Maharaja Club Points Fest: Up to 50% Bonus on Point Transfers (May 2026)
Air India is giving up to 50% bonus Maharaja Points on transfers from May 1 to 31. Magnify, HDFC, ICICI, SBI, and 25 other partners qualify. Axis Bank and HSBC India are excluded.
Air India just announced Points Fest, a one-month campaign that gives bonus Maharaja Points when you convert partner reward points into Maharaja Points. The bonus goes up to 50%, depending on how much you transfer in one shot.
The campaign runs from May 1 to May 31, 2026. You need to register before transferring, and the bonus is one-shot per partner.
The Magnify app is one of 27 participating partners, so if you've been earning Mag Miles, this is the window to transfer them to Maharaja Club and stack the bonus.
The Bonus Slabs
The bonus applies to your first eligible conversion per partner during May. The more you convert in one go, the higher the percentage.
| Maharaja Points Converted | Bonus | You Transfer → You Get |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 25,000 | 10% | 20,000 → 22,000 |
| 25,001 to 50,000 | 20% | 40,000 → 48,000 |
| 50,001 to 75,000 | 30% | 70,000 → 91,000 |
| 75,001 to 1,00,000 | 40% | 100,000 → 140,000 |
| 1,00,001 and above | 50% | 200,000 → 300,000 |
Maximum bonus cap: 200,000 Maharaja Points per partner.
Since the bonus is per partner, transferring from multiple sources means multiple bonuses. Don't split a single partner's transfer into chunks. Do one large transfer per partner to hit the highest slab.
Who's Participating
Air India listed 27 conversion partners for this round. Instead of a bank-by-bank breakdown, here's the full list at a glance:
Indian banks: HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank, Federal Bank, Yes Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Central Bank of India, South Indian Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, DBS Bank, Bandhan Bank.
SBI co-branded cards: Air India SBI Credit Card, SBI Travel Card, SBI Aurum.
HSBC (international only): HSBC UAE, HSBC UK, HSBC Qatar, HSBC Malaysia.
Apps and platforms: Magnify, HeyMax, Jupiter, Flipkart Supercoins, E-rewards.
Other: Audi India.
If your bank's on this list, head to the Maharaja Club Points Fest page, register, and then trigger the transfer from your bank or app.
The Big Downside: No Axis Bank or HSBC India
This is where Points Fest stumbles for a lot of Indian cardholders.
Axis Bank cards (Atlas, Magnus, Reserve, Olympus, Horizon) are excluded entirely. HSBC India is also out, even though four of HSBC's overseas programs made the cut. Any Edge Miles or HSBC India Reward Points you convert during May won't earn the Points Fest bonus. The standard transfer ratio still applies (Edge Miles to Maharaja at 1:2), but the 10 to 50% kicker isn't yours.
For Axis cardholders, this stings. Axis quietly pulled Accor from its transfer partner list earlier this year, and now they're sitting out the biggest Maharaja bonus event of the year. Two setbacks in quick succession for a card lineup that used to have one of the most flexible transfer setups in India.
If you're holding Edge Miles, your options for May are simple: skip the Air India transfer this month, or convert anyway and accept the plain 1:2 ratio without the bonus. KrisFlyer, Marriott, and Etihad are still healthy redemption options on Axis if you want to use the points elsewhere.
Quick Math
Say you have 75,000 Mag Miles and 50,000 HDFC Reward Points sitting around.
| Source | Points In | Maharaja Points | Bonus | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnify (Mag Miles, 1:1) | 75,000 | 75,000 | 30% (+22,500) | 97,500 |
| HDFC Rewards (1:1) | 50,000 | 50,000 | 20% (+10,000) | 60,000 |
| Combined | 125,000 | 157,500 |
That's 32,500 extra points from two transfers. A domestic round trip's worth of bonus, just from stacking.
Stack With Magnify's Own Bonus (May 27 to 31)
A timing detail worth knowing. From May 27 to 31, Magnify is running a 50% bonus week on Mag Miles to Maharaja Club. That bonus is on top of Points Fest.
If you transfer Mag Miles between May 27 and 31:
- Magnify auto-applies 50% extra in the app, so the Maharaja Points landing in your AI account are 1.5x what you transferred.
- Air India then sees that bigger inflow and applies the Points Fest bonus on top (10 to 50% based on the slab you land in).
For the best math on Mag Miles, hold your big transfer until that final week.
Stacked Math: A Worked Example
Say you've been saving up Mag Miles and you have 100,000 ready to move. You wait until May 27 and convert in one shot.
| Step | What Happens | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. You transfer in the Magnify app | 100,000 Mag Miles converted | 100,000 |
| 2. Magnify's 50% bonus auto-applies | +50% before the points leave the app | 150,000 land in Maharaja Club |
| 3. Points Fest slab kicks in | 150,000 falls in the 1,00,001+ slab → 50% bonus | +75,000 bonus |
| Final balance | 100,000 Mag Miles in | 225,000 Maharaja Points out |
That's a 2.25x multiplier on the Mag Miles you started with. A one-way Star Alliance business class redemption to Europe sits around 75,000 to 90,000 points, so a single stacked transfer like this nearly funds a long-haul business class ticket.
Quick Setup
- Register on the Maharaja Club Points Fest page before you transfer.
- Trigger your conversion from the partner side (Magnify app, HDFC SmartBuy, ICICI iMobile, etc).
- Your base points usually arrive within 2 working days. Bonus points are credited within 60 days after the campaign ends, so expect them by late July 2026.
If you're worried about points expiry, both the transfer and the bonus credit reset your 24-month inactivity clock.
FAQs
How long do bonus Maharaja Points take to credit?
Two timelines to track. The base transfer (your original points crossing over) usually lands within 2 working days from most banks, with Air India's official SLA being up to 15 days. From the Magnify app, base transfers are typically same-day. The Points Fest bonus is separate. It only credits within 60 days after the campaign ends, which means if you transfer on May 5, you'll see your base points within a few days but the bonus shows up by end of July 2026.
Do I need to register before every transfer?
No. One-time registration on the Maharaja Club Points Fest page covers all your transfers across May. Just do it before your very first transfer of the month, and any subsequent transfer from any partner gets considered.
What if my Axis or HSBC India transfer goes through anyway?
Air India's terms are explicit. Any conversion from Axis Bank or HSBC India during May won't earn the bonus. The base transfer ratio still applies, so your points still arrive in the Maharaja Club account, just without the 10 to 50% kicker on top.
How many Maharaja Points does a flight actually cost?
Under the 2025 award chart, domestic Air India economy starts around 5,000 points one-way and business class runs 10,000 to 15,000. International gets bigger. India to Europe in economy is around 30,000 to 40,000 points one-way, and business is 75,000 to 90,000. So even the smallest Points Fest slab (10% bonus on a 25,000 transfer) covers most of a domestic ticket on its own.
Can I split one bank's transfer into chunks to get multiple bonuses?
No. The bonus only applies to your first eligible conversion per partner. If you transfer 25,000 from HDFC and then another 50,000 the next day, only the first 25,000 gets a bonus. Better to do one large transfer per partner and aim for the highest slab (1,00,001+ points means 50%).
Can the bonus stack with Magnify's 50% transfer week?
Yes. Mag Miles transferred between May 27 and 31 get Magnify's own 50% bonus auto-applied in the app, then Air India layers Points Fest on top of the resulting Maharaja Points balance. See the stacked math example above for the full breakdown.
