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Air India has announced several changes to its Maharaja Club loyalty program, and lo and behold, it’s mostly good news. Among the updates is a reduction in award costs for flights on Air India, both within India and internationally. Economy and business class awards are seeing the biggest drops, with rates up to 60% lower.
While Air India Maharaja Club isn’t especially popular among U.S. travelers, it’s now a transfer partner of Rove, making it worth a closer look. Overall, this is a great news for anyone considering flying Air India in the near future
Air India Overhauls Award Chart
Among the highlights of the award changes from Air India are the following:
- Award flights for domestic routes will start from 1,500 Maharaja Points, with fares about 25% lower on average and select routes seeing reductions of up to 60%.
- Domestic business class redemptions are about 9% lower on average, with select sectors discounted by up to 50%.
- Across long-haul regions (U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand), business class now requires 25% to 45% fewer points.
- The lowest fare levels for award flights, which were previously available only more than 90 days before departure, are now available up to 30 days before departure.
As for pricing, we’re seeing a mix of increases and decreases across the route map, depending on cabin and region. Let’s take a closer look.
Domestic India flights
Air India has a “Value” and a “Prime” award fare class. Think of Value as saver awards, or the lowest possible pricing. Once those are gone, Prime fares kick in at higher rates. All of the new rates discussed below reflect the minimum, or Value, pricing — so keep in mind these lowest fares won’t always be available when searching.
If you’re looking to fly within India, the news is mostly good. Most routes stayed the same or decreased in both economy and business class, while premium economy appears to have increased slightly. Notably, economy flights now start at just 1,500 points.
Here’s a sampling of the changes to domestic economy flights:
| Route | Old Award Cost | New Award Cost | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goa (GOX) — Hyderabad (HYD) | 7,000 | 2,500 | -64% |
| Delhi (DEL) — Panaji (GOI) | 9,000 | 5,000 | -44% |
| Bombay (BOM) — Rajkot (HSR) | 5,000 | 3,000 | -40% |
| Delhi (DEL) — Srinagar (SXR) | 6,500 | 7,000 | +8% |
| Bombay (BOM) — Kochi (COK) | 4,500 | 5,500 | +22% |
Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) to Chennai International Airport (MAA) is supposed to price at that rock-bottom 1,500-point level. However, in our searches, we weren’t able to find availability at that rate.
International economy flights
Many routes from India to destinations around the world are seeing lower award rates, with regions like Southeast Asia and the Middle East starting at just 12,000 points. Even flights to Mauritius are down 52%, pricing into that same 12,000-point band. Likewise, flights to the U.S. now start at 40,000 points, among the lowest rates we’ve seen for travel between the U.S. and India.
| Route | Old Award Cost | New Award Cost | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bombay (BOM) — Mauritius (MRU) | 25,000 | 12,000 | -52% |
| Delhi (DEL) — San Francisco (SFO) | 77,000 | 40,000 | -48% |
| Kochi (COK) — Dubai (DXB) | 21,000 | 12,000 | -43% |
| Delhi (DEL) — Kuala Lumpur (KUL) | 18,000 | 12,000 | -33% |
| Bombay (BOM) — Bangkok (BKK) | 16,000 | 12,000 | -25% |
| Hyderabad (HYD) — Riyadh (RUH) | 21,000 | 21,000 | 0% |
International business flights
These changes are a bit of a mixed bag, with some clear wins. Some India to Europe routes have dropped in price, while others have increased. Meanwhile, business class flights to North America are about 25% cheaper, now starting at 130,000 points. That said, business class awards to parts of Asia and Australia — among other regions — have gone up.
| Route | Old Award Cost | New Award Cost | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi (DEL) — New York (JFK) | 180,000 | 130,000 | -28% |
| Ahmedabad (AMD) — London (LGW) | 130,000 | 100,000 | -23% |
| Delhi (DEL) — Toronto (YYZ) | 165,000 | 130,000 | -21% |
| Delhi (DEL) — Melbourne (MEL) | 125,000 | 130,000 | +5% |
| Chennai (MAA) — Singapore (SIN) | 42,000 | 50,000 | +19% |
| Abu Dhabi (AUH) — Bombay (BOM) | 31,000 | 50,000 | +61% |
Earning Air India Maharaja Club Points
If you’re looking for an easy way to earn Air India Maharaja Club points, you might be disappointed to hear that Air India doesn’t have many transfer partners. That said, it does have one that’s widely accessible: Rove.
With Rove, you can transfer Rove Miles to Air India at a 1:1 ratio, starting at 2,000 miles. And Rove Miles are fairly easy to earn if you book travel through the program or shop online.
Beyond this, you can credit Star Alliance flights to Air India, but this is likely a slower way to accrue points than earning Rove Miles and transferring them to Maharaja Club.
Not a Rove member yet? Sign up for free and earn bonus miles when you sign up through AwardWallet's link!
Bottom Line
Some of these award reductions are eye-popping. The big winners here are domestic India flights, international flights to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and flights to the United States. Air India Maharaja Club is becoming a program worth paying attention to. It already is a great option for booking short-haul United flights from just 3,500 points. And now, no matter where in the world you’re flying from, getting to India using Air India points is an excellent option.
