Wedding season · Part 2

Now let the wedding pay for the flights

Part 1 turned the wedding bills into a free hotel stay. This part turns them into flights: which premium cards earn the miles, what those miles buy on honeymoon routes, a free card for booking, and what to carry abroad.

← Part 1: jewellery and the hotel stay

Verified: 27 October 2026
Sources: 29 cited
Cards: 10

What a ₹6L wedding month can become

70,200airline milesMagnus for Burgundy · ₹6L in one month, gold kept off it

1return trip for two to the MaldivesDelhi–Malé on Air India, economy, at its lowest price of 10,000 points each way

4%back on a free cardScapia · back on flights booked in the Scapia app

From Part 1

What the wedding already earned

What the wedding already earned, and where it can and cannot go.

20,000 NeuCoins = ₹20,000 off

NeuCoins fly Air India Express, not Air India

NeuCoins pay for Air India Express tickets at 1 NeuCoin = ₹1. HDFC's own claim document says redemption is not available on Air India. Booking Air India through Tata Neu with a Tata Neu Infinity card does still earn 5% back. From 25 November 2026, HDFC NeuCoins must be claimed in the Tata Neu app within 12 months.

Source: HDFC, Tata Neu NeuCoins claim and redemption (21 Oct 2026) · Air India Express loyalty

3:1 Marriott points per airline mile

Keep the Marriott points for the hotel

Marriott moves points to airlines at 3 points for 1 mile, with 5,000 extra miles for every 60,000 points. Air India is not on its list of airline partners. The same points go much further as hotel nights.

Source: Marriott Bonvoy, points to miles

Earn the miles

Premium cards, used the right way

These cards earn points that move to airline miles. Spend in the right pattern, and the venue, caterer and clothes bills become business-class seats.

Everything except the gold, in one monthBurgundy customers

Axis Bank Magnus for Burgundy

70,200 airline miles on ₹6 lakh in one month

12 EDGE points per ₹200 up to ₹1.5 lakh in a calendar month, 35 per ₹200 above it, up to your credit limit plus ₹1.5 lakh
So put the venue, caterer and clothes through in the same calendar month. Gold and jewellery earn nothing on this card
Points move at 5:4 to Air India, KrisFlyer, Flying Blue, Etihad, Qantas, Turkish, United and more, up to 2 lakh points a year to that group
EMI loses the 35 rate. Accelerated points arrive about 45 days after the month ends
Needs a Burgundy relationship, such as a net salary credit above ₹3 lakh a month or ₹10 lakh average balance. Fee ₹30,000 + taxes, waived on ₹30 lakh

Source: Axis, Magnus for Burgundy terms · Axis, accelerated 35 EDGE points terms · Axis, Burgundy FAQ (eligibility) · Axis Travel EDGE, transfer partners

₹1 lakh a month, gold includedHSBC Premier customers

HSBC Premier Credit Card

3,000 airline miles for every ₹1 lakh

3 reward points per ₹100, and points move 1:1 to airline miles and hotel points
Jewellery earns here, on up to ₹1 lakh a month together with insurance, utilities, education, rent and wallets. That is the gold Burgundy pays nothing on
So ₹1 lakh of jewellery a month for three months is 9,000 miles
0.99% forex markup abroad, with no conditions. Fuel earns nothing
Free for qualified Premier customers (₹50 lakh relationship balance, or a ₹3 lakh monthly salary credit)

Source: HSBC credit card service guide (p66) · HSBC Premier Credit Card

Booking direct with the airline

HSBC TravelOne Credit Card

4 points per ₹100 on flights, 1:1 to miles

4 reward points per ₹100 on flights, travel sites and foreign currency; 2 on everything else
Points move 1:1 to Air India, KrisFlyer, British Airways, Qatar, Flying Blue, Etihad and more, and to Marriott and Accor
A ₹2.5 lakh business-class booking made on the airline's own site earns 10,000 points, which is 10,000 miles
Capped at 50,000 reward points in a calendar month
Fee ₹4,999, waived on ₹8 lakh a year. The forex markup is 3.5%, so pay abroad with something else

Source: HSBC TravelOne · HSBC TravelOne, transfer partners · HSBC TravelOne service guide

Booking on SmartBuyBy invitation

HDFC Bank Infinia Metal Edition

₹18,750 off flights on ₹1.1 lakh of SmartBuy bookings

5 reward points per ₹150, and 5X on flights booked on HDFC SmartBuy in October's offer table
The extra points are capped at 15,000 a month (10,000 on Diners Club Black Metal), so ₹1.1 lakh of flights reaches the cap
On SmartBuy flights, 1 point = ₹1, for up to 70% of the booking
Fee ₹12,500 + taxes, waived on ₹10 lakh a year

Source: HDFC Infinia · HDFC SmartBuy, reward rates and caps

What the miles buy

70,200 miles, on honeymoon routes

One-way award prices, checked on the airlines' own calculator and chart. Air India's prices move with the date and seats left, so these are the ranges it showed. Checked 27 October 2026.

Air India Maharaja Club, one way from Delhi

To	Economy	Business	Return for two, on 70,200
Goa	5,000–7,500	25,000–26,000	3× in economy
Port Blair (Andaman)	10,000–15,000	30,000–37,000	1× in economy
Malé (Maldives)	10,000–25,000	40,000–50,000	1× in economy
Dubai	12,000–25,000	50,000–60,000	1× in economy
Bali	12,000–30,000	50,000–60,000	1× in economy
Phuket	12,000–30,000	50,000–60,000	1× in economy

Lowest and highest Value price shown in economy, and the business range, one way per person. The last column counts four seats at the lowest price. Taxes extra. Source: Air India points calculator

KrisFlyer Saver on Singapore Airlines, one way from India

To	Economy	Business	Return for two, on 70,200
Singapore	19,000	45,000	Needs 76,000
Bali	20,000	47,500	Needs 80,000
Phuket	20,000	47,500	Needs 80,000

Fixed chart from 1 November 2025, one way per person. Taxes extra, from US$24. Source: Singapore Airlines, Advantage Saver award chart

Flight milestones

Cards that pay out in tickets

Cards that pay out in flight vouchers or airline points once your yearly spend crosses a threshold. A wedding crosses most of them in one go.

Fee ₹4,999 + GST

IndiGo IDFC FIRST Dual Credit Card

5,000 BluChips at each of ₹2L, ₹5L, ₹8L, ₹10L, ₹12L

A 5,000 BluChip voucher at each step of cumulative spend in the card year, up to 25,000
Both cards in the pair and add-on cards count toward the steps
Vouchers are valid for 6 months from issue, so time them for the trip

Source: IDFC FIRST, IndiGo credit card · IDFC FIRST, IndiGo product guide

Fee ₹4,999

Air India SBI Signature Credit Card

20,000 points at ₹5 lakh a year

20,000 bonus points at ₹5 lakh of annual spend, 30,000 at ₹10 lakh and 50,000 at ₹20 lakh
10 points per ₹100 on Air India tickets
Points move 1:1 to Air India Maharaja Club

Source: SBI Card, Air India SBI Signature

Fee ₹1,499

Air India SBI Platinum Credit Card

10,000 points at ₹3 lakh a year

5,000 bonus points at ₹2 lakh of annual spend and 10,000 at ₹3 lakh
Points move to Air India Maharaja Club in multiples of 5,000

Source: SBI Card, Air India SBI Platinum

Fee ₹2,500 + GST

HDFC Bank Regalia Gold Credit Card

₹5,000 flight ticket at ₹7.5 lakh a year

One complimentary flight ticket worth ₹5,000 at ₹7.5 lakh of net retail spend in the card year, per HDFC's milestone terms
EMI spends do not count. The voucher can be downloaded up to 60 days after the card year ends

Source: HDFC Regalia Gold, milestone terms

No annual fee

Free cards for booking the flights

No annual fee, and still a real return on the tickets.

Lifetime free

Scapia credit card

4% back on flights booked in the Scapia app

20% back in Scapia coins on flights, hotels and buses booked in the Scapia app, which is 4% in value (5 coins = ₹1), with no cap
Elsewhere it earns 2% on the Mastercard (from ₹20) and 1% on RuPay (from ₹500)
Coins are spent only in the Scapia app and last 36 months. No joining, annual or forex fee

Source: Axis Bank, Scapia credit card terms (cl. 4.6, 4.7) · Scapia

Lifetime free

ixigo AU Credit Card

10% off flights on ixigo, up to ₹3,000

10% instant discount up to ₹3,000 on flights booked on ixigo, once a month
0% forex markup, but AU has withdrawn reward points on international spends, so nothing comes back abroad

Source: AU Bank, ixigo AU credit card · AU Bank, revised ixigo card terms

On the trip

Paying abroad

A 0% forex markup saves the fee but pays nothing back on its own. These earn on the spend abroad, or have an offer running through the season.

Weak

0% markup, nothing back

AU ixigo

No markup, but AU withdrew reward points on international transactions. It saves the fee and returns nothing.

Source: AU Bank, revised ixigo card terms

Earns abroad

0% markup and points

IDFC FIRST Wealth

Lifetime free, zero forex markup, and 10X reward points on international spends.

Source: IDFC FIRST Wealth credit card

Earns abroad

0.99% markup, miles back

HSBC Premier

3 points per ₹100 everywhere, moving 1:1 to airline miles, against a 0.99% markup with no conditions.

Source: HSBC Premier Credit Card

Offer

Visa Power Travel, to 31 January 2027

Any India-issued Visa card

Register the card first. Then 0.5% back on in-person spends and ATM withdrawals abroad, 10% when you tap to pay with Google Pay or Samsung Pay, and a one-time ₹10,000 bonus on ₹1 lakh across 20 transactions. Up to ₹50,000 a card, paid as Air India or Amazon e-gift cards. This comes on top of the card's own rewards.

Source: Visa Power Travel, terms

Before you book

Four things that decide it

One calendar month on Burgundy

The 35-point rate only starts after ₹1.5 lakh in a calendar month. Put the venue, caterer and clothes in the same month, and check the credit limit covers it.

Never convert to EMI

EMI loses Burgundy's 35 rate and Regalia Gold's milestone credit.

Find the seat before you transfer

Air India's prices change with the date and the seats left. Find the award seat first, then move the points.

Register the Visa offer before you fly

Visa Power Travel counts only after the card is registered on its site.

Terms as published by each issuer and airline, checked 27 October 2026. Award prices change with dates and seats; offers end on the dates shown. Read the issuer's document before you spend. This page states what each card pays and what miles buy. It is not a recommendation to apply for any card; approval is the issuer's decision.