Air India markets their Maharaja Club points (formerly Flying Returns) as “evergreen,” suggesting they never expire. But before you get too comfortable with this promise, there’s something crucial you need to know – these points aren’t as eternal as they seem. Let’s dive into Air India’s Maharaja club points expiry guide
Understanding the Fine Print
The term “evergreen” comes with a significant catch that many members discover too late. Your points actually expire after 24 months of inactivity. Yes, that’s right – those supposedly eternal points can vanish if you’re not paying attention.
Here’s what you need to know about point expiry:
- 24-Month Validity: All points expire after 24 months without any earning activity
- Extension Through Activity: Earning even a single point extends your entire balance for another 24 months
- Reward Flights Don’t Count: Using points for reward flights doesn’t qualify as earning activity
- Retroactive Claims: Missing points can be claimed post travelling
How to Keep Your Points Alive
The key to truly making your points “evergreen” lies in regular earning activity. Here are your options for earning points and extending validity:
- Flying Activities: You have to tae a revenue flight with Air India to keep your points active. Every time you take a flight with Air India, all your points will extend by 2 more years.
You can view in the account summary section if your points are expiring
Forgot to Add Your Frequent Flyer Number?
We’ve all been there – realizing after a flight that we forgot to add our membership number. Fortunately, Air India offers a window for retroactive claims. When you claim these missing points, they extend your balance from the original travel date.
- Submit within 180 days (6 months) for Vistara
- Submit within 365 days (12 months) for Air India
- Submit within 180 days (6 months) for Star Alliance partner airlines
Here is a detailed guide to retro claim your missing flights.
The Last Resort
If despite everything, your points do expire, all is not lost. Air India offers a revival option at ₹0.60 per point. While this isn’t the most economical solution, it’s worth considering if you have a substantial balance or need the points for a specific redemption.
You can do this only within 1 year of points expiry & extension will be valid only for a year.
Bottom Line
Don’t let the “evergreen” marketing lull you into a false sense of security. Keep track of your points’ expiry date and maintain regular earning activity. A little vigilance goes a long way in protecting your valuable rewards.
Remember, the best way to make your points truly evergreen is to stay active in the program. After all, points you’ve earned through your travels are too valuable to lose due to a misunderstanding of expiry rules.
Additionally, you can also claim points from Star Alliance partner airline flights (other than Air India) on your Maharaja Club Id. If the airports do not appear in the claim form, you can raise a service request and they will add the points offline. These count as ‘earn’ activities (remember to tag your Maharaja ID to those trips) and will help in extending the expiry of your points.
Hi Niraj,
Even I think so but AI FAQs are little tricky. Here is two FAQs which says only AI flight.
Q: What is the validity of points for all Non-airline Partners?
A: For Non-airline Partners, the validity of points is 24 months. However, you can extend the expiry date for all your Maharaja Points by 24 months from the date of travel every time you take an Air India flight (not valid for Reward Flights).
Q: What is meant by points that never expire?
A: The expiry date of all your points is extended by 24 months from the date of travel every time you take an Air India flight (not valid for Reward Flights). This means that as long as you keep flying with us, your points do not expire.
Refer – https://www.airindia.com/in/en/maharaja-club/faqs.html
While it’s talking only about AI & Reward flight, we also believe they should talk about Star Alliance flight as well if they are eligible.