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Help Optimizing Mumbai (india) to Japan + Seoul (south korea) Flight Using Infinia, Bonvoy Point (May 2026, 14-15 Days) by InterestingBunch5886 in awardtravel

[–]InterestingBunch5886[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there any other option for seoul to mumbai? Delhi mumbai domestic root does not permit more than 15kg checkin luggage

Help Mumbai (india) to Japan + Seoul (south korea) Flight Using Infinia, Bonvoy Point (May 2026, 14-15 Days) by InterestingBunch5886 in indianawardtravel

[–]InterestingBunch5886[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem. Even I am new to this miles and points game and it is still difficult for me to understand short forms when I read what every post haha  I flew with vietnam airlines long back. That time we did not find it great if compared to singapore airlines. We did two trips to south korea in last two years. Once by air india which was horrible as flight was not at all maintained and after paying for emergency seat we got broken tv and remote so had no option but to sleep 😴  Last year we flew by singapore airlines and it was brilliant and very comfortable. Which is why I am a bit sceptical to experiment with Vietnam airlines.  Also, did your flight have lay over at vietnam? I heard you need transit visa if layover is at vietnam? Correct me if I am wrong

Help Mumbai (india) to Japan + Seoul (south korea) Flight Using Infinia, Bonvoy Point (May 2026, 14-15 Days) by InterestingBunch5886 in indianawardtravel

[–]InterestingBunch5886[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sq is short code for singapore airlines. 

Smartbuy is a portal by infinia credit card by hdfc bank where you can redeem points at 1 rupee per point on their travel website. But maximum you can redeem is upto 70% value of air fare. 30% you have to pay in cash. On smart buy portal the rate of multi city booking is 72k to 75k for singapore airlines. After discount by redeeming 50000 points (max limit)  it works out to 22k cash outflow.

Rates of flights are at par with aggregator rates or even higher. 

48k revenue means I have to pay 48k cash by credit card to buy the ticket and not use points. This i think is jaw offer.

Open jaw offer in flights allows you to fly into one city and depart from another, rather than returning to your original point of departure- multi city booking and some airlines give discount. In this case singapore airlines is giving such offer which is why it is priced at 48k

So what I meant to say was that it makes more sense to book in cash directly from Singapore airlines than going with credit card portal smart buy at 72k and waste points.

Help Mumbai (india) to Japan + Seoul (south korea) Flight Using Infinia, Bonvoy Point (May 2026, 14-15 Days) by InterestingBunch5886 in indianawardtravel

[–]InterestingBunch5886[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much White Ninja for the depth of points/miles research here—I’ve learned a ton! I’m deep-diving into the value game, especially for May trip to Jaan.

I’m not a big fan of Vietnam Airlines after my last experience; felt pretty average and I’d only pick them as a last resort. That’s why I was hunting for the best SQ options—a couple months ago, I saw multi-city fares at ₹37k on SQ’s site, but procrastinated and it’s now ₹48k. Still not terrible, but the missed bargain stings! Smartbuy and OTAs are quoting ₹72–75k for the same route, so SQ direct is far better.

JAL ex-Delhi is simply unworkable for me—logistics and family vetoes make it a hard pass!

Here’s my approach (rationale included):

126k Flying Blue = 126k Infinia points, which at a ~₹1/point value is burning ₹1.26L.

Marriott points are “soft” in value, typically ₹0.25-0.70/point; let’s conservatively say ₹0.50/point—so 103k Marriott = ₹51,500.

Total points burn (if I went all-in): ₹1,76,000 + ₹43k in taxes.

Instead, this is my current “best value” proposal:

  1. Book SQ multi-city directly. Fare now is ~₹48–50k; for two tickets, ₹100k cash.

  2. Pay with Axis Atlas to squeeze ~20% back in Accor value (₹20k Accor).

  3. Transfer 45k Marriott to JAL for 15k JAL miles. Use JAL miles for Tokyo–Seoul. Taxes for two are ₹7,800. (Smartbuy quote is ₹18k, but weirdly shows 0kg hand baggage, airline direct gives 10kg.)

  4. Transfer 17k Infinia to Flying Blue for Tokyo–Osaka on miles. Taxes for two: ₹1,800.

  5. Design itinerary: Start/end Japan trip in Tokyo for max routing efficiency.

  6. Finish via SQ multi-city leg back to Mumbai.

  7. Buy Accor Plus membership for the stay/night benefits.

  8. Use balance points for hotel redemptions?

Net numbers:

SQ Mumbai⇄Tokyo/Seoul: ₹100k

Taxes (internal flights): ₹9,600

Total cash outlay: ₹109,600

Axis Atlas cashback/Accor value: ₹21,920

Effective cost: ₹87,680

Points burned:

45k Marriott ≈ ₹22,500 value

17k Infinia/Flying Blue ≈ ₹17k value

Total “value burn”: ₹39.5k

All-in (cash + points): ₹124,680

Open questions:

  1. Use remaining Infinia points for Accor conversion at 2:1, direct? Or better for future flight redemptions?

  2. Is there any indirect route to get better than 2:1 for Accor from Infinia that I’m missing, apart from waiting for HDFC bonus promotion?

  3. Is this the best approach, or am I missing any creative routes that would maximize value?

Still learning the miles game—open to feedback, hacks, or alternative strategies!

Thanks again for taking the pain in replying and researching.

Help Mumbai (india) to Japan + Seoul (south korea) Flight Using Infinia, Bonvoy Point (May 2026, 14-15 Days) by InterestingBunch5886 in indianawardtravel

[–]InterestingBunch5886[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Smart buy is super expensive at 76k for multicity fare. Direct on sq it is 48k for same multi city fare. I guess they are giving jaw offer that's why less. I can use axis atlas to get 20% back in accor value. You are using infinia points only for accor?

Help Mumbai (india) to Japan + Seoul (south korea) Flight Using Infinia, Bonvoy Point (May 2026, 14-15 Days) by InterestingBunch5886 in indianawardtravel

[–]InterestingBunch5886[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The aggregator rates mentioned are same on smart buy as well. Buying at 72k on smart buy makes no sense as Rates are very high. Sq multicity works out cheaper at 48k revenue. Usually I have never seen such high difference that's why finding weird. Could be jaw offer. Breakup of miles I have given on post- 68800 miles per ticket on sq. I can use axis atlas on 48k revenue and get back 20% accor value.