I am planning to take the Taj Epicure ₹50K membership. Both my wife and I choose to stay at premium to luxury properties atleast 4-6 days or more in a year. But I can see that not all the IHCL/Taj properties are part of this. Not sure if it’s worth buying. Suggestions and feedback from past/current member please or even if you knew better and didn’t take it, lemme know.
I need some help to decide which CC is best for my use-case:
I am looking at redeeming these points for travel only. Also, my monthly take home is around ₹2.5L, 29 years old with civil score 800+ What do you guys suggest?
EDIT (24 min in): Correction, thanks to u/runnycharisma — I mis-labelled cabins in my table. The 65K Avios figure is Economy on the Qsuite-configured aircraft, not Business. Actual Qsuite Business is 130K Avios one-way BLR→LHR. The general "same seat, dramatically different taxes across the Avios family" pattern still holds, but the specific numbers below need this correction. Leaving the original post intact for transparency and re-doing the pricing properly.
65,000 Avios for a ₹2 lakh Qsuite Business seat from BLR to London. Spent an afternoon pricing this trip across every Avios-family programme reachable from India, and the gap between programmes is bigger than I expected. Sharing screenshots because I couldn't find a clean India-first comparison anywhere.
For Fri 22 Jan 2027, BLR→LHR one-way, off-peak calendar:
| Airline / route | Cash fare | Avios cost |
|:---|:---|:---|
| Qatar Qsuite Business (via DOH) | ₹2,04,014 | **65,000 Avios + taxes** |
| Qatar Economy (via DOH) | ₹26,040 | 32,500 Avios + taxes |
| BA Business (direct) | ₹1,71,208 – ₹2,17,336 | *couldn't check — see below* |
| Finnair Economy (BA-operated direct) | — | **33,000 Avios + ₹27,127** |
| Air India Business (2-stop, 22h) | ₹2,86,179 | — |
**The Qsuite finding**
65k Avios against a ~₹2L cash fare is the standout. Qatar publishes a fixed off-peak/peak chart and no fuel surcharges on Qatar metal — the price doesn't spike on demand. Whole week 19–25 Jan is off-peak at 32,500 for economy. Sat/Sun show no availability but the rest of the week is open.
**The Finnair trap worth knowing**
Same physical BA aircraft, BLR→LHR direct. Booked through Finnair Plus: 33,000 Avios plus ₹27,127 in "taxes and fees." The cash portion is essentially the full economy fare. Just because Finnair uses Avios doesn't mean the redemption is worthwhile — always check what the airline charges on top of the miles.
**The BA thing you should know before you try**
BA's own site geo-blocks Indian IPs at the login page. I hit "Access denied" on accounts.britishairways.com from a normal Bangalore connection today. Even if you want to check BA Avios pricing directly for a BA-operated flight, you can't from here without a VPN. Factor this in before you transfer points into Executive Club.
**Practical takeaway**
If you have Avios sitting anywhere in the family (Amex MR, HDFC, Axis via transfer, direct Finnair earnings, whatever), and you're eyeing a BLR→Europe premium trip, price it through Qatar Privilege Club first. Cleanest deal from India: fixed chart, no fuel surcharges on Qatar metal, real availability on their site, and — practically speaking — the only Avios programme that even lets you search from India without a fight.
Not a booking I've made — this is research I did across Qatar, Finnair, and BA sites on 4 Sep 2026. Verify current pricing on the airline's own site before you transfer points; award pricing and taxes change, and transfers between programmes are almost always irreversible.
Happy to answer questions on specific card→Avios transfer paths (HDFC Diners, Axis Atlas, Amex MR India) if useful.