Economy the play 7,500 pts Air India mainline nonstop (Star Alliance), Aeroplan distance-band award (1,033 km)
Air India Star Alliance
The metal is settled on both airport tables: Air India flies Chennai–Mumbai on MAINLINE metal, the only Star Alliance operator on the pair, so this band reads the direct great circle and assumes no via-hub detour. Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN — only a CA$39 partner booking fee plus taxes. A connecting routing that flies farther lands in the next band up.
Feed it: 3,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 7,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 18,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Air India mainline nonstop (Star Alliance), Value tier — Air India Express does not fly Chennai–Mumbai
Air India Star Alliance
CORRECTED 2026-08-08 from an estimated 5,000, and promoted to a first-hand read: the full April-2026 domestic economy table lists the pair once for both headings — "BOM,MAA, old 4,500, new 4,500–12,000" — held flat at a 4,500 Value cell. Chennai's own airport table lists Air India mainline to Delhi and Mumbai only, and files Bengaluru, Kolkata, Guwahati, Pune and Port Blair under Air India Express instead, so this is mainline metal. ₹3,600 at the ₹0.80 house value against Aeroplan's 7,500 points at ₹7,500 for the identical seat.
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: 4,500 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 2,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 4,500 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced)
IndiGo
IndiGo owns the frequency on Chennai–Mumbai, but BluChip has no award chart — redemptions track the live fare at a dynamic ₹0.40–0.60 per BluChip, minimum 500, taxes and convenience fees cash-only. Nothing to plan around; useful only to bleed an expiring balance onto a fare you'd have paid anyway.
Estimate IndiGo BluChip is revenue-linked ~Rs0.50/pt; ~= typical one-way IndiGo economy fare / Rs0.50 for ~642 mi - a rupee offset that moves 1:1 with the live fare. Own-metal only, no partners.
Feed it: 12,750 HSBC Reward Points (1.5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 42,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1) · 25,500 HDFC Reward Points (3:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Business the play 12,500 pts Air India mainline nonstop (Star Alliance), Aeroplan distance-band award (1,033 km)
Air India Star Alliance
The metal is settled on both airport tables: Air India flies Chennai–Mumbai on MAINLINE metal, the only Star Alliance operator on the pair, so this band reads the direct great circle and assumes no via-hub detour. Aeroplan prices Star partner awards by total distance FLOWN — only a CA$39 partner booking fee plus taxes. A connecting routing that flies farther lands in the next band up.
Feed it: 6,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 12,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 31,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Business ~19,000 pts est. Air India mainline nonstop (Star Alliance), Value tier — mainline only, Air India Express does not fly the pair and sells no business cabin
Air India Star Alliance
New row, 2026-08-08. The complete April-2026 pull prints the J cell the partial tables omitted — "BOM,MAA, old 22,000, new 19,000–22,000", a 13.6% cut — and lists it once for both directions. 19,000 is the Value cell; 22,000 is the band ceiling, the trap that mispriced three other corridors on this desk. The cabin exists: Air India flies Chennai–Mumbai on its own narrowbodies, which carry a proper recliner. It is still the row to skip — ₹15,200 at house value where Aeroplan bands the same seat at 12,500 points for ₹12,500. Taxes cash on top.
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: 19,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 9,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 19,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
First the play 25,000 pts Air India mainline nonstop (Star Alliance), Aeroplan distance-band award (1,033 km)
Air India Star Alliance
Chart completeness, not a booking: Air India runs Chennai–Mumbai on narrowbody metal, so the front cabin is a business recliner and no first cabin flies the pair at all. The cell is real — Aeroplan's Within-Atlantic 0–1,000-mile band prints a First column — but there is nothing on the aircraft to redeem into.
Feed it: 12,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 25,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 62,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)