The Best Ways To Fly to India With Points & Miles [2022]

If you’re a travel enthusiast, then India might be high on your radar. With the second biggest population in the world, India is a melting pot — even inside the country, it seems like there are so many different cultures wherever you look!

India’s diverse languages, customs, music, architecture, and food draw travelers from all over the world. But unfortunately, India is not a particularly convenient destination from America. Let us explain.

Only 4 carriers operate flights from North America to India: Air Canada, Air India, American Airlines, and United Airlines. Air Canada only operates in Canada, while Air India, American, and United support the U.S.

In this guide, we’ll explore the best ways to fly to India with points and miles. Understandably, the first instinct is to look at Star Alliance frequent flyer programs, since 3 of the 4 aforementioned airlines belong to the same alliance.

We’ll focus here on nonstop flights to India but will also touch on some ways you can book 1-stop flights as well. There are a few sweet spots that exist with these 1-stop flights, though nonstops might be preferable for those who want to waste no time traveling around the giant country that is India!

Table of contents

Nonstop Flights Between North America and India
Best Airline Programs To Book Flights to India
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

Nonstop Flights Between North America and India
Best Airline Programs To Book Flights to India
Final Thoughts

Nonstop Flights Between North America and India

There are quite a few nonstop flight options between North America and India:

Air Canada

Toronto (YYZ) – Delhi (DEL)
Vancouver (YVR) – Delhi (DEL)

Air India

Chicago (ORD) – Delhi (DEL)
Chicago (ORD) – Hyderabad (HYD)
New York (JFK) – Delhi (DEL)
Newark (EWR) – Mumbai (BOM)
San Francisco (SFO) – Bengaluru (BLR)
San Francisco (SFO) – Delhi (DEL)
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Delhi (DEL)

American Airlines

New York (JFK) – Delhi (DEL)
Seattle (SEA) – Bengaluru (BLR) (launch delayed from March 2022)

United Airlines

Chicago (ORD) – Delhi (DEL)
Newark (EWR) – Delhi (DEL)
Newark (EWR) – Mumbai (BOM)
San Francisco (SFO) – Bengaluru (BLR) (launch delayed to October 2022)
San Francisco (SFO) – Delhi (DEL)

Best Airline Programs To Book Flights to India

Both Air India and American Airlines offer first class on their nonstop flights. However, Air India’s premium cabin products are notoriously bad, so we wouldn’t necessarily encourage flying with them unless you want some novelty.

If none of these options seem appetizing to you, you’ll have to take a connecting flight to expand your potential.

Most of your options for connecting flights are:

Notable Airlines That Operate Connecting Flights to India From North America
Aeroflot (Moscow) to Delhi	China Eastern (Shanghai) to Delhi	KLM (Amsterdam) to Delhi and Mumbai
Air China (Beijing) to Delhi and Mumbai	EL AL (Tel Aviv) to Mumbai	Korean Air (Seoul) to Delhi and Mumbai
Air France/JOON (Paris) to Delhi and Mumbai	SWISS (Zurich) to Delhi and Mumbai	Lufthansa (Frankfurt/Munich) to Delhi and Mumbai
British Airways (London) to Delhi and Mumbai	Turkish Airlines (Istanbul) to Delhi and Mumbai	Qatar Airways (Doha) to Delhi and Mumbai
Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong) to Delhi and Mumbai	Finnair (Helsinki) to Delhi and Mumbai
China Airlines (Taipei) to Delhi	Japan Airlines (Tokyo) to Mumbai

The list above is not meant to be exhaustive; there are simply too many routes that can emerge from 1-stop itineraries. However, we listed the notable airlines that can provide a comfortable, luxurious inflight experience.

Again, since you have so many options for flights, the key is to have a lot of the 5 major transferable rewards points: American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

As always, flexibility is key. India is known for fuel surcharges, so be wary of those also.

Let’s start by digging into your nonstop flight options. Then, we’ll examine some ways to construct 2-in-1 vacations utilizing routing rules and connecting flights!

Air Canada Aeroplan

Lufthansa B747-8 First Class Seat 1A and 1K - Cherag Dubash — Lufthansa first class in the nose of the 747-8 is like your own private jet, but with even better service. Image Credit: Cherag Dubash

Now that we’ve provided the background for options to India, let’s dig directly into booking options! We’re going to start with Air Canada Aeroplan.

We love Aeroplan because this program doesn’t pass on any fuel surcharges, has reasonable redemption rates based on flying distance, and allows you to add stopovers for just 5,000 points on one-way tickets!

For all Air Canada and partner flights, the one-way redemption costs will be according to the following distance-based award chart:

Aeroplan North America Pacific Award Chart. Image Credit: Aeroplan

While the cost of redeeming awards with points is dependent on the distance you fly, you won’t pay for any fuel surcharges, no matter which carrier you choose to fly on.

One unique benefit of Aeroplan is that you can add a stopover, even on one-way flights, for 5,000 extra points!

If you decide to fly on Air Canada’s business class, you can depart from either Toronto (YYZ) or Vancouver (YVR) to Delhi (DEL). There are 2 United Airlines flights from Newark (EWR) that can get you to Mumbai (BOM) or Delhi (DEL).

Booking Air India provides a lot of options for departure airports: you can choose to fly from Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), or San Francisco (SFO). Of course, its airline products are not very well-reviewed, so keep that in mind if you decide to fly on Air India.

For those interested in flying superior airline products and who don’t mind connecting flights, look into SWISS Air (through Zurich), Turkish Airlines (through Istanbul), Air China (through Beijing), or Singapore Airlines (through Singapore). You’ll have to connect in their hubs, but it might be worth it to fly a solid business class product.

And if you’re interested in flying on a top-notch first class product the whole way, check out Lufthansa first class!

Here are some great example routes you can take:

Chicago (ORD) – Delhi (DEL) nonstop one-way for 85,000 miles plus ~$35 in taxes and fees in Air India business class
Chicago (ORD) – Toronto (YYZ) – Delhi (DEL) round-trip for 160,000 miles plus ~$300 in taxes and fees in Air Canada business class
San Francisco (SFO) – Bengaluru (BLR) one-way for 100,000 miles plus ~$35 in taxes and fees in Air India business class
San Francisco (SFO) – Delhi (DEL) nonstop one-way for 100,000 miles plus ~$35 in taxes and fees in United’s Polaris business class
San Francisco (SFO) – Istanbul (IST) – Delhi (DEL) one-way for 100,000 miles plus ~$40 in taxes and fees in Turkish Airlines business class

We generally recommend searching for award availability via Aeroplan’s own website. Here’s how:

Visit Aeroplan’s website.
On the top right, click Sign in and enter your Aeroplan number and password.
On the resulting page, you’ll see a search box — fill in the desired trip type, destination and origination airports, travel dates, and number of passengers (be sure to toggle the button that says Points instead of US $).
Click Find.
Select your flight and pay for any taxes and fees.

Earning Aeroplan Points

It’s easy to earn Aeroplan points as Air Canada is a transfer partner with American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex and Chase points, as well as Capital One miles, transfer to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio, but you can transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to receive 20,000 Aeroplan points plus a 5,000-mile bonus. This brings the Marriott Bonvoy to Aeroplan ratio from 3:1 to 2.4:1.

Hot Tip: Chase has also recently launched the Aeroplan® Credit Card, which earns up to 3 Aeroplan points per $1 on purchases.

Amex has a number of personal and business cards that earn Membership Rewards points to choose from, making it easy to accumulate the necessary points.

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

If you’re a business owner, we would recommend taking a look at the numerous American Express business cards that earn Amex points, as well as come with numerous travel benefits.

Bottom Line: Aeroplan takes the top spot here because it gives you a variety of airlines you can fly for competitive redemption rates without paying fuel surcharges. You will also be allowed to add a stopover for just 5,000 miles to maximize your redemption value. It also partners with Amex, Capital One, Chase, and Marriott Bonvoy for transfers.

United Airlines MileagePlus

Swiss Air Business Class — SWISS Air flights can be booked using United miles. Image Credit: SWISS Air

Here are 2 reasons we like United MileagePlus: very low to no fuel surcharges across the board and transfer partnerships with Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Getting to India can be a tall order; planning a trip to India without fuel surcharges can quickly become a logistical nightmare. Although United Airlines doesn’t maintain a fixed award chart, here are some base prices for one-way tickets if you’re redeeming United miles aboard United Airlines flights:

Award Redemption Costs To Fly to India With United MileagePlus (United-operated Flights)
Cabin Class	United Miles Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	85,000	~$111
Business	155,000	~$111
First	N/A (United doesn’t offer first class)	~$42

Here are base prices for how much it would cost to fly to India when redeeming United miles for partner-operated one-way flights, like on SWISS Air or Turkish Airlines:

Award Redemption Costs To Fly to India With United MileagePlus (Partner-operated Flights)
Cabin Class	United Miles Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	94,000	~$111
Business	187,000	~$111
First	280,000	~$42

Actually, United’s economy cost is very reasonable; it’s competitive with the best award costs for India.

The main draws of using this booking method are twofold: low surcharges with all partners, plus a transfer partnership with Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Here are a few great routes you can book using your United miles:

Chicago (ORD) – Zurich (ZRH) – Bengaluru (BLR) one-way for 93,500 miles plus ~$23 in taxes and fees on SWISS and Vistara business class
Newark (EWR) – Delhi (DEL) nonstop one-way for 75,000 miles plus $5.60 in taxes and fees in United Polaris business class
San Francisco (SFO) – Delhi (DEL) nonstop one-way for 93,500 miles plus $5.60 in taxes and fees in Air India business class

Here’s how to book these awards:

Visit United’s website.
On the homepage, you will see a search box. In the search box, check off the box that says Book with miles.
Enter your search details and click Find flights.
Find a suitable flight option, redeem your United miles, and use a credit card to pay for taxes and fees.

Hot Tip: United Airlines makes award bookings very easy, even on Star Alliance partners. You can do everything online, your taxes and fees will be very low, and best of all the process is simple!

Earning United Airlines MileagePlus Miles

You can earn United miles directly with the United co-branded credit card series.

You can also earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can then be transferred to United. In many cases, these cards will be the fastest way to earn lots of United miles.

Lastly, you have the option of boosting your United miles with Marriott Bonvoy points. For every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer to United, you’ll get 27,500 United miles!

Recommended United Cards

Bottom Line: United Airlines is an exceedingly simple program with minimal fuel surcharges, a simple booking process, and reasonable redemption rates. It’s also a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner. If you have enough points, consider booking with United to minimize your out-of-pocket costs.

Avianca LifeMiles

Air Canada Business Class — Air Canada Signature class on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Image Credit: Air Canada

Avianca is a Star Alliance partner. If all you care about is being able to fly to India on Star Alliance airlines and you also have a lot of Citi ThankYou Points, Avianca is your best bet.

As noted above, you’ll have the choice of traveling nonstop on United, Air India, or Air Canada, though 1-stop flights open up lots of options.

The economy and business award costs are actually extremely reasonable. The other factor that puts Avianca LifeMiles near the top of our list is the fact that it doesn’t pass on any fuel surcharges, minimizing your out-of-pocket cost.

Here’s the award chart for the one-way flights we’re looking at:

Cabin Class	Avianca LifeMiles Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	85,000	~$31
Business	156,000	~$31
First	222,000	~$31

Here are some example routes you can book with Avianca LifeMiles:

Houston (IAH) – Newark (EWR) – Delhi (DEL) one-way for 156,000 miles plus ~$31 in taxes and fees in United Airlines Polaris class
San Francisco (SFO) – Delhi (DEL) one-way for 156,000 miles plus ~$31 in taxes and fees in United Airlines Polaris class
Toronto (YYZ) – Delhi (DEL) one-way for 156,000 plus ~$31 in taxes and fees in Air Canada business class

Hot Tip: Be aware that Avianca also tacks on a booking fee of its own on award flights.

To book Star Alliance partners with LifeMiles, follow these steps:

Visit the Avianca Vuela website.
Click on LifeMiles in the bottom right corner of Avianca’s homepage.
Once you’re on the LifeMiles page, hover over Use and click on Airlines.
Enter your desired destination and travel dates and hit continue. The next screen shows availability and costs for those dates, as well as for 2 days before and after.
Select your flight.

Hot Tip: You won’t be paying any fuel surcharges by booking with LifeMiles. This is an awesome way to avoid fuel surcharges on long flights to India!

Earning Avianca LifeMiles

LifeMiles is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Marriott Bonvoy.

You can earn LifeMiles miles directly by applying for the airline’s co-branded credit cards.

Another method to consider is purchasing LifeMiles. Avianca has periodic sales providing up to 200% bonus miles, so hold out for one of those before pulling the trigger.

Recommended Citi Card

Bottom Line: Avianca Vuela is a great way to book round-trip economy and business class flights to India as cheaply as possible, especially for those with lots of Citi ThankYou Points. The combination of low award costs and fuel surcharges makes this program a no-brainer.

All Nippon Airways Mileage Club

ANA New 777 The Suite First Class Cabin — ANA 777 The Suite first class cabin. Image Credit: All Nippon Airways

We’re big fans of ANA, but unfortunately, ANA’s awesome redemption rates are somewhat muted by the fuel surcharges it imposes on routes to India (particularly nonstop flights). It’s also not possible to book one-way flights on Star Alliance flights with ANA; you’ll need to fly round-trip.

Still, it’s worth discussing if you are comfortable paying $600 to $800 in fuel surcharges in return for saving points.

If you fly on Air India, you will be paying every penny of those fuel surcharges. If flying on United or Air Canada, you won’t be responsible for most of the fuel surcharges.

You can book round-trip, connecting flights on ANA metal as follows:

Departure Point	Class of Service	North America (Zone 6)
		Low Season	Regular Season	High Season
Asia 2 (Zone 4)	Y	55,000	65,000	70,000
	C	100,000	110,000	115,000
	F	195,000	195,000	210,000

ANA does not operate nonstop flights to India from North America. If you’re fine with that and want to fly in ANA business class, your redemption prices will be very reasonable. Just be cautious of the ~$400 to $500 in taxes and fees you’ll have to pay.

Here’s the round-trip award chart for Star Alliance flights we’re looking at:

Cabin Class	ANA Miles Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	80,000	Variable (depends on carrier)
Business	136,000	Variable (depends on carrier)
First	240,000	Variable (depends on carrier)

As far as miles costs go, the economy and business class redemptions are extremely reasonable. Taxes and fees will most likely be the determining factor here, and they vary from carrier to carrier.

Hot Tip: If you are open to taking connecting flights, you’ll be able to experience business class products such as ANA, Air China, SWISS Air, or Turkish Airlines with little (or no) fuel surcharges.

Here’s how to book awards with ANA miles:

Visit ANA’s website.
Choose ANA Mileage Club.
Choose International then Award Reservation.
Log into your account.
Enter your desired route and dates.
Choose your desired class of travel.
Choose your flights.
Reserve your flight and pay for any applicable taxes and fees.

Earning ANA Miles

ANA Mileage Club is a transfer partner with Amex Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex points transfer to ANA at a 1:1 ratio. There are a number of personal and business Amex credit cards to choose from that earn Membership Rewards points, making it easy to accumulate the necessary points.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points and transfer those to ANA at a transfer rate of 3:1. For every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points that you transfer, you’ll receive an extra 5,000-mile bonus.

Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards

Bottom Line: You’ll be able to book your Star Alliance flights at a reasonable cost of 80,000 miles round-trip in economy and 136,000 miles round-trip in business, though you may need to pay fuel surcharges (particularly on Air India). Normally, we would put ANA at the top of our list with its industry-leading business class sweet spots. But because of the fuel surcharges that can be passed on, we lowered the rank of ANA this time around.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 Business Class Window Seat — It’ll cost you just 62,500 Alaska miles to fly Cathay Pacific business class. Image Credit: Greg Stone

There are a handful of ways you can fly to India using Alaska Airlines’ partners, but we’ll focus on luxury carriers Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines (JAL) here.

Technically, you can fly on British Airways, Korean Air, or Finnair in addition to Cathay Pacific and JAL, but they’re generally not favorable due to either award costs or huge fuel surcharges.

Let’s dive into Cathay Pacific followed by JAL.

For 62,500 miles one-way in business class or 70,000 miles one-way in first class, you can fly on Cathay Pacific to India with a free stopover in Hong Kong.

Here’s the full award chart for Cathay Pacific one-way booked with Alaska Airlines miles:

Cathay Pacific Contiguous U.S. and Alaska to India and South Asia
Cabin Class	Alaska Miles Cost	Taxes and Fees
Coach	50,000	$37
Premium Economy	55,000	$38
Business	62,500	$40
First	70,000	$50

It’s well known that Cathay Pacific is a sweet spot for redeeming Alaska miles.

As far as JAL goes, you’ll be able to fly in business for 65,000 Alaska miles one-way. See below for the complete award chart for one-way flights on JAL:

JAL Contiguous U.S. and Alaska to India and South Asia
Cabin Class	Alaska Miles Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	40,000	$30
Business	65,000	$30
First	75,000	$30

Here are some examples of great awards to India:

Boston (BOS) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Delhi/Mumbai (DEL/BOM) round-trip for 140,000 miles + ~$19 in taxes and fees in Cathay Pacific first class and business class
Chicago (ORD) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Delhi/Mumbai (DEL/BOM) one-way for 62,500 miles + ~$19 in taxes and fees in Cathay Pacific business class
New York (JFK) – Tokyo (HND) – Delhi (DEL) one-way for 65,000 miles + ~$30 in taxes and fees for 22 total hours in Japan Airlines business class

Follow these instructions to use your Alaska miles to book JAL awards:

Go to Alaska’s website.
Search for your desired route (make sure you select Use Miles).
Select your desired flight and Add To Cart.
Login to your Alaska Mileage Plan account.
Pay the necessary taxes/fees and complete your JAL booking.

Hot Tip: Searching award availability for JAL is easy enough — you can do it on Alaska’s website. You will need to search the British Airways website for Cathay Pacific award availability and call Alaska to book.

Earning Alaska Mileage Plan Miles

Although the main disadvantage of Alaska Airlines miles is the lack of transfer partners, you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points and earn Alaska miles directly by applying for the Bank of America co-branded credit cards.

You can also purchase Alaska miles. You’re limited to 60,000 miles per transaction, but you can buy as many total miles as you want if you’re an elite member. Non-elite members are limited to 150,000 miles per year.

Alaska Airlines often offers discounts of up to 40% on purchased miles, so do look to buy miles at those times.

Bottom Line: If you have lots of Alaska miles or are capable of earning a ton of them, what better way to get to India than by flying on JAL? Otherwise, you can look into booking Cathay Pacific some awesome deals! You won’t be paying surcharges, which makes this method a no-brainer if you have a lot of Alaska miles.

American Airlines AAdvantage

Cathay Pacific First Class Seat — Cathay Pacific has a great first class product! The seat has massage functions and can comfortably fit 2 adult males! Image Credit: Alex Miller

American AAdvantage has a pretty simple award process. Although award prices on its own carrier-operated flights are dynamic and change with demand, you can find lower prices here on one-way flights than with Oneworld partners:

Cabin Class	Award Cost (Starting From)	Taxes and Fees
Economy	60,000	$5.60
Premium Economy	67,000	$5.60
Business	125,000	$5.60
First	160,000	$5.60

Meanwhile, all Saver-level, one-way Oneworld awards to India from the U.S. cost the same, as shown in the following table:

Cabin Class	Award Cost	Taxes and Fees
Economy	80,000	$40 to $160 (except British Airways and Iberia)
Premium Economy	125,000	$40 to $160 (except British Airways and Iberia)
Business	140,000	$40 to $160 (except British Airways and Iberia)

There are a few restrictions that American places on travel to the Indian Subcontinent:

“Transpacific travel to the Indian Subcontinent permitted via Hong Kong only. Travel for the transpacific sector to Hong Kong is permitted only on Cathay Pacific or American Airlines. Travel from Hong Kong to the Indian Subcontinent permitted on Cathay Pacific and SriLankan Airlines. Travel on other partners to the Indian Subcontinent is transatlantic only.”

This means that if you fly across the Pacific Ocean, you can only do it through Hong Kong, either on Cathay Pacific or American Airlines. Otherwise, you have to fly other partners across the Atlantic Ocean.

Here are some examples of great awards to India using AA miles:

Los Angeles (LAX) – London (LHR) – Mumbai (BOM) round-trip for 140,000 miles + ~$160 in taxes and fees in American Airlines business class and British Airways business class
New York (JFK) – Delhi (DEL) nonstop one-way for 78,000 miles + ~$5.60 in taxes and fees in American Airlines Flagship First class
San Francisco (SFO) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Chennai/Mumbai (MAA/BOM) round-trip for 140,000 miles + ~$160 in taxes and fees in Cathay Pacific business class

The best way to book using AA miles is by searching for award availability on British Airways and calling AA to book:

Visit British Airways and log in.
Select your route, travel dates, and class of service.
Note the flight number, date, and time.
Call American Airlines at 800-882-8880.
Ask them to search for first/business class award space on the desired airline (you might have to provide the flight number).
Provide all necessary info to complete the booking.

Hot Tip: Cathay Pacific might operate different planes on the same routes, which can result in less-than-desirable seating configurations. Be sure to check which airplane you’re flying before booking!

Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

Earning AAdvantage miles is made easy by the variety of co-branded credit cards offered by both Barclays and Citibank.

If your AA miles are not enough, you can top off your balance with Marriott Bonvoy points at a 3:1 ratio. However, using them here is definitely not your best bet, and we wouldn’t recommend transferring from Marriott Bonvoy unless you have a specific redemption in mind. It can take up to 2 business days to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to AA.

Bottom Line: AA wins a spot in this guide because of its ease of usage. Your best bets will be booking Cathay Pacific and American Airlines. You won’t pay fuel surcharges (unless you insist on flying BA or Iberia), and AA miles are easy to get through welcome bonuses. Remember to search for availability on BA.com and to make sure the airplane you’re flying is the best possible for your class of service (787 vs. A330 or A321).

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Delta One Suite Middle Seats — Try the industry-leading Delta One Suites to Shanghai or Seoul when using Air France/KLM Flying Blue to book awards to India. Image Credit: Delta

Generally speaking, SkyTeam awards are very expensive, and India isn’t necessarily a focus city for the SkyTeam airlines.

That being said, if flying on a specific SkyTeam airline such as Air France or China Airlines is high on your priority list, chances are you’re going to be booking with Air France/KLM Flying Blue.

As you might already know, Flying Blue took away its award chart and replaced it with a calculator and variable pricing. Generally speaking, the prices for round-trip awards from America will be somewhere around the following:

Economy	Premium Economy	Business	First
68,000	136,000	170,000	640,000

With this chart in mind, we definitely wouldn’t book first class (!) — that seems like a great way to throw away all your points.

You will almost always be responsible for paying for fuel surcharges in full, which is what makes this program even less valuable, with some notable exceptions.

Here are some example routes you can take to avoid $1,000+ in fuel surcharges:

Los Angeles (LAX) – Shanghai (PVG) – Delhi (DEL) round-trip for 170,000 miles plus $20 in taxes and fees in Delta One Suites on the A350 and China Eastern business class on the A330
New York (JFK) – Taipei (TPE) – Delhi (DEL) round-trip for 170,000 miles plus ~$250 to $300 in taxes and fees in China Airlines business class

Another added benefit is that Amex and Citi sometimes offer transfer bonuses of up to 35% to Flying Blue. This means that 170,000 miles will only cost ~125,926 points round-trip. This can help squeeze additional value from your points.

You can search for award availability through Air France/KLM and book awards completely online:

Go to the Air France website.
In the top right corner, click My Account and log in with your Username and Password.
After logging in and being returned to the homepage, click Use Your Miles.
Type in your airport information, dates, number of passengers, and class type.
Select your flights and pay for any taxes and fees.

Hot Tip: Be careful of “phantom availability” for partners! Call Flying Blue and confirm availability before transferring your points!

Don’t want to use your Flying Blue miles on a trip to India? Check out some other of the best ways to redeem Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles for max value.

Earning Air France/KLM Flying Blue Miles

Similar to Singapore Airlines, there are plenty of ways to earn lots of Flying Blue miles. It is, fortunately, a transfer partner with all of the 5 major points systems: Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

Business owner? Check out our guide to the best Chase business cards.

Bottom Line: If you have your heart set on flying a SkyTeam partner to India, Air France will probably be your best bet. It is a transfer partner of every major points currency, there are minimal fuel surcharges when using the right airlines, and the booking process is pretty easy.

Other Options To Fly to India

There are several other frequent flyer options to fly to India, including Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Korean Air, or Singapore Airlines. We did not include these in our main analysis for one or more of the following reasons:

High fuel surcharges
High award redemption rates
Lack of transfer partners
Unattractive flights/subpar airline options

For example, Korean Air charges 170,000 miles for round-trip business class, but you’ll have to pay huge fuel surcharges. On top of that, Korean Air miles are hard to earn, due to its sole transfer partner being Marriott Bonvoy.

Final Thoughts

There are plenty of ways to fly to India with points and miles. Although your options for flying nonstop are limited to Air Canada, Air India, American, and United for U.S. or Canadian flights, you can construct some pretty cool itineraries if you have some flexibility. For example, you can fly on Cathay Pacific to stopover in Hong Kong with Alaska Airlines

Be sure to seriously consider adding stopovers in other countries to get the most bang for your buck.

There’s a lot of value to be had when flying to India, especially when you fly there with points and miles!

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, click here.

Featured Image Credit: Sylwia Bartyzel via Unsplash

Frequently asked questions

Which airlines include carrier-imposed surcharges on award flights to India?

Alaska Airlines will impose fuel surcharges on all its flights, as will Avianca Airlines and Flying Blue.

Air France/KLM will impose fuel surcharges on most flights. Notable exceptions are Delta and Xiamen Airlines.

ANA imposes fuel surcharges on Air India flights, Lufthansa, ANA (~$400 round-trip), Austrian Airlines, and limited fuel surcharges on Air China.

Air Canada and United does not pass along any fuel surcharges.

What is the fewest number of miles you can use to book an economy class award flight to India?

Alaska Airlines only charges 50,000 miles one-way in economy for Cathay Pacific flights to India.

What is the fewest number of miles required to fly business class to India?

Alaska Airlines only charges 125,000 miles for round-trip business class on Cathay Pacific.

ANA will charge 100,000 miles during low season, 110,000 miles during regular season, and 115,000 miles during high season for round-trip business class flights operated by ANA.

You can also use 140,000 AAdvantage miles for round-trip Cathay Pacific business class.

What is the fewest number miles required to fly first class to India?

It will be cheapest to use 140,000 Alaska miles for round-trip Cathay Pacific first class.

ANA charges 195,000 miles during low and regular season and 210,000 miles during high season for round-trip first class on ANA.

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About Stephen Au

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Stephen has been privileged to enjoy many premium cabin products and 5-star hotels. As one of the foremost experts in credit cards, over the past 4 years, he has amassed a portfolio of over 70 credit cards, both personal and business. Stephen has personally tested, first-hand, almost every major rewards credit card on the market today, spanning banks such as American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, City National Bank, U.S. Bank, and more.

Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.

38 comments

Marie February 4, 2019

Hi, thank you for all that. i am feeling quite lost after reading all this information. i am new to mileage traveling. I want to fly out of Florida going to India stopping in Europe on my way there or back. What would you suggest?

Reply
- Stephen Au February 5, 2019
  
  Hey Marie,
  
  There are too many options based on the information you provided. We need more information such as what miles and points you have, what airports you want to fly out of, which city you want to stop at in Europe, etc.
  
  Thanks!
  
  Reply
Gary Sandhu April 2, 2019

A friend and I want to fly to Delhi from Los Angeles in the first week in Nov using American Express points and Chase Ultimate Rewards for Business Class. What is the best option for us?

I have never used points and don’t know anything about the redemption of points.

Reply
- Stephen Au April 2, 2019
  
  Hey Gary,
  
  It is probably best to figure out what airlines you want to fly first. This guide goes in-depth on which points to use to fly to India. Try reading through this guide and figuring out as much as you can by reading this guide.
  
  Reply
B. Lee April 10, 2019

I have 98,000 Singapore Airlines (Krisflyer) miles that will expire in a few months. Can I use them to fly from SFO (or SEA) to fly to India (DEL) business class? If not, what great deals/options to use them—I’m also interested in South America (Bolivia) or Turkey (Istanbul). Thanks for your help!

Reply
- Stephen Au April 17, 2019
  
  Hey Lee,
  
  Unfortunately, you don’t have enough miles to get to India from SFO in Singapore Airlines Business Class. You’ll need 109,000 for a Saver award. You should consider a flight from SFO to Singapore in Business, which will cost 95,000 miles one-way!
  
  Thanks for reading.
  
  Reply
narkmrsou April 13, 2019

Hey Stephen,
Thank you for great article. I have TYP from citi and would like to utilize for a trip to South India. am based of NY/NJ area and would prefer to fly from EWR or JFK. what is the cheapest option in miles including surcharge/taxes to travel MAA (India) for example. Based on your article, seems Alaska miles for Emirates or United seems better. Do you recommend anything as best for the cheapest miles ? Am not considering business/first class at this moment.

Reply
- Stephen Au April 17, 2019
  
  Hey, there’s too little information provided here. For example, do you want nonstop flights to India versus connecting flights?
  
  What miles do you have? One of the best options is using ANA miles. Another option is AA miles too.
  
  Reply
Sam April 28, 2019

Steve, I want to close my wife and my amex cards to avoid the $1,100 (combined) annual fees by May 7th. We have a combined ~270,000 amex points to transfer. In our chase ultimate rewards we have combined ~700,000 account. Sometime this year a trip to Delhi/Mumbai is in the cards from Houston. Two questions; 1. Which program should I transfer my amex points to get best value on business/first class to India. 2. If we weren’t to travel to India, which transfer would yield the best value on domestic US travel. Thanks!

Reply
- Stephen Au April 28, 2019
  
  Hey Sam,
  
  1. You can consider transferring to ANA with AmEx points. The best ways are listed in the above article.
  
  2. Best value domestic U.S. travel is generally with British Airways Avios or Southwest miles.
  
  Reply
AJ June 17, 2019

Hi Stephen, That is great analysis. However I did not get why you mentioned answer 55k for the question What is the fewest number of miles you can use to book an economy class award flight to India?
When there are United economy 42500k onw way. Delta 40k one way. Is 55k miles for round trip on ANA?

Reply
- Stephen Au June 17, 2019
  
  Hey AJ,
  
  This is a round-trip cost. Thanks for reading.
  
  Reply
JD June 29, 2019

Hi Stephen ,

Thank you for this wonderful article, I have 180k Chase ultimate rewards points, and I want to travel business class to india(Delhi) from LAX. What would be my best travel option with transfer of points. I think I can transfer the points to United mileage plus and travel on United airlines for 180k +Tax. But not sure if 180k is for round trip or one way?
Thanks

Reply
- Stephen Au June 30, 2019
  
  Hey JD,
  
  If you’ve got 180,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the best bet is to transfer to United MileagePlus. Currently, it costs 85,000 miles one-way if you can locate saver award availability. If it says anything more, it’s not the cheapest cost. Thanks for reading.
  
  Reply
  - Jd July 1, 2019
    
    Hi Stephen,
    
    Thanks for replying. How do I find out if there is a availability of the saver award? I only see everyday award when I look for the tickets on United.
    
    Reply
    - Stephen Au July 2, 2019
      
      Hi JD,
      
      There’s no “simple” way to find availability on the saver level. You have to sift through the different dates and see what the airlines release.
      
      Reply
john August 1, 2019

Hi Stephen,
I really enjoy reading your articles.
I’d like to fly business class on Emirates from SFO to Chennai, India in late October, or Jan 2020. I have 125K miles on United which I don’t think can used for travel upgrades with Emirates. I’m looking at signing up with a credit card to jump start miles which can be used on Emirates. I bill about 2k/month on Credit Card with FedEx, so that’s helpful for sure.
Any suggestions on which credit card to consider? Capital One has 2:1 point for miles on Emirates, and I’m not sure about point:miles with Bank Of America /Alaska Airlines card.
John

Reply
- Stephen Au August 6, 2019
  
  John,
  
  If you want to fly Emirates business class, you’ll want to earn either Amex points or Marriott points. In your timeframe, it may not be practical to book Emirates business class, as you’ll need time to accrue points and search for award availability.
  
  Reply
JJoseph August 8, 2019

Hi Stephen,

Great article with lots of information. I really enjoyed reading it.

Question: I have about 250,000 miles with Star Alliance split been United and Avianca. About 150,000 of that is with United. My wife and I are planning to visit India and we would like to fly in Business class. The plan is to fly from Houston to New Delhi/Mumbai. But since my points are split between two airlines, can I use my United MileagePlus miles to book a ticket on the Avianca website as they’re partners?

Thanks,
JJ

Reply
- Andrew Kunesh August 8, 2019
  
  Hey JJ, thanks for reaching out.
  
  Avianca and United are both Star Alliance partners and can largely book the same award tickets. So while you can’t use United MileagePlus miles to book a ticket on Avianca’s website, you can book your wife’s ticket with Avianca LifeMiles and your ticket with United MileagePlus miles (or vice-versa). Just make sure that the flight has two award seats available by searching for two tickets.
  
  Reply
Jito August 18, 2019

Hello,
I have some Amex points, can you tell me which airlines are the best option to travel from Wichita,KS to BOM in first class?

Reply
- Jarrod West August 19, 2019
  
  Hi Jito,
  
  Using Amex Membership Rewards your best options would likely be Aeroplan, Avianca, or ANA. This can vary based on availability and if Amex is running any sort of transfer bonuses.
  
  All three of those programs fall within Star Alliance, so search for availability on United, Air Canada, and ANA’s site, and pay close attention to the operating airline during your search.
  
  Thanks for reading!
  
  Reply
kesavan October 16, 2019

I am interested in using my delta miles to fly to Chennai – MAA from IAD. Prefer business class. Not sure of the best way/airlines for this award? Please help

Reply
- Stephen Au October 16, 2019
  
  Hi kesavan
  
  Flying business class to India is definitely a great goal to have. If you’ve read through our guide and still need help, you can consider using my consulting services. Please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].
  
  Reply
Rakesh B Patel January 4, 2020

FYI – Alaska Mileage Plan allows for JAL JFK -> NRT -> DEL for 60k miles one-way for Business and 70k miles for First class to NRT and Business to DEL. Layover is long at NRT though going – had not checked return layover time. Have to call in for Cathay Pacific at 62.5k for business and 70k for first to HKG and business to DEL, but availability searching requires a bit of work.

Reply
- Stephen Au January 4, 2020
  
  Hi Rakesh,
  
  Thanks for your feedback. I just checked with Alaska Airlines, and the price for JFK – NRT – DEL is 62,500 Alaska miles in business and 70,000 miles in first. Cathay Pacific is the same.
  
  Reply
  - Rakesh B Patel April 21, 2020
    
    FYI – JAL is still 60k/70k for JFK to DEL – flights go via HND instead now. Bookable online, unlike the work required to search for flights on BA and call in to Alaska to book Cathay. Would be nice if Cathay was online as well. I’m sure the award rates will change at some point though with Alaska joining Oneworld. The JAL first class is usually limited to 2 seats and shows up close (within 2 months of flights) for Jan time frame. Checking for Cathay via BA did not show much availability unfortunately at the time I checked and BA likes to stick to showing their flights over partners.
    
    Reply
    - Stephen Au April 22, 2020
      
      Hey Rakesh,
      
      Thanks for catching that. I updated the guide accordingly to reflect this.
      
      Reply
Tabitha April 10, 2020

How did you land this itinerary? ” San Francisco (SFO) – Hong Kong (HKG) – Chennai/Mumbai (MAA/BOM) round-trip for 140,000 AA miles + ~$160 in taxes & fees in Cathay Pacific first class”
I’m currently looking for PHL-DEL MAA-PHL and premium economy on AA shows up a 125k miles. Wondering what I’m missing!

Reply
- Stephen Au April 14, 2020
  
  Tabitha,
  
  You have to find availability for that ticket. Also, that price is in Alaska Airlines miles, not AA miles. Those are totally different mileage systems.
  
  Reply
Sameer February 11, 2021

Hey Stephen, Can you suggest what airline partners are best for Qatar Airlines from JFK to India? I read that Qmiles are terrible for redemptions, so would my best bet would be through Oneworld? Any additional insight on that is appreciated.

Reply
- Jarrod West March 12, 2021
  
  Hi Sameer,
  
  Just to clarify, are you asking which miles you should redeem for a flight with Qatar Airways? Or are you asking where you should credit the miles you will earn from a Qatar Airways flight?
  
  If it is a booking question then using AA miles is perhaps the best way to book Qatar flights. You can view our booking guide on it for more information.
  
  If you’re wondering where you should credit the miles you earn from a Qatar Airways flight, that will largely depend on which loyalty programs on the most useful to you. I recommend you use a tool like wheretocredit.com to help determine this. Personally, I would credit to American Airlines, but your mileage may vary.
  
  Thanks for reading!
  
  Reply
Arun March 19, 2021

Hey Stephen, I have around 90000 Amex Points (Gold Card). Could you please guide me or let me know if there is a way to book direct flights to Bangalore, IN from SFO, which is currently offered only by United and Air India (prefer United). I also have Chase points that are easily transferrable to United but for AMEX, one has to route through Star Alliance/Aeroplan/ANA etc. and the problem with that is, you cannot book the direct flights (layover in Canada or Japan depending on which route you choose). I am looking to combine my points.

Would really appreciate your suggestion/advice.

Thanks
AV

Reply
- Jarrod West April 6, 2021
  
  Hi Arun,
  
  You are correct that your only two direct flight options are via United or Air India. If you prefer to fly with United, then you’ll want to transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to Air Canada Aeroplan (their Star Alliance partner) to book the ticket. You can search for award availability directly on the Aeroplan website, here is our guide on how to do just that.
  
  The ticket should cost 60,000 points if you want to fly in economy and 85,000 points if you want to fly in business class.
  
  Best of luck with your search and thanks for reading!
  
  Reply
Sunny November 6, 2022

One sweet spot I would add is Qatar Airways using AA miles. 70k points + ~$40 in taxes/fees in QSuites one way. More hoops to make the booking but lots of options from multiple cities in the US with the ability to connect to multiple cities in India

Reply
- Sam November 21, 2022
  
  Sunny, could you share the process for Amex points to be transferred to AA and then book Qatar flight.
  
  Reply
- Anup December 12, 2022
  
  Sunny, I am curious about this also. I’ve been searching for redemption options on QR but I don’t believe the award space is shared with partners online. Can you share your findings?
  
  Reply
- Sunny December 16, 2022
  
  You can’t transfer Amex to AA. You can use Bilt though to transfer to AA. The other option is to transfer Amex to BA, which can also book Qatar if available, thought the price comes to 85k points + ~$100 in taxes. Lots of transfer bonuses to Avios come up for Amex and Chase through the year
  
  Note that QR availability doesn’t show up on AA most times. You can check availability using BA and then call up American to book. Takes a lot of time and you need to specify which fights and dates you want. I was able to book QSuites from JFK-BLR this way.
  
  Reply