Air India Announces Key Enhancements to Maharaja Club

GURUGRAM:
Air India today announced significant enhancements to its Maharaja Club loyalty programme, delivering substantially greater value, flexibility, and recognition to members. Rolling out progressively from 1 April 2026, the enhancements are shaped by insights gathered from over a year of active listening of member feedback.

Key enhancements at a glance:
 Reduced Maharaja Points requirement for Award Flights and Cabin Upgrades across at least 90% of routes served by Air India.
 A new simplified, tier-based structure for rescheduling and cancellation of Award Flights to provide greater booking flexibility to members.
 Reductions to the flight count thresholds to accelerate tier progression for members.
 Extension of travel privileges to companions travelling along with members.

Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India, said: “Our Maharaja Club members are at the heart of Air India’s ongoing transformation. These enhancements are designed to ensure that every Maharaja Point they earn carries more meaning, more flexibility, and more possibility. They reflect months of listening to our most frequent flyers, who were candid about what worked well and where the programme needed to evolve. We’ve taken that feedback seriously and made changes that matter most to them, ensuring that Maharaja Club remains relevant, rewarding, and future-ready.”

More value than ever on Award Flights
 Maharaja Club members will now enjoy lower redemption levels across domestic and international routes, making both quick getaways and long-haul travels more rewarding. Award Flights on domestic routes now start from 1,500 Maharaja Points, while Cabin Upgrades begin at 4,000 Maharaja Points.
 Redemption levels for international travel have been standardised across regions, making Award Flights more accessible. For example, one-way Award Flights to anywhere in Europe (including the UK) start from 35,000 Maharaja Points, U.S. and Australia from 40,000 Maharaja Points, and Canada from 50,000 Maharaja Points.
 Economy Class redemption fares have reduced by ~30% on average across 80% of domestic routes and 75% of international routes.
 Business Class redemption fares have reduced by ~15% on average across 70% of domestic routes and by ~25% on average across 35% of international routes.
 Premium Economy redemption fares have reduced by ~13% on average across 30% of domestic routes and by ~12% on average across 17% of international routes.

“By lowering and standardising redemption levels across the network, we’re ensuring that Maharaja Points deliver far greater value than before”, said Aggarwal. While most routes see meaningful reductions in points required, a small number of routes see no change or marginal increase. Overall, more than 90% of the network now offers better value than before. These reductions mean members can access Award Flights more often, redeem points more confidently, and enjoy greater value from every trip.

Greater flexibility on managing Award Flights
Cancellations and rescheduling fees for Award Flights (both domestic and international) will follow a simplified tier-based structure, offering the maximum flexibility to members. The new structure is designed to provide greater comfort to frequent travellers when travel plans change.
 Platinum members can cancel or reschedule free of charge up to 2 hours before departure
 Gold members can do so up to 7 days before departure
 Silver members can do so up to 30 days before departure

Within these windows, no fees apply and Maharaja Points will be fully redeposited. Outside the specified windows, a flat 25% fee will apply (charged in cash for rescheduling or deducted in Maharaja Points for cancellations). No-show bookings will continue to follow the existing policy with no refunds permitted.

Additionally, cancellations of upgrades made using Maharaja Points will now see those points refunded to the member, no questions asked. This change gives members the confidence to upgrade more freely, knowing their points remain protected if plans change.

Faster progression through membership tiers
Air India has now made it easier and quicker to earn and retain status by reducing flight-count thresholds for tier qualification, though the spend-based requirement for tier qualification remains unchanged:
 Platinum Tier: Now requires 60 flights (previously 90) including a minimum of 12 Air India Flights
 Gold Tier: Now requires 45 flights (previously 60) including a minimum of 8 Air India Flights
 Silver Tier: Now requires 20 flights (previously 30) including a minimum of 4 Air India Flights

The Tier Points qualification criteria remain unchanged. Flights taken over the past 365 days will be retrospectively assessed under the new thresholds, with eligible members automatically upgraded to their qualifying tier.

Aggarwal added: “We recognise that many of our loyal customers may have found progressing through tiers to be harder than it should be, especially those flying frequently on domestic or short-haul international routes. By easing the flight count thresholds, our valued members now have a more
achievable path to the privileges they’ve earned.”

Extending travel privileges to companions of members
Air India will now accord the same travel privileges to companions of Maharaja Club Platinum and Gold members as they receive as valued members. One co-passenger, if travelling on a single PNR along with a Platinum or Gold member, will receive priority check-in, boarding, and baggage handling, in
addition to lounge access.

Crediting Maharaja Points within 2 hours of flight or sooner
Air India will credit Maharaja Points earned on Air India flights or those with Star Alliance partner carriers within 2 hours of flight or sooner. Mahara Club members now see their Maharaja Points reflected almost instantly, making it easier to track progress and plan future redemptions.

Continuing the transformation of Maharaja Club
These latest improvements build on the transformation Maharaja Club has undergone since its redesign in 2024. Moving from a legacy miles-based system to a fairer, spend-based earning structure, Maharaja Club today counts over 10 million members across the world, offering a simplified and globally benchmarked programme structure, a slew of member-friendly features, and a rapidly expanding portfolio of partnerships with world-leading brands across the banking, retail, hospitality, travel and lifestyle ecosystem, providing members with even more opportunities to earn and redeem Maharaja Points.