Award flight · one-way
Chicago → Melbourne on points: 10 options across the alliance backbones our cards can reach. Aeroplan books Star partner metal at a fixed 15,556 km distance band, AAdvantage prices the oneworld routing off its region chart, and Flying Blue covers SkyTeam dynamically. The verified charts crown THE PLAY; the dynamic row is shown as an honest estimate.
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 — Cathay Pacific via HKG, or Japan Airlines via NRT | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | the play |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | American Airlines via LAX beyond Qantas' trans-Pacific metal (ORD–LAX–MEL), Qantas Classic Flight Reward table — Zone 10 on 9,668 one-way miles | 63,500 | — | ₹63,500 | 1.6× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (15,556 km) — via SFO | 65,000 | — | ₹65,000 | 1.6× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Japan Airlines via NRT (ORD–NRT–MEL) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic), or Delta Air Lines via LAX | ~70,000 est. | — | ₹70,000 | 1.8× |
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 — Cathay Pacific via HKG, or Japan Airlines via NRT | 80,000 | — | ₹80,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (15,556 km) — via SFO | 102,500 | — | ₹1,02,500 | 1.3× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Japan Airlines via NRT (ORD–NRT–MEL) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic), or Delta Air Lines via LAX | ~137,000 est. | — | ₹1,37,000 | 1.7× |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | American Airlines via LAX beyond Qantas' trans-Pacific metal (ORD–LAX–MEL), Qantas Classic Flight Reward table — Zone 10 on 9,668 one-way miles | 166,300 | — | ₹1,66,300 | 2.1× |
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 — Cathay Pacific via HKG, or Japan Airlines via NRT | 110,000 | — | ₹1,10,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (15,556 km) — via SFO | 140,000 | — | ₹1,40,000 | 1.3× |
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. Air France-KLM Flying Blue states that a carrier-imposed surcharge is charged on an award. American Airlines AAdvantage makes 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. 1 other programme priced here publishes nothing the desk could read.
Cathay PacificJapan Airlines 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)
QantasAmerican Airlines oneworld
Qantas has no Chicago route, so this is not the Qantas nonstop the row used to claim. American Airlines is on the QANTAS Classic Flight Reward table — qantas.com lists it verbatim: 'For Classic Flight Rewards with Qantas, Jetstar, Fiji Airways and American Airlines' — so a Qantas long-haul plus an American connection stays on the Qantas table, not the dearer partner one. Summed great-circle sectors: MEL–LAX 7,927 mi + LAX–ORD 1,741 mi = 9,668 mi, Zone 10 (9,601–15,000 mi). Price unchanged — what was wrong was the claim of a Qantas nonstop. Points exclude taxes, fees and carrier charges; Qantas publishes no surcharge table, so no numeric value is asserted — budget A$150-300 economy, A$400-900 business, indicative not sourced.
Feed it: 50,800 HSBC Reward Points (1:1.25 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 31,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 63,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
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: 32,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 65,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 162,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Japan AirlinesDelta Air Lines
Flying Blue has no award chart, but its partner awards are additive per segment, so this routing bands to 70,000 economy (ORD–NRT 10,073 km → 45,000 + NRT–MEL 8,179 km → 25,000 = 70,000 economy). Partner awards pass the operating carrier's surcharges — the published Oman Air datapoints run US$190–390 one-way — and Flying Blue publishes no per-route table, so this row's cash side stays unpublished. Cabin scope: Etihad sells Flying Blue awards in economy and business only — first, including the Apartment, is not bookable with Miles. First IS bookable on a short list of other partners (Oman Air on Muscat–Bangkok alone, China Eastern, Garuda), none of which is a first routing this board prices, so there is no Flying Blue first row here.
Estimate Flying Blue publishes no chart, but prices PARTNER awards PER SEGMENT — One Mile at a Time, 6-Jun-2024 on the Oman Air launch: "you're paying the per segment pricing anyway", and the additive structure reproduces all four published connection datapoints inside 5%. This row rides Japan Airlines (a Flying Blue non-alliance partner redemption — Flying Blue runs ONE partner engine over SkyTeam and non-alliance metal alike, which the 13-Jan-2025 repricing proved by moving Etihad and Delta together), so it is banded segment by segment: ORD–NRT 10,073 km → 45,000 + NRT–MEL 8,179 km → 25,000 = 70,000 economy. Bands anchored on the published Flying Blue partner datapoints (one-way business: 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), with economy at half of business — the one published long-haul economy anchor is Toronto–Abu Dhabi 43,500 against an ~87,000 business segment of the same length. The <=1,200 km rung is the one exception — re-fitted cabin by cabin on its own published quotes on 2026-08-02, hence 5,000 / 11,500 rather than half-and-half. Dates and demand move the real number. CARRIER CAVEAT: the desk's bands are fitted on Gulf-carrier datapoints and Japan Airlines consistently prices ABOVE them in published quotes (roughly +40% to +120%), so read this as a floor rather than a midpoint.
Feed it: 70,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 35,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 70,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Cathay PacificJapan Airlines oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
Feed it: 240,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 480,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 160,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
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: 51,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 102,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 256,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Japan AirlinesDelta Air Lines
Flying Blue has no award chart, but its partner awards are additive per segment, so this routing bands to 137,000 business (ORD–NRT 10,073 km → 87,000 + NRT–MEL 8,179 km → 50,000 = 137,000 business). Partner awards pass the operating carrier's surcharges — the published Oman Air datapoints run US$190–390 one-way — and Flying Blue publishes no per-route table, so this row's cash side stays unpublished. Cabin scope: Etihad sells Flying Blue awards in economy and business only — first, including the Apartment, is not bookable with Miles. First IS bookable on a short list of other partners (Oman Air on Muscat–Bangkok alone, China Eastern, Garuda), none of which is a first routing this board prices, so there is no Flying Blue first row here.
Estimate Flying Blue publishes no chart, but prices PARTNER awards PER SEGMENT — One Mile at a Time, 6-Jun-2024 on the Oman Air launch: "you're paying the per segment pricing anyway", and the additive structure reproduces all four published connection datapoints inside 5%. This row rides Japan Airlines (a Flying Blue non-alliance partner redemption — Flying Blue runs ONE partner engine over SkyTeam and non-alliance metal alike, which the 13-Jan-2025 repricing proved by moving Etihad and Delta together), so it is banded segment by segment: ORD–NRT 10,073 km → 87,000 + NRT–MEL 8,179 km → 50,000 = 137,000 business. Bands anchored on the published Flying Blue partner datapoints (one-way business: 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), with economy at half of business — the one published long-haul economy anchor is Toronto–Abu Dhabi 43,500 against an ~87,000 business segment of the same length. The <=1,200 km rung is the one exception — re-fitted cabin by cabin on its own published quotes on 2026-08-02, hence 5,000 / 11,500 rather than half-and-half. Dates and demand move the real number. CARRIER CAVEAT: the desk's bands are fitted on Gulf-carrier datapoints and Japan Airlines consistently prices ABOVE them in published quotes (roughly +40% to +120%), so read this as a floor rather than a midpoint.
Feed it: 137,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 68,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 137,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
QantasAmerican Airlines oneworld
Qantas has no Chicago route, so this is not the Qantas nonstop the row used to claim. American Airlines is on the QANTAS Classic Flight Reward table — qantas.com lists it verbatim: 'For Classic Flight Rewards with Qantas, Jetstar, Fiji Airways and American Airlines' — so a Qantas long-haul plus an American connection stays on the Qantas table, not the dearer partner one. Summed great-circle sectors: MEL–LAX 7,927 mi + LAX–ORD 1,741 mi = 9,668 mi, Zone 10 (9,601–15,000 mi). Price unchanged — what was wrong was the claim of a Qantas nonstop. Points exclude taxes, fees and carrier charges; Qantas publishes no surcharge table, so no numeric value is asserted — budget A$150-300 economy, A$400-900 business, indicative not sourced.
Feed it: 133,040 HSBC Reward Points (1:1.25 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 83,150 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 166,300 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
Cathay PacificJapan Airlines oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
Feed it: 330,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 660,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 220,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
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: 70,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 140,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 350,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Flying back? Melbourne to Chicago on points (MEL–ORD). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into Oceania — 147 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.