Award flight · one-way
Chennai → Singapore on points: 33 options, the board now symmetric with Singapore → 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 37,500 via Lufthansa Miles & More, and economy starts at 19,000. 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) the play | Malaysia via KUL (oneworld) — Avios partner chart, per-segment | 19,000 | — | ₹19,000 | the play |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India mainline nonstop MAA–SIN (Star Alliance), Value tier — service resumes 2 Sep 2026 | ~12,000 est. | — | ₹9,600 | 0.5× |
| IndiGo BluChip | IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) | ~20,000 est. | — | ₹10,000 | 0.5× |
| 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 | 0.7× |
| 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× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Malaysia Airlines via KUL (MAA–KUL–SIN) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) | ~20,000 est. | — | ₹20,000 | 1.1× |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Singapore Airlines nonstop, Saver (Zone 6 chart) | 19,000 | — | ₹20,900 | 1.1× |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | Singapore Airlines nonstop — Star Alliance partner award, fixed Miles & More chart | 21,000 | — | ₹21,000 | 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 | 1.3× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air India or Singapore Airlines metal (Star Alliance partner award) | ~25,000 est. | — | ₹25,000 | 1.3× |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | SriLankan via CMB (oneworld partner award) | 25,000 | — | ₹25,000 | 1.3× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | Malaysia Airlines via KUL (oneworld partner award), India→Southeast Asia — Alaska Atmos | 25,000 | — | ₹25,000 | 1.3× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 30,000 | — | ₹30,000 | 1.6× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 35,000 | — | ₹35,000 | 1.8× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — TAP Miles&Go | 50,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 2.1× |
The play · business
Which card mints this?
+1 more ways in — the full funnel, ratios and ₹/mile side by side →
One of your cards is in those 1 — see it in the funnel →
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lufthansa Miles & More the play | Singapore Airlines nonstop — Star Alliance partner award, fixed Miles & More chart | 37,500 | — | ₹37,500 | 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 | 0.6× |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Avianca LifeMiles | ~37,000 est. | — | ₹37,000 | 1.0× |
| Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) | Malaysia via KUL (oneworld) — Avios partner chart, per-segment | 38,500 | — | ₹38,500 | 1.0× |
| United MileagePlus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — United MileagePlus | ~40,000 est. | — | ₹40,000 | 1.1× |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India mainline nonstop MAA–SIN (Star Alliance), Value tier — service resumes 2 Sep 2026 | ~50,000 est. | — | ₹40,000 | 1.1× |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | SriLankan business via CMB (oneworld partner award) | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | 1.1× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Malaysia Airlines via KUL (MAA–KUL–SIN) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) | ~41,500 est. | — | ₹41,500 | 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 | 42,500 | — | ₹42,500 | 1.1× |
| Aegean Miles+Bonus | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Aegean Miles+Bonus | 45,000 | — | ₹45,000 | 1.2× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air India or Singapore Airlines metal (Star Alliance partner award) | 47,500 | — | ₹47,500 | 1.3× |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Singapore Airlines nonstop, Saver (Zone 6 chart) | 45,000 | — | ₹49,500 | 1.3× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | Malaysia Airlines via KUL (oneworld partner award), India→Southeast Asia — Alaska Atmos | 50,000 | — | ₹50,000 | 1.3× |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — TAP Miles&Go | 70,000 | — | ₹56,000 | 1.5× |
| Copa Airlines ConnectMiles | Star Alliance partner metal, India→Southeast Asia — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart) | 60,000 | — | ₹60,000 | 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 | AAdvantage region-chart first cell — no oneworld carrier flies a first cabin on this route (SriLankan's top cabin is business); the cell prices, the seat does not fly. Chart completeness only. | 50,000 | — | ₹50,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air India or Singapore Airlines 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), Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Lufthansa Miles & More state that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. Air India Maharaja Points, United MileagePlus, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, 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. 7 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 SIN 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.
Malaysia Airlines oneworld
MAA-KUL (Z3, 12,500) + KUL-SIN (184 mi, Z1, 6,500) = 19,000 Avios on Malaysia metal; SriLankan via Colombo (Z1 + Z3) prices identically. A two-stop for a corridor SQ flies nonstop — completeness, not the buy.
Feed it: 19,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 38,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 19,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Air India Star Alliance
The flat 12,000-point SE Asia economy tier — ₹9,600 at house value, the cheapest way across. Air India's own MAA–SIN nonstop was filed back from 2 Sep 2026; a backtrack via Delhi or Mumbai isn't a bookable award, so this prices on that nonstop, not on the gap before it.
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: 12,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 6,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 12,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
IndiGo
IndiGo flies MAA-SIN nonstop, but BluChip prices every seat off the live fare (~₹0.40-0.80/point) — no chart, no plan. Since economy to Singapore is a cash decision anyway, a BluChip balance is an honest way to pay it.
Estimate IndiGo BluChip is revenue-linked ~Rs0.50/pt; ~= typical one-way IndiGo economy fare / Rs0.50 for ~1,817 mi - a rupee offset that moves 1:1 with the live fare. Own-metal only, no partners.
Feed it: 30,000 HSBC Reward Points (1.5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 100,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1) · 60,000 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)
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 sin-maa: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 20,000 is the sin-maa number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of sin-maa — Air France-KLM Flying Blue prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the sin-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 + 296 km banded to 15,000 + 5,000 = 20,000 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. The <=1,200 km rung of those bands was re-fitted on 2026-08-02 as the geometric mean of its own published in-band quotes and now reads 5,000 economy / 11,500 business, up from 4,000 / 8,000 — an unfitted rung that ran about 21% and 31% low. The re-fit removes the bias, not the spread: published one-way business quotes inside the band still run 6,100 (Muscat–Dubai) to 19,500 (Toronto–New York), 3.2x apart, and segment length does not explain the gap, so the short-hop component is the coarsest number on this row.
Feed it: 20,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 10,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 20,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Singapore Airlines Star Alliance
Zone 6 covers all of India, so Chennai prices exactly like Delhi and Mumbai — 19,000 Saver post-Nov-2025 on SQ's own MAA-SIN nonstop. Economy to Singapore still loses to a ₹14-25k cash fare; the aspiration is the business row.
Feed it: 19,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 9,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 38,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1)
Singapore Airlines 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: Air India Maharaja Points prices the same cabin at 12,000. What it buys is a FIXED number and a partner-metal cash bill. Singapore Airlines 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)
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)
Air IndiaSingapore Airlines 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 sin-maa: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 25,000 is the sin-maa number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of sin-maa — Air Canada Aeroplan prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the sin-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 Airlines oneworld
25,000 AA miles Indian Subcontinent → Asia Region 2, routed MAA-CMB-SIN on SriLankan (SQ isn't oneworld) — 75,000 Bonvoy at 3:1 (see /transfers/to/american-aadvantage). Above KrisFlyer's nonstop and the Avios sum; 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)
Malaysia AirlinesSriLankan Airlines oneworld
Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle: the cheapest Atmos routing is Malaysia Airlines via KUL, ~1,818 flown miles against a 1,817-mile nonstop, which reads 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.
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)
Singapore Airlines 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. At 37,500 it is the cheapest published business price on this corridor, undercutting the previous best — Avios (BA / Qatar / Finnair) at 38,500. Singapore Airlines flies it nonstop. Alternate partner metal on the same fixed price: Thai Airways via Bangkok (1.246×). Singapore Airlines is the stingiest Star carrier with partner Saver business space — expect to hunt, and price the Thai or Air India routing on the same corridor before giving up. 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)
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)
Malaysia Airlines oneworld
MAA-KUL (Z3, 24,500 J) + KUL-SIN (Z1, 14,000 J) = 38,500 Avios — fewer Avios than KrisFlyer's SQ Saver, but two stops and regional metal. The KrisFlyer nonstop stays the honest play.
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)
Air India Star Alliance
SE Asia business rose 19% to 50,000 in April 2026 — but at ~₹0.80 a point those 50k cost less to mint than KrisFlyer's 45k. Prices on Air India's MAA–SIN nonstop returning 2 Sep 2026, not a via-Delhi backtrack.
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: 50,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 25,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 50,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
40,000 AA miles business via Colombo — 120,000 Bonvoy at 3:1 (see /transfers/to/american-aadvantage). Completeness; KrisFlyer's SQ Saver nonstop is the corridor's answer.
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)
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 sin-maa: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 41,500 is the sin-maa number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of sin-maa — Air France-KLM Flying Blue prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the sin-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 + 296 km banded to 30,000 + 11,500 = 41,500 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. The <=1,200 km rung of those bands was re-fitted on 2026-08-02 as the geometric mean of its own published in-band quotes and now reads 5,000 economy / 11,500 business, up from 4,000 / 8,000 — an unfitted rung that ran about 21% and 31% low. The re-fit removes the bias, not the spread: published one-way business quotes inside the band still run 6,100 (Muscat–Dubai) to 19,500 (Toronto–New York), 3.2x apart, and segment length does not explain the gap, so the short-hop component is the coarsest number on this row.
Feed it: 41,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 20,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 41,500 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: 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)
Air IndiaSingapore Airlines Star Alliance
MAA-SIN's 1,817 great-circle miles sit in Aeroplan's 0-2,500-mile Atlantic-Pacific band — 47,500 in business after the June-2026 hike. SQ releases partner J sparingly; the returning Air India nonstop is the realistic metal.
Feed it: 23,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 47,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 118,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Singapore Airlines Star Alliance
45,000 Saver — the flat Zone 6 rate, the redemption four Indian issuers exist to feed, on SQ's nonstop from Chennai. Book at the 355-day window; Saver J space is the fight, not the price.
Feed it: 45,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 22,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 90,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1)
Malaysia AirlinesSriLankan Airlines oneworld
Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle: the cheapest Atmos routing is Malaysia Airlines via KUL, ~1,818 flown miles against a 1,817-mile nonstop, which reads 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.
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)
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)
Air IndiaSingapore Airlines 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 sin-maa: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 55,000 is the sin-maa number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of sin-maa — Air Canada Aeroplan prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the sin-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? Singapore to Chennai on points (SIN–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.