“One million points. Four years. Challenge accepted.”
Why take the SAS EuroBonus Challenge? Simple: earn a million points, travel the world, unlock insane value. Here’s where it gets interesting – we chose a loyalty program from an airline that doesn’t even fly to India. Sounds crazy? Let me tell how it unfolds & why we choose to do it. Read about the challenge here
The Million-Point Question
SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) doesn’t fly to India. At first glance, that might seem like a deal-breaker. But diving deeper into SkyTeam alliance options revealed something fascinating – these points could be a game-changer for international travel from India.
Why SAS EuroBonus?
The SAS EuroBonus program offers some incredible features that made this challenge worthwhile:
- Cancel or rebook flights up until 24 hours before departure
- Mix and match travel classes (economy outbound, business return? No problem!)
- Open-jaw itineraries (fly into Barcelona, return from Amsterdam)
- Points valid till Sep 2029
Plus, with no SkyTeam carriers operating domestic routes in India, every point would go toward international adventures.
Why SAS EuroBonus?
The SAS EuroBonus program offers some incredible features that made this challenge worthwhile:
- Cancel or rebook flights up until 24 hours before departure
- Mix and match travel classes (economy outbound, business return? No problem!)
- Open-jaw itineraries (fly into Barcelona, return from Amsterdam)
- Points valid till Sep 2029
Plus, with no SkyTeam carriers operating domestic routes in India, every point would go toward international adventures.
Where can we use those points?
From Mumbai, we have access to six SkyTeam airlines:
Western Routes:
- Air France
- KLM
- Saudia
- Virgin Atlantic
- Kenya Airways
Eastern Routes:
- Vietnam Airlines
If we choose to start from Delhi, Korean Air becomes the ultimate value play.
Korean Air to the East
Let’s look at why Korean Air is a sweet spot
- 25,000 points for economy return
- 50,000 points for business return
These rates apply to destinations like:
- South Korea
- Japan
- Taiwan
- Hong Kong And the best part? Low surcharges!
Do the math: 1 million points = 20 business class return trips. With business fares typically costing ₹1.5 lakhs return, that’s ₹30+ lakhs in value!
The Vietnam Alternative
Vietnam Airlines offers another option, though at higher rates:
- ~50,000 points for economy return
- ~100,000 points for business return
We’re keeping our fingers crossed for Korean Air to start Mumbai operations once the T2 airport expansion is complete
Europe
SkyTeam’s European offerings are solid:
- Economy: 90,000 points return
- Business: 165,000 points return
That means six luxurious business class returns to Europe, easily worth over ₹10 lakhs.
North America
Same points, bigger value:
- Economy: 90,000 points return
- Business: 165,000 points return
Six business class returns across the Atlantic, perfect for those 15+ hour journeys.
Beyond the Points
This challenge wasn’t just about maximizing value (though getting potentially ₹10+ lakhs worth of travel is nice!). It was about turning points into possibilities, creating memories, and sharing adventures with my wife.
- We had tough but great time getting all our visas sorted. Now I feel like visa isn’t that great a deal.
- We did some great redemptions for Emirates 13 hour flight and we had a wonderful amenity kit with Turkish for the short flight
- We spent ~3L on flights during the challenge which I believe is totally worth it.
- Airlines crew gave us some amazing souvenirs when we told them about the challenge
- Countless memories of time spent together.
- I learnt about multiple tools along the way.
- Visahacks.in by Raivat (& he is a good friend now) came handy & showed us value of our Japan 5 year visa
- FlightConnections.com helped me plan my route
- I understood how to use TIMATIC
- Google Flights was my go to website for flights but I dig deeper & there is whole lot to it.
- Finally, I learnt about value of community. Both the WhatsApp group of Magnify & FlyerTalk helped with lot of nuances, last minute changes, how to enter the
EBBnumber, and more.
Looking Ahead
This challenge wasn’t just about points. It pushed us to think differently, to see opportunities where others saw roadblocks. We learned to question the obvious, dig deeper, find value in unexpected places.
Travel isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about those first steps into a new city. That window seat view of Mt. Fuji. That perfect coffee in Paris. Those conversations with strangers who become friends.
With Shruti, we set out to crack a points challenge. We ended up discovering that the real value isn’t in the points – it’s in taking that first step. Sometimes the craziest ideas lead to the best journeys. After all it’s a journey and not the destination that matters.
Million points? Done. But the journey? Just getting started.