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathay Asia Miles | Cathay Pacific nonstop (oneworld), Standard award | 33,000 | — | ₹33,000 | the play |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | Cathay Pacific business nonstop (oneworld partner award) | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 1.2× |
| Japan Airlines Mileage Bank | Cathay Pacific nonstop (oneworld) via JAL partner chart | 42,000 | — | ₹46,200 | 1.4× |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Singapore Airlines via SIN (one stop), Saver | 62,000 | — | ₹68,200 | 2.1× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Thai Airways via Bangkok (Star Alliance partner award) | 75,000 | — | ₹75,000 | 2.3× |
The play · economy
Feed it: 26,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 13,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 62,401 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathay Asia Miles | Cathay Pacific nonstop (oneworld), Standard award | 13,000 | — | ₹13,000 | the play |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | Cathay Pacific nonstop (oneworld partner award) | 25,000 | — | ₹25,000 | 1.9× |
| Japan Airlines Mileage Bank | Cathay Pacific nonstop (oneworld) via JAL partner chart | 23,000 | — | ₹25,300 | 1.9× |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Singapore Airlines via SIN (one stop), Saver | 25,000 | — | ₹27,500 | 2.1× |
| IndiGo BluChip | IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) | dynamic | — | — | — |
| Malaysia Airlines Enrich | Malaysia Airlines via KUL (one stop) — revenue-based Enrich 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.
33,000 for Cathay business on the nonstop — the cheapest flat bed to Hong Kong on the board. Cathay releases its own award space best; book early.
Feed it: 66,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 33,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 1,58,400 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
40,000 AA miles for Cathay business — 120,000 Bonvoy at 3:1. Above Asia Miles' 33,000; a Bonvoy-only fallback.
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)
42,000 for Cathay business via the JMB partner chart — above Asia Miles' 33,000 for the identical seat, and JMB is hard to fund from India anyway.
Feed it: 21,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 42,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 1,05,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
62,000 business via Singapore — nearly double Asia Miles' 33,000 Cathay nonstop, for a connection. Not the Hong Kong play.
Feed it: 62,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 31,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 1,24,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1)
Cathay is oneworld, so Aeroplan can't book the nonstop — it routes Thai HYD-BKK-HKG (~2,554 flown miles, 2,501-5,000-mile Atlantic-Pacific band) at 75,000 business. Far more than Asia Miles' 33,000; a poor tool for this corridor.
Feed it: 37,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 75,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 1,87,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Cathay's own miles on its own HYD-HKG nonstop — 2,329 miles in the 751-2,750 "type 2" band, 13,000 economy. The play. Fed via HDFC/Axis transfers to Asia Miles.
Feed it: 26,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 13,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 62,401 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
25,000 AA miles Indian Subcontinent to Asia Region 2 on the Cathay nonstop — 75,000 Bonvoy at 3:1. Asia Miles' 13,000 is far cheaper if you can transfer to it.
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)
JMB prices the Cathay nonstop off its partner distance chart — 2,329 miles in the 2,001-4,000 band, 23,000 economy. Pricier than Asia Miles' own 13,000; listed for completeness.
Feed it: 11,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 23,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 57,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Zone 6 to Zone 4 Saver, 25,000 economy — but via Singapore, a stop and a backtrack for a city Cathay flies nonstop for 13,000 Asia Miles.
Feed it: 25,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 12,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 50,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1)
IndiGo flies HYD-HKG nonstop; a BluChip offsets the live fare at ~₹0.40-0.80, own metal only. The cash governor beside Cathay's 13,000 Asia Miles 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)
A dynamic one-stop via Kuala Lumpur (~0.8-1.2¢ a point, no chart, no Indian bank feed). Only here because Cathay's nonstop via Asia Miles makes everything else redundant.
Ways in: Amex Membership Rewards 9.26:1 via Hilton Honors · Axis EDGE Reward Points 12.5:1 via IHG One Rewards · HDFC Reward Points 5:1 via IHG One Rewards