Award flight · one-way
No Air India — no anyone — flies HYD–ORD nonstop, and Delhi is no longer the answer either — Air India suspended Delhi–Chicago on 1-Jun-2026 with no resumption date. So Chicago is a one-stop on somebody else's metal, cleanest on Lufthansa via Frankfurt, and ANA's Star-partner chart books that build cheapest at 40,000/68,000. Aeroplan is 75,000/110,000 (the connecting distance clears the 8,000-mile line, a band above what Delhi used to pay nonstop), Maharaja 40,000/130,000 on a routing its own airline cannot fly today. AA routes Qatar via Doha and BA First via London.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathay Asia Miles the play | Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong (oneworld), Standard award | 38,000 | — | ₹38,000 | the play |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India via DEL (HYD-DEL-ORD, mainline one award — Star Alliance) — unbookable until Air India's Chicago service resumes: DEL–ORD suspended 1-Jun-2026 with no resumption date (widebody shortage; the airline confirmed on 18-Jul-2026 it stays down past September), Value tier | ~40,000 est. | — | ₹32,000 | 0.8× |
| Air Europa SUMA | SkyTeam partner metal (KLM), India→North America — Air Europa SUMA | 48,000 | — | ₹38,400 | 1.0× |
| ANA Mileage Club | Star-partner award on Lufthansa via Frankfurt (HYD–FRA–ORD) — Air India's DEL–ORD nonstop is suspended, so Lufthansa is the one Star carrier holding both ends; one-way bookable since 24-Jun-2025 | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 1.1× |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | Qatar Airways via Doha (oneworld partner award) | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 1.1× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 1.1× |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | Star Alliance metal (LH partner metal — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), India→North America — Air China PhoenixMiles | ~45,000 est. | — | ₹40,500 | 1.1× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | British Airways via LHR (oneworld partner award), India→North America — Alaska Atmos | 42,500 | — | ₹42,500 | 1.1× |
| China Eastern Miles | SkyTeam metal (KLM), India→North America — China Eastern Eastern Miles | ~55,000 est. | — | ₹46,750 | 1.2× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Avianca LifeMiles | ~47,000 est. | — | ₹47,000 | 1.2× |
| SAS EuroBonus | SkyTeam metal (KLM), India→North America — SAS EuroBonus | 54,000 | — | ₹48,600 | 1.3× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 50,000 | — | ₹50,000 | 1.3× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | KLM / SkyTeam metal, Flying Blue (dynamic) — via AMS | ~55,000 est. | — | ₹55,000 | 1.4× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — United MileagePlus | ~60,000 est. | — | ₹60,000 | 1.6× |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance metal (LH — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India→North America — EVA Infinity MileageLands | 60,000 | — | ₹60,000 | 1.6× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — TAP Miles&Go | 80,000 | — | ₹64,000 | 1.7× |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Star-partner Lufthansa via Frankfurt (Saver) — Zone 6 to 13 — Singapore Airlines has no Chicago door of its own | 65,500 | — | ₹72,050 | 1.9× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Ethiopian Airlines via ADD (Star Alliance partner award) | 75,000 | — | ₹75,000 | 2.0× |
| Delta SkyMiles | SkyTeam partner metal (KLM), India→North America — Delta SkyMiles (dynamic) | ~75,000 est. | — | ₹75,000 | 2.0× |
| Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles | KLM via AMS (HYD–AMS–ORD) — Vietnam LotusMiles | 85,000 | — | ₹85,000 | 2.2× |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANA Mileage Club the play | Star-partner award on Lufthansa via Frankfurt (HYD–FRA–ORD) — Air India's DEL–ORD nonstop is suspended, so Lufthansa is the one Star carrier holding both ends; one-way bookable since 24-Jun-2025 | 68,000 | — | ₹68,000 | the play |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | Star Alliance metal (LH partner metal — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), India→North America — Air China PhoenixMiles | ~75,000 est. | — | ₹67,500 | 1.0× |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | Qatar Qsuite via Doha (oneworld partner award) | 70,000 | — | ₹70,000 | 1.0× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 75,000 | — | ₹75,000 | 1.1× |
| Air Europa SUMA | SkyTeam partner metal (KLM), India→North America — Air Europa SUMA | 95,000 | — | ₹76,000 | 1.1× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 80,000 | — | ₹80,000 | 1.2× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | British Airways via LHR (oneworld partner award), India→North America — Alaska Atmos | 85,000 | — | ₹85,000 | 1.3× |
| China Eastern Miles | SkyTeam metal (KLM), India→North America — China Eastern Eastern Miles | ~100,000 est. | — | ₹85,000 | 1.3× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Avianca LifeMiles | ~90,000 est. | — | ₹90,000 | 1.3× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | KLM / SkyTeam metal, Flying Blue (dynamic) — via AMS | ~95,000 est. | — | ₹95,000 | 1.4× |
| SAS EuroBonus | SkyTeam metal (KLM), India→North America — SAS EuroBonus | 108,000 | — | ₹97,200 | 1.4× |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance metal (LH — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India→North America — EVA Infinity MileageLands | 97,500 | — | ₹97,500 | 1.4× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — TAP Miles&Go | 125,000 | — | ₹1,00,000 | 1.5× |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India via DEL (HYD-DEL-ORD, mainline one award — Star Alliance) — unbookable until Air India's Chicago service resumes: DEL–ORD suspended 1-Jun-2026 with no resumption date (widebody shortage; the airline confirmed on 18-Jul-2026 it stays down past September), Value tier | ~130,000 est. | — | ₹1,04,000 | 1.5× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Ethiopian Airlines via ADD (Star Alliance partner award) | 110,000 | — | ₹1,10,000 | 1.6× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — United MileagePlus | ~110,000 est. | — | ₹1,10,000 | 1.6× |
| Cathay Asia Miles | Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong (oneworld), Standard award | 119,000 | — | ₹1,19,000 | 1.8× |
| Etihad Guest | Etihad via Abu Dhabi (HYD-AUH-ORD) — dynamic, the documented trap | ~120,000 est. | — | ₹1,20,000 | 1.8× |
| Emirates Skywards | Emirates via Dubai (HYD-DXB-ORD) — Classic Rewards, calculator-priced | ~146,000 est. | — | ₹1,31,400 | 1.9× |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Star-partner Lufthansa via Frankfurt (Saver) — Zone 6 to 13 — Singapore Airlines has no Chicago door of its own | 147,500 | — | ₹1,62,250 | 2.4× |
| Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles | KLM via AMS (HYD–AMS–ORD) — Vietnam LotusMiles | 170,000 | — | ₹1,70,000 | 2.5× |
| Delta SkyMiles | SkyTeam partner metal (KLM), India→North America — Delta SkyMiles (dynamic) | ~230,000 est. | — | ₹2,30,000 | 3.4× |
The play · first
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines AAdvantage the play | British Airways First via London (oneworld partner award) | 115,000 | — | ₹1,15,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (13,283 km) — Ethiopian Airlines via ADD | 165,000 | — | ₹1,65,000 | 1.4× |
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. Cathay Asia Miles, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Etihad Guest and Emirates Skywards state that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. Air India Maharaja Points, American Airlines AAdvantage, Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards, China Eastern Miles, United MileagePlus, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles 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. 10 other programmes priced here publish nothing the desk could read.
Cathay Pacific oneworld
HYD-HKG-ORD on Cathay is ~10,110 flown miles — the 7,501+-mile band, 38,000 economy, the cheapest economy number on the corridor. A big eastward detour via Hong Kong, but Cathay owns both legs.
Feed it: 76,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 38,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 198,000 RBL Reward Points (5.21:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Air India Star Alliance
US economy is the flat 40,000-point North-America tier via a Delhi connection on Air India's own metal. ANA books the same 40,000 on a Lufthansa build via Frankfurt (and business far cheaper) — which, unlike this row, is bookable today.
Estimate Air India publishes no award chart. Its own Points Calculator states that “Fares indicated above are dependent on the time of booking and seat availability”, and Maharaja Club prices every award either as a Value fare (the discounted rate for booking well in advance) or as a higher Prime fare closer to departure. This number is the Value-fare floor as sampled after the April-2026 repricing — not a published chart cell: Value space is not always available on a given flight, and the same seat prices higher once it is gone. Pricing model re-verified against Air India’s Maharaja Club T&C and Points Calculator on 2026-08-09.
Feed it: 40,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 20,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 40,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
KLM SkyTeam
Air Europa SUMA prices SkyTeam partner metal off a five-band ONE-WAY distance chart: 0–600 mi 6k/12k · 601–1,250 12k/24k · 1,251–1,750 15k/30k · 1,751–3,500 32k/64k · over 3,500 48k/95k (economy/business). This corridor reads the over-3,500 mi band. The 2020 chart that made India→Europe a 51k business steal is gone — the short Gulf hops are where SUMA is now cheap. Partner awards are SUMA call-centre only, paid entirely in Miles, and non-refundable.
Feed it: 48,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 96,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 240,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Lufthansa Star Alliance
ANA's Star partner chart books Lufthansa HYD–FRA–ORD for 40,000 economy one-way — the cheapest fixed economy to Chicago on the board. Funded via the Amex/Marriott route into ANA.
Feed it: 105,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.63:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 210,000 RBL Reward Points (5.25:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 70,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.75:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Qatar Airways oneworld
40,000 AA miles via Qatar (HYD-DOH-ORD, Qatar flies both legs) — 120,000 Bonvoy at 3:1. Region-priced, so the Doha connection is included; ties ANA on economy.
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)
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: 105,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.63:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 210,000 RBL Reward Points (5.25:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 70,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.75:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Lufthansa Star Alliance
Air China PhoenixMiles prices its own metal (India→Beijing, resumed Apr-2026) plus Star partners. North Asia is its only genuine strength; elsewhere it is a weak Star pricer with heavy fuel surcharges (why the currency sits at ₹0.90). India-origin levels are not published, so all values are estimated off trans-Pacific anchors. One-way (current PhoenixMiles).
Estimate PhoenixMiles' official zone division could not be reconciled with this corridor — Air China publishes no India-origin level, and its published zone tables do not map cleanly onto these city pairs. This value is extrapolated from the nearest published anchors, not a verified chart price.
Feed it: 56,250 HSBC Reward Points (1.25:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.67:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (5.33:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
British AirwaysQatar Airways oneworld
Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle: the cheapest Atmos routing is British Airways via LHR, ~8,760 flown miles against a 8,254-mile nonstop, which reads the Asia-Pacific chart's 7,001-10,000 mi band — 42,500 economy / 85,000 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: 112,500 Amex Membership Rewards (2.65:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 225,000 RBL Reward Points (5.29:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 75,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.76:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
KLM SkyTeam
China Eastern prices its own metal (India→Shanghai/Kunming nonstop) plus SkyTeam partners. North Asia is its genuine ex-India strength; other regions estimate off the nearest published China-anchored band (Eastern Miles publishes no India-origin matrix). All one-way.
Estimate Eastern Miles publishes no India-origin award matrix — this level estimates off the nearest published China-anchored band, as the row note states, not a verified chart price.
Feed it: 366,667 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 1,375,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors) · 275,000 Axis EDGE Miles (5:1 via Hilton Honors)
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: 141,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 282,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 94,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
KLM SkyTeam
SAS joined SkyTeam on 1-Sept-2024, so EuroBonus now prices SkyTeam metal. Ex-India sweet spot: intra-"CESA" business to North Asia/Japan at ~30k. Watch the ×2 multiplier on Air Europa/China Airlines/Vietnam Airlines (UX/CI/VN) metal. One-way = 60% of round-trip.
Feed it: 378,000 HDFC Reward Points (7:1 via Radisson Rewards) · 378,000 SBI Travel Credits (7:1 via Radisson Rewards) · 945,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (17.5:1 via Radisson Rewards)
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: 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)
KLM SkyTeam
Flying Blue prices dynamically — no fixed chart. Air France/KLM pass carrier (YQ) surcharges on own metal — typically €90–110 economy / €200–300 business one-way long-haul; intra-region SkyTeam ~€15–40. Typical one-way economy runs 45k–75k; award space and travel date drive the real number.
Estimate Reverse of ord-hyd — Air France-KLM Flying Blue prices the zone pair, not the direction, so the ord-hyd row is mirrored here rather than re-read. That row is itself an estimate: Dynamic program — estimate is the typical one-way level for this region-pair (range 45k–75k); not a fixed chart price, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Feed it: 55,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 27,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 55,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~60,000 is a typical Saver partner level to North America. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India→North America 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: 30,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 150,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
Lufthansa 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: 60,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 400,000 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 1,500,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
Star Alliance
TAP's 4 May 2026 devaluation lifted India→North America (its "Canada, USA, Mexico and the Caribbean" zone) from 70k/115k to 80k/125k one-way. That is ONE chart cell, and it holds only while the itinerary stays inside two TAP regions — an Asian gateway onto the transpacific hop. Any build that also crosses Europe spans a third region, and TAP then bills flight by flight and sums: 80k/125k plus 65k/120k = 145k/245k. Lufthansa-group metal carries the heaviest surcharges on Star.
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)
Lufthansa Star Alliance
Chicago is KrisFlyer Zone 13; from Zone 6 that's 65,500 Saver economy — far more than ANA's 40,000 for a Star seat. KrisFlyer's US pricing isn't competitive from India.
Feed it: 65,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 32,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 131,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1)
Ethiopian Airlines Star Alliance
RE-DERIVED for HYD: the shortest one-stop build, via Delhi, flies ~8,258 miles — over the 8,000-mile line, so 75,000 economy, a band ABOVE the 60,000 Delhi itself paid. Copying the Delhi number here would underprice it.
Feed it: 37,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 75,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 187,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
KLM SkyTeam
Delta has had no award chart since 2015 — fully dynamic, so ~75,000 is a representative saver-ish partner level to North America; peak dates and 2026 partner hikes can swing business 1.5–3×. Kenya Airways (NBO) and Korean (ICN) are the strongest ex-India SkyTeam value.
Estimate Delta SkyMiles is fully dynamic (no chart since 2015); ~75,000/230,000 is a representative SkyTeam partner saver level India→North America on AF/KLM/KE/VN metal — peak dates and the 2026 partner hikes swing business 1.5–3×.
Feed it: 225,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 450,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 150,000 HSBC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
KLM SkyTeam
LotusMiles deducts miles PER FLIGHT SEGMENT on its SkyTeam partner table (official chart, effective 1-Aug-2025), and no SkyTeam carrier flies HYD–ORD nonstop — so the price is a SUM, not one cell. Cheapest verified SkyTeam build is KLM HYD–AMS–ORD — per-segment: HYD–AMS 35,000 (SW Asia × Europe) + AMS–ORD 50,000 (Europe × North America) = 85,000. India is SW Asia on that table; LotusMiles' own SGN/HAN metal runs off a separate chart (25k/60k one-way). One-way.
Feed it: 85,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 85,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 85,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
Lufthansa Star Alliance
68,000 for Lufthansa business via Frankfurt on ANA's partner chart — well under Aeroplan's 110,000 and Maharaja's 130,000, and unlike Maharaja's it can be flown while Air India's Delhi–Chicago nonstop stays suspended. The business play if you can feed ANA.
Feed it: 174,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.56:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 348,000 RBL Reward Points (5.12:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 116,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.71:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Lufthansa Star Alliance
Air China PhoenixMiles prices its own metal (India→Beijing, resumed Apr-2026) plus Star partners. North Asia is its only genuine strength; elsewhere it is a weak Star pricer with heavy fuel surcharges (why the currency sits at ₹0.90). India-origin levels are not published, so all values are estimated off trans-Pacific anchors. One-way (current PhoenixMiles).
Estimate PhoenixMiles' official zone division could not be reconciled with this corridor — Air China publishes no India-origin level, and its published zone tables do not map cleanly onto these city pairs. This value is extrapolated from the nearest published anchors, not a verified chart price.
Feed it: 180,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 360,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 93,750 HSBC Reward Points (1.25:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Qatar Airways oneworld
70,000 AA miles for Qatar Qsuite via Doha — the best hard product to Chicago and only 2,000 over ANA's 68,000, but Bonvoy-only at 3:1 (210,000 points).
Feed it: 210,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 420,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 140,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → 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: 180,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 360,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
KLM SkyTeam
Air Europa SUMA prices SkyTeam partner metal off a five-band ONE-WAY distance chart: 0–600 mi 6k/12k · 601–1,250 12k/24k · 1,251–1,750 15k/30k · 1,751–3,500 32k/64k · over 3,500 48k/95k (economy/business). This corridor reads the over-3,500 mi band. The 2020 chart that made India→Europe a 51k business steal is gone — the short Gulf hops are where SUMA is now cheap. Partner awards are SUMA call-centre only, paid entirely in Miles, and non-refundable.
Feed it: 95,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 190,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 475,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
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: 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)
British AirwaysQatar Airways oneworld
Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle: the cheapest Atmos routing is British Airways via LHR, ~8,760 flown miles against a 8,254-mile nonstop, which reads the Asia-Pacific chart's 7,001-10,000 mi band — 42,500 economy / 85,000 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: 210,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.47:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 420,000 RBL Reward Points (4.94:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 140,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.65:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
KLM SkyTeam
China Eastern prices its own metal (India→Shanghai/Kunming nonstop) plus SkyTeam partners. North Asia is its genuine ex-India strength; other regions estimate off the nearest published China-anchored band (Eastern Miles publishes no India-origin matrix). All one-way.
Estimate Eastern Miles publishes no India-origin award matrix — this level estimates off the nearest published China-anchored band, as the row note states, not a verified chart price.
Feed it: 666,667 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 2,500,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors) · 500,000 Axis EDGE Miles (5:1 via Hilton Honors)
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: 270,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 540,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 180,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
KLM SkyTeam
Flying Blue prices dynamically — no fixed chart. Air France/KLM pass carrier (YQ) surcharges on own metal — typically €90–110 economy / €200–300 business one-way long-haul; intra-region SkyTeam ~€15–40. India–US business saver seats price at 95,000 miles one-way (Jul-2026 datapoint); popular dates run 120k–175k or more.
Estimate Reverse of ord-hyd — Air France-KLM Flying Blue prices the zone pair, not the direction, so the ord-hyd row is mirrored here rather than re-read. That row is itself an estimate: Dynamic program — estimate is the saver-level one-way for the India–North America pair (saver 95k; popular dates run 120k–175k+); not a fixed chart price, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Feed it: 95,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 47,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 95,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
KLM SkyTeam
SAS joined SkyTeam on 1-Sept-2024, so EuroBonus now prices SkyTeam metal. Ex-India sweet spot: intra-"CESA" business to North Asia/Japan at ~30k. Watch the ×2 multiplier on Air Europa/China Airlines/Vietnam Airlines (UX/CI/VN) metal. One-way = 60% of round-trip.
Feed it: 756,000 HDFC Reward Points (7:1 via Radisson Rewards) · 756,000 SBI Travel Credits (7:1 via Radisson Rewards) · 1,890,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (17.5:1 via Radisson Rewards)
Lufthansa 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: 97,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 650,000 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 2,437,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
Star Alliance
TAP's 4 May 2026 devaluation lifted India→North America (its "Canada, USA, Mexico and the Caribbean" zone) from 70k/115k to 80k/125k one-way. That is ONE chart cell, and it holds only while the itinerary stays inside two TAP regions — an Asian gateway onto the transpacific hop. Any build that also crosses Europe spans a third region, and TAP then bills flight by flight and sums: 80k/125k plus 65k/120k = 145k/245k. Lufthansa-group metal carries the heaviest surcharges on Star.
Feed it: 300,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 600,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 200,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Air India Star Alliance
130,000 for US business — the most expensive way to book Air India's own seat, versus ANA's 68,000 or Aeroplan's 110,000 for Star metal that can actually fly it while Delhi–Chicago stays suspended. Maharaja is the wrong currency for its own long-haul.
Estimate Air India publishes no award chart. Its own Points Calculator states that “Fares indicated above are dependent on the time of booking and seat availability”, and Maharaja Club prices every award either as a Value fare (the discounted rate for booking well in advance) or as a higher Prime fare closer to departure. This number is the Value-fare floor as sampled after the April-2026 repricing — not a published chart cell: Value space is not always available on a given flight, and the same seat prices higher once it is gone. Pricing model re-verified against Air India’s Maharaja Club T&C and Points Calculator on 2026-08-09.
Feed it: 130,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 65,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 130,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
Ethiopian Airlines Star Alliance
110,000 business in the 8,001+-mile band (the via-Delhi flown distance), — above Delhi's own 90,000 for exactly the band reason. ANA's 68,000 is the cheaper Star route.
Feed it: 55,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 110,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 275,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~110,000 is a typical Saver partner level to North America. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India→North America 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: 55,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 275,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 240,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.18:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
Cathay Pacific oneworld
119,000 business via Hong Kong — Cathay's excellent hard product, but well above ANA's 68,000 for the more direct Star routing.
Feed it: 238,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 119,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 594,000 RBL Reward Points (4.99:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Etihad Airways
Etihad flies HYD-AUH-ORD but Guest is dynamic — the documented India-US business quotes sit at a 110,000-mile paper floor that "never surfaces below 140,000," plus ₹70,000+ in carrier charges. The trap; ANA at 68,000 is the answer.
Estimate Etihad Guest Saver Award starting level for the ~8,874-mile flown itinerary (via AUH), read off Etihad's last published one-way distance-band structure (top 6,001+ 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: 60,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 120,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 300,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Emirates
No chart — the Miles Calculator prices HYD-DXB-ORD per date, up ~15% on premium cabins since the May-2026 devaluation, with heavy surcharges. Emirates flies both legs but names no fixed number.
Estimate Emirates Skywards one-way Saver estimate, re-marked 01-Aug-2026 to the official miles-calculator pull of 25-Jul-2026 (post the 20-May-2026 devaluation, premium cabins +~15%; connecting corridors summed per leg); dynamic - no published chart, Saver space thin, Flex/Flex Plus price well above.
Feed it: 292,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 720,000 RBL Reward Points (4.93:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 292,000 SBI Travel Credits (2:1)
Lufthansa Star Alliance
147,500 business — the priciest flat bed to Chicago here. Save the KrisFlyer firepower for Asia; ANA and Aeroplan book the Star metal for half.
Feed it: 147,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 73,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 295,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1)
KLM SkyTeam
LotusMiles deducts miles PER FLIGHT SEGMENT on its SkyTeam partner table (official chart, effective 1-Aug-2025), and no SkyTeam carrier flies HYD–ORD nonstop — so the price is a SUM, not one cell. Cheapest verified SkyTeam build is KLM HYD–AMS–ORD — per-segment: HYD–AMS 70,000 (SW Asia × Europe) + AMS–ORD 100,000 (Europe × North America) = 170,000. India is SW Asia on that table; LotusMiles' own SGN/HAN metal runs off a separate chart (25k/60k one-way). One-way.
Feed it: 170,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 170,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 170,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
KLM SkyTeam
Delta has had no award chart since 2015 — fully dynamic, so ~75,000 is a representative saver-ish partner level to North America; peak dates and 2026 partner hikes can swing business 1.5–3×. Kenya Airways (NBO) and Korean (ICN) are the strongest ex-India SkyTeam value.
Estimate Delta SkyMiles is fully dynamic (no chart since 2015); ~75,000/230,000 is a representative SkyTeam partner saver level India→North America on AF/KLM/KE/VN metal — peak dates and the 2026 partner hikes swing business 1.5–3×.
Feed it: 690,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 1,380,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 460,000 HSBC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
British Airways oneworld
115,000 AA miles for BA First — HYD-LHR nonstop on BA, then LHR-ORD. The only First option on the corridor; mind BA's surcharges on the London leg.
Feed it: 345,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 690,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 230,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Ethiopian Airlines 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. DIRECTION-BLIND BY CONSTRUCTION: Aeroplan bands the DISTANCE FLOWN, so HYD–ORD and ORD–HYD read the SAME chart cell — there is no direction in the chart to get wrong. Re-read against Air Canada's published Flight Reward Chart (2026-04 edition) on 2026-08-05 and promoted from mirrored estimate to a verified chart price.
Feed it: 82,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 165,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 412,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Flying back? Chicago to Hyderabad on points (ORD–HYD). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into North America — 510 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.