Should you credit Air India flights to Partner Airlines?

Air India recently updated its frequent flyer program, Maharaja Club. You can earn Air India Maharaja Club Points if you book a revenue flight. But, it is also an opportunity to earn other airline miles. Sometimes, it can be better. Let’s find out if we should credit Air India flights to its partner airlines.

Airline Partners for Crediting Air India Flights

You can credit Air India flights to:

• Aegean
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air India
• Air New Zealand
• ANA
• Asiana Airlines
• Miles & More (Airlines that use the Miles & More Program include Lufthansa, Swiss, LOT Polish, etc.)
• Avianca
• Copa Airlines
• Egypt Air
• Ethiopian Air
• EVA Air
• Shenzhen airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airlines
• TAP Air Portugal
• THAI Royal Orchid
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines

Before we go ahead, let us leave Air China, Air New Zealand, Asiana Airlines (soon to be merged with Korean Air), Egypt Air, Ethiopian Air, and Shenzhen Airlines here. There are different reasons for not crediting your flights to these airlines, and one of them is the lack of redeeming possibilities, except Asiana Airlines. Check here, miles you need to book Air India domestic award flights.

How many points do Air India members earn?

As an Air India Maharaja Club member, you earn points for every 100 INR spent based on tier, excluding any taxes:

• Red Tier: 6 Points per INR 100
• Silver Tier: 8 points per INR 100
• Gold Tier: 9 points per INR 100
• Platinum Tier: 10 points per INR 100

Airline Partners Miles Earning for Air India Flights

All the partner airlines credit miles based on distance flown and fare code. However, booking a flight directly with Lufthansa or United Airlines will earn miles based on the amount spent.

Finding Out Miles Earning

Let’s take five flights & find out how many miles it is possible to earn:

• DEL-BOM (Business Class)
• BOM-MEL (Business Class)
• SFO-BLR (Business Class)
• SFO-BLR (Economy)
• DEL-LHR (Business Class)

Earning Miles on DEL-BOM Route (Business Class)

Delhi-Mumbai is one of the busiest routes in India. Let’s see how can an Air India Business Class flight earn on this route:

• The route distance is 705 miles.
• This flight costs INR 26968, of which the Base fare plus the surcharge is 23730; the rest are taxes.

This is how many miles you can earn for each partner:

• Air India:
  • Red Tier: 1899 Points
  • Silver Tier: 2373 Points
  • Gold Tier: 2611 Points
  • Platinum Tier: 2848 Miles
  • This includes 475 points you earn if you book directly on the Air India website.
• Aegean & TAP Portugal will give 1410 Miles.
• Miles & More & Turkish Airlines will give 1057 Miles.
• Air Canada, ANA, Avianca, Copa Airlines, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines & THAI Airways will give 881 miles.
• South African Airlines & United Airlines will give 705 Miles.

Result:

• Earning Air India is better; even Red Tier earns 1899 miles, which is more than the next best Aegean or TAP Portugal 1410.
• Aegean or TAP Portugal would not be my first preference for crediting Air India miles. Maybe Aegean sometime since it is still better than TAP Portugal.

Earning Miles on BOM-MEL Route (Business Class)

The following route is from Mumbai to Melbourne. It is one of the direct flights from India to Australia.

• Air India covers distance of 6087 miles on this route.

This is how many miles you can earn for each partner:

• Air India:
  • Red Tier: 9409 Points
  • Silver Tier: 11761 Points
  • Gold Tier: 12937 Points
  • Platinum Tier: 14113 Miles
  • This includes 2352 miles for booking directly on the Air India website.
• Aegean & TAP Portugal will give 12174 miles.
• Miles & More & Turkish Airlines will give 9131 miles.
• South African & United Airlines will give 6087.
• Whereas other airlines will give 7609.

Result:

• Aegean & Turkish Airlines credit is a good option unless you are an Air India Elite.
• Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Avianca, COPA, or Miles & More are good options.

Earning Miles on SFO-BLR Route (Business Class)

The following route is from San Fransisco to Bengaluru.

This is how many miles you can earn for each partner:

• Air India:
  • Red Tier: 23531 Points
  • Silver Tier: 29414 Points
  • Gold Tier: 32355 Points
  • Platinum Tier: 35296 Miles
  • This includes an additional 5882 miles for booking directly on the Air India website.
• Aegean, Miles & More & TAP Portugal will give 17402 miles.
• Turkish Airlines will give 13052 miles.
• South African will give 8701.
• Whereas other airlines will give 10876.

Result:

• Since the price was higher, you will earn many Air India Points.
• Miles & More is also a good option as you can fly Air India one Business Class Domestic flight in 20K Miles.

Earning Miles on SFO-BLR Route (Economy Cabin)

After seeing the SFO-BLR Business Class miles earned, let’s find out the economy cabin on the same route.

This is how many miles you can earn for each partner:

• Air India:
  • Red Tier: 4229 Points
  • Silver Tier: 5286 Points
  • Gold Tier: 5814 Points
  • Platinum Tier: 6343 Miles
  • This includes an additional 1057 miles for booking directly on the Air India website.
• COPA Airlines will give 8701 miles.
• Air Canada, ANA, Avianca, EVA, Turkish & United Airlines will give 4351 miles.
• Whereas other airlines will give zero miles.

Result:

• COPA is miles ahead of any other Airline program for Fare Code “L.” However, airlines like Air Canada, Avianca, and Turkish are good options for earning 4351 miles.

Earning Miles on DEL-LHR Route (Business Class)

Delhi to London is a busy route; let’s see how many miles we can earn on this route::

This is how many miles you can earn for each partner:

• Air India:
  • Red Tier: 9411 Points
  • Silver Tier: 11764 Points
  • Gold Tier: 12940 Points
  • Platinum Tier: 14117 Miles
  • This includes an additional 2352 miles for booking directly on the Air India website.
• Aegean & TAP Portugal will give 8382 miles.
• Miles & More & Turkish Airlines will give 6287 miles.
• South African & United Airlines will give 4191.
• Whereas other airlines will give 5239.

Result:

• Air India is again better here and is actually miles ahead of other members.

Should you credit Air India flights to partner airlines?

Air India does give members decent points earned on revenue flights. However, Air India has high mileage requirements, especially for Business Class flights. So, there is no outright correct answer. You may want to credit flights to Air India for the following reasons:

• Air India Elite: If you are an Air India elite, you can receive additional benefits and earn more Air India Points.
• On the way to Air India Elite, Another point to consider is that you fly several Air India flights and can reach Air India elite status. So, crediting flights to Air India would be better. Thereafter, you can use that to either status match to other airlines or use Star Alliance Gold.
• No Miles Earning Fare Code: Certain airfare codes don’t earn any miles or very few miles. If you are flying on any of those fare codes, it would be better to earn Air India miles. It is better to earn some miles than no miles.

. However, could be cases where you may want to credit Air India to partner airlines.

• If fares are expensive, Air India will give the most miles. However, if you snag a cheap fare, partner airlines could also be an option.
• Want to earn miles from other frequent flyer programs? Turkish Airlines, Air Canada, Miles & More, and Singapore are decent programs, and you can also earn these miles from credit cards in India. And, could be a potential partner for Air India flights.
• International award flights: Air India doesn’t have good points redemption options for International award flights. Other airline programs are better, with lesser miles requirements and the ability to book complex itineraries with Open-Jaws or low-cost stopover flights. And, you may be interested to earning miles of these airlines.

Pro Tip: Pro Tip: If you want to know how many miles you will earn on an Air India flight, refer to this website, which is updated and better than the wheretocredit website.

Bottomline

You can credit Air India flights to partner airlines, as it is a good option; however, it is not always the best option. Air India does give a decent number of miles on revenue flights. Some partner airlines, like Air Canada, Miles& More, Turkish Airlines, and Aegean, could be good options for exploring opportunities.