Air India Maharaja Club

Air India Maharaja Club is the loyalty program of Air India, the Tata-owned post-privatization flag carrier and Star Alliance member since July 2014. The fleet sits at 200+ aircraft post-Vistara merger and is growing fast on a massive Airbus and Boeing order with deliveries through 2030. The November 2024 Vistara merger absorbed roughly 4.5 million Club Vistara members into Maharaja Club at 1:1 with a one-year tier-validity extension, and the April 2026 award-chart overhaul cut economy pricing by up to 60% on Air India metal - the chart moved DOWN, which is unusual.

For US travelers the program is hard to access. None of Amex MR, Chase UR, Capital One, Citi, Bilt, Wells Fargo, or Marriott Bonvoy currently transfer directly. Indian-issued bank co-brand cards (Axis, HSBC, ICICI) earn into Maharaja Club but require Indian residency. The niche US bridge is Rove Miles (rove.io), a flexible currency aggregator transferring 1:1; verify before relying. The headline post-April-2026 sweet spot is DEL to 12 international destinations - BKK, SIN, KUL, DPS, MNL, HKT, SGN, DXB, DOH, JED, RUH, NBO - at 12,000 points one-way economy. Status and Star Alliance reciprocity work normally; the challenge is getting points into the account.

Maharaja Club uses a flat zone-based award chart (post April 2026). Sample one-way saver pricing as of May 2026:

Verify current pricing on airindia.com - April 2026 chart is recent and per-route edges may settle.

• DEL to 12 international cities at 12,000 points one-way economy post-April-2026 chart - the headline sweet spot.
• Domestic India from 1,500 points - cheap intra-India one-offs.
• Star Alliance partner awards routed through Maharaja Club at the published partner chart.
• United US domestic short-haul partner award from 3,500 points (per AwardWallet).
• Status credit for the 4.5 million migrated Club Vistara members - one-year tier-validity extension at the merger.

• DEL-BKK / SIN / DPS / DXB economy at 12,000 points one-way - 60% chart cut in April 2026 made this one of Asia's sharpest economy redemptions.
• Domestic India from 1,500 points - the cheapest intra-Asia award in the Star Alliance set.
• United US domestic short-haul partner award from 3,500 points when off-peak.
• Star Alliance partner business class at the published chart - verify post-2026 pricing.
• Vistara migration credit - migrated balances retained original expiry, which is more generous than fresh Maharaja accounts.

Air India operates Maharaja Lounges at DEL, BOM, BLR, HYD, MAA, and GOI. Gold and Platinum members get Maharaja Lounge access on same-day Air India or Star Alliance flights, plus Star Alliance Gold reciprocal lounges globally. Silver does not get standard lounge access. There is no published public day-pass program.

• Vistara fully merged into Air India November 2024 - 4.5M Club Vistara members migrated to Maharaja Club at 1:1 with one-year tier-validity extension.
• April 2026 award-chart overhaul cut economy pricing up to 60% on Air India metal - the chart moved DOWN, the rare positive revaluation.
• DEL to 12 international cities at 12,000 points one-way economy is the post-April-2026 headline (BKK, SIN, KUL, DPS, MNL, HKT, SGN, DXB, DOH, JED, RUH, NBO).
• No major US flexible-currency direct partner - Amex, Chase, Capital One, Citi, Bilt, Wells Fargo, and Marriott do not transfer directly as of May 2026 (verify Marriott - was historically a partner).
• Rove Miles (rove.io) transfers 1:1 - niche US-accessible bridge; verify before relying.
• Indian bank co-brand cards (Axis, HSBC, ICICI) require Indian residency.
• Points valid 3 years from earning - hard expiry, not rolling.
• Vistara legacy points retained their original expiry at the merger.
• Booking partner awards often phone-only - online flow is improving but inconsistent.
• Star Alliance benefits work normally - the program's main weakness is earning, not redemption rules.
• Massive widebody order through 2030 - more US routes likely as deliveries land.
• No US co-brand card.