Award flight · one-way
San Francisco → London on points: 12 options across the alliance backbones our cards can reach. Aeroplan's fixed band only applies to partners outside its dynamic Select column, so the Aeroplan row here is Lufthansa via FRA, banded on the 6,090 miles that routing actually flies, 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 — or Alaska Airlines via SEA, or American Airlines via DFW, or British Airways nonstop, or Iberia via MAD | 30,000 | — | ₹30,000 | the play |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Virgin Atlantic own metal from LHR, region award | ~15,000 est. | — | ₹15,000 | 0.5× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Air France / KLM / SkyTeam metal, Flying Blue (dynamic) — or Delta Air Lines via JFK, or Aeroméxico via MEX | ~25,000 est. | — | ₹25,000 | 0.8× |
| United MileagePlus | United Airlines own metal from SFO, dynamic award | ~45,000 est. | — | ₹45,000 | 1.5× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Lufthansa via FRA — the fixed "All other partners" Aeroplan cell, 6,090 mi flown, or Air Canada via YYZ | 60,000 | — | ₹60,000 | 2.0× |
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 Alaska Airlines via SEA, or American Airlines via DFW, or British Airways nonstop, or Iberia via MAD | 57,500 | — | ₹57,500 | the play |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Air France / KLM / SkyTeam metal, Flying Blue (dynamic) — or Delta Air Lines via JFK, or Aeroméxico via MEX | ~60,000 est. | — | ₹60,000 | 1.0× |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Virgin Atlantic own metal from LHR, region award | ~67,500 est. | — | ₹67,500 | 1.2× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Lufthansa via FRA — the fixed "All other partners" Aeroplan cell, 6,090 mi flown, or Air Canada via YYZ | 90,000 | — | ₹90,000 | 1.6× |
| United MileagePlus | United Airlines own metal from SFO, dynamic award | ~110,000 est. | — | ₹1,10,000 | 1.9× |
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 — or Alaska Airlines via SEA, or American Airlines via DFW, or British Airways nonstop, or Iberia via MAD | 85,000 | — | ₹85,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Lufthansa via FRA — the fixed "All other partners" Aeroplan cell, 6,090 mi flown, or Air Canada via YYZ | 150,000 | — | ₹1,50,000 | 1.8× |
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 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. 1 other programme priced here publishes nothing the desk could read.
Alaska AirlinesAmerican AirlinesBritish AirwaysIberia 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)
Virgin Atlantic SkyTeam
Virgin Atlantic own-metal San Francisco→London. Virgin passes heavy carrier-imposed YQ on its own metal: one-way Upper Class taxes+charges out of London routinely exceed $900 (~£550 on the long-hauls), roughly $400–$600 the other way; economy is about $111 and Premium $240 ex-US. Some dynamically priced seats carry noticeably lower fees (a JFK Upper Class award has been seen at $254), so the cash cost moves with the points price. A valid Virgin Atlantic routing is assumed.
Estimate Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way economy level San Francisco→London (range 9k–25k); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.
Feed it: 18,750 Amex Membership Rewards (5:4) · 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)
Air FranceKLMDelta Air LinesAeroméxico SkyTeam
Flying Blue prices dynamically — no fixed chart. Air France/KLM pass carrier (YQ) surcharges on own metal — typically €90–110 economy / €200–300 business one-way long-haul; intra-region SkyTeam ~€15–40. Typical one-way economy runs 18.75k–50k; award space and travel date drive the real number.
Estimate Dynamic program — estimate is the typical one-way level for this region-pair (range 18.75k–50k); not a fixed chart price, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Feed it: 25,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 12,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 25,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
United Airlines Star Alliance
United Airlines own-metal San Francisco→London. United MileagePlus is fully dynamic — no award chart. Levels below are the typical one-way per person; ranges are the honest low/high seen across dates and demand. A valid United Airlines routing is assumed.
Estimate Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way economy level San Francisco→London (range 33k–80k); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.
Feed it: 22,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 112,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 105,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.33:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
LufthansaAir Canada Star Alliance
Re-metalled 2026-08-01. The old row named Air Canada while asserting a fixed chart cell, and Air Canada sits in the DYNAMIC column, so that cell never applied to its metal. Aeroplan's chart prints two rows per band: a dynamic "Starting at" floor for "Air Canada and/or Select Partners" (United Airlines, Emirates, Flydubai, Etihad Airways, Canadian North, Calm Air, Bearskin and PAL), and one fixed number for "All other partners". No fixed-price Star partner flies London–San Francisco nonstop. The shortest all-fixed-partner routing is Lufthansa via Frankfurt at 6,090 miles — 90 past the 6,000-mile line — and SWISS via Zurich (6,315) reads the same band. Priced on the 6,001–8,000-mile North America–Atlantic band at the flown distance this routing actually covers, 6,090 mi. That is a band move and we are saying so plainly: economy 42,500 to 60,000, business 75,000 to 90,000, First 120,000 to 150,000. The Air Canada option the old row leaned on is still bookable, but it prices off the dynamic column's "Starting at" floor for the 4,001–6,000-mile band (42,500 economy / 75,000 business / 100,000 First) — a floor that climbs with demand, never a number we can promise.
Feed it: 30,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 60,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 150,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Alaska AirlinesAmerican AirlinesBritish AirwaysIberia oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
Feed it: 172,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 345,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 115,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Air FranceKLMDelta Air LinesAeroméxico SkyTeam
Flying Blue prices dynamically — no fixed chart. Air France/KLM pass carrier (YQ) surcharges on own metal — typically €90–110 economy / €200–300 business one-way long-haul; intra-region SkyTeam ~€15–40. Typical one-way business runs 45k–100k; award space and travel date drive the real number.
Estimate Dynamic program — estimate is the typical one-way level for this region-pair (range 45k–100k); not a fixed chart price, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Feed it: 60,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 30,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 60,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Virgin Atlantic SkyTeam
Virgin Atlantic own-metal San Francisco→London. Virgin passes heavy carrier-imposed YQ on its own metal: one-way Upper Class taxes+charges out of London routinely exceed $900 (~£550 on the long-hauls), roughly $400–$600 the other way; economy is about $111 and Premium $240 ex-US. Some dynamically priced seats carry noticeably lower fees (a JFK Upper Class award has been seen at $254), so the cash cost moves with the points price. A valid Virgin Atlantic routing is assumed.
Estimate Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way business level San Francisco→London (range 40.5k–77.5k saver; 230k+ on dynamic dates); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.
Feed it: 84,375 Amex Membership Rewards (5:4) · 345,000 RBL Reward Points (5.11:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 115,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.7:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
LufthansaAir Canada Star Alliance
Re-metalled 2026-08-01. The old row named Air Canada while asserting a fixed chart cell, and Air Canada sits in the DYNAMIC column, so that cell never applied to its metal. Aeroplan's chart prints two rows per band: a dynamic "Starting at" floor for "Air Canada and/or Select Partners" (United Airlines, Emirates, Flydubai, Etihad Airways, Canadian North, Calm Air, Bearskin and PAL), and one fixed number for "All other partners". No fixed-price Star partner flies London–San Francisco nonstop. The shortest all-fixed-partner routing is Lufthansa via Frankfurt at 6,090 miles — 90 past the 6,000-mile line — and SWISS via Zurich (6,315) reads the same band. Priced on the 6,001–8,000-mile North America–Atlantic band at the flown distance this routing actually covers, 6,090 mi. That is a band move and we are saying so plainly: economy 42,500 to 60,000, business 75,000 to 90,000, First 120,000 to 150,000. The Air Canada option the old row leaned on is still bookable, but it prices off the dynamic column's "Starting at" floor for the 4,001–6,000-mile band (42,500 economy / 75,000 business / 100,000 First) — a floor that climbs with demand, never a number we can promise.
Feed it: 45,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 90,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 225,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
United Airlines Star Alliance
United Airlines own-metal San Francisco→London. United MileagePlus is fully dynamic — no award chart. Levels below are the typical one-way per person; ranges are the honest low/high seen across dates and demand. A valid United Airlines routing is assumed.
Estimate Dynamic/unpublished-chart program — estimate is the typical one-way business level San Francisco→London (range 70k–200k); not a fixed chart price, never THE PLAY.
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)
Alaska AirlinesAmerican AirlinesBritish AirwaysIberia oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
Feed it: 255,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 510,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 170,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
LufthansaAir Canada Star Alliance
Re-metalled 2026-08-01. The old row named Air Canada while asserting a fixed chart cell, and Air Canada sits in the DYNAMIC column, so that cell never applied to its metal. Aeroplan's chart prints two rows per band: a dynamic "Starting at" floor for "Air Canada and/or Select Partners" (United Airlines, Emirates, Flydubai, Etihad Airways, Canadian North, Calm Air, Bearskin and PAL), and one fixed number for "All other partners". No fixed-price Star partner flies London–San Francisco nonstop. The shortest all-fixed-partner routing is Lufthansa via Frankfurt at 6,090 miles — 90 past the 6,000-mile line — and SWISS via Zurich (6,315) reads the same band. Priced on the 6,001–8,000-mile North America–Atlantic band at the flown distance this routing actually covers, 6,090 mi. That is a band move and we are saying so plainly: economy 42,500 to 60,000, business 75,000 to 90,000, First 120,000 to 150,000. The Air Canada option the old row leaned on is still bookable, but it prices off the dynamic column's "Starting at" floor for the 4,001–6,000-mile band (42,500 economy / 75,000 business / 100,000 First) — a floor that climbs with demand, never a number we can promise. Lufthansa files First on its 747-8 San Francisco rotations; on A350/A330 days business is the ceiling.
Feed it: 75,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 150,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 375,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Flying back? London to San Francisco on points (LHR–SFO). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into Europe — 532 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.