Award flight · one-way
Malé → Bengaluru on points: 9 options, the board now symmetric with Bengaluru → Malé. 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 30,000 via American Airlines AAdvantage, and economy starts at 17,500. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines AAdvantage the play | oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or SriLankan Airlines via CMB | 17,500 | — | ₹17,500 | the play |
| IndiGo BluChip | IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) | ~10,400 est. | — | ₹5,200 | 0.3× |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India has no MLE–BLR nonstop and its only Malé service, Delhi–Malé, is cancelled 1-Jun–31-Aug-2026 and resumes 1-Sep-2026 — connect via DEL, Value tier | ~8,000 est. | — | ₹6,400 | 0.4× |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | SriLankan Airlines via CMB (oneworld partner award), India ⇄ a South-Asia neighbour — Alaska Atmos | ~7,500 est. | — | ₹7,500 | 0.4× |
| Emirates Skywards | Emirates via DXB (MLE–DXB–BLR) — Classic Rewards, calculator-priced | ~30,000 est. | — | ₹27,000 | 1.5× |
| Etihad Guest | Etihad via AUH (MLE–AUH–BLR) — dynamic Guest pricing | ~30,000 est. | — | ₹30,000 | 1.7× |
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 — or SriLankan Airlines via CMB | 30,000 | — | ₹30,000 | the play |
| Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards | SriLankan Airlines via CMB (oneworld partner award), India ⇄ a South-Asia neighbour — Alaska Atmos | ~15,000 est. | — | ₹15,000 | 0.5× |
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. | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | the play |
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. Emirates Skywards and Etihad Guest state that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. American Airlines AAdvantage, Air India Maharaja Points and Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards make you liable for one if the operating airline levies it, without saying whether it does. 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. 1 other programme priced here publishes nothing the desk could read.
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
Feed it: 52,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 105,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 35,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
IndiGo
IndiGo BluChip has no award chart at all — redemptions track the live fare at a dynamic ₹0.40–0.60 per BluChip, minimum 500 points, taxes cash-only, own metal only with no partners. It is a rupee offset wearing points clothing, not a chart price. Mirrored from blr-mle: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 10,400 is the blr-mle number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of blr-mle — IndiGo BluChip prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the blr-mle economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. IndiGo BluChip is revenue-linked ~Rs0.50/pt; ~= typical one-way IndiGo economy fare / Rs0.50 for ~685 mi - a rupee offset that moves 1:1 with the live fare. Own-metal only, no partners.
Feed it: 15,600 HSBC Reward Points (1.5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 52,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1) · 31,200 HDFC Reward Points (3:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Air India Star Alliance
Air India’s April-2026 region-tier award — the tier price covers the whole mainline award including a domestic feeder, not a leg-sum. Mirrored from blr-mle: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 8,000 is the blr-mle number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
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. This direction is additionally mirrored from the reverse corridor — Maharaja prices the zone pair, not the direction of travel — and has not been sampled separately.
Feed it: 8,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 4,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 8,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle, so a connecting build can read a higher band than the map suggests — plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). Mirrored from blr-mle: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 7,500 is the blr-mle number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of blr-mle — Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the blr-mle economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Priced at the flown-routing distance, not the nonstop great circle: SriLankan Airlines via CMB = ~925 mi summed great-circle (1.35x the 684-mi nonstop), which reads the Atmos Asia-Pacific partner chart's sub-1,500-mile band (7,500 economy / 15,000 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: 22,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 45,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 15,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Emirates
Emirates prices Classic Rewards off its calculator, not a chart, and the 20-May-2026 devaluation lifted premium cabins ~15%. Saver space is thin and Flex/Flex Plus price well above; connecting corridors are summed per leg. Mirrored from blr-mle: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 30,000 is the blr-mle number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of blr-mle — Emirates Skywards prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the blr-mle economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Emirates Skywards one-way Saver estimate, re-marked 01-Aug-2026 to the official miles-calculator pull of 25-Jul-2026 (post the 20-May-2026 devaluation, premium cabins +~15%; connecting corridors summed per leg); dynamic - no published chart, Saver space thin, Flex/Flex Plus price well above.
Feed it: 60,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 150,000 RBL Reward Points (5:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 60,000 SBI Travel Credits (2:1)
Etihad Airways
Etihad publishes no award chart today — GuestSeat became Saver Award on 13-Nov-2025 and pricing lives in the Miles Calculator — so this is the last published distance-band floor, which real availability rarely touches, on top of heavy carrier charges. Mirrored from blr-mle: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 30,000 is the blr-mle number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of blr-mle — Etihad Guest prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the blr-mle economy cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Etihad Guest Saver Award starting level for the ~3,572-mile flown itinerary (via AUH), read off Etihad's last published one-way distance-band structure (4,000-mile band). Etihad publishes no award chart today - GuestSeat became Saver Award on 13-Nov-2025 and pricing lives in the Miles Calculator - so fixed-rate space is limited and real quotes often run well above this floor.
Feed it: 15,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 30,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 75,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
Feed it: 90,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 180,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 60,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
SriLankan Airlines oneworld
Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle, so a connecting build can read a higher band than the map suggests — plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). Mirrored from blr-mle: the chart cell is the same in either direction, so 15,000 is the blr-mle number read back the other way — an estimate until this direction is re-read, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Estimate Reverse of blr-mle — Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards prices the zone pair or the distance band, not the direction, so this mirrors the blr-mle business cell one-for-one; the desk has not separately re-read the chart for this direction. Priced at the flown-routing distance, not the nonstop great circle: SriLankan Airlines via CMB = ~925 mi summed great-circle (1.35x the 684-mi nonstop), which reads the Atmos Asia-Pacific partner chart's sub-1,500-mile band (7,500 economy / 15,000 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: 45,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 90,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 30,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
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)
Flying back? Bengaluru to Malé on points (BLR–MLE). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into South Asia — 380 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.