American Express Membership Rewards points are 1 of the most flexible types of points. That’s because you can transfer them to certain airlines and fly to many countries, including India.
Emily and I visit India once a year. We’ve even taken Emily’s mom to India, twice!
You Can Visit the Taj Mahal in India Using American Express Membership Rewards Points
The Ultimate Guide to American Express Membership Rewards Points:
Part 1 – All the Ways to Get to Europe
Part 2 – All the Ways to Get to India
The best American Express Membership Rewards points transfer partners for flights to India are:
Air Canada Aeroplan – flights on several Star Alliance Airlines without fuel surcharges
Delta Airlines – flights on Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Air France, KLM, Korean Air, and Saudia without fuel surcharges
Singapore Airlines – flights on Singapore Airlines Suites, First, and Business Class but with fuel surcharges
1. Air Canada
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Air Canada Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio to use for flights to India!
From the US to India, you’ll pay:
50,000 Aeroplan miles 1-way in coach
75,000 Aeroplan miles 1-way in Business Class
105,000 Aeroplan miles 1-way in First Class
Aeroplan charges fuel surcharges for flights on some airlines, but you pay NO fuel surcharges on:
Air China
Air India
Brussels Airlines
EgyptAir
Ethiopian Airlines
EVA Air
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)
Singapore Airlines
SWISS Air
Turkish Airlines
United Airlines
low fuel surcharges on LOT Airlines (~$60 per segment)
However, you will pay hefty fuel surcharges using Aeroplan miles on Air Canada, ANA, Lufthansa, or Thai Airways.
1. Nonstop Flights From the US to India
If you want to fly nonstop from the US to India, you can fly on United Airlines or Air India.
United Airlines flies from Newark to Delhi and Mumbai. Usually you will NOT find Business Class award seats on these nonstop flights, but you may find some coach seats during some months of the year. You can book connecting flights to Newark on United Airlines for no additional mileage cost.
You May Find Coach Award Seats From Newark to Delhi or Mumbai
Air India flies nonstop from Chicago and New York (JFK) to Delhi and from Newark (EWR) to Mumbai.
You Can Fly on Air India From Chicago, New York (JFK), and Newark
2. Connecting in Europe
If you want to fly to India with a connection in Europe without paying fuel surcharges, look for flights on:
Air India (connecting flights from Europe to India and domestic India connections)
Brussels Airlines (flights to Brussels)
Scandinavian Airlines (flights to Stockholm and Copenhagen)
Singapore Airlines (coach from New York (JFK) to Frankfurt )
SWISS Air (flights to Zurich and Geneva, and onward to Delhi and Mumbai)
Turkish Airlines (flights to Istanbul and onward to Delhi and Mumbai)
United Airlines
You’ll pay low fuel surcharges on LOT Airlines (flights to Warsaw).
Fly to Europe 1st to Break Up the Long Journey to India
However, Aeroplan’s website will NOT find every flight connection. If you have several connections or want a stopover, you have to call Aeroplan at 800-361-5373.
Air India is 1 of the newest members of the Star Alliance, so you can book flights on Air India using airline miles from Star Alliance airlines, like United Airlines. And you can fly them from Europe to India.
Here are the European cities Air India flies to:
Birmingham
Frankfurt
London (to Delhi and Mumbai)
Milan
Paris
Rome
You Can Connect to These European Cities on Air India
In order to get to Europe, you can fly on other Star Alliance partners.
A. United Airlines
United Airlines has the most flights between the US and Europe. The bolded cities have direct connecting flights to India on Star Alliance carriers without Aeroplan fuel surcharges.
1. Newark
You can fly from Newark to:
Amsterdam
Barcelona
Belfast
Berlin
Birmingham (connect to Air India)
Brussels
Dublin
Edinburgh
Frankfurt (connect to Air India)
Geneva
Glasgow
Hamburg
Istanbul (connect to Turkish Airlines)
Lisbon (Not shown on map)
London (connect to Air India)
Madrid
Manchester
Milan (connect to Air India)
Munich
Oslo
Paris (connect to Air India)
Rome (connect to Air India)
Shannon
Stockholm
Stuttgart
Zurich (connect to SWISS Air)
All The Places You Can Fly On United Airlines From Newark
2. Washington, DC (IAD)
United Airlines flies to the following European cities from Washington, DC (IAD):
Amsterdam
Brussels
Dublin
Frankfurt (connect to Air India)
Geneva
London (connect to Air India)
Manchester
Munich
Paris (connect to Air India)
Rome (connect to Air India)
Zurich (connect to SWISS Air)
11 European Cities With Flights From Washington DC (IAD)
3. Chicago
From Chicago, you can fly to:
Amsterdam
Brussels
Frankfurt (connect to Air India)
London (connect to Air India)
Munich
Paris (connect to Air India)
You Can Fly On United Airlines to 6 Different Cities in Europe From Chicago
4. Houston
United Airlines flies from Houston to:
Amsterdam
Frankfurt (connect to Air India)
London (connect to Air India)
United Airlines Flies to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and London From Houston
5. San Francisco
You can fly from San Francisco to:
Frankfurt (connect to Air India)
London (connect to Air India)
Paris (connect to Air India)
From San Francisco, You Can Fly on United Airlines to Frankfurt, London, and Paris
6. Los Angeles
From Los Angeles you can fly to:
London (connect to Air India)
United Airlines’ Only European Destination From Los Angeles Is London
B. SWISS
SWISS Air is another good option to get from the US to Switzerland, and then from Zurich to Delhi or Mumbai.
1. Zurich
You can fly to Zurich from:
Boston
Chicago
Los Angeles
Miami
Montreal
Newark
New York (JFK)
San Francisco
You Can Fly to Zurich From 8 North American Cities
From Zurich, you can fly to Delhi or Mumbai and avoid paying fuel surcharges!
Delhi (connect to domestic Indian destinations on Air India)
Mumbai (connect to domestic Indian destinations on Air India)
You Can Connect in Zurich to Delhi or Mumbai
2. Geneva
You can fly to Geneva from:
Montreal
Newark
New York
Toronto
Washington, DC
Swiss Flies From Montreal, Newark, New York, Toronto, and Washington, DC, to Geneva
C. Turkish Airlines
You can fly to Istanbul from:
Boston
Chicago
Houston
Los Angeles
Montreal
New York (JFK)
Toronto
Washington, DC
All the Cities You Can Fly From on Turkish Airlines
From Istanbul, you can fly to either Delhi or Mumbai on Turkish Airlines with no fuel surcharge!
Delhi (connect to domestic flights on Air India)
Mumbai (connect to domestic flights on Air India)
You Can Connect in Istanbul to Turkish Airlines Flights to Delhi or Mumbai
D. SAS
You can use Aeroplan miles to fly coach and Business Class on Scandinavian Air Systems (SAS). Scandinavian Air Systems flies to 3 Nordic cities from 4 American cities.
1. Copenhagen
You can fly to Copenhagen from:
Chicago O’Hare
Newark
San Francisco
Washington, DC
2. Oslo
You can fly to Oslo from:
Newark
3. Stockholm
You can fly to Stockholm from:
Chicago O’Hare
Newark
You Can Fly From Chicago, Newark, San Francisco and Washington, DC, to Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm
Note: You can NOT connect to India from Copenhagen, Oslo, or Stockholm. But you may be able to connect to another European city and from there fly to India!
E. LOT Airlines
You can also use Aeroplan miles to fly on LOT Polish Airlines in coach and Business Class to Warsaw from:
Chicago
New York (JFK)
Toronto
Washington, DC
LOT Flies to Warsaw From Chicago, New York, Toronto, and Washington, DC
You will pay some fuel surcharges on LOT, but only ~$60 per segment.
There are no LOT flights from Warsaw to India, but you can connect to other European cities with flights to India!
F. Brussels Airlines
Aeroplan miles can be used on Brussels Airlines to fly in coach and Business Class to Brussels from:
New York (JFK)
Washington, DC
Brussels Airlines Flies From New York and Washington, DC, to Brussels
There are no direct flights to India on Star Alliance airlines from Brussels, but you can connect to other European cities that do have flights to India!
G. Singapore Airlines
You can fly on Singapore Airlines with Aeroplan miles to fly:
Houston to Moscow (DME)
New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (connect to Air India)
Singapore Airlines Flies From New York to Frankfurt and Houston to Moscow
But, you can only redeem for flights in coach, because Business and First/Suites Class are unavailable to Aeroplan members.
3. Connecting in Asia
If you live on the West Coast, flying to India via Asia can make sense in terms of travel time.
To avoid fuel surcharges, you should look for flights on these airlines:
Air China (flights to Beijing and onward to Delhi)
Air India (flights to India from several cities in Asia)
EVA Air (flights to Taipei )
Singapore Airlines (coach to Seoul, Tokyo (NRT), Hong Kong, and Singapore, and onward to several cities in India)
United Airlines (flights to several Asian cities)
I’ll Add a Stopover in Asia Enroute to India Just for the Food!
From Asia, you can fly from:
Bangkok to Mumbai
Hong Kong to Delhi
Osaka to Hong Kong to Delhi
Seoul to Hong Kong to Delhi
Shanghai to Delhi
Singapore to Chennai
Tokyo to Delhi
All the Flights From Asia to India on Air India
But, to connect in Asia, you 1st have to find a flight to Asia.
A. United Airlines
Of all the US airlines, United Airlines has the most routes to Asia! The bolded cities have nonstop Star Alliance flights to India!
1. Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Washington, DC
You can fly from:
Chicago (ORD) to Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo (NRT)
Denver to Tokyo (NRT)
Honolulu to Tokyo (NRT)
Houston to Tokyo (NRT)
Los Angeles (LAX) to Shanghai and Tokyo (NRT)
Newark (EWR) to Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo (NRT)
San Francisco (SFO) to Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, and Tokyo (NRT)
Washington, DC (IAD) to Beijing and Tokyo (NRT)
2. Tokyo (NRT)
From Tokyo (NRT), United Airlines flies to:
Hong Kong
Seoul-Incheon
Singapore
3. Hong Kong
United Airlines also flies from Hong Kong to:
Ho Chi Minh City
Singapore
All the Places in Asia You Can Fly on United!
B. Air China
You can also use Aeroplan miles to fly on Air China without fuel surcharges.
You can fly to Beijing from:
Houston
Los Angeles
New York (JFK)
San Francisco
Vancouver
Air China Flies From Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Vancouver to Beijing
Air China flies from Beijing to Delhi, and from Chengdu to Mumbai (United Airlines has a flight from San Francisco to Chengdu). You can stay for 72 hours without a visa in both Beijing and Chengdu, even without a Chinese visa.
Air China Flies From Beijing to Delhi and From Chengdu to Mumbai
C. Eva Air
EVA Air is based in Taipei and flies to several US and Canadian cities.
You can fly from Taipei to:
Los Angeles
New York (JFK)
San Francisco
Seattle
Toronto
Vancouver
From Taipei, You Can Fly to Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver
Eva Air does NOT fly from Taipei to India, but you can fly to other Asian cities that fly to India!
D. Singapore Airlines
1. Asia
Singapore Airlines flies to Asia from Los Angeles and San Francisco. And you can stop in other Asian cities. You can only book coach seats on Singapore Airlines using Aeroplan miles.
San Francisco to Seoul-Incheon to Singapore
San Francisco to Hong Kong to Singapore
Los Angeles to Tokyo-Narita to Singapore
You can book a flight to Seoul, Tokyo, or Hong Kong, then fly on Air India to India from those cities.
All the Ways You Can Connect in Asia to India on Singapore Airlines
2. India
Singapore Airlines also flies from Singapore to these cities in India:
Ahmedabad
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Mumbai
Kolkata
You Can Fly Coach on Singapore Airlines to These Indian Cities
Now you can create an Aeroplan award booking to India without paying massive fuel surcharges!
2. Delta Airlines
You can use Delta Airlines miles for round-trip awards to India with NO fuel surcharges on:
Delta Airlines
Virgin Atlantic
Air France
KLM
Korean Air
Saudia
Use Delta Miles to Visit India…but There’s NO Longer an Award Chart to Help You Plan!
Delta Airlines is known for not having many saver awards available, but you may be able to find a seat.
To fly from the US or Canada to India, you’ll pay:
85,000 Delta Airlines miles round-trip in coach
140,000 Delta Airlines miles round-trip in Business Class
No redemptions allowed for international First Class
You are allowed 1 stopover and 1 open-jaw on an award ticket!
A. India
Delta has 1 flight from Amsterdam to Mumbai:
Delta Flies From Amsterdam to Mumbai
B. Europe
You can also fly to Europe to connect to flights on Air France, KLM, or Virgin Atlantic.
1. Atlanta
From Atlanta, you can fly to:
Amsterdam
Brussels
Dusseldorf
Frankfurt
London
Madrid
Manchester
Munich
Paris
Stuttgart
Delta’s European Destinations From Atlanta
2. New York
You can fly from New York (JFK) to:
Amsterdam
Barcelona
Brussels
Dublin
Frankfurt
London
Milan
Paris
Zurich
You Can Fly to 9 European Cities From New York
3. Newark
Delta Airlines flies from Newark to:
Amsterdam
Paris
You Can Fly to Amsterdam and Paris From Newark
4. Detroit
From Detroit, you can fly to:
Amsterdam
Frankfurt
London
Paris
Delta Airlines Flies to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, and Paris From Detroit
5. Minneapolis
You can fly from Minneapolis to:
Amsterdam
London
Paris
From Minneapolis, You Can Fly to Amsterdam, London, and Paris
6. Boston
Delta Airlines flies from Boston to:
Amsterdam
London
Paris (seasonal)
You Can Fly to These Cities From Boston
7. Los Angeles
You can fly from Los Angeles to:
London
Delta Airlines Flies to London From Los Angeles
8. Salt Lake City
From Salt Lake City, you can fly to:
Amsterdam
Paris
You Can Fly to These 2 Cities From Salt Lake City
9. Portland
Delta Airlines flies from Portland to:
Amsterdam
You Can Use Delta Airlines Miles to Fly From Portland to Amsterdam
10. Seattle
You can fly from Seattle to:
Amsterdam
London
Paris (CDG)
From Seattle You Can Fly to Amsterdam, London, and Paris
11. Paris
You can also fly to Paris (seasonally) from:
Chicago
Cincinnati (Covington)
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Delta Flies Some Seasonal Routes to Paris
You can connect to flights out of Amsterdam, Paris, or London to India.
A. Air France
Although Air France is a direct transfer partner with American Express Membership Rewards points, you can use Delta Airlines miles on Air France.
Air France flies to Paris from:
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago (ORD)
Detroit
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
Minneapolis
New York (JFK)
San Francisco
Washington, DC (IAD)
Air France’s Departure Cities in the US
You can fly from Paris to:
Bangalore
Delhi
Mumbai
Air France Flies to Bangalore, Mumbai, and New Delhi From Paris
Search for Air France flights on the Delta website because it shows more Air France flights.
B. KLM
You can fly to Amsterdam from:
Atlanta
Chicago (ORD)
Dallas (seasonal)
Houston
Los Angeles
New York (JFK)
San Francisco
Washington, DC (IAD)
You Can Fly to Amsterdam From 8 US Cities
Then from Amsterdam, you can fly to Delhi.
You Can Fly to Delhi From Amsterdam
C. Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic is an American Express Membership Rewards transfer partner, but you’ll pay high fuel surcharges. But you can use Delta Airlines miles on Virgin Atlantic and pay NO fuel surcharges.
Virgin Atlantic flies to London from:
Atlanta
Boston
Las Vegas to London (LGW)
Los Angeles
Miami
Newark
New York (JFK)
Orlando to London (LGW)
San Francisco
Washington, DC (IAD)
Virgin Atlantic’s Flights to the US From London
You can also fly on Virgin Atlantic from London (LHR) to Mumbai and Delhi.
You Can Fly to Mumbai and Delhi From London
D. Saudia Airlines
You can use Delta Airlines miles on Saudia Airlines.
You can fly to Jeddah and onward to Riyadh from:
Los Angeles
New York (JFK)
Washington, DC (IAD)
Saudia Airlines Flies From New York and Washington, DC to Jeddah
From Jeddah and Riyadh, you can fly to these Indian cities:
Bangalore
Chennai Madras
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Kozhikode
Mumbai
Saudia Airline’s Destinations in India
You can NOT book Saudia Airlines flights on the Delta website.
You can transit a Saudia Arabian airport for up to 18 hours without a visa. And you will not need a visa for a flight between Jeddah and Riyadh (2 cities in Saudi Arabia) IF you’re coming from or continuing onward to another country.
Via Asia
You can fly Delta Airlines to Asia and connect to Korean Air, which does NOT have fuel surcharges.
Korean Air flies from Seoul (ICN) to Mumbai 3 days per week.
You Can Fly to Mumbai From Seoul (ICN)
However, you should 1st check if award seats are available from Seoul to Mumbai, because it will be a major part of your award routing.
You can fly on Delta Airlines or Korean Air to get to Seoul.
Korean Air
You can fly to Seoul from:
Atlanta
Chicago
Dallas
Honolulu
Houston
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
New York (JFK)
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC (IAD)
Korean Air Flies to