Award flight · one-way
Chennai → Washington on points: 22 options across the alliance backbones our cards can reach. Aeroplan books Star partner metal at a fixed 13,789 km distance band, AAdvantage prices the oneworld routing off its region chart. No SkyTeam carrier serves Chennai and no Flying Blue partner can build the routing, so neither Flying Blue nor Delta SkyMiles has a row here. The verified charts crown THE PLAY.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines AAdvantage the play | oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — via LHR, or Qatar Airways via DOH | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | the play |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) — via FRA | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 1.0× |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | Star Alliance metal (LH partner metal — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), India→North America — Air China PhoenixMiles — via FRA | ~45,000 est. | — | ₹40,500 | 1.0× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | British Airways via LHR (oneworld partner award), India→North America — Alaska Atmos | 42,500 | — | ₹42,500 | 1.1× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Avianca LifeMiles — via FRA | ~47,000 est. | — | ₹47,000 | 1.2× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Aegean Miles+Bonus — via FRA | 50,000 | — | ₹50,000 | 1.3× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — United MileagePlus — via FRA | ~60,000 est. | — | ₹60,000 | 1.5× |
| 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 — via FRA | 60,000 | — | ₹60,000 | 1.5× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Air India feed via DEL + ANA DEL–HND–IAD (Star Alliance), TAP Miles&Go — one Asia→North America cell on three segments | 80,000 | — | ₹64,000 | 1.6× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (13,789 km) — via FRA, or Ethiopian Airlines via ADD | 75,000 | — | ₹75,000 | 1.9× |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines AAdvantage the play | oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — via LHR, or Qatar Airways via DOH | 70,000 | — | ₹70,000 | the play |
| Air China PhoenixMiles | Star Alliance metal (LH partner metal — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), India→North America — Air China PhoenixMiles — via FRA | ~75,000 est. | — | ₹67,500 | 1.0× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Aegean Miles+Bonus — via FRA | 75,000 | — | ₹75,000 | 1.1× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) — via FRA | 80,000 | — | ₹80,000 | 1.1× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | British Airways via LHR (oneworld partner award), India→North America — Alaska Atmos | 85,000 | — | ₹85,000 | 1.2× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — Avianca LifeMiles — via FRA | ~90,000 est. | — | ₹90,000 | 1.3× |
| 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 — via FRA | 97,500 | — | ₹97,500 | 1.4× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Air India feed via DEL + ANA DEL–HND–IAD (Star Alliance), TAP Miles&Go — one Asia→North America cell on three segments | 125,000 | — | ₹1,00,000 | 1.4× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (13,789 km) — via FRA, or Ethiopian Airlines via ADD | 110,000 | — | ₹1,10,000 | 1.6× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→North America — United MileagePlus — via FRA | ~110,000 est. | — | ₹1,10,000 | 1.6× |
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 | oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — via LHR, or Qatar Airways via DOH | 115,000 | — | ₹1,15,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (13,789 km) — via FRA, or 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. American Airlines AAdvantage, Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards and United MileagePlus 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. 6 other programmes priced here publish nothing the desk could read.
British AirwaysQatar Airways oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
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)
Lufthansa 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, ~8,784 flown miles against a 8,568-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)
Lufthansa 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)
Lufthansa 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)
Lufthansa 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)
Air IndiaAll Nippon Airways Star Alliance
TAP prices a Star Alliance award by the REGIONS it crosses, not the miles: two or fewer regions read ONE chart cell, more than two are billed flight by flight and summed (TAP's own rule, page 8 of the 4-May-2026 Star Alliance table). The second half of the rule is on flytap.com's own award-ticket conditions: a ONE-WAY Star award may carry a maximum of THREE segments. No Star carrier flies Chennai-Washington with a single connection inside two regions - neither ANA nor Air China, the only Star carriers whose Asian hub has a Dulles nonstop, serves Chennai - but three segments is enough: Air India Chennai to Delhi, then ANA Delhi-Haneda-Dulles, crosses only Asia and TAP's "Canada, USA, Mexico and the Caribbean" and therefore reads the single 80,000 cell. Air Canada via Toronto and United via Newark build the same two regions from Delhi. The one-connection alternative, Lufthansa via Frankfurt, adds Europe as a third region and sums to 145,000 - 65,000 more for one fewer stop. Resolved 1-Aug-2026 against TAP's own award conditions; until then the board answered this question two different ways on the same city pair. Air India's Delhi-Dulles nonstop is suspended, so no Star metal reaches Washington from India without connecting. Lufthansa-group metal carries the heaviest surcharges on Star; TAP publishes no per-route figure, so none is asserted here.
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)
LufthansaEthiopian 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.
Feed it: 37,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 75,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 187,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
British AirwaysQatar Airways oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
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)
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))
Lufthansa 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)
Lufthansa 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, ~8,784 flown miles against a 8,568-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)
Lufthansa 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)
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)
Air IndiaAll Nippon Airways Star Alliance
TAP prices a Star Alliance award by the REGIONS it crosses, not the miles: two or fewer regions read ONE chart cell, more than two are billed flight by flight and summed (TAP's own rule, page 8 of the 4-May-2026 Star Alliance table). The second half of the rule is on flytap.com's own award-ticket conditions: a ONE-WAY Star award may carry a maximum of THREE segments. No Star carrier flies Chennai-Washington with a single connection inside two regions - neither ANA nor Air China, the only Star carriers whose Asian hub has a Dulles nonstop, serves Chennai - but three segments is enough: Air India Chennai to Delhi, then ANA Delhi-Haneda-Dulles, crosses only Asia and TAP's "Canada, USA, Mexico and the Caribbean" and therefore reads the single 125,000 cell. Air Canada via Toronto and United via Newark build the same two regions from Delhi. The one-connection alternative, Lufthansa via Frankfurt, adds Europe as a third region and sums to 245,000 - 120,000 more for one fewer stop. Book any segment in Business and TAP applies the Business value to the whole trip, feed included. Resolved 1-Aug-2026 against TAP's own award conditions; until then the board answered this question two different ways on the same city pair. Air India's Delhi-Dulles nonstop is suspended, so no Star metal reaches Washington from India without connecting. Lufthansa-group metal carries the heaviest surcharges on Star; TAP publishes no per-route figure, so none is asserted here.
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)
LufthansaEthiopian 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.
Feed it: 55,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 110,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 275,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Lufthansa 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)
British AirwaysQatar Airways oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
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)
LufthansaEthiopian 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.
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? Washington to Chennai on points (IAD–MAA). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into North America — 510 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.