Award flight · one-way
Sydney → Taipei on points: 10 options across the alliance backbones our cards can reach. Aeroplan books Star partner metal at a fixed 7,285 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan the play | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (7,285 km) | 30,000 | — | ₹30,000 | the play |
| American Airlines AAdvantage | oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — or Cathay Pacific via HKG, or Malaysia Airlines via KUL | 30,000 | — | ₹30,000 | 1.0× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Korean Air via ICN (SYD–ICN–TPE), or China Eastern via PVG (SYD–PVG–TPE), or Vietnam Airlines via SGN (SYD–SGN–TPE) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) | ~32,500 est. | — | ₹32,500 | 1.1× |
| China Airlines Dynasty Flyer | China Airlines (+ Mandarin Airlines) own metal from TPE, published route-chart award (7,285 km nonstop) | 50,000 | — | ₹50,000 | 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 Cathay Pacific via HKG, or Malaysia Airlines via KUL | 40,000 | — | ₹40,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (7,285 km) | 52,500 | — | ₹52,500 | 1.3× |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | Korean Air via ICN (SYD–ICN–TPE), or China Eastern via PVG (SYD–PVG–TPE), or Vietnam Airlines via SGN (SYD–SGN–TPE) — Flying Blue partner award (dynamic) | ~65,000 est. | — | ₹65,000 | 1.6× |
| China Airlines Dynasty Flyer | China Airlines (+ Mandarin Airlines) own metal from TPE, published route-chart award (7,285 km nonstop) | 75,000 | — | ₹75,000 | 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 Cathay Pacific via HKG, or Malaysia Airlines via KUL | 50,000 | — | ₹50,000 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (7,285 km) | 60,000 | — | ₹60,000 | 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. 1 other programme priced here publishes nothing the desk could read.
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: 15,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 30,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 75,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Cathay PacificMalaysia 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)
Korean AirChina EasternVietnam Airlines SkyTeam
Flying Blue has no award chart, but its partner awards are additive per segment, so this routing bands to 32,500 economy (SYD–ICN 8,342 km → 25,000 + ICN–TPE 1,462 km → 7,500 = 32,500 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 Korean Air (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–ICN 8,342 km → 25,000 + ICN–TPE 1,462 km → 7,500 = 32,500 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.
Feed it: 32,500 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 16,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 32,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
China Airlines SkyTeam
China Airlines (+ Mandarin Airlines) own-metal Sydney→Taipei. CI passes carrier surcharges on awards: the reward-ticket T&C makes the ticket holder responsible for 'all related taxes or any other surcharges and fuel surcharge' on own-metal reissues, and the SkyTeam ticketing rules repeat it verbatim for partner awards ('taxes and additional charges (such as fuel surcharges, etc.) are all borne by the ticket holder'). A non-refundable Booking Service Charge is also collected at issuance (waived on itineraries originating Hong Kong; Paragon members get fee waivers). A valid China Airlines (+ Mandarin Airlines) routing is assumed.
Cathay PacificMalaysia 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)
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: 26,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 52,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 131,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Korean AirChina EasternVietnam Airlines SkyTeam
Flying Blue has no award chart, but its partner awards are additive per segment, so this routing bands to 65,000 business (SYD–ICN 8,342 km → 50,000 + ICN–TPE 1,462 km → 15,000 = 65,000 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 Korean Air (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–ICN 8,342 km → 50,000 + ICN–TPE 1,462 km → 15,000 = 65,000 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.
Feed it: 65,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 32,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 65,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
China Airlines SkyTeam
China Airlines (+ Mandarin Airlines) own-metal Sydney→Taipei. CI passes carrier surcharges on awards: the reward-ticket T&C makes the ticket holder responsible for 'all related taxes or any other surcharges and fuel surcharge' on own-metal reissues, and the SkyTeam ticketing rules repeat it verbatim for partner awards ('taxes and additional charges (such as fuel surcharges, etc.) are all borne by the ticket holder'). A non-refundable Booking Service Charge is also collected at issuance (waived on itineraries originating Hong Kong; Paragon members get fee waivers). A valid China Airlines (+ Mandarin Airlines) routing is assumed.
Cathay PacificMalaysia Airlines oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
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)
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)
Flying back? Taipei to Sydney on points (TPE–SYD). Or take the whole region: every corridor we price into East Asia — 273 of them. Or pick any two hubs — 2,450 corridors priced.