Economy the play 32,500 pts ANA via Tokyo (Star Alliance) — Canada zone, one-way
All Nippon Airways Star Alliance
ANA's own-metal chart prices Asia 2 (Zone 4) ⇄ North America (Zone 6) at 32,500 miles one-way in regular season — 27,500 low, 46,000 high — and ANA has sold one-ways since 24-Jun-2025, so this is a legal single direction with no return commitment. The chart cell is written "to/from", so it is identical in both directions. Business on ANA's own metal is 71,500 one-way, dearer than the 68,000 partner cell, so this board's business row rides a Star partner instead. Fuel surcharges apply and Marriott Bonvoy 3:1 is the only Indian road in.
Feed it: 82,500 Amex Membership Rewards (2.54:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 165,000 RBL Reward Points (5.08:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 55,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.69:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong (oneworld), Standard award
Cathay Pacific oneworld
Cathay via Hong Kong into the 7,501+ Standard band — 38,000 one-way; SBI feeds Asia Miles 1:1.
Feed it: 76,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 38,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 198,000 RBL Reward Points (5.21:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
SkyTeam partner metal (AF/KLM/KE), North America→India — Air Europa SUMA
Air FranceKLMKorean Air SkyTeam
Air Europa SUMA prices SkyTeam partner metal off a five-band ONE-WAY distance chart: 0–600 mi 6k/12k · 601–1,250 12k/24k · 1,251–1,750 15k/30k · 1,751–3,500 32k/64k · over 3,500 48k/95k (economy/business). This corridor reads the over-3,500 mi band. The 2020 chart that made India→Europe a 51k business steal is gone — the short Gulf hops are where SUMA is now cheap. Partner awards are SUMA call-centre only, paid entirely in Miles, and non-refundable.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — Air Europa SUMA's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 48,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 96,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 240,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Air India own metal from DEL, region award — nonstop
Air India Star Alliance
Air India own-metal Vancouver→Delhi. Air India publishes no no-surcharge promise: the Maharaja Club terms say members “shall pay applicable taxes and surcharges” on Air India, Air India Express and Star Alliance flights alike, and the FAQ this desk once cited for the opposite does not contain the sentence it was credited with. What own-metal awards have cost in practice is statutory taxes plus airport/user development fees: small on India–Gulf/SE Asia, moderate on Europe/North America, and materially higher on anything touching London Heathrow because of UK APD. Star Alliance partner awards booked with Maharaja Points are a different animal and can carry partner surcharges. A valid Air India routing is assumed.
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.
Feed it: 50,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 25,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 50,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — via NRT, or Cathay Pacific via HKG, or British Airways via LHR
Japan AirlinesCathay PacificBritish Airways 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 partner metal, North America→India — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart)
Star Alliance
Copa ConnectMiles prices Star partner metal off its FIXED region chart (India sits in Copa’s "Central Asia" zone). Standout value — India→Europe 45k business, India→Sub-Saharan Africa 17.5k economy on Ethiopian (Cairo is a dearer 20k Middle East cell) — but NO Indian card feeds ConnectMiles (buy-miles or a US co-brand only), so treat it as a reference benchmark, not a wallet-reachable route.
Feed it: 105,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.63:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 210,000 RBL Reward Points (5.25:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 70,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.75:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance metal (CA own via PEK + LH — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), North America→India — Air China PhoenixMiles
Air ChinaLufthansa Star Alliance
Air China PhoenixMiles prices its own metal (India→Beijing, resumed Apr-2026) plus Star partners. North Asia is its only genuine strength; elsewhere it is a weak Star pricer with heavy fuel surcharges (why the currency sits at ₹0.90). India-origin levels are not published, so all values are estimated off trans-Pacific anchors. One-way (current PhoenixMiles).
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — Air China PhoenixMiles's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 56,250 HSBC Reward Points (1.25:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.67:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (5.33:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Korean Air via ICN (oneworld partner award), North America→India — Alaska Atmos
Korean AirJapan AirlinesCathay PacificBritish Airways
Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle: the cheapest Atmos routing is Korean Air via ICN, ~7,987 flown miles against a 6,921-mile nonstop, which reads the Asia-Pacific chart's 7,001-10,000 mi band — 42,500 economy / 85,000 business one-way, plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). One-way.
Feed it: 112,500 Amex Membership Rewards (2.65:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 225,000 RBL Reward Points (5.29:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 75,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.76:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
SkyTeam metal (MU own + AF/KLM/KE), North America→India — China Eastern Eastern Miles
Air FranceKLMKorean AirChina Eastern SkyTeam
China Eastern prices its own metal (India→Shanghai/Kunming nonstop) plus SkyTeam partners. North Asia is its genuine ex-India strength; other regions estimate off the nearest published China-anchored band (Eastern Miles publishes no India-origin matrix). All one-way.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — China Eastern Miles's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 366,667 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 1,375,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors) · 275,000 Axis EDGE Miles (5:1 via Hilton Honors)
Star Alliance partner metal, North America→India — Avianca LifeMiles
Star Alliance
LifeMiles prices Star partner metal off an unpublished grid; India→Europe business ~63k is the headline sweet spot (beats Aeroplan). Business is the value cabin here; economy is mediocre. The chart is semi-fixed/unpublished, so some bands are estimates.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — Avianca LifeMiles's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 141,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 282,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 94,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
Korean Air via Incheon (SkyTeam) — published Americas chart
Korean Air SkyTeam
47,500 on Korean metal via Seoul; hotel-hop-fed from India, 10-year expiry.
Feed it: 95,000 HSBC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 190,000 HDFC Reward Points (4:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 475,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (10:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
SkyTeam metal (AF/KLM/KE), North America→India — SAS EuroBonus
Air FranceKLMKorean Air SkyTeam
SAS joined SkyTeam on 1-Sept-2024, so EuroBonus now prices SkyTeam metal. Ex-India sweet spot: intra-"CESA" business to North Asia/Japan at ~30k. Watch the ×2 multiplier on Air Europa/China Airlines/Vietnam Airlines (UX/CI/VN) metal. One-way = 60% of round-trip.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — SAS EuroBonus's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 378,000 HDFC Reward Points (7:1 via Radisson Rewards) · 378,000 SBI Travel Credits (7:1 via Radisson Rewards) · 945,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (17.5:1 via Radisson Rewards)
Star Alliance partner metal, North America→India — Aegean Miles+Bonus
Star Alliance
Aegean Miles+Bonus prices Star partner metal off one region chart published as ROUND TRIPS — its own rule is that a one-way costs exactly half, and the halved figure is what we show. India sits in the "Near East & Central Asia" zone: the Far East is a flat 30k/45k one-way (Tokyo costs the same as Bangkok), Europe 35k/55k, North America 50k/75k. That chart is a single upper-triangular ZONE-PAIR matrix — 45 published cells for 9 zones, exactly one per unordered pair — so YVR → DEL and DEL → YVR resolve to the same cell. Re-read against the chart and promoted from mirror-estimate to chart read on 2026-08-06. No Indian card feeds it — Marriott Bonvoy 3:1 is the only road in, and awards only display once you hold the full balance.
Feed it: 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 240,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 80,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Air France / KLM / SkyTeam metal, Flying Blue (dynamic) — via ICN, or China Eastern via PVG
Air FranceKLMKorean AirChina Eastern 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 45k–75k; 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–75k); not a fixed chart price, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Feed it: 55,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 27,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 55,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (11,138 km) — nonstop — or Air China via PEK
Air China 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)
Star Alliance partner metal, North America→India — United MileagePlus
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~60,000 is a typical Saver partner level to North America. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — United MileagePlus's pricing runs off the same region pair in both directions. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 30,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 150,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2) · 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1 via Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance metal (Air India/LH — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), North America→India — EVA Infinity MileageLands
Air IndiaLufthansa Star Alliance
EVA Infinity MileageLands prices Star metal off its zone chart (India = "Central/South Asia" zone; one-way = half round-trip). EVA own metal via Taipei covers Japan/N-Asia/SE-Asia/US/Europe; Gulf/Africa/Oceania are partner-metal only. India→US business ~97.5k (possibly ~55-60k on a fully-EVA routing).
Feed it: 60,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 400,000 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 1,500,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
Star Alliance partner metal, North America→India — TAP Miles&Go
Star Alliance
TAP's 4 May 2026 devaluation lifted India→North America (its "Canada, USA, Mexico and the Caribbean" zone) from 70k/115k to 80k/125k one-way. That is ONE chart cell, and it holds only while the itinerary stays inside two TAP regions — an Asian gateway onto the transpacific hop. Any build that also crosses Europe spans a third region, and TAP then bills flight by flight and sums: 80k/125k plus 65k/120k = 145k/245k. Lufthansa-group metal carries the heaviest surcharges on Star.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 195,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.44:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 390,000 RBL Reward Points (4.88:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 130,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.63:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Korean Air via ICN (YVR–ICN–DEL) — Vietnam LotusMiles
Korean Air SkyTeam
LotusMiles deducts miles PER FLIGHT SEGMENT on its SkyTeam partner table (official chart, effective 1-Aug-2025), and no SkyTeam carrier flies DEL–YVR nonstop — so the price is a SUM, not one cell. Cheapest verified SkyTeam build is Korean Air DEL–ICN–YVR — per-segment: DEL–ICN 30,000 (SW Asia × NE Asia 2) + ICN–YVR 45,000 (NE Asia 2 × North America) = 75,000. India is SW Asia on that table; LotusMiles' own SGN/HAN metal runs off a separate chart (25k/60k one-way). One-way.
Feed it: 75,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 75,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 75,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
SkyTeam partner metal (AF/KLM/KE/MU), North America→India — Delta SkyMiles (dynamic)
Air FranceKLMKorean AirChina Eastern SkyTeam
Delta has had no award chart since 2015 — fully dynamic, so ~75,000 is a representative saver-ish partner level to North America; peak dates and 2026 partner hikes can swing business 1.5–3×. Kenya Airways (NBO) and Korean (ICN) are the strongest ex-India SkyTeam value.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — Delta SkyMiles's pricing runs off the same region pair in both directions. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 225,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 450,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 150,000 HSBC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Business the play 68,000 pts Star-partner award on the Air India nonstop (Star Alliance) — one-way
Air India Star Alliance
ANA's partner chart prices the whole Zone 4 ⇄ Zone 6 pair — India to anywhere in North America, Canada and Mexico included — at 40,000 one-way in economy and 68,000 in business (80,000 / 136,000 round-trip), season-blind and distance-blind, with the one-way cell published since 24-Jun-2025. It wants a single Star partner end to end (Air India here); ANA's own metal via Tokyo is dearer in business at 71,500. The cell is written "to/from" — the same number in both directions. Fuel surcharges apply and Marriott Bonvoy 3:1 is the only Indian road in; miles expire in 36 months.
Feed it: 174,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.56:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 348,000 RBL Reward Points (5.12:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 116,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.71:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Business ~75,000 pts est. Star Alliance metal (CA own via PEK + LH — CA itself flies only Delhi from India), North America→India — Air China PhoenixMiles
Air ChinaLufthansa Star Alliance
Air China PhoenixMiles prices its own metal (India→Beijing, resumed Apr-2026) plus Star partners. North Asia is its only genuine strength; elsewhere it is a weak Star pricer with heavy fuel surcharges (why the currency sits at ₹0.90). India-origin levels are not published, so all values are estimated off trans-Pacific anchors. One-way (current PhoenixMiles).
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — Air China PhoenixMiles's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 180,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 360,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 93,750 HSBC Reward Points (1.25:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — via NRT, or Cathay Pacific via HKG, or British Airways via LHR
Japan AirlinesCathay PacificBritish Airways oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
Feed it: 210,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 420,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 140,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance partner metal, North America→India — Aegean Miles+Bonus
Star Alliance
Aegean Miles+Bonus prices Star partner metal off one region chart published as ROUND TRIPS — its own rule is that a one-way costs exactly half, and the halved figure is what we show. India sits in the "Near East & Central Asia" zone: the Far East is a flat 30k/45k one-way (Tokyo costs the same as Bangkok), Europe 35k/55k, North America 50k/75k. That chart is a single upper-triangular ZONE-PAIR matrix — 45 published cells for 9 zones, exactly one per unordered pair — so YVR → DEL and DEL → YVR resolve to the same cell. Re-read against the chart and promoted from mirror-estimate to chart read on 2026-08-06. No Indian card feeds it — Marriott Bonvoy 3:1 is the only road in, and awards only display once you hold the full balance.
Feed it: 180,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 360,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 120,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Business ~95,000 pts est. SkyTeam partner metal (AF/KLM/KE), North America→India — Air Europa SUMA
Air FranceKLMKorean Air SkyTeam
Air Europa SUMA prices SkyTeam partner metal off a five-band ONE-WAY distance chart: 0–600 mi 6k/12k · 601–1,250 12k/24k · 1,251–1,750 15k/30k · 1,751–3,500 32k/64k · over 3,500 48k/95k (economy/business). This corridor reads the over-3,500 mi band. The 2020 chart that made India→Europe a 51k business steal is gone — the short Gulf hops are where SUMA is now cheap. Partner awards are SUMA call-centre only, paid entirely in Miles, and non-refundable.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — Air Europa SUMA's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 95,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 190,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 475,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Star Alliance partner metal, North America→India — Copa ConnectMiles (fixed region chart)
Star Alliance
Copa ConnectMiles prices Star partner metal off its FIXED region chart (India sits in Copa’s "Central Asia" zone). Standout value — India→Europe 45k business, India→Sub-Saharan Africa 17.5k economy on Ethiopian (Cairo is a dearer 20k Middle East cell) — but NO Indian card feeds ConnectMiles (buy-miles or a US co-brand only), so treat it as a reference benchmark, not a wallet-reachable route.
Feed it: 195,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.44:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 390,000 RBL Reward Points (4.88:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 130,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.63:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Korean Air via Incheon (SkyTeam) — published Americas chart
Korean Air SkyTeam
85,000 business via Seoul — a comfortable SkyTeam J; hotel-hop-fed.
Feed it: 170,000 HSBC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 340,000 HDFC Reward Points (4:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)) · 850,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (10:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
Korean Air via ICN (oneworld partner award), North America→India — Alaska Atmos
Korean AirJapan AirlinesCathay PacificBritish Airways
Alaska Atmos bands the TOTAL DISTANCE FLOWN, not the nonstop great circle: the cheapest Atmos routing is Korean Air via ICN, ~7,987 flown miles against a 6,921-mile nonstop, which reads the Asia-Pacific chart's 7,001-10,000 mi band — 42,500 economy / 85,000 business one-way, plus the $20 partner booking fee per person each way (up from $12.50 on 1-Jul-2026). One-way.
Feed it: 210,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.47:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 420,000 RBL Reward Points (4.94:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 140,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.65:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Business ~100,000 pts est. SkyTeam metal (MU own + AF/KLM/KE), North America→India — China Eastern Eastern Miles
Air FranceKLMKorean AirChina Eastern SkyTeam
China Eastern prices its own metal (India→Shanghai/Kunming nonstop) plus SkyTeam partners. North Asia is its genuine ex-India strength; other regions estimate off the nearest published China-anchored band (Eastern Miles publishes no India-origin matrix). All one-way.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — China Eastern Miles's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 666,667 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 2,500,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors) · 500,000 Axis EDGE Miles (5:1 via Hilton Honors)
Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (11,138 km) — nonstop — or Air China via PEK
Air China 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: 45,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 90,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 225,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Business ~90,000 pts est. Star Alliance partner metal, North America→India — Avianca LifeMiles
Star Alliance
LifeMiles prices Star partner metal off an unpublished grid; India→Europe business ~63k is the headline sweet spot (beats Aeroplan). Business is the value cabin here; economy is mediocre. The chart is semi-fixed/unpublished, so some bands are estimates.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — Avianca LifeMiles's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 270,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 540,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 180,000 HDFC Reward Points (2:1)
Business ~95,000 pts est. Air France / KLM / SkyTeam metal, Flying Blue (dynamic) — via ICN, or China Eastern via PVG
Air FranceKLMKorean AirChina Eastern 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. India–US business saver seats price at 95,000 miles one-way (Jul-2026 datapoint); popular dates run 120k–175k or more.
Estimate Dynamic program — estimate is the saver-level one-way for the India–North America pair (saver 95k; popular dates run 120k–175k+); not a fixed chart price, and never crowned THE PLAY.
Feed it: 95,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 47,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 95,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1)
Business ~108,000 pts est. SkyTeam metal (AF/KLM/KE), North America→India — SAS EuroBonus
Air FranceKLMKorean Air SkyTeam
SAS joined SkyTeam on 1-Sept-2024, so EuroBonus now prices SkyTeam metal. Ex-India sweet spot: intra-"CESA" business to North Asia/Japan at ~30k. Watch the ×2 multiplier on Air Europa/China Airlines/Vietnam Airlines (UX/CI/VN) metal. One-way = 60% of round-trip.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — SAS EuroBonus's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 756,000 HDFC Reward Points (7:1 via Radisson Rewards) · 756,000 SBI Travel Credits (7:1 via Radisson Rewards) · 1,890,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (17.5:1 via Radisson Rewards)
Star Alliance metal (Air India/LH — EVA itself serves no Indian city; the award rides partner metal), North America→India — EVA Infinity MileageLands
Air IndiaLufthansa Star Alliance
EVA Infinity MileageLands prices Star metal off its zone chart (India = "Central/South Asia" zone; one-way = half round-trip). EVA own metal via Taipei covers Japan/N-Asia/SE-Asia/US/Europe; Gulf/Africa/Oceania are partner-metal only. India→US business ~97.5k (possibly ~55-60k on a fully-EVA routing).
Feed it: 97,500 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 650,000 Amex Membership Rewards (6.67:1 via Hilton Honors) · 2,437,500 Axis EDGE Reward Points (25:1 via Hilton Honors)
Business ~125,000 pts est. Star Alliance partner metal, North America→India — TAP Miles&Go
Star Alliance
TAP's 4 May 2026 devaluation lifted India→North America (its "Canada, USA, Mexico and the Caribbean" zone) from 70k/115k to 80k/125k one-way. That is ONE chart cell, and it holds only while the itinerary stays inside two TAP regions — an Asian gateway onto the transpacific hop. Any build that also crosses Europe spans a third region, and TAP then bills flight by flight and sums: 80k/125k plus 65k/120k = 145k/245k. Lufthansa-group metal carries the heaviest surcharges on Star.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go's chart prices the zone pair, not the direction. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 300,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2.4:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 600,000 RBL Reward Points (4.8:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 200,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Business ~130,000 pts est. Air India own metal from DEL, region award — nonstop
Air India Star Alliance
Air India own-metal Vancouver→Delhi. Air India publishes no no-surcharge promise: the Maharaja Club terms say members “shall pay applicable taxes and surcharges” on Air India, Air India Express and Star Alliance flights alike, and the FAQ this desk once cited for the opposite does not contain the sentence it was credited with. What own-metal awards have cost in practice is statutory taxes plus airport/user development fees: small on India–Gulf/SE Asia, moderate on Europe/North America, and materially higher on anything touching London Heathrow because of UK APD. Star Alliance partner awards booked with Maharaja Points are a different animal and can carry partner surcharges. A valid Air India routing is assumed.
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.
Feed it: 130,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 65,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 130,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
Business ~110,000 pts est. Star Alliance partner metal, North America→India — United MileagePlus
Star Alliance
United went fully dynamic in 2020 (no fixed chart), so ~110,000 is a typical Saver partner level to North America. But Aeroplan often prices the same Star seat lower, so compare before burning United miles.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — United MileagePlus's pricing runs off the same region pair in both directions. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
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)
Business ~115,000 pts est. Virgin Atlantic via LHR — dynamic
Virgin Atlantic SkyTeam
Virgin via London, dynamic since Oct-2024 with heavy charges; Amex MR 2:1 the only feed.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — Virgin Atlantic Flying Club's pricing runs off the same region pair in both directions. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 143,750 Amex Membership Rewards (5:4) · 570,000 RBL Reward Points (4.96:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 190,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (1.65:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong (oneworld), Standard award
Cathay Pacific oneworld
119,000 Standard business via HKG — an eastbound Pacific routing; for stranded balances, not the buy.
Feed it: 238,000 Amex Membership Rewards (2:1) · 119,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 594,000 RBL Reward Points (4.99:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
KLM via AMS (YVR–AMS–DEL) — Vietnam LotusMiles
KLM SkyTeam
LotusMiles deducts miles PER FLIGHT SEGMENT on its SkyTeam partner table (official chart, effective 1-Aug-2025), and no SkyTeam carrier flies DEL–YVR nonstop — so the price is a SUM, not one cell. Cheapest verified SkyTeam build is KLM DEL–AMS–YVR — per-segment: DEL–AMS 70,000 (SW Asia × Europe) + AMS–YVR 100,000 (Europe × North America) = 170,000. India is SW Asia on that table; LotusMiles' own SGN/HAN metal runs off a separate chart (25k/60k one-way). One-way.
Feed it: 170,000 HDFC Reward Points (1:1) · 170,000 HSBC Reward Points (1:1) · 170,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1)
Business ~230,000 pts est. SkyTeam partner metal (AF/KLM/KE/MU), North America→India — Delta SkyMiles (dynamic)
Air FranceKLMKorean AirChina Eastern SkyTeam
Delta has had no award chart since 2015 — fully dynamic, so ~230,000 is a representative saver-ish partner level to North America; peak dates and 2026 partner hikes can swing business 1.5–3×. Kenya Airways (NBO) and Korean (ICN) are the strongest ex-India SkyTeam value.
Estimate Reverse of del-yvr — Delta SkyMiles's pricing runs off the same region pair in both directions. This row mirrors the del-yvr price rather than a direction-specific chart read, so it is shown as an estimate.
Feed it: 690,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 1,380,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 460,000 HSBC Reward Points (2:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL))
First the play 115,000 pts oneworld partner metal, AAdvantage region award — via NRT, or Cathay Pacific via HKG, or British Airways via LHR
Japan AirlinesCathay PacificBritish Airways oneworld
AAdvantage prices partner awards on a fixed region-to-region chart. A valid oneworld routing is assumed.
Feed it: 345,000 Amex Membership Rewards (3:1 via Marriott Bonvoy) · 690,000 RBL Reward Points (6:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy) · 230,000 RBL Reward Points (Nova/Lumière) (2:1 via Club ITC → Marriott Bonvoy)
Star Alliance partner metal, Aeroplan distance-band award (11,138 km) — nonstop — or Air China via PEK
Air China 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: 75,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 150,000 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 375,000 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)