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Are you a frequent flyer who takes regular flights for official work and/or personal reasons? If yes, your regular Air India flights can earn you a host of privileges through the Maharaja Club program.
In this article, we will understand what the Maharaja Club is, its features and benefits, and how to transfer credit card reward points to the program and book free Air India flights.
What is the Maharaja Club?
Maharaja Club is the frequent flyer program (FFP) of Air India. It provides members with reward points and other benefits based on membership tier. The member benefits include redeeming points for free flights, cabin upgrades, excess baggage allowance, lounge access, priority check-in and boarding, and more. The higher the membership tier, the more the member benefits.
Let us look at the various membership tiers, their criteria, and their benefits.
Tier benefits
Red
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Qualification criteria
Base tier
15,000 tier points (4,500 through Air India flights)
OR
30 flights (4 through Air India)
30,000 tier points (9,000 through Air India flights)
OR
60 flights (8 through Air India)
45,000 tier points (13,500 through Air India flights)
OR
90 flights (12 through Air India)
Maharaja points per Rs. 100 spent on Air India
6
8
9
10
Tier points per Rs. 100 spent on Air India
6
6
6
6
Priority connect through a dedicated helpline
NA
Yes
Yes
Yes
Fee waiver for itinerary changes for domestic flights
NA
Rs. 1,000 flat fee for 1X change per ticket
Free for 1X change per ticket
Free for 2X change per ticket
Fee waiver for itinerary changes for international flights
NA
NA
Free for 1X change per ticket
Free for 2X change per ticket
Fee waiver for domestic flight cancellation
NA
NA
Rs. 1,199 fee
Free
Complimentary seat selection
NA
NA
On standard seats
On all seats
Cabin upgrade vouchers upon tier renewal and upgrade
NA
1X – 6 months validity
2X – 9 months validity
3X – 12 months validity
Priority check-in
NA
Yes
Yes
Yes
Excess baggage allowance
NA
+5 kg
+20 kg
+20 kg
Lounge access with 1 guest
NA
NA
Yes
Yes
Priority boarding
NA
Yes
Yes
Yes
The above are some of the member benefits. To know about the entire list of benefits and their detailed terms and conditions, refer to the Air India website.
The membership of Maharaja Club is lifetime free. A member starts with the Red tier and can work their way up to the Platinum tier, as mentioned in the above table. A member earns 2 bonus Maharaja points per Rs. 100 spent for direct bookings on the Air India website and App. They can earn and redeem Maharaja points for flights on Air India and any of the 24 Star Alliance partner airlines.
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Earning Maharaja points
A member can earn Maharaja points by booking flight tickets and flying with Air India or any of the 24 Star Alliance partner airlines. Maharaja points can also be earned on every purchase made with partners. Some of these partners include:
- Ferns N Petals
- Apple Store Online
- Zoomcar
- Fitpass
- Matrix Cellular
- iCruise
- Avis
- Healthians Labs
- Walmart
- Victoria’s Secret
The above are some of the partners. For the entire list of partners, refer to the Air India website. Members usually earn 4 to 24 Maharaja points for every Rs. 100 spent on the partner brands. To know the partner-specific details about points earned for every Rs. 100 spent, refer to the Air India website.
Transfer of credit card reward points
Some banks have partnered with Air India to allow their credit cardholders to transfer credit card reward points to the Maharaja Club. These banks include:
- Yes Bank
- AU Small Finance Bank
- HDFC Bank
- DBS Bank
- SBI Card
- ICICI Bank
- HSBC
- Axis Bank
The transfer ratio differs among banks and among different cards offered by the same bank. For example, the transfer ratio for HDFC Bank Regalia Gold Credit Card is 3:1 (3 reward points = 1 Maharaja point). For HDFC Bank Infinia and Diners Black credit cards, the transfer ratio is 2:1.
The Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card offers one of the best transfer ratios of 1:2 (1 reward point = 2 Maharaja points). The transfer ratio for ICICI Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card is 1:1. For HSBC Premier and Travel One credit cards, the transfer ratio is 1:1, while for HSBC Platinum, it is 2:1. To know about the transfer ratios for all banks and their credit cards, refer to the Air India website.
Once you submit a request for the transfer of credit card reward points, it may take 2 to 10 days for the Maharaja points to reflect in your Maharaja Club Account. To know about the timelines for the transfer of credit card reward points of various banks, refer to the Air India website.
Redeeming points for free flights
In the earlier section, we understood how to convert credit card reward points into Maharaja Club points. You can then use the Maharaja points to book free flights on Air India and any of the 24 Star Alliance partner airlines. You can use the ‘Points Calculator’ on the Air India website to know how many Maharaja points are required for booking a flight. You need to enter travel details like place of origin, destination, travel class, membership tier, etc. It will show you the points requirement for value fare and prime fare.
Members can use the Maharaja points for cabin class upgrades also. For example, a member can upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy, Premium Economy to Business, or Business to First Class, etc. using Maharaja points.
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Should you join the Maharaja Club?
Air India is India’s second-largest domestic airline after Indigo. Along with good domestic connectivity, it has a strong international flight network. Being a Star Alliance member, it allows you to fly with any of the 24 alliance partner airlines.
With the Maharaja Club program, you can earn and redeem Maharaja points on flights taken with Air India or the Star Alliance partner airlines. Depending on the membership tier, the other benefits include cabin class upgrade, complimentary seat selection, lounge access, excess baggage allowance, priority check-in and boarding, etc.
You can transfer credit card reward points to your Maharaja Club account and use them to book free flights and/or upgrade cabin class. Hence, if you are a frequent Air India flyer, you must join the Maharaja Club and enjoy its benefits.
Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience. He can be reached at LinkedIn.
