Air India Frequent Flyer

Last updated: 31 October 2026.

Maharaja Club is Air India's loyalty scheme for frequent travellers. It started in 1994 under the name Flying Returns, gained Star Alliance links in 2014, and absorbed Vistara's Club Vistara members after Vistara joined Air India. Anyone can sign up, whatever their nationality or home country, as long as they are an individual: firms, small businesses and travel agents are excluded. Amounts are in Indian rupees (INR) unless another currency is named.

Joining

• Register on the Air India website or app. Enter your name exactly as on your passport or government ID (middle name included), plus an email address and mobile number not tied to any other Maharaja Club account. You confirm the email through a link and the mobile through a one-time code.
• Membership costs nothing, now or later. Every member needs a personal email and phone number. A family or company cannot be a member, but members can combine points in a Family Pool (below).
• New members receive 1,000 bonus Maharaja Points after their first paid trip on Air India, Air India Express or an Air India Express codeshare. Award tickets and complimentary voucher bookings do not qualify, and neither do old Club Vistara or merged accounts.
• Your member number has nine digits and stays the same however high your tier climbs.
• The membership itself never lapses from lack of use, although points can.

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Tiers and how to qualify

Your tier reflects activity over the previous 365 days on Air India, Air India Express and Star Alliance airlines. Hit either the Tier Point target or the flight count and you are upgraded automatically. A tier lasts a year; to keep it you have to hit the same target again, or you drop down. Tiers cannot be bought with points.

Upgrades arrive by email and appear under My Account. Gold and Platinum members enjoy the privileges of Star Alliance Gold, and Silver members those of Star Alliance Silver.

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How points are earned

There are two currencies. Tier Points move you up the tiers. Maharaja Points are the ones you spend.

• Website and app bonus: book direct on Air India's or Air India Express's own site or app and collect 2 more Maharaja Points per INR 100. Star Alliance bookings and codeshares get no bonus, nor do Air India Express codeshares booked on Air India's site. Promotional bonus points never count towards a tier.
• On Air India: the calculation uses base fare plus fuel surcharge (YQ) only, with taxes and fees left out. Tickets paid wholly in cash, or in cash plus points, qualify. On Air India Express only the base fare counts, and only cash bookings.
• Star Alliance carriers: your earnings follow the cabin class booked, the distance flown and each carrier's deal, not the price you paid. Each 2 Maharaja Points brings 1 Tier Point. Cash bookings only. Air India Express is outside Star Alliance, so it earns Maharaja Points but no partner miles.
• Codeshare and interline: Air India Express codeshare and Star Alliance flights count; codeshare and interline flights of other airlines do not.
• Points only come from trips booked under your own name. Quote your member number at booking or check-in (or at the Air India airport desk). Once an Air India Express booking holds a number it cannot be replaced, and each booking earns either Maharaja Points or Tata NeuCoins, never both.
• Air India flights credit within two days of landing. Star Alliance flights take up to a week, sometimes two.
• Partner spending: hotels, car hire, experiences, shopping and more at over 100 partners, co-branded cards (including the Air India SBI Card) and points-transfer partners all earn Maharaja Points. No Tier Points come from partner spending, and those points last 24 months.

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Points do not expire while you keep flying

• Points start with a 24-month life. Each paid Air India or Air India Express trip (but not an award or voucher trip) resets the clock on all your points to 24 months from the travel date. Codeshare, interline and Star Alliance trips do not.
• Once points expire they are gone for good. Bought points last 24 months from purchase. Points returned after a cancellation keep their original end date.
• Points cannot be moved from one member to another, except via a Family Pool.

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Missing points and buying points

• Claim Missing Points can be filed a week after the flight. For Air India there is a 12-month window, even for trips before you signed up. Star Alliance trips allow 365, 210 or 180 days depending on the carrier, and only when you were already a member. The ticket name must match your profile. Partner spending cannot be claimed after the fact, and Air India Express claims are not yet open.
• Buying points: INR 1.50 each, in blocks of 100, up to 200,000 points (limit effective 30 September 2026). Pay with UPI, card or net banking. Points land instantly and the purchase cannot be reversed. New members must first take one paid Air India flight. You can only buy for the account you are logged in to. A failed credit is refunded to the payment source within 8 to 10 days.

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Tier benefits compared

Everything is subject to terms and can change. Waivers cover the member's own booking, not other travellers on the same reservation, and apply to Air India-operated flights booked through Air India's website, app, call centre or ticket offices with cash or cash plus points. Any fare difference is still due.

• Extra baggage is not available on codeshare or interline flights, and may shift with government rules and aircraft load. Red members receive none.
• Fly Prior lets Gold and Platinum members on Air India domestic services board an earlier non-stop flight on the same route and cabin, within twelve hours of the original departure, at no cost. Both flights must last four hours or less. Ask at the check-in counter at least two hours before the original departure; the new seat is confirmed an hour before the new flight, if available. You cannot change cabin or destination, it excludes award tickets, and Star Alliance Gold members cannot use it.
• Priority Connect phone lines: +91 1169328888 in India; abroad, USA and Canada +1 888 634 1407 (toll free), UK +44 203 757 2760, Australia +61 3 701 98270, France +33 1 874 06644, Germany +49 6925511337, Singapore +65 3157 3780.
• Welcome kits with a physical card are posted to Gold and Platinum members living in India within a month of an upgrade or renewal. Minors and complimentary upgrades are not covered.
• Tier benefits do not extend to Air India Express award tickets, and lounges are unavailable on Air India Express and on codeshare flights.

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Spending your points

• Award flights are available on Air India, Air India Express (codeshares included since 22 May 2026) and Star Alliance partners. Choose a Value fare to spend fewer points when you plan early, or a Prime fare for seats at busy times or short notice. Air India Express awards begin at 1,500 points. Book on the website or app, or through customer support, and confirm with a one-time code sent to your phone.
• Taxes and fees are paid on top. Each customer pays a non-refundable convenience fee per ticket on website, app and call-centre award bookings: INR 475 for domestic; INR 649 from India to short-haul destinations; INR 999 from India to long-haul ones; USD 8 for short-haul trips into India; USD 12 for long-haul trips into India (excluding Australia, Canada and the USA). Short-haul covers Africa, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, SAARC, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand and the UAE; long-haul covers Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, South Korea, the USA and the UK.
• Award ticket limits: no multi-city itineraries; no mixed Air India and Air India Express connections; no Star Alliance codeshares; infants under two are added after booking via customer support; payment by credit card only (Amex, Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, Discover); NeuCoins cannot be mixed with Maharaja Points. A child needs as many points as an adult.
• To book awards for friends or relatives, you must have flown two Air India or Air India Express trips on separate bookings that have credited to your account.
• Cash + Points works on Air India flights only, when you are logged in on the website or app. Points can cover part of the base fare; fuel surcharge, extras, taxes and fees are paid in cash, by credit card. It is not offered for codeshares, corporate or group fares, infants, change fees, upgrades or Star Alliance flights. Seats are always available this way. Tier and Maharaja Points are earned on the cash portion. If you cancel, fees come out of the cash first and the rest is refunded to the card and to your points account (expired points are not restored). Changes go through customer support.
• Upgrades with points are possible on Air India and Star Alliance flights, but not on Air India Express codeshares. Choose Upgrade Your Class, key in the ticket and confirm with the code. An upgrade made by phone or website gives the new cabin's baggage allowance; one made at the airport keeps the original cabin's. If you cancel a paid ticket that was upgraded with points, the points come back, though fare-rule fees are paid in cash.
• The Points Calculator on the website shows what an award or upgrade will cost.

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Changing or cancelling award flights

• Award tickets are handled like paid ones, with fees from the redemption penalty chart that depend on your tier. Change fees are paid in cash, cancellation fees in points. Returned points keep their old expiry date.
• Date changes can be made via the customer service portal or any Air India office. You may switch destination after paying the fare difference and penalties, but only domestic-to-domestic or international-to-international. The ticket stays valid one year from first issue.
• GST is added to the cancellation fee: 5% for Economy and 18% for Premium Economy, Business and First.
• You cannot cancel one part of a partly used ticket and get a refund, though changing the date for a fee is allowed.

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Cabin upgrade vouchers

• Request the upgrade beforehand through customer support, or at the airport desk, where you show the live voucher in your account and verify it with a code. Availability depends on seats released for redemption.
• Friends and family can benefit only when they share your booking. Vouchers last 6 months (Silver), 9 months (Gold) or 12 months (Platinum) from issue, with no extensions.
• An upgrade earns priority check-in and boarding, but not lounge entry unless your ticket already included it. Points accrue for the cabin booked and the baggage allowance is unchanged. Vouchers apply to Air India flights only. A spent voucher cannot be undone, yet one can be reissued via customer support if the flight is cancelled or rescheduled after check-in.

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Complimentary ticket vouchers

• Holders of Vistara co-branded credit cards from SBI, IndusInd, IDFC and Axis Bank can get a voucher that covers the base fare of one domestic one-way Air India flight. The holder pays taxes, surcharges and other levies.
• Vouchers are also usable on Air India Express. They serve a single one-way trip, cannot be altered, passed on, sold or cashed in, but anyone you choose may travel on one. Payment is by credit card. On cancellation or no-show the voucher is counted as used and only government taxes are returned, within seven working days. A failed online attempt can block a voucher for 15 minutes. Infants cannot be added when booking.

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Star Alliance

• Air India belongs to Star Alliance, and 25 partner airlines take part in earning and spending. Give your Maharaja Club number when booking.
• Star Alliance Gold holders get Maharaja Club Gold's privileges on Air India (priority check-in, extra baggage, lounges), apart from Fly Prior and upgrade vouchers.
• On international Star Alliance trips booked through Air India, Gold members receive 1 free change up to 72 hours ahead and Platinum members 2 free changes up to 24 hours ahead. Cancellations get no waiver.
• Points from another Star Alliance programme can pay for or upgrade Air India flights, depending on booking class, seats and that programme's rules, with taxes and charges extra.

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Family Pool

• A member aged 18 or older who has taken at least two Air India flights on different bookings can set up a pool free of charge and becomes the Family Head. A pool holds from 2 to 9 people including the head. The youngest member allowed is 2.
• The head may invite a spouse, children, parents, siblings, parents-in-law, siblings-in-law, grandparents and grandchildren, each of whom must already be a member with two Air India flights behind them. Invitations go to a Maharaja Club number or email and expire after 14 days.
• From the day someone joins, all their new Maharaja Points are paid into the head's account while points they already hold stay put. Tier Points and tiers remain individual. Only the head can spend the pot, and only on pool members; the head cannot see members' accounts, and pooled points do not raise the head's tier.
• Pooled points last two years and are renewed when the head or a member earns on a paid flight. A member may leave after one year but forfeits what they contributed, and may start or join another pool six months after leaving. Nobody can be in two pools, and the head role cannot be handed over. Abuse may lead to suspension and loss of points.

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Children

• Anyone older than 2 and younger than 18 is treated as a minor. A parent or guardian may enrol up to four minors, each with a separate email, or link a child's existing account. One parent or guardian runs the account, and the child signs in with an emailed code. Minors earn and spend like adults.
• On turning 18 the member must agree to keep the account; otherwise it may be closed and the points lost.

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Questions travellers ask us

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Baggage Allowance is an independent information site and is not part of Air India. Check the airline's own pages before you travel.