Vistara Airline Partners [Should you book with them?]

Vistara is the favourite airline of many Indian travellers. It also has India’s best frequent flyer program. There are so many things it excels at. One such thing is having great airline partners. Even though Vistara is not part of any Alliance, it makes up for that with some fantastic airline partners. Vistara Airline partners allow you to earn or redeem club vistara points whenever you fly them. But using the miles of these airlines is also a good option to book Vistara flights. Recently, Axis Bank temporarily took off Vistara as a transfer partner, which got me thinking about what would happen if it didn’t return. Or, what if there are better opportunities to book Vistara? So, here is what I found.

Vistara Airline Partners

Vistara has five airline partners, which are:

• Air Canada
• Japan Airlines
• Lufthansa [Earning Partner Only]
• Singapore Airlines
• United Airlines

Of these five airline partners, four are members of Star Alliance, whereas Japan Airlines is a member of OneWorld Alliance. You can earn Club Vistara Points while flying on any of these airlines. Even the club vistara points can be redeemed on these airlines. However, I would not advise using them for these airlines until you have a lot of Club Vistara Points.

Since these airlines are partners of Vistara, you can earn miles from these airlines while travelling Vistara. And, maybe even better, use the miles of these airlines for Vistara Flights.

Earning Points of Vistara Airline Partners

All five airlines have partnered with Indian Banks to allow you to earn their miles. You can even transfer points from your hotel loyalty program to these Airlines. But the good thing about these airlines is that all airlines have fixed award charts except for United, which may give some good opportunities. Even though United has a variable award chart, its miles requirement is more or less the same as other airlines. Check the table below for their Award type and transfer partners in India.

Airlines	FFP	Award Type	Amex	Axis Bank	Atlas	HDFC	Marriott	Accor
Air Canada	Aerplan	Fixed	Via Marriott	5:4	1:2	2:1	3:1	2:1
Japan Airlines	JAL Mileage	Fixed	Via Marriott	5:4	1:2	NA	3:1	2:1
Singapore Airlines	KrisFlyer	Fixed	2:1	5:4	1:2	1:1	3:1	2:1
United Airlines	MileagePlus	Variable	Via Marriott	5:4	1:2	2:1	3:1	2:1

For transferring points from Marriott to all vistara partners, you get a bonus of 5000 miles for every 60000 Marriott Points transferred, which increases conversion by 8%. Also, Accor has one of the best conversion ratios for transferring points from hotels to airlines.

Overall, you can load up miles of Vistara Airline Partners in India. Let’s see how much it costs to book Vistara Flights with these Partners.

How do Vistara Airline Partners calculate the distance?

Vistara Airline Partners, which has a distance-based miles requirement, calculates the distance based on actual miles flown.

For Example, If you’re travelling from Kolkata to Chandigarh via Mumbai, your distance will be calculated like this. From Kolkata to Mumbai, the distance is 1036 miles; from Mumbai to Chandigarh, it is 834 miles. So, the total distance for the Award Chart will be 1870 miles.

Air Canada

Air Canada has a fixed award chart, which makes it easier to estimate the number of Aeroplan Points needed to book a Vistara flight. Aeroplan has started showing flights to or from India. You can also book by calling “0008000401885”.

Recently, the award chart of Air Canada was updated, and the miles requirement has increased for partners. Air Canada works on Travel zones, and your miles requirement will increase as you change your travel zone. For Example, India is part of the Atlantic travel zone, and so is Europe, the Middle East and all of Africa. Australia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, etc, are in the Pacific Zone.

Usually, Vistara Economy class miles will start from 7500 points for Pacific zone flights, whereas it will be 15000 for business class. So, for shorter routes, bookings via Air Canada won’t work.

Regarding the longest direct route, you would need 12500 points for an economy cabin in India. Few flights will cover more than 2000 miles in India, so expect to have charges of 12500 points in most cases. So, 12500 Aeroplan points should do the trick for connecting flights. And 25000 points for long connecting flights.

The above chart applies to Vistara flights in India, Europe, the Middle East, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh & will help you save many CV Points for business class travel.

Whereas, for flights to Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong & Indonesia, the Between Atlantic & Pacific Zones award chart applies as below. And it will cost miles similar to what United Charges.

Where should you use Air Canada Aeroplan to Book Vistara flights?

Air Canada can be used for all flights having less than 1000 miles of distance. If Air India is an option, then using Turkish Airlines Sweet Spots is for you. There could be some great Vistara Routes where you can use Aeroplan points.

For example, the Delhi & Frankfurt distance is 3811 miles, which will only cost 45000 points for a Vistara Business Class ticket. Even Economy Class is at 25000 points. These costs are less than what Vistara charges. The people of Mumbai can surely make the most of Aeroplan points by travelling to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Dammam.

Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines also has a fixed award chart for Vistara Airlines. An economy class ticket starts from 12000 miles, and a premium economy class ticket starts from 17000 miles. For a Business Class, it starts from 24000 miles. You can easily book Vistara Flights online with Japan Airlines. Japan Airlines can be used if you plan complex travel itinerates. The best thing about using Japan Mileage is that you will pay for miles based on the total distance of an itinerary rather than the doubling of one-way flights, saving you a lot of miles.

Where should you use Japan Airlines to book Vistara Airlines?

Japan Airlines is good for booking both Domestic and international Vistara flights. International flight availability could be an issue. However, the miles will always be higher than CV Points for any one-way economy class ticket booked.

Still, there could be routes where using JAL miles will make sense, mainly on the routes where the cost of flights is high, such as Port Blair to Delhi. This route could cost you 15000 CV Points for economy class tickets and 56000 CV Points for business class tickets on a round-trip basis. However, it will cost you 23000 JAL miles for a round-trip in an economy cabin and just 42K miles for a round-trip business class.

So, JAL is a better partner for Business Class tickets and could be used for economy class tickets on long-distance international routes. It also has better award availability of Business Class than United.

Japan Airlines is one of the two airlines that has a Premium Economy Award Chart of Vistara. However, the mile requirement for premium economy is high. But it indeed has better mileage requirements for business class.

Here is a rule for using Japan Airlines to book Vistara flights: “On Longer Route with round trip itinerary Go for JAL”.

The Interface of Japan Airlines may be cumbersome for new Travellers.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines is a part of Star Alliance and holds equity in Vistara. It has a region-based fixed award chart for Vistara. That makes it easy to determine the number of Kris Flyer miles required for Vistara flights. Economy class awards start from 8500 miles and go up to 12k Miles. For a Premium Economy Class flight, the miles range from 11500 to 18.5K miles. Business Class starts at 21500 miles and goes up to 34000 miles. All these miles requirement is for India, which is divided into five zones based on the part of India it is in. Also, Kris Flyer Miles can’t be used to book Vistara International Flights. So, you will use miles only for Vistara Domestic flights.

Where should you use Singapore Airlines to Book Vistara flights?

Select routes of Vistara are worth considering for booking via Singapore. For Example, my favourite Delhi to Port Blair route has a decent mileage requirement of 12000 miles. And there are specific routes where the flights get expensive. For example, Leh to Delhi will cost 8500 miles. So, particular routes work well for booking using Singapore Kris Flyer Miles. However, Business Class seats at 34000 miles are high. Even significantly higher than Club Vistara Points. However, Singapore Kris flyer miles are one of the easiest to earn in India, so paying a premium for Vistara flights may not be an issue for some. I would use it primarily for economy class.

Overall, the miles requirement of Singapore miles is a bit high, but its Interface with seven days of availability makes it an easy-to-use option. Mostly, you don’t guess many things here but put things into action. So, I expect to use Singapore Airlines to book Domestic Vistara Flights.

United Airlines

It is good to see that Vistara has an American airline as a partner. Usually, American Airlines has better seat availability than competitors and better points requirements. The United part of Star Alliance has variable miles requirements. But based on my research, an economy class requires either 8,800 miles or 22,000 miles. The farther you fly within India, the more likely you will shell out 22,000 miles. Even if you have a connecting flight in your itinerary, the same will not cost you more than 22000 miles for domestic awards. Business Class availability is an issue, though.

United is a good option if you’re looking for free cancellations.

Where should you use United to Book Vistara flights?

Using United for Domestic flights makes sense for flights between North India and Western India, as the miles requirement is 8,800. Apart from those, flights between Western and Southern India also have a mile requirement of 8800 miles. So, these routes would cost you way less than other airlines. However, using United to connect flights is a bad idea.

If I have to travel Internationally on Vistara to Paris, London, or Frankfurt, I would need 33000 United miles. United is a great way to book Vistara International flights other than Japan Airlines. It even has a better Award Availability of Economy Cabin on Vistara International Flights. But Business Class seats are not available.

Overall, United can be used to book domestic flights between Northern & Western and Western & Southern India. Internationally, although you can book Vistara flights in economy class, some world-class airlines are also available on this route with similar mileage requirements.

Comparison [Economy-Domestic Flights]

Here are some domestic routes which can be booked using miles of Vistara Airline Partners in economy class:

For one-way flights, Air Canada is best, and for round trips, Japan Airlines is best. If you have an issue finding availability, check Singapore Airlines.

Comparison [Business-Domestic Flights]

Here are some domestic routes which can be booked using miles of Vistara Airline Partners in business class:

For one-way flights, Air Canada is best, and for round trips, Japan Airlines is best. If you have an issue finding availability, check Singapore Airlines.

Comparison [Economy-International Flights]

Vistara flights internationally to both the east and west sides of the world. This changes things for Air Canada flights but makes Japan Airlines shine, especially for roundtrip itineraries.

For One-Way International flights in Vistara Economy cabins, Vistara is best. For Round Trips, Japan Airlines is best. You can’t book Vistara International flights with Singapore Airlines.

Comparison [Business-International Flights]

Here are some international routes which can be booked using miles of Vistara Airline Partners in business class:

Air Canada & Japan Airlines are good enough for one-way Vistara Business Class travel. But when it comes to round-trip travel, there’s no better than Japan Airlines. United doesn’t show any business class availability of Vistara online. However, the United Miles requirement will not be lower than that of Air Canada or Japan Airlines.

Premium Economy

Of the airline partners, only Singapore & Japan Airlines can access Vistara Premium economy awards. For international flights, it is only Japan Airlines.

I would recommend using Premium Economy bookings via Japan Airlines for International Awards. For Example, a Delhi to Singapore flight will need 30000 miles against 40000 CV Points for one-way awards, and the round trip will cost 46000 JAL miles and 80000 CV Points.

How to use Vistara Airline Partners Stopover?

If you book with CV Points, Vistara doesn’t give any stopovers on its flights. But Air Canada and Japan Airlines can help you book a stopover without any cost. For Air Canada, you may have to shell out extra 5000 points.

Singapore Airlines also gives one free stopover on round trips, whereas Air Canada and Japan Airlines also have stopovers on one-way awards.

For example, you’re flying from Delhi to Port Blair, which will always be via Kolkata. So, If you book with CV points, it will cost you 7500 CV Points. Air Canada & Japan Airlines will cost 12500 & 15000 points respectively. But if you stop at Kolkata with Japan Airlines, you don’t have to pay anything extra. So, you can travel to two destinations at the cost of one.

So, If you have complex itineraries with Vistara Airlines, using Japan Airlines would be better.

United also has “Excrusion Perks”, which work like stopovers but are eligible for flights between two continents.

Changes & Cancellations Charges

A low charge on changes or cancellations of flight tickets is always good. Here is how much you need to shell out for making changes to your flights:

Airline	Changes	Cancellation
Vistara	10% CV Points	15%-25% CV Points
Air Canada	CAD$0-$100	CAD$0-$150
Japan Airlines	Date & Flight Change Free	JPY 3100
Singapore Airlines	$50	$75
United	$0	$0

Air Canada charges zero fees for making changes to Flex & Lattitude Awards. You must shell out CAD$100 or INR 6200 Flat to change standard awards. At the same time, cancellation charges apply to Standard & Flex Award seats. You’re most likely to shell out CAD$150 or INR 9300.

Vistara has one of the best flight cancellation policies. Since it deducts charges as CV points, that makes it easier for the traveller. It, however, can be huge if you cancel a Premium Economy or Business Class on Vistara. But it should not concern those who could earn CV Points in bulk. So, Vistara is excellent, but United as it has no cancellations or change charges. Even Japan Airlines has just INR 1800 in cancellation fees, which is low.

Best Vistara Airline Partner

Vistara indeed has world-class Airline tie-ups. However, Japan Airlines stands out for Complex Itineries, International Travel, and premium Cab Travel. Air Canada would have been the best if we could book online. Singapore Airlines is decent but limited to a few routes. United is a miss due to the high miles requirement. But surely, it can be looked upon.

Bottomline

Vistara Airline Partners can be a great way to book Vistara Premium Cabin Class on select routes. Japan Airlines surely stands out as a partner. Other partners like Singapore & United are okay.