Over the past year, significant changes have occurred in how you can earn Air India Points. New partners have been added, including the credit card transfer partners. So now it is easy to Air India Points. There are many ways to earn Air India Flying Returns Points.
Fly Air India
Flying Air India on a revenue ticket will give Air India Points. However, the number of points earned varies by the elite status. The points are only earned on the Base fare and fuel surcharge (YQ) charged for the ticket. No points are given for any taxes, airport charges, etc.
You can earn the following points based on which Air India Elite tier you are in:
- Red Tier earns 6 Points per INR 100
- Silver Tier earns 8 points per INR 100
- Gold Tier member earns 9 points per INR 100
- Platinum Tier member earns 10 points per INR 100
Let’s take a Business Class flight from Delhi to London, which costs INR 138,286. The image below has the cost bifurcated: for the base fare and fuel surcharge, the price is INR 122,271, and the balance is taxes and airport charges.
Now, the following points can be earned by spending INR 122,271 for each tier:
- Red Tier: 7332
- Silver Tier: 9776
- Gold Tier: 10998
- Platinum Tier: 12220
You can also find the price break-up on the ticket.
Flying Star Alliance Airlines
There are many airlines in Star Alliance, and whenever you fly with them, you can earn points based on the distance travelled and fare class booked.
For example, if you fly on Singapore Airlines First Class, you can earn 150% Air India Points. You can check the mileage accrual for each member airline here.
However, Air India may not be my first choice for crediting my Star Alliance flights. I would recommend using the wheretocredit website, which has some old data, but it gives you an idea of where you earn the maximum miles. So, this same first-class flight on Singapore Airlines earns 300% Alaska miles, one of the hardest to earn. Even miles & more members earn 300% miles on the same flight.
However, earning Air India points on Star Alliance flights could be beneficial if you want to redeem Air India tickets for many domestic flights.
Claim Points on Past Flights
If you have flown Air India in the past 12 months or any Star Alliance airlines in the past six months and haven’t got your points credited, you can do so by submitting a request online.
Book Directly with Air India
If you book directly with Air India, you earn 2 points per INR 100. So, if you are a platinum elite, you can earn 12 points per INR 100 when booking directly with Air India. Also, Platinum Charge holders get 10x points on spending at Air India.
Bonus Points on Sign-up
If you haven’t joined Flying Returns, then upon joining, you can earn 1000 bonus points on sign-up upon completion of one revenue flight.
Buy Air India Points
If you are short of Air India points, you can buy them at INR 1.5 per point. This price is reasonable. A few days back, Air India gave a 30% bonus on purchasing points, bringing costs down to INR 1.15. However, it doesn’t always make sense to buy speculatively.
Create a Family Pooling Account
Air India allows you to create a Family Pooling account. As the head of the family pooling account, you can use the points from other members in a fixed ratio.
As the head of the family, you can receive 100%, 75%, or 50% points from your family members. This is an excellent way to earn Air India points if family members travel infrequently.
Earn on Co-Branded Cards
Only two Air India co-branded cards have been issued by SBI. The process is complicated as you earn SBI reward points and convert them into Air India points via phone. This can only be done if you have completed a particular number of flights with Air India.
However, it is still an excellent way to earn Air India Points.
- Air India SBI Signature Card:
- Fees: 4999+Taxes
- Joining Benefits: 20K Points
- Revenue Benefits: 5K Points
- Earning:
- 30 SBI Rewards points for every INR 100 on tickets for yourself
- 10 SBI Rewards points for every INR 100 on tickets for others
- 4 SBI Reward points for every INR 100 spent (everywhere else)
- Milestone benefits:
- INR 5 Lac– 20,000 points
- INR 10 Lac – 30,000 points
- INR 20 Lac – 50,000 points
- Air India SBI Platinum Card:
- Fees: 1499+Taxes
- Joining Benefits: 5K Points
- Revenue Benefits: 2K Points
- Earning:
- 15 SBI Rewards points for every INR 100 on tickets for yourself
- 5 SBI Rewards points for every INR 100 on tickets for others
- 2 SBI Reward points for every INR 100 spent (everywhere else)
- Milestone benefits:
- INR 2 Lac– 5,000 points
- INR 3 Lac – 10,000 points
Here is the complete process to convert SBI Rewards earned on these two cards to Air India Points.
The Air India SBI Signature card can give you 1,80,000 Air India points on INR 20 Lacs of spending. However, better cards are available that may earn you more Air India points or other valuable miles, such as Aeroplan points or Krisflyer miles.
Transfer Credit Card Points to Air India
Transferring credit card points to Air India is one of the easiest ways to earn Air India points. Air India now partners with multiple banks, so you have many card options.
Transfer Axis Bank Points
Axis Bank is one of the few card partners whose almost every card point and mile can be transferred to Air India. The ratio is as follows in the table.
| Card | Transfer Ratio |
| Burgundy Private Credit Card | 5:4 |
| Magnus Burgundy | 5:4 |
| Magnus & Reserve Credit Card | 5:2 |
| Olympus Credit Card | 1:4 |
| Atlas Credit Card | 1:2 |
| Horizon Credit Card | 1:1 |
| Indian Oil Premium Credit Card | 2:1 |
| Select, Privilege & Rewards cards | 10:1 |
| Other Axis Bank Cards | 20:1 |
Transfer SBI Card Miles to Air India
Recently, SBI Launched the SBI Miles card, and Air India was one of the transfer partners. There are three SBI Miles cards, and all miles of these cards convert into 1 Air India point for each mile. These cards are different from Air India’s co-branded cards.
Transfer HSBC Reward Points to Air India
HSBC has been a transfer partner of Air India for some time now. And have a decent transfer ratio as given in the table:
| Card | Transfer Ratio |
| HSBC Premier | 1:1 |
| HSBC Classic HSBC Gold HSBC Smart Value HSBC Platinum | 2:1 |
Transfer ICICI Bank Reward Points to Air India
You can also transfer ICICI Bank Reward Points to Air India as per the transfer ratio in the table:
| Cards | Transfer Ratio |
| Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card | 1:1 |
| Other eligible debit/ credit cards | 6:1 |
Earn Air India Flying Returns Points on Car Rental
This may not be the case for everyone, but using these car rental providers can also earn Air India flying Returns points. Make sure to enter your Flying Returns ID while booking.
- Zoom Car: Earn 5 Points per INR 100
- Avis: Earn 4 Points per INR 100 on rental booked on the Avis website else 2 points per INR 100
- bookairportcab.com: Earn 5 Points per INR 100
- Discover Cars: Earn 10 Points per INR 100
As an Air India Gold & Platinum member, you also get 10% off on rentals at Avis. Platinum members are also eligible for complimentary Avis President’s Club membership.
Earn Air India Points on Experiences
Air India has partnered with select experience providers to allow its members to earn points. When booking, make sure to enter the Flying Returns ID.
- Get Your Guide: Earn 10 Points per INR 100
- Legoland: Earn up to 10 points per INR 100 based on the location of Legoland.
- Sherpa: Earn 25 Points per INR 100 (I would say it is expensive)
- KidZania: Earn 7 points per INR 100
- Fratelli: Earn 11 Points per INR 100
- Madame Tussauds: Earn up to 16 points per INR 100 (Based on the location)
- iCruise: Earn 5 points per INR 100
- Antara River Cruise: Earn 10 points per INR 100
Here is how many Air India points you earn for each Legoland:
Earn Air India Points on Lifestyle Spending
You can also Earn Air India points on some good lifestyle brands (make sure to provide your Flying returns ID):
- Truefitt & Hill: Earn 5 points per INR 100 (Use Amex Gold or Platinum Card to get off)
- IGP: Earn 10 Points per INR 100 (use HDFC Infinia to earn 10x instead of this)
- Apple Store Online: Earn 4 points per INR 100 (Use Amex Gold or Platinum through Reward Multiplier)
- Fern N Petals: Earn 11 Points per INR 100
- Tattva: Earn 13 Points per INR 100
- Kiehl’s: Earn 5 points per INR 100
- The Bicester Collection: Earn 5 Points per EUR 4 or 4 (Other Airlines are also partners)
There are several Bicester Villages in Europe, and you can earn points on shopping at any of these. I went to one in London, and it is surely a great place to shop for premium brands at a discount.
Earn Air India Points for Stays
Air India also allows you to earn points on stays at select hotel brands:
- Soneva: Earn 5 Points per INR 100
- The Set Collection: Earn 5 Points per INR 100
- The Leela: Earn 5 Points per INR 100
- Rainforest: Earn 10 Points per INR 100
- Evolve Back: Earn 7 Points per INR 100
- The Grand Dragon Ladakh: Earn 20 Points per INR 100
- The Roseate: Earn 7 Points per INR 100
Air India Gold & Platinum Elite members have additional benefits at The Set Collection, including $100 credit per stay.
In any case, make sure to mention your flying returns ID.
Bottomline
There are many ways to earn Air India flying returns points. Even if you go to a spa, you earn Air India points. There are multiple opportunities to earn Air India points, which you can redeem on Air India flights.
