Award flight · one-way
Sydney → Colombo on points: 8 options across the alliance backbones our cards can reach. Aeroplan books Star partner metal at a fixed 8,763 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 — or Cathay Pacific via HKG, or Malaysia Airlines via KUL, or SriLankan Airlines nonstop | 42,500 | — | ₹42,500 | the play |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | China Eastern via PVG (SYD–PVG–CMB), or Malaysia Airlines via KUL (SYD–KUL–CMB) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) | ~47,500 est. | — | ₹47,500 | 1.1× |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (8,763 km) — or Singapore Airlines via SIN, or Thai Airways via BKK | 60,000 | — | ₹60,000 | 1.4× |
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 Cathay Pacific via HKG, or Malaysia Airlines via KUL, or SriLankan Airlines nonstop | 80,000 | — | ₹80,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (8,763 km) — or Singapore Airlines via SIN, or Thai Airways via BKK | 92,500 | — | ₹92,500 | 1.2× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | China Eastern via PVG (SYD–PVG–CMB), or Malaysia Airlines via KUL (SYD–KUL–CMB) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) | ~95,000 est. | — | ₹95,000 | 1.2× |
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 Cathay Pacific via HKG, or Malaysia Airlines via KUL, or SriLankan Airlines nonstop | 100,000 | — | ₹1,00,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (8,763 km) — or Singapore Airlines via SIN, or Thai Airways via BKK | 120,000 | — | ₹1,20,000 | 1.2× |
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.
Cathay PacificMalaysia AirlinesSriLankan Airlines oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
Feed it: 127,500 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 255,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 85,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
China EasternMalaysia Airlines
Flying Blue has no award chart, but its partner awards are additive per segment, so this routing bands to 47,500 economy (SYD–PVG 7,865 km → 25,000 + PVG–CMB 5,099 km → 22,500 = 47,500 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 China Eastern (a Flying Blue SkyTeam and 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: SYD–PVG 7,865 km → 25,000 + PVG–CMB 5,099 km → 22,500 = 47,500 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 China Eastern consistently prices ABOVE them in published quotes (roughly +40% to +120%), so read this as a floor rather than a midpoint.
Feed it: 47,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 23,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 47,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Singapore AirlinesThai Airways 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: 30,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 60,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 150,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Cathay PacificMalaysia AirlinesSriLankan 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)
Singapore AirlinesThai Airways 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: 46,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 92,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 231,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
China EasternMalaysia Airlines
Flying Blue has no award chart, but its partner awards are additive per segment, so this routing bands to 95,000 business (SYD–PVG 7,865 km → 50,000 + PVG–CMB 5,099 km → 45,000 = 95,000 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 China Eastern (a Flying Blue SkyTeam and 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: SYD–PVG 7,865 km → 50,000 + PVG–CMB 5,099 km → 45,000 = 95,000 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 China Eastern consistently prices ABOVE them in published quotes (roughly +40% to +120%), so read this as a floor rather than a midpoint.
Feed it: 95,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 47,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 95,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Cathay PacificMalaysia AirlinesSriLankan Airlines oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
Feed it: 300,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 600,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 200,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Singapore AirlinesThai Airways 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: 60,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 120,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 300,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Flying back? Colombo to Sydney on points (CMB–SYD). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into South Asia — 380 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.