How to book business class from US West coast to India

James Cox

James Cox

— 2 min read
US West Coast to Delhi
Photo by Laurentiu Morariu / Unsplash

The most direct flights are typically SFO to DEL or BOM on Air India. The first step is to get the required points. The main partners to book Air India for this route are United and Air Canada. Typically, it takes 88k United Mileage Plus points or 90k Air Canada Aeroplan points each way (the availability on Air Canada on a return flight appears more limited or higher cost). The following bank points transfer as follows:

  1. Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers 1:1 to Mileage Plus and AeroPlan.
  2. Bilt points transfers 1:1 to Mileage Plus and AeroPlan.
  3. Marriott transfers 3:1 to Mileage Plus and AeroPlan plus there is often a 5k bonus if you transfer 60k points (not a great redemption, but it is OK in my book).
  4. AMEX Membership Rewards transfers 1:1 to AeroPlan.
  5. Capital One transfers 1:1 to AeroPlan.

You can earn points either by getting the bank currencies or by signing up for branded credit cards. The first choice would be Chase Membership Rewards and Bilt points, though, Bilt credit cards just went through a refresh and it seems to be going less than smoothly. These points are the best because they can transfer to either United or Air Canada. For now, I recommend sticking with Chase. As always, be cognizant of the Chase 5/24 rule (if you have opened 5 or more consumer credit cards in the last 24 months, Chase will not approve you). You will note that I did not include Avianca points for booking Air India. I have had less than stellar luck finding premium bookings with Avianca, their website is frustrating and their customer service is notoriously poor.

  1. Chase Sapphire Preferred - 75k, $5k spend in 3 months, $95 annual fee.
  2. Chase Ink Business Preferred - 100k, $8k spend in 3 months, $95 annual fee.
  3. Capital One Venture Rewards - 75k + $250 travel credit, $4k spend in 3 months, $95 annual fee
  4. AMEX Gold Card (link is from TPG for this better bonus) - 100k, $6k spend in 6 months, $325 annual fee.
  1. Chase United Explorer - 70k, $3k in 3 months, $0 annual fee first year and then $150.
  2. Chase United Business - 100k, $5k in 3 months, $150 annual fee.
  3. Chase Aeroplan - 60k, $3k spend in 3 months, $95 annual fee.

If you wind up with a mix of points and you are booking for two or more, remember that United and Air Canada book on the same Air India flights so you can mix the bookings (if you can find two award seats on the same flight).

Searching for Flights

Here is a big issue: Air India often only releases 1 seat for award booking in business class (or even premium economy) per flight. You can use search engines like PointsYeah for award flight ability, but if you have a United credit card, you can see United booking availability and discounts at United.com that will not show up in the search engines.

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