Earn Maharaja Club points on Star Alliance partner flights: the full earning chart for 2026
By Kabir Malhotra (Kabir Malhotra writes about how Indian travel buyers actually pay — UPI vs credit card vs forex card surcharges, reward-point math on the top travel credit cards, RBI tokenisation, EMI-on-flights and the small fees that compound across a year of bookings.) · Published · 11 min read
Air India's Maharaja Club is a full Star Alliance member, which means you can earn points on flights operated by Lufthansa, Swiss, United Airlines, ANA, Singapore Airlines and around 20 other partners. The earn rate depends almost entirely on your fare class — and on partner flights the ratio between Award Miles and Tier Miles is fixed at 2:1. Here is the practical breakdown.
TL;DR — the short answer
Yes, you earn Maharaja Club points on Star Alliance partner flights — but only in bookable fare classes that earn miles, and the rate varies by partner and cabin. On most partners, full-fare economy (Y, B, M, U) earns 100% of the distance flown in Award Miles; deep-discount economy (N, Q, G, O) often earns 25–50% or zero. Business class earns 125–200% depending on the partner and the booking class. On all partner flights, every 2 Award Miles you earn also count as 1 Tier Mile — so building status on partner metal is slower than flying Air India metal. Verify the current chart on the Air India Maharaja Club website before booking, because partner agreements can change with little notice.
How does Star Alliance partner earning actually work for Maharaja Club members?
Air India joined Star Alliance in 2014 and has maintained partner earning agreements since. When you book on a partner airline — say Lufthansa from Frankfurt to London — and add your Maharaja Club number at booking or check-in, the operating airline sends an accrual message to Air India after the flight. Air India then posts the miles, usually within 2–4 weeks of travel.
A few things Indian flyers often miss:
- It is the operating carrier that matters, not the marketing carrier. If you buy an Air India codeshare ticket that is physically operated by Lufthansa, you earn on Lufthansa's accrual table — not Air India's base-airline rates. Check the flight number prefix (LH = Lufthansa, UA = United, NH = ANA, SQ = Singapore Airlines, etc.).
- You must have your Maharaja Club number in the booking before departure. Adding it at check-in works but is riskier — sometimes the accrual message does not fire if the number was added at the gate.
- Missing miles claims take time. You can file a retro claim on the Air India website up to 6 months after travel, but you will need the boarding pass and ideally the e-ticket receipt. Partner retro claims can take 6–12 weeks to resolve. Keep your boarding passes.
Earning chart by fare class — the key partners
I am going to give you realistic ranges here rather than a table that could be out of date by the time you read this — always cross-check on the Air India Maharaja Club accrual page for the specific flight you are booking. That said, the general structure across the main partners looks like this:
Lufthansa (LH) and Swiss (LX): Full-fare economy (Y, B, M, U) typically earns 100% of flight distance. Mid-fare (H, K, Q) earns around 50–75%. Deep-discount (L, T, V, W) earns around 25%. Business Class (C, D, Z) earns 125–150%. First Class earns 150–200%. These are the partners where fare-class mapping matters most — a 'cheap' Business Class fare bought via a sale (D or Z class) still earns well.
United Airlines (UA): United uses a zone-based earning structure rather than a distance-based one, which means a Delhi–New York ticket (via any connection) earns a fixed block of Award Miles based on the fare class. Full-fare economy generally earns around 100% of the published distance; the lowest Basic Economy bucket (O or N) may earn zero. Check this carefully if you are tempted by United's Basic Economy fares from the US — you will earn nothing on Maharaja Club.
ANA (NH): Japanese airlines tend to be generous earners on premium classes. ANA's business class (C, D) on Maharaja Club typically earns 125% of distance. Economy fare classes behave similarly to Lufthansa's structure. ANA is one of the better partners for earning Maharaja miles on a long-haul premium cabin.
Singapore Airlines (SQ): SQ fare classes also follow the standard pattern — Y/B/M/U for full earn, deep-discount Q/G/O at reduced rates, and Business Class (C/D/Z/J) at 125–150%. Given that Delhi–Singapore is a popular route with direct Air India flights, many travellers opt for SQ when Air India is sold out or priced higher. The earn on SQ is decent if you are booking a mid or full-fare class.
Turkish Airlines (TK): A popular partner for Indian travellers transiting Istanbul to Europe or Africa. Turkish typically earns at standard partner rates, with full economy at 100% and promotionally priced economy buckets at 50% or lower. Turkish's Business Class fares are often priced more competitively than Lufthansa's, and they earn reasonably well.
What is the 2:1 Award-to-Tier Miles ratio and why does it matter?
This is the bit that surprises most people who are trying to build Maharaja Club Silver or Gold status by flying on partner airlines.
On Air India-operated flights (AI metal), Award Miles and Tier Miles accrue at a 1:1 ratio in most fare classes. If you fly 5,000 km on an AI-operated flight in a standard economy fare, you earn roughly 5,000 Award Miles and 5,000 Tier Miles (give or take, depending on the exact booking class).
On Star Alliance partner flights, the ratio shifts to 2:1 — for every 2 Award Miles you earn, only 1 counts as a Tier Mile. So that 5,000-km Lufthansa flight in a full-fare economy class gives you roughly 5,000 Award Miles (which you can use for redemptions) but only around 2,500 Tier Miles toward your next status tier.
Why does this matter? Maharaja Club Silver requires around 25,000 Tier Miles in a qualifying period. If you fly exclusively on partner metal, you need to earn about 50,000 Award Miles — worth of flying — to reach Silver. On Air India metal, you only need 25,000 Award Miles of flying. For anyone chasing status, mixing in Air India flights (or Air India Express, which earns on the main programme) makes the tier climb significantly faster.
Which partner gives the highest per-km earn for Indian travellers?
Purely by Award Miles earned per km flown, the better partners tend to be those where you can access higher earn-percentage fare classes at a reasonable price:
- ANA Business Class (Tokyo routes): ANA's business fares on some routes price at a slight discount to Lufthansa and earn at 125%, making them efficient for per-km earn. Delhi–Tokyo is around 5,800 km one-way, so a round-trip business class earns a meaningful chunk.
- Turkish Airlines business on European sectors: Turkish codeshares cover a lot of European cities from Istanbul, and their business-class fares on the Istanbul–European-city leg (which can be booked separately) sometimes earn at full 125% rates on a shorter flight distance, making the per-km yield high.
- Egyptian (MS) and Ethiopian (ET): Two other Star Alliance members that Indian travellers use for Africa routing. Earn rates vary; check the Maharaja Club table for these specifically as I have seen earn rates change on these partner agreements more often than on the flagship partners.
The general rule: avoid the lowest fare class on any partner if earning miles matters to you. The difference between a mid-fare economy class and the rock-bottom discount class is often ₹1,500–₹4,000 on a longhaul leg — and the earn differential can be 50% vs 100% of distance. Do the math for your specific itinerary using FlightGPT's flight search to find fare options, then check the Maharaja Club accrual table for the exact booking class.
Practical tips for partner accrual from India
A few things I have learned from my own bookings and from watching friends lose miles they should have earned:
- Add your FFN at the time of booking, not at the airport. With partner tickets booked via OTAs (MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, Yatra), there is sometimes no obvious field for a frequent flyer number during the booking flow. In that case, go to the operating airline's website, look up your booking by PNR, and add the Maharaja Club number there. Do this at least 24 hours before departure.
- Check the accrual estimate before you book. Air India's website has an accrual calculator where you can input the airline, flight number, and booking class to see the expected earn. This is the only authoritative source — third-party estimates (including what I write here) can be outdated.
- Screenshot the estimate. If miles do not post and you raise a retro claim, having a screenshot of the expected earn strengthens your case.
- Partner miles post slowly. Do not assume missing miles are lost after two weeks. I have had ANA miles take 6 weeks to post. File a retro claim only after 6–8 weeks have passed without any posting.
For travel agents using the FlightGPT Partner portal, when booking partner-metal itineraries for clients who want to earn Maharaja Club miles, confirm the booking class in the GDS fare display — it is the only way to know the actual earn percentage before issuing.
Bottom line
Partner earning on Maharaja Club works well if you are in mid or full-fare classes on Lufthansa, Swiss, ANA, Singapore Airlines, or Turkish. It is largely wasted in rock-bottom discount economy buckets. Build a habit of checking the booking class before you commit — a small fare premium often buys you a dramatically better earn rate. And remember the 2:1 Award-to-Tier ratio: use partner flights for accumulating redeemable miles, but fly Air India metal when you are actively chasing a status tier. Also worth reading: our guides on buying Maharaja Club points in India and what you actually get with Maharaja Club Silver status.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take for partner miles to appear in my Maharaja Club account?
Typically 2–4 weeks after the flight for major partners like Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines, though it can take up to 6–8 weeks for some partners. If miles have not appeared after 8 weeks, file a retro claim on the Air India website with your boarding pass and e-ticket. Partner retro claims can take an additional 4–12 weeks to resolve.
Do I earn Maharaja Club Tier Miles on codeshare flights operated by partner airlines?
Yes, but at a reduced rate. On Star Alliance partner-operated flights, every 2 Award Miles earned counts as 1 Tier Mile — a 2:1 ratio. On Air India-metal flights the ratio is typically 1:1. So if building status is your goal, flying AI-operated metal gets you to the next tier threshold roughly twice as fast.
Does Air India's Basic Economy fare earn Maharaja Club miles on AI-operated flights?
Air India's lowest fare buckets (often labelled Economy Lite or similar) typically earn at a reduced rate — around 50% or 25% of distance — compared to full-fare economy at 100%. Always check the fare conditions in the booking flow; the booking class letter (visible in the fare rules) tells you the exact earn percentage on the Maharaja Club accrual table.
Can I earn Maharaja Club points on IndiGo or Akasa Air flights?
No. IndiGo and Akasa Air are not Star Alliance members and have no current accrual agreement with Maharaja Club. You can only earn Maharaja Club points on Air India, Air India Express (which earns into the main programme), and the Star Alliance partner carriers listed on the Air India website.
Which Star Alliance partner is best for earning Maharaja miles on a Europe trip from India?
Lufthansa and Swiss are the most straightforward for a Delhi/Mumbai–Europe trip — mid-fare economy (H/K class) typically earns around 50–75% and full-fare earns 100%. If you can access a competitive Business Class fare on ANA (via Tokyo) or Turkish (via Istanbul), those earn 125% and the mileage yield on a long sector can be very high. Always verify in the Maharaja Club accrual calculator before booking.
Does the Maharaja Club number need to match the name on the passport?
Yes. The name on your Maharaja Club account must match the name on your ticket. Mismatches — especially with middle names, initials, or title variations — are one of the most common reasons partner miles fail to post. Check that your Maharaja Club profile exactly matches the name format you use when booking flights.