Air India Maharaja Club Bonus: Earn 50% bonus points for transferring credit card rewards—Here’s how

Various loyalty programs, such as frequent flyer programs (FFPs) of airlines and hotel loyalty programs, offer points transfer bonuses from time to time. These offers are in partnership with banks, wherein credit cardholders can transfer their reward points to the loyalty program and get additional bonus points. 

Maharaja Club, the frequent flyer program of Air India, has come up with a similar offer. Club Maharaja is offering up to a 50% bonus for converting credit card reward points into Maharaja Points. In this article, we will look at the details of this offer and whether you should avail it.

What is the Maharaja Club Points Plus offer?

Maharaja Club has launched the Maharaja Club Points Plus offer, which gives an up to 50% bonus for converting credit card reward points into Maharaja Points. The offer period is for points transferred between 6th March to 31st March. The bonus Maharaja Points will depend on the number of points transferred in a single transaction as follows.

Maharaja Club has partnered with the following five banks whose credit cardholders can transfer their reward points under the offer.

1. HDFC Bank
2. ICICI Bank
3. SBI Card
4. DBS Bank
5. HSBC Bank

A credit cardholder can earn a maximum of two lakh bonus Maharaja Points by transferring reward points from each partner bank. Thus, a maximum of one million bonus Maharaja Points can be earned under the offer.

Registration is mandatory

Registration is mandatory to participate in the offer. An individual can register on the Air India website.

The registration is easy and quick, requiring minimal details like Maharaja Club ID, mobile number, and first and last name. Any points transfer transaction initiated before registering for the offer will not be eligible for bonus points under the offer.

How will the offer work in terms of transfers from multiple bank cards?

A cardholder will get bonus points only for the first transaction made from each eligible bank partner during the offer period. For example, an ICICI Bank credit cardholder makes the first transfer of 1,00,000 reward points and a second transfer of 50,000 reward points. In this case, the 40% bonus Maharaja Points will be awarded only for the first transfer of 1,00,000 reward points. The second transfer of 50,000 reward points will not earn any bonus points.

A cardholder holding credit cards from multiple partner banks can initiate multiple points transfer transactions from different banks. In this case, the bonus Maharaja Points will be awarded separately for the first reward points transfer transaction from each bank partner during the offer period. The bonus points percentage for each transfer transaction will depend on the number of reward points transferred and its tier.

For example, Shirin holds an HSBC Bank and HDFC Bank credit card. Shirin transfers 1,20,000 reward points from her HSBC Bank credit card and 20,000 reward points from her HDFC Bank credit card. 

In this case, Shirin will be awarded 50% bonus Maharaja Points for the 1,20,000 reward points transferred from her HSBC Bank credit card. She will be awarded a 10% bonus Maharaja Points for the 20,000 reward points transferred from her HDFC Bank credit card. Any subsequent reward point transfers that Shirin does from her HSBC Bank and HDFC Bank credit card during the offer period will not earn any bonus Maharaja Points.

The bonus Maharaja Points will be credited to the member’s Maharaja Club account within 60 days following the end of the offer period.

Bank transfer ratios

The reward points are converted in a transfer ratio specified by the bank. The transfer ratio among banks may vary. Within a bank, the transfer ratio among different credit cards may vary. For example, the transfer ratio for the ICICI Bank Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card is 1:1. So, one Emeralde Private Metal Credit Card reward point will convert into 1 Maharaja Point. For other eligible ICICI Bank credit cards, the transfer ratio is 6:1. So, for these cards, 6 reward points will convert into 1 Maharaja Point.

For the HSBC Premier Credit Card, the transfer ratio is 1:1. For other HSBC credit cards like Classic, Gold, Smart Value, and Platinum, the transfer ratio is 2:1.

Every bank has a specified timeline for transferring the points from the bank credit card account to the Maharaja Club account. Initiate the reward points transfer keeping in mind the transfer timeline.

Should you avail of the offer?

Air India is India’s second-largest airline after Indigo in terms of market share. They have a vast network of domestic and international routes. If you are a frequent flyer on Air India, you may consider the offer. If you have an upcoming trip for which you need to book flight tickets now or in the near future, you may consider the offer. Don’t just transfer the points because of the bonus offer and let them sit in your Maharaja Club account. If you do that, there can be a risk of devaluation. While the up to 50% bonus is a good offer, consider it if you are an Air India frequent flyer and have to fly in the near future.

Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience. He can be reached at LinkedIn.