Award flight · one-way
Chennai → Bangkok on points: 31 options, the board now symmetric with Bangkok → Chennai. 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 27,500 via Thai Royal Orchid Plus, and economy starts at 17,500. 18 rows are first-hand chart reads.
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 nonstop — 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× |
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) | SriLankan via CMB (oneworld) — Avios partner chart, per-segment | 19,000 | — | ₹19,000 | 1.1× |
| 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× |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | Thai Airways nonstop — Star Alliance partner award, fixed Miles & More chart | 21,000 | — | ₹21,000 | 1.2× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Malaysia Airlines via KUL (MAA–KUL–BKK) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) | ~22,500 est. | — | ₹22,500 | 1.3× |
| 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× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Thai Airways metal (Star Alliance partner award) | ~25,000 est. | — | ₹25,000 | 1.4× |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | SriLankan via CMB (oneworld partner award), or Malaysia Airlines via KUL | 25,000 | — | ₹25,000 | 1.4× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | SriLankan Airlines via CMB (oneworld partner award), India→Southeast Asia — Alaska Atmos | ~25,000 est. | — | ₹25,000 | 1.4× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 30,000 | — | ₹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× |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | Thai Airways nonstop — Star Alliance partner award, fixed Miles & More chart | 37,500 | — | ₹37,500 | 1.4× |
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) | SriLankan business via CMB (oneworld) — Avios partner chart, per-segment | 38,500 | — | ₹38,500 | 1.4× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — United MileagePlus | ~40,000 est. | — | ₹40,000 | 1.5× |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | SriLankan business via CMB (oneworld partner award), or Malaysia Airlines via KUL | 40,000 | — | ₹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× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Malaysia Airlines via KUL (MAA–KUL–BKK) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) | ~45,000 est. | — | ₹45,000 | 1.6× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 45,000 | — | ₹45,000 | 1.6× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Thai Airways metal (Star Alliance partner award) | 47,500 | — | ₹47,500 | 1.7× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | SriLankan Airlines via CMB (oneworld partner award), India→Southeast Asia — Alaska Atmos | ~50,000 est. | — | ₹50,000 | 1.8× |
| 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× |
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 | SriLankan via CMB (oneworld partner award), or Malaysia Airlines via KUL | 50,000 | — | ₹50,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Thai Airways metal (Star Alliance partner award) | ~55,000 est. | — | ₹55,000 | 1.1× |
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. Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair), Lufthansa Miles & More and Air France-KLM Flying Blue state that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. United MileagePlus, American Airlines AAdvantage 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. 8 other programmes priced here publish nothing the desk could read.
Open this corridor in British Airways’ Flight Finder → It fills in your search — MAA to BKK 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.
Thai Airways Star Alliance
Zone 3 (India) → Bangkok on the direct-flight chart, on TG's own MAA-BKK nonstop. At ₹8-14k cash fares this rarely clears ₹0.7/mile — Royal Silk is where the same chart gets interesting.
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's MAA-BKK nonstop, priced off the live fare at ~₹0.40-0.80 per BluChip — no chart, no sweet spot. The program most Chennai flyers already hold, useful for a cheap seat, never aspirational.
Estimate IndiGo BluChip is revenue-linked ~Rs0.50/pt; ~= typical one-way IndiGo economy fare / Rs0.50 for ~1,384 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)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
MAA-CMB (402 mi, Z1, 6,500) + CMB-BKK (1,486 mi, Z3, 12,500) = 19,000 Avios on SriLankan — cheaper than Delhi's 25,000 because Chennai's Colombo leg is a Zone-1 hop, not a Zone-3. Thai flies the nonstop; this is the oneworld alternative.
Feed it: 19,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 38,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 19,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
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)
Thai Airways Star Alliance
The same fixed partner chart — the one the 3-Jun-2025 dynamic switch left alone — prices India↔South East Asia economy at 42,000 miles RETURN, halved to 21,000 one-way by Miles & More’s published one-way rule (General terms and conditions for Award Flights, §1.1: a single leg costs “50% fewer miles than a standard Award Flight”). It does not win here: Thai Royal Orchid Plus prices the same cabin at 17,500. What it buys is a FIXED number and a partner-metal cash bill. Thai Airways flies it nonstop. Burn a stranded Miles & More balance here if you must; the business cell at 37,500 is where this chart actually earns its keep. The chart is miles-only: the PDF still makes you pay “taxes, fees, airline surcharges payable to the respective airlines”, so the cash bill follows the OPERATING carrier — which is exactly why partner metal escapes the EUR 395–885 one-way that Lufthansa and SWISS own metal carries.
Feed it: 52,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 21,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:1) · 105,000 HDFC Reward Points (5:1 via Wyndham Rewards)
Malaysia Airlines oneworld
Flying Blue prices dynamically — no fixed chart — and bills partner awards PER SEGMENT, so a connection is a sum. Air France/KLM pass carrier (YQ) surcharges on own metal, and only economy and business are bookable on partners. Mirrored from bkk-maa: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 22,500 is the bkk-maa number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of bkk-maa — Air France-KLM Flying Blue prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the bkk-maa economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Flying Blue is dynamic and prices partner awards PER SEGMENT (One Mile at a Time, 6-Jun-2024: "you're paying the per segment pricing anyway"). No SkyTeam carrier serves Chennai at all, so this row rides Malaysia Airlines — a Flying Blue redemption partner a named Flying Blue partner — via KUL: 2,629 km + 1,222 km banded to 15,000 + 7,500 = 22,500 economy. Bands anchored on published Flying Blue partner datapoints (business one-way: 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); economy is half of business, the one published economy anchor. Dates and demand move the real number.
Feed it: 22,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 11,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 22,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
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)
Thai Airways Star Alliance
Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN — only a CA$39 partner booking fee plus taxes. First is the published top cabin for this band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. Mirrored from bkk-maa: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 25,000 is the bkk-maa number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of bkk-maa — Air Canada Aeroplan prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the bkk-maa economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.
Feed it: 12,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 25,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 62,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
SriLankan AirlinesMalaysia Airlines oneworld
25,000 AA miles Indian Subcontinent → Asia Region 2 (Thailand), routed on SriLankan via Colombo — 75,000 Bonvoy at 3:1 (see /transfers/to/american-aadvantage). Thai's nonstop is the answer; AA is the fixed region backstop.
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 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
SriLankan AirlinesMalaysia Airlines oneworld
No Atmos partner flies MAA-BKK nonstop, so the 1,384-mile great circle never reaches the chart. Alaska bands what you actually fly: SriLankan Airlines via CMB is ~1,889 flown miles — the Asia-Pacific chart's 1,501-3,000 mi band, 25,000 economy / 50,000 business one-way, plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). One-way.
Estimate Priced at the flown-routing distance, not the nonstop great circle: SriLankan Airlines via CMB = ~1,889 mi summed great-circle (1.36x the 1,384-mi nonstop), which reads the Atmos Asia-Pacific partner chart's 1,501-3,000 mi band (25,000 economy / 50,000 business one-way). Atmos prices partner awards on total distance flown; the exact routing Alaska sells on this pair is not calculator-verified (alaskaair.com blocks automated reads).
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)
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)
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 business rate on any India corridor, and a genuine nonstop from Chennai. HDFC (2:1), Axis (1:2) and HSBC (1:1) feed ROP; mind the hard 3-year expiry.
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)
Thai Airways Star Alliance
Miles & More's PARTNER chart is the one thing the 3-Jun-2025 switch to dynamic pricing did not touch, and the official Award Flight chart (correct as of 3 March 2026) gives INDIA its own region, separate from South East Asia and from Central Asia/Far East. India↔South East Asia in business is 75,000 miles RETURN. The halving is published, not assumed: Miles & More's General terms and conditions for Award Flights, §1.1 One-way Award Flight, reads “One-way Award Flights allow you to book an Award Flight for a single leg for 50% fewer miles than a standard Award Flight”, and carves out only Lufthansa/SWISS/Austrian metal, where the saving tracks the dynamic online offer. That puts this corridor at 37,500 one-way, fixed and published — the single best use of a Miles & More balance from India. It does not win here: Thai Royal Orchid Plus prices the same cabin at 27,500. What it buys is a FIXED number and a partner-metal cash bill. Thai Airways flies it nonstop. Thai releases partner Saver business far more freely than Singapore Airlines does, which is what makes this cell bookable rather than theoretical. The chart is miles-only: the PDF still makes you pay “taxes, fees, airline surcharges payable to the respective airlines”, so the cash bill follows the OPERATING carrier — which is exactly why partner metal escapes the EUR 395–885 one-way that Lufthansa and SWISS own metal carries.
Feed it: 93,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 37,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:1) · 187,500 HDFC Reward Points (5:1 via Wyndham Rewards)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
MAA-CMB (Z1, 14,000 J) + CMB-BKK (Z3, 24,500 J) = 38,500 Avios via Colombo. More than Thai's 27,500 Royal Silk nonstop already here — a completeness row that a Chennai Zone-1 feeder still keeps under Delhi's.
Feed it: 38,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 77,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 38,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
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)
SriLankan AirlinesMalaysia Airlines oneworld
40,000 AA miles business via Colombo — 120,000 Bonvoy at 3:1 (see /transfers/to/american-aadvantage). Above Thai's Royal Silk and the Avios sum; completeness for a Bonvoy-funded flyer.
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)
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)
Malaysia Airlines oneworld
Flying Blue prices dynamically — no fixed chart — and bills partner awards PER SEGMENT, so a connection is a sum. Air France/KLM pass carrier (YQ) surcharges on own metal, and only economy and business are bookable on partners. Mirrored from bkk-maa: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 45,000 is the bkk-maa number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of bkk-maa — Air France-KLM Flying Blue prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the bkk-maa business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Flying Blue is dynamic and prices partner awards PER SEGMENT (One Mile at a Time, 6-Jun-2024: "you're paying the per segment pricing anyway"). No SkyTeam carrier serves Chennai at all, so this row rides Malaysia Airlines — a Flying Blue redemption partner a named Flying Blue partner — via KUL: 2,629 km + 1,222 km banded to 30,000 + 15,000 = 45,000 business. Bands anchored on published Flying Blue partner datapoints (business one-way: 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); economy is half of business, the one published economy anchor. Dates and demand move the real number.
Feed it: 45,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 22,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 45,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
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)
Thai Airways Star Alliance
MAA-BKK's 1,384 miles sit in the 0-2,500-mile Atlantic-Pacific band — 47,500 business, booking Thai's nonstop. 1.7× Thai's own 27,500 Royal Silk for the same seat; for stranded Aeroplan balances only.
Feed it: 23,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 47,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 118,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
SriLankan AirlinesMalaysia Airlines oneworld
No Atmos partner flies MAA-BKK nonstop, so the 1,384-mile great circle never reaches the chart. Alaska bands what you actually fly: SriLankan Airlines via CMB is ~1,889 flown miles — the Asia-Pacific chart's 1,501-3,000 mi band, 25,000 economy / 50,000 business one-way, plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). One-way.
Estimate Priced at the flown-routing distance, not the nonstop great circle: SriLankan Airlines via CMB = ~1,889 mi summed great-circle (1.36x the 1,384-mi nonstop), which reads the Atmos Asia-Pacific partner chart's 1,501-3,000 mi band (25,000 economy / 50,000 business one-way). Atmos prices partner awards on total distance flown; the exact routing Alaska sells on this pair is not calculator-verified (alaskaair.com blocks automated reads).
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)
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)
SriLankan AirlinesMalaysia Airlines oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. First is the chart’s top cabin for this region pair, so the cell is easier to read than to book wherever no oneworld carrier flies a first cabin on the sector. That region-to-region cell is the PAIR, not the direction: every Indian-Subcontinent cell reads identically from either origin chart, so this heading has one published number.
Feed it: 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 300,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 100,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Thai Airways Star Alliance
Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN — only a CA$39 partner booking fee plus taxes. First is the published top cabin for this band; a connecting routing that flies farther can land in the next band up. Mirrored from bkk-maa: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 55,000 is the bkk-maa number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of bkk-maa — Air Canada Aeroplan prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the bkk-maa first cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction.
Feed it: 27,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 55,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 137,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Flying back? Bangkok to Chennai on points (BKK–MAA). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into Southeast Asia — 191 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.