Correct time for Miles Conversion before devaluation - Axis Magnus

[Amit Dhatrak]

Hi everyone,

I’m collecting Edge rewards on my Axis magnus for an international trip for my family in August’23. As per my initial research, total miles that I need for a return flight from London for 3 people is 1,80,000 (CV points on Vistara)

My question is should I keep converting 10k-15k points from Edge rewards to Vistara CV as and when I accumulate them (Due to the risk of devaluation in future). If yes, does/will Axis intimate before devaluation?

Also, if anyone happens to know a cheaper Niels program to fly to London/Europe, help would be much appreciated.

 

[R!ppEr]

I think they should ideally inform couple of months in advance. worst case 1 month in advance. Also try booking your flight as early as possible, since for my domestic travel all award seats are booked now

 

[Vickymaster1010]

any idea how much time it takes to get grabdeals bonus reward points?

 

[Vickymaster1010]

since

I think they should ideally inform couple of months in advance. worst case 1 month in advance. Also try booking your flight as early as possible, since for my domestic travel all award seats are booked now

since how long are u using magnus sir , and do they credit bonus points sometimes within 30-40 days , is that possible?

 

[AakashCJB]

Hi everyone,

I’m collecting Edge rewards on my Axis magnus for an international trip for my family in August’23. As per my initial research, total miles that I need for a return flight from London for 3 people is 1,80,000 (CV points on Vistara)

My question is should I keep converting 10k-15k points from Edge rewards to Vistara CV as and when I accumulate them (Due to the risk of devaluation in future). If yes, does/will Axis intimate before devaluation?

Also, if anyone happens to know a cheaper Niels program to fly to London/Europe, help would be much appreciated.

Why Vistara? Because it’s non-stop?

No. Don’t keep converting unless you know which airline you would travel or wait for any bonus just like QATAR & SQ came!

if you are okay with one-stop:
1) Qatar airways have better options and product!
55k Avios for round trip in Economy per person
110k Avios for round trip in Business class per person
If not Qatar can use it with British airways as well!

2) Turkish airlines have decent product and award ticket is at:
30K Turkish milesfor Economy Round trip per person
60k Turkish miles for Business round trip per person.
P.S: Turkish website is a mess to book award tickets!

 

[gurbina]

Vistara has terrible availability and very few routes to Europe and all mostly from Delhi, you'll be charged the leg from wherever in India to Delhi. Also you'll restrict yourself to the very few flights they have weekly and you might not be able to get your whole family in the same plane.

Just for quick comparison

BLR-FRA Economy One Way - Early December

United 36k + 3200 INR (would cost the same miles from Delhi than a lot of T2 cities in India, for example I could fly from Pune or Goa and it would cost the same)
Vistara 37.5k + 3500 INR (or 30k if depart directly from Delhi + 1500 INR)
Turkish 30k + 10000 INR (not available from BLR so I replaced with Delhi not sure if they charge more miles in case of additional leg on itinerary also surcharge definitely higher, if partner airline expect over 15000 INR in surcharges)
Qatar 32.5k + 1600 INR
Singapore 30.5k + 1500 INR

So you'll need to do your research in each case and your specific route you want. Vistara doesn't fly to most of Europe and flying regionally in another airline with a family might rack up lots of charges in baggage fees very very fast.

By right both Turkish, Singapore and United will let you book on Vistara, Air India, LOT, scandinavian, eurowings, cityjet, air lingus, Lufthansa and a lot more. But another thing is in real life, try booking Vistara flights via Turkish Airlines. Routing restrictions are an issue and so are surcharges in Turkish but the required miles are less (so in the example above paying 6k miles less is worth paying 7k INR more in fees and having a stop in IST?).
Also awards on partner airlines will most likely require you to call Turkish Airlines and not sure if they charge an additional fee for that.
Be mindful as well you can't book tickets for others unless you fly first with them (Turkish) as per another member here in the forum, with other airlines I can book tickets for anyone even if I have never flown with them. This doesn't apply if you're traveling also in the same booking.

The surcharges tend to be pretty high in Turkish specially in partner airlines, in business class they seem to round 350-700USD one way. United is 20-150USD and usually in the lower end for the same redemption.

For the routes (DEL-FRA) in business class:
United for 2k INR fees + 63k miles
Turkish 39k INR fees + 60k miles
Singapore Airlines 1.5k INR fees + 62k miles

I surely wouldn't book Turkish for the above redemption.

You'll have to evaluate what is best for your case in terms of value (miles required, fees to be paid), routing and scheduling, availability of award seats and baggage allowances which might make a dent on your pocket too.

My pick on best always depends on the destinations you're interested in.

For me United it's the best: easy to book, plenty of availability, I'm based in T2 city so awards won't cost more, allows me to fly Air India and Vistara so more routes and flights available domestically but slightly more points required, lower fees than most airlines, etc.

Vistara also has very good value in certain routes. PNQ-SIN is 16500 one way which beats SQ in terms of value and routing for me in this specific case. For flying domestically they do the trick most of the time but I still hate having layovers when there's nonstop Air India flights. Another nuisance, is that they have fixed pricing upgrades. For example recently DEL-IXL from economy they asked for 10k per pax for the upgrade, the plane took off with half the business class empty. In Air India I bid 3k per pax and got me and my companion upgraded to business class. Also some empty seats but at least they weren't asking for such a poor value offer to upgrade to business (they were asking basically for the fare difference as an "offer" to upgrade).

SQ is probably ahead of Qatar just because of Star Alliance partners in India (Vistara and Air India) and possibly in the region, OneWorld has no partners in India. Even so United seems to have way better availability online for flights within India and also originating here. Turkish and Singapore should be able to but online award booking shows very limited availability compared to United.

I would avoid any airline outside Star Alliance if you have travels within India or the region unless you have an specific redemption in mind.

 

[Vickymaster1010]

Can we book aur india flights from vistara portal?

 

[gurbina]

Can we book aur india flights from vistara portal?

No. Only star alliance partners, and not all of them allow you to do it online sometimes not even offline for whatever reason.
In this case United, Singapore and Turkish are the only ones.
I'd recommend you to check each one of them. Compare availability, fees, routes of possible flights you have planned or would like to take (such as domestic flights, regional flights, holiday ideas).

 

[Vickymaster1010]

i am trying to transfer 958 edge points to miles , however i am getting unknow error after putting otp anyone else facing the same issue?, please assist

 

[Vickymaster1010]

 

[Vickymaster1010]

Why Vistara? Because it’s non-stop?

No. Don’t keep converting unless you know which airline you would travel or wait for any bonus just like QATAR & SQ came!

if you are okay with one-stop:
1) Qatar airways have better options and product!
55k Avios for round trip in Economy per person
110k Avios for round trip in Business class per person
If not Qatar can use it with British airways as well!

2) Turkish airlines have decent product and award ticket is at:
30K Turkish milesfor Economy Round trip per person
60k Turkish miles for Business round trip per person.
P.S: Turkish website is a mess to book award tickets!

what about air asia?

 

[AakashCJB]

Vistara has terrible availability and very few routes to Europe and all mostly from Delhi, you'll be charged the leg from wherever in India to Delhi. Also you'll restrict yourself to the very few flights they have weekly and you might not be able to get your whole family in the same plane.

Just for quick comparison

BLR-FRA Economy One Way - Early December

United 36k + 3200 INR (would cost the same miles from Delhi than a lot of T2 cities in India, for example I could fly from Pune or Goa and it would cost the same)
Vistara 37.5k + 3500 INR (or 30k if depart directly from Delhi + 1500 INR)
Turkish 30k + 10000 INR (not available from BLR so I replaced with Delhi not sure if they charge more miles in case of additional leg on itinerary also surcharge definitely higher, if partner airline expect over 15000 INR in surcharges)
Qatar 32.5k + 1600 INR
Singapore 30.5k + 1500 INR

So you'll need to do your research in each case and your specific route you want. Vistara doesn't fly to most of Europe and flying regionally in another airline with a family might rack up lots of charges in baggage fees very very fast.

By right both Turkish, Singapore and United will let you book on Vistara, Air India, LOT, scandinavian, eurowings, cityjet, air lingus, Lufthansa and a lot more. But another thing is in real life, try booking Vistara flights via Turkish Airlines. Routing restrictions are an issue and so are surcharges in Turkish but the required miles are less (so in the example above paying 6k miles less is worth paying 7k INR more in fees and having a stop in IST?).
Also awards on partner airlines will most likely require you to call Turkish Airlines and not sure if they charge an additional fee for that.
Be mindful as well you can't book tickets for others unless you fly first with them (Turkish) as per another member here in the forum, with other airlines I can book tickets for anyone even if I have never flown with them. This doesn't apply if you're traveling also in the same booking.

The surcharges tend to be pretty high in Turkish specially in partner airlines, in business class they seem to round 350-700USD one way. United is 20-150USD and usually in the lower end for the same redemption.

For the routes (DEL-FRA) in business class:
United for 2k INR fees + 63k miles
Turkish 39k INR fees + 60k miles
Singapore Airlines 1.5k INR fees + 62k miles

I surely wouldn't book Turkish for the above redemption.

You'll have to evaluate what is best for your case in terms of value (miles required, fees to be paid), routing and scheduling, availability of award seats and baggage allowances which might make a dent on your pocket too.

My pick on best always depends on the destinations you're interested in.

For me United it's the best: easy to book, plenty of availability, I'm based in T2 city so awards won't cost more, allows me to fly Air India and Vistara so more routes and flights available domestically but slightly more points required, lower fees than most airlines, etc.

Vistara also has very good value in certain routes. PNQ-SIN is 16500 one way which beats SQ in terms of value and routing for me in this specific case. For flying domestically they do the trick most of the time but I still hate having layovers when there's nonstop Air India flights. Another nuisance, is that they have fixed pricing upgrades. For example recently DEL-IXL from economy they asked for 10k per pax for the upgrade, the plane took off with half the business class empty. In Air India I bid 3k per pax and got me and my companion upgraded to business class. Also some empty seats but at least they weren't asking for such a poor value offer to upgrade to business (they were asking basically for the fare difference as an "offer" to upgrade).

SQ is probably ahead of Qatar just because of Star Alliance partners in India (Vistara and Air India) and possibly in the region, OneWorld has no partners in India. Even so United seems to have way better availability online for flights within India and also originating here. Turkish and Singapore should be able to but online award booking shows very limited availability compared to United.

I would avoid any airline outside Star Alliance if you have travels within India or the region unless you have an specific redemption in mind.

Agreed mate!
Yes! Turkish has a bad award availability and redemption website + high taxes & surcharge.
Star alliance on United is a much better option.

 

[AakashCJB]

what about air asia?

Why air aisa to London? They don’t provide india-LHR options!

Air Asia big rewards ain’t that attractive at all (atleast for me) SQ is better option than AIR AISA any day be it award availability and loyalty program!

 

[alphadark7]

I think they should ideally inform couple of months in advance. worst case 1 month in advance. Also try booking your flight as early as possible, since for my domestic travel all award seats are booked now

I am planning to book Vistara flights for 1st March
I have SBI Vistara base variant and I have 2 complimentary tickets

I can't redeem it before 2nd December because whenever I redeem I can only use it for 3 months

Since that will be the case with everyone, will I get award seats on 1st March?

Route: Jaipur to Mumbai

 

[gurbina]

I am planning to book Vistara flights for 1st March
I have SBI Vistara base variant and I have 2 complimentary tickets

I can't redeem it before 2nd December because whenever I redeem I can only use it for 3 months

Since that will be the case with everyone, will I get award seats on 1st March?

Route: Jaipur to Mumbai

I think it should be alright as Vistara has decent domestic availability but like any awards you need to be slightly flexible sometimes. I don't think they release seats for awards that far ahead, not sure but for sure a couple of months ahead you'll be able to pull it off easily. Only during major festivals like Diwali or peak season like December you'll need to book ahead as soon as possible.
You can always check for availability on their website even without having the required points (for vouchers it's the same availability as booking with points). But you'll need to log in.

 

[TheMentalist]

I am planning to book Vistara flights for 1st March
I have SBI Vistara base variant and I have 2 complimentary tickets

I can't redeem it before 2nd December because whenever I redeem I can only use it for 3 months

Since that will be the case with everyone, will I get award seats on 1st March?

Route: Jaipur to Mumbai

Why can't you redeem before 2nd December? Does voucher validity have to match flight date?

 

[TheMentalist]

I think it should be alright as Vistara has decent domestic availability but like any awards you need to be slightly flexible sometimes. I don't think they release seats for awards that far ahead, not sure but for sure a couple of months ahead you'll be able to pull it off easily. Only during major festivals like Diwali or peak season like December you'll need to book ahead as soon as possible.
You can always check for availability on their website even without having the required points (for vouchers it's the same availability as booking with points). But you'll need to log in.

They are showing redeeming via points for flights as late as 11 months from now i.e. till 19 Oct 2023

 

[Avijeet]

Hi everyone,

I’m collecting Edge rewards on my Axis magnus for an international trip for my family in August’23. As per my initial research, total miles that I need for a return flight from London for 3 people is 1,80,000 (CV points on Vistara)

My question is should I keep converting 10k-15k points from Edge rewards to Vistara CV as and when I accumulate them (Due to the risk of devaluation in future). If yes, does/will Axis intimate before devaluation?

Also, if anyone happens to know a cheaper Niels program to fly to London/Europe, help would be much appreciated.

I am expecting a TRANSFER BONUS scheme in Dec 2022 .... just like Dec 2021 by VISTARA.

Fingers crossed.

 

[alphadark7]

They are showing redeeming via points for flights as late as 11 months from now i.e. till 19 Oct 2023

Why can't you redeem before 2nd December? Does voucher validity have to match flight date?

So I am talking about the complimentary voucher you get with SBI Vistara card or Axis Vistara card
Not the CV points

Once you get the voucher, you get 6 months to redeem it and whenever you redeem, you get 3 months to use it and Vistara customer care told me that the Voucher can only be used to book flights within those 3 months.

 

[alphadark7]

I think it should be alright as Vistara has decent domestic availability but like any awards you need to be slightly flexible sometimes. I don't think they release seats for awards that far ahead, not sure but for sure a couple of months ahead you'll be able to pull it off easily. Only during major festivals like Diwali or peak season like December you'll need to book ahead as soon as possible.
You can always check for availability on their website even without having the required points (for vouchers it's the same availability as booking with points). But you'll need to log in.

Got it
Can you confirm if I redeem the complimentary vistara economy tickets, can I use them to book flights even after 3 months from the redemption date?

If I redeem today and book flight today itself but for a date later than 3 months. Is it possible?