✈️ Air India Maharaja Club

Peak-date domestic hops (AI + AI Express)Economy✓ partner page

AI Express from 1,500 pts; AI metro routes Value from 5,000

🎯 Festival weeks, long weekends and last-minute bookings, when cash fares triple but the points price stays put. Skip it on ₹2,500-3,500 off-peak fares.

SE Asia, Gulf & Maldives on the ~12,000-pt bandEconomy✓ partner page

from ~12,000 pts one-way economy + ~₹2,000 taxes

🎯 Whenever the cash fare is above ~₹15,000 one-way - most weeks on these routes, and spectacular on last-minute bookings where cash triples. ~7 award seats per flight; prefer ex-Vistara A321neo metal for the better cabin.

Maharaja points on 25 Star Alliance airlinesAny cabin (route-based)✓ partner page

partner awards from ~20,000 pts (route-based)

🎯 When Air India has no metal or no space on your route - the same points open 25 Star Alliance carriers (Singapore, Lufthansa, Swiss, United...). Partner awards price higher than AI Value fares, so compare both.