Award flight · one-way
The trekking exit. Everest Base Camp in, Bangkok beaches out — and Thai's zone chart is still the honest fixed price: the TG nonstop costs 17,500 economy, 27,500 in Royal Silk, identical to Delhi's for a flight 700 km longer. The business row is the play, fundable from India via HDFC and Axis direct into ROP. Aeroplan now prints the same Royal Silk seat too — but at 47,500 J, 1.7× the ROP chart, it's a stranded-balance fallback. Thai wins outright.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai Royal Orchid Plus the play | Thai Airways nonstop (Star Alliance), zone chart | 17,500 | — | ₹17,500 | the play |
| IndiGo BluChip | IndiGo via DEL (one stop) — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) | ~14,000 est. | — | ₹7,000 | 0.4× |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | Star Alliance metal (SQ/TG partner metal — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), India→Southeast Asia — Air China PhoenixMiles | ~15,000 est. | — | ₹13,500 | 0.8× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — United MileagePlus | ~20,000 est. | — | ₹20,000 | 1.1× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Avianca LifeMiles | ~20,000 est. | — | ₹20,000 | 1.1× |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance metal (Air India/SQ/TG — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India→Southeast Asia — EVA Infinity MileageLands | 25,000 | — | ₹25,000 | 1.4× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 30,000 | — | ₹30,000 | 1.7× |
| China Southern Sky Pearl Club | China Southern own metal via Guangzhou (CAN), Nepal→Southeast Asia — Sky Pearl (no partners) | 40,000 | — | ₹30,000 | 1.7× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 35,000 | — | ₹35,000 | 2.0× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — TAP Miles&Go | 50,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 2.3× |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai Royal Orchid Plus the play | Thai Airways nonstop (Star Alliance), Royal Silk | 27,500 | — | ₹27,500 | the play |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | Star Alliance metal (SQ/TG partner metal — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), India→Southeast Asia — Air China PhoenixMiles | ~27,000 est. | — | ₹24,300 | 0.9× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Avianca LifeMiles | ~37,000 est. | — | ₹37,000 | 1.3× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — United MileagePlus | ~40,000 est. | — | ₹40,000 | 1.5× |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | Star Alliance metal (Air India/SQ/TG — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), India→Southeast Asia — EVA Infinity MileageLands | 42,500 | — | ₹42,500 | 1.5× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 45,000 | — | ₹45,000 | 1.6× |
| China Southern Sky Pearl Club | China Southern own metal via Guangzhou (CAN), Nepal→Southeast Asia — Sky Pearl (no partners) | 60,000 | — | ₹45,000 | 1.6× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Thai Airways nonstop (Star Alliance partner award) | 47,500 | — | ₹47,500 | 1.7× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — TAP Miles&Go | 70,000 | — | ₹56,000 | 2.0× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 60,000 | — | ₹60,000 | 2.2× |
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. United MileagePlus makes 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. 9 other programmes priced here publish nothing the desk could read.
Thai Airways Star Alliance
Zone 3 (Asia 3 — "Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka") → Bangkok: 17,500 one-way, same as ex-Delhi. Cash fares on the tourist wave swing hard by season; below ₹14k, pay cash and keep the miles.
Feed it: 8,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 17,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 17,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
IndiGo
IndiGo links Kathmandu–Delhi–Bangkok on its own metal — Kathmandu is served from Delhi and Mumbai only, not Kolkata. BluChip prices off the live fare at roughly ₹0.40–0.60 per point, min 500 chips, no chart. Thai's nonstop is the natural buy; this keeps IndiGo on the board.
Estimate IndiGo BluChip is revenue-linked ~Rs0.50/pt; ~= typical one-way IndiGo economy fare / Rs0.50 for ~1,385 mi - a rupee offset that moves 1:1 with the live fare. Own-metal only, no partners.
Feed it: 21,000 HSBC Reward Points (1.5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 70,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1) · 42,000 HDFC Reward Points (3:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Singapore AirlinesThai Airways 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: 18,750 HSBC Reward Points (1.25:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 45,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 90,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~20,000 is a typical Saver partner level to Southeast Asia. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India→Southeast Asia 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: 10,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 50,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
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: 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 40,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
Air IndiaSingapore AirlinesThai Airways 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: 25,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 166,667 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 625,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
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: 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)
China Southern
China Southern left SkyTeam in 2020, so Sky Pearl books CZ metal ONLY. Dhaka and Kathmandu are genuine Guangzhou nonstops (every Indian city except Delhi is not, and Delhi only from 21 September 2026), and the onward leg backtracks through CAN on summed distance (rarely optimal vs an alliance carrier).
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)
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: 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)
Star Alliance
TAP's 4 May 2026 chart repriced India — which sits in its "Asia" origin zone — and intra-Asia went from 40k/60k to 50k/70k one-way, still flat regardless of distance (fine to Tokyo, poor to Colombo). The Gulf was carved out into a Middle East zone of its own at 60k/80k, so Bangkok now undercuts Dubai. Heavy fuel surcharges on Lufthansa-group and TAP metal; steer via Turkish, EgyptAir or Ethiopian to dodge the YQ.
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)
Thai Airways Star Alliance
27,500 miles one-way in Royal Silk to TG's own hub — the standout published J price in the Himalaya. Fund it via HDFC or Axis EDGE direct transfers (or the IHG 5:1 hop); TG releases award J on KTM more readily than its India routes.
Feed it: 13,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 27,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 27,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
Singapore AirlinesThai Airways 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: 66,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.44:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 132,000 RBL Reward Points (4.89:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 33,750 HSBC Reward Points (1.25:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
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: 111,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 222,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 74,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~40,000 is a typical Saver partner level to Southeast Asia. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate United MileagePlus Saver partner level, India→Southeast Asia 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: 20,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 100,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 90,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.25:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
Air IndiaSingapore AirlinesThai Airways 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: 42,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 283,334 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 1,062,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
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 (2.67:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (5.33:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 80,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.78:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
China Southern
China Southern left SkyTeam in 2020, so Sky Pearl books CZ metal ONLY. Dhaka and Kathmandu are genuine Guangzhou nonstops (every Indian city except Delhi is not, and Delhi only from 21 September 2026), and the onward leg backtracks through CAN on summed distance (rarely optimal vs an alliance carrier).
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)
Thai Airways Star Alliance
KTM–BKK's 1,385 miles land in the 0–2,500-mile Atlantic–Pacific band — 47,500 business on Thai's nonstop. Roughly 1.7× Thai's own ROP chart for the identical Royal Silk seat, so only for points already stranded in Aeroplan; chain-funded HDFC 2:1 / Bonvoy 3:1.
Feed it: 23,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 47,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 118,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Star Alliance
TAP's 4 May 2026 chart repriced India — which sits in its "Asia" origin zone — and intra-Asia went from 40k/60k to 50k/70k one-way, still flat regardless of distance (fine to Tokyo, poor to Colombo). The Gulf was carved out into a Middle East zone of its own at 60k/80k, so Bangkok now undercuts Dubai. Heavy fuel surcharges on Lufthansa-group and TAP metal; steer via Turkish, EgyptAir or Ethiopian to dodge the YQ.
Feed it: 180,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.57:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 360,000 RBL Reward Points (5.14:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.71:1 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: 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)
Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into Southeast Asia — 191 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.