I have two options available for India to Japan 2pax business class

Delhi Vietnam Tokyo - 120k + 60k inr

Bangalore Doha Tokyo - 155k + 50k inr

I am thinking to get Doha to Tokyo for 120k + 30k and get revenue ticket for BLR Doha.

Suggestions?

A month ago I was seeing qatar airway award flight to Amsterdam from Bombay for Bombay however now I see the same for 110k. I am looking to book tickets for next year during May. What could be the possible reason for sudden increase in award flight and is it going to reduce. Need expert opinion

Hey folks,
Planning a family trip with my spouse and our 3-year-old in august.
We are splitting the stay: 3 nights in Kuala Lumpur and 3 nights in Langkawi.
I’m looking to burn my HDFC DCBM points via the SmartBuy portal, so the properties must be bookable there.

looking for solid, child-friendly 5-star properties that offer great comfort accessible luxury.

What we need:
1 KL: Central location, ideally near parks/walkable areas for a toddler, and good breakfast spreads.

2 Langkawi: Great swimmable beachfront, family-friendly pools, or a kids' club.

What are your top recommendations for both locations that fit this budget on SmartBuy?
Thanks!

I’m planning a Japan trip in October 2027 (yes, next year) and want to start optimizing my points earning + transfer strategy now. I’ll likely book flights around March–April 2027.

Travelers:

• Me
• Wife
• 1.5 year old son (will need his own seat, not lap infant)

Cards / points I currently have:

• HSBC Premier India
• Axis Atlas
• Wife has Amex Platinum Travel

Current balances:

• Axis Atlas: ~13,500 EDGE Miles
• HSBC: ~13,000 points
• Amex: ~100,000 MR points
• Accor: ~100,600 ALL points

Because I already have a large Accor balance, I’m somewhat inclined toward moving future HSBC points to Accor, but I’m not sure if that’s the best move for Japan flight redemptions.

Goal:

• Direct Delhi ↔ Tokyo flight
• Prefer Premium Economy or Business
• Ideally with points for one-way or round trip
• Looking for best airline programs / transfer partners / sweet spots

Questions:

1. Which program should I focus on from now till 2027?
2. Is Air India Flying Returns/Maharaja Club worth targeting?
3. Better options via Avios / KrisFlyer / JAL / ANA / Air India?
4. Should I avoid transferring HSBC points to Accor and instead save for airline transfers?
5. Any realistic expectation on points needed for 2 adults + child in premium economy/business?

Would really appreciate guidance from people who actively do India → Japan award bookings 🙏

Hello

Wanted to transfer Axis points to qantas to book emirates flight but the transfer failed twice. Axis name is same as aadhar but qantas name is as passport (given name plus surname).

Any work around and I assume this will be the case for all airline partners right so how does one transfer? If i keep the name same as aadhar on qantas, will I be able to change my name when making a booking?

Thank you all

Hello,
I have booked tickets using SmartBuy via ease my trip vendor. Airline rescheduled flights by 5+hrs. I would have assumed full refund means with convenience fee etc which costed me 5k for a 55k booking. EMT saying they can’t refund convenience fee and service fees. Is that info correct?

(please treat this like a redemption puzzle and roast my strategy if needed 😅)

Trip window: June 6 – June 18 (approx)

traveling with my wife. so it’s a 2pax trip.

Route: Delhi → Tokyo, and planning Tokyo + Kyoto + Osaka

Current stash:

- Axis Magnus Burgundy: 120k
- Axis Atlas: 70k miles
- HDFC Biz Power: 80k
- Kotak Solitaire: 30k
- JAL Mileage Bank: 100k miles (transferred from M4B)
- Amex Plat Travel: 250k MR
- Accor: 15k points

What I’ve found so far:

✅ JAL Business Class looks like the best flight sweet spot so far
- Seeing options around 50k–70k JAL miles one-way for 1 pax depending on dates/cabin availability

❌ Hotels are where I’m struggling
- Marriott route via Amex is looking pretty weak for my dates (barely seeing meaningful redemption value)
- Axis → Accor is dead now 😭 so that easy hotel route is gone

Goals:

- Best value DEL → Tokyo redemption (economy / premium economy / business all open, but leaning business if value is solid)
- Good hotel redemptions or transfer strategies for:
- Tokyo
- Kyoto
- Osaka

Questions for the experts:

1. Would you burn 100k JAL miles on flights immediately or save some for something smarter?
2. Best use of 250k Amex MR here? Airline > hotel?
3. Which hotel programs are actually useful for Japan right now from India-issued cards?
4. Best areas to stay for a first timer?
   - Tokyo?
   - Kyoto?
   - Osaka?

Also welcome:
- Shinkansen/JR pass hacks
- Airport transfer hacks
- Food recommendations
- “Don’t make this mistake in Japan” wisdom

If this was your points balance, what would you book first

Based in banglore

Holds regalia gold

Got 10k worth flight vouchers for meeting 7.5L milestone.

Total 30k regalia gold points accumulated

Looking for a budget travel option within India for a family of 3. 2 adults and 1 kid

Date- post the summer. Destination- open to any location except just a major city with no scenic spots

What options are available?

My wife and I are planning to go to Japan in April next year. I’m starting to plan now itself as we’d like to experience business class most importantly for our travel.

Points I currently have:
DCBM- ~2L
Marriott - 130k
HSBC Premier - 35k

I’d like to book tickets and keep already as I’ve expected dates in mind around 16th April to 1st May. I just looked at SIA one way and it’s asking for almost 130k points for one way business which makes it infeasible.

Any help guidance on how to move ahead is highly appreciated.

I was completely new to the credit card miles game till a few months back.

For years, I only had basic cards like ICICI Amazon Pay, Axis Flipkart, and Scapia mainly for UPI. Never really understood how people were getting “free” travel through points and miles.

Then we started planning a Singapore trip with my wife and 2 kids, and through Reddit I discovered the whole miles/rewards ecosystem.

I upgraded to Axis Horizon and also applied for HSBC TravelOne (T1), which luckily got approved. Total joining fees I paid were around ₹9.5k.

Here’s how things worked out:

Flights

Booked 4 Air India round-trip tickets to Singapore via HSBC Hopper for \~85k.

Got:

\- 13.5k points back

\- Additional 3k bonus after crossing ₹1 lakh spend milestone

Axis Horizon rewards

Accumulated around 9k points total (including welcome + regular spends).

Hotels

Got Accor Explorer membership effectively for \~₹15k after 2k points return.

Booked Grand Mercure Singapore for 6 nights at \~₹65k after using:

\- 1 free night from Accor Explorer

\- 25k points redeemed from Axis + HSBC

\- 2k bonus points from Accor

Actual out-of-pocket for hotel became only around ₹8–9k.

So effectively:

\- Flights + 6-night hotel stay for family of 4 cost me around ₹94k total.

And the savings didn’t stop there.

In Singapore:

\- HSBC T1 gave Marina Bay elite membership benefits

\- Got free tickets for:

\- SkyPark Observatory

\- ArtScience Museum

\- Sampan rides

Used HSBC T1 for most spends there because of 0 forex till June + 4% rewards.

Total trip expense including:

\- cabs everywhere

\- food

\- Universal Studios

\- Aquarium

\- Cable Car

\- Gardens by the Bay

\- Boat rides

\- other attractions

came to around ₹2 lakhs all-inclusive for a family of 4. Its inclusive of joining fees and accor membership. Still have 1 night left with accor and 1k points in accor.

Honestly, without Reddit and all the people sharing knowledge around cards, points, rewards, hotel programs, and hacks, I would never have figured any of this out.

Big thanks to everyone who contributes here and helps beginners learn 🙌

Looking for Bali (DPS) flight from delhi. The points coming are 24K for return fare. As I have less points, I am unable to see the tax amount. Can anybody confirm the tax amount of the same.

Checking everyday at 3am Doha time, for the last available date. Everyday exactly at 3am the day opens up but literally at 3:00:00 I see directly the flexi rate. For anywhere in Europe (Zurich, Paris, Rome etc).

Is there any strategy to book saver rates? Because not sure if Saver rates are even released 362/3 days in advanced. Checking everyday for last 2 weeks for the last available date in May 2027.

I have an Indian passport and a valid Schengen visa.

My return flight from Amsterdam to Mumbai is via London Heathrow with a 5 hr 15 min layover.

Same booking/PNR, same day transit at Heathrow

Do I still need a UK transit visa or can I transit airside without one?

Would appreciate if anyone has done this recently.

Eyeing a redemption to Europe later this year, my options are

28k avios + 8514inr for finair eco

42k avios + 14146inr for finair prem eco

25k aeroplan + 7253inr for LOT polish eco

45k aeroplan + 7253inr for LOT poilsh business

The LOT polish business is the older 787 seats with little privacy. Is it worth it? Which of the three would you go for?

https://preview.redd.it/iy4sy4o8am1h1.jpg?width=879&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d19302318b48082623d318d17d4178d484ad45a6

https://preview.redd.it/3044l5o8am1h1.jpg?width=873&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84fefe41f79a6a747f4ec85e05c06dfd9881c95f

https://preview.redd.it/829i36o8am1h1.jpg?width=879&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=947ac3f224cad91bbdd4419d3df93ed414a829ea

https://preview.redd.it/3o4uk7o8am1h1.jpg?width=923&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a098b9a3d30b2858aee8dc1180562e19b98e87b

Posting this as some of the rates are so mouth watering that I ended up booking

Though JW is slightly on the outskirts of Mussourie it has a lot of inhouse fun activities and is a retreat for the full family and couples. It has consistently retailed at 35-40K plus taxes and is difficult to get bookings on rewards at low rates.

Two bookings I locked in to show what's actually possible:

• Feb 4-9, 2027 (5 nights): 162,000 points vs ₹196,735 cash → ~1.21 INR per point
• Sept 19-24, 2026 (5 nights): 172,000 points vs ₹212,990 cash → ~1.24 INR per point

Both come out to roughly ₹40k/night in cash terms, redeemed for ~32-34k points/night after the 5th night free.

1 year Calendar View - I even analyzed almost 10-11 months and below is my analysis.

• July 13 – Sept 26, 2026: longest stretch of LOW rates (172k for 5 nights). Catch is it's monsoon/end-of-monsoon, so weather is a gamble.
• Sept 13-26: the sweet spot imo. Still LOW pricing, monsoon mostly clearing, greenery at its peak.
• Oct onwards: points pricing jumps fast. Long weekends and Diwali are 250-280k for 5 nights.
• Feb 4, 2027: the single cheapest date for a 5-night stay at 162k. Weather should be solid.
• March 21, 2027: another LOW at 161k, but isolated.

Why I think it's worth

1. Some nice windows of award opportunity if you are flexible.
2. 1.2+ INR/point is good value for Indian properties.
3. 5th night free stacks nicely on the LOW dates.
4. Free cancellation lets you hold something while you decide.

If you've got the points and any flexibility on dates, lock the LOW dates now. Worst case you cancel. Happy to answer questions on the booking process or transfer ratios if anyone needs them.

(Got this post rewritten by ChatGpt for clarity)

Hi,

I’m planning my honeymoon to Tokyo next year and looking for 2 Business Class award tickets from BLR/BOM/DEL → Tokyo for March/April 2027.

Here’s my current points stack:

• HDFC DCB — 110k
• Amex MR — 83k
• Axis Edge Miles — 12k
• Accor — 44k

So far, I’ve narrowed it down to these options:

Option 1 — Singapore Airlines

Route: BLR → SIN → NRT

• ~175k KrisFlyer miles + ~₹10k taxes total (will need to burn HDFC + AMEX + Axis)
• Seeing some availability around late April
• A350/B737 (BLR-SIN) + A350 Medium Haul/777-300ER/787(SIN-NRT)

Option 2 — Vietnam Airlines via Flying Blue

• ~110k Flying Blue miles + ~₹60k taxes
• Decent availability from around 15 April onward
• Boeing 787 for both routes

The challenge is the HDFC transfer cap of 75k/month, so realistically I can only complete the transfers by early June.

My concerns:

• Japan’s Golden Week starts around late April → early May, which probably explains why SQ availability is still open for those dates.
• By early June, I’m worried the only remaining options for Japan will be late May onward (and that’s when the rainy season starts kicking in).
• Vietnam Airlines availability feels more realistic by then, but the taxes are painful.

I have tried Korean availability on Flying Blue but can get 1 J class at max.

Any alternatives I should consider?

Hi,

I am planning for a 10 day trip to Europe in September, I have a few accor points through which I can book hotels, is Explorer worth for Euro trip? The extra 5% that you get and are there any realistic benefits for 20k membership?

Planning a US trip for two in September - Delhi to New York first, and returning from SF back to Delhi.

Seeing poor points value on redemptions though - like:

1. I need 80k avios points for Delhi to New York on Qatar, for a ticket costing 1.3L - that's about 1.5 inr/pt.

2. SF to Delhi on United costs 128k miles using KrisFlyer - for tickets worth 1.3L - that's 1 inr/pt. Any other airline also pretty much works out to be 1 inr/pt - like Virgin, Qatar even less so. Emirates has too many taxes to make it worth it.

I'm using to Accor delivering 2.1 inr/pt and would like to redeem at close to that as possible. 1 inr/pt seems to be my ceiling, at least on the return.

Any advice?

1. Lounge Access: Access to the lounges at Zayed International Airport is available only for Etihad Guest members flying on Etihad Airways operated flights. Etihad Guest Gold members travelling in Economy are not eligible to access the U.S. Preclearance lounge or the Arrivals lounge. Etihad guest members traveling on codeshare flights, for instance, flights that are marketed by Etihad Airways and operated by other airlines, are not eligible to access Etihad premium lounges. Etihad Guest Gold and above members travelling on Etihad Airways operated flights may access our worldwide lounges (excluding skyteam and oneworld lounges). For companion access, the accompanying guest must be on the same flight booking.

This is written on website but not clear.