Why now?

Points are everywhere, seize them

More opportunities for HNIs

I have been very conflicted in topic selection for this month’s column, having torn up a couple of drafts already. But the more I read and hear of things around me, the more I realise that those with miles and points stashes are not as affected by the current events unfolding in West Asia as compared to the ones who do not. And this should be a lesson in diversification that perhaps everyone needs.West Asian hubs in the UAE and Qatar are prime carriers for Indians to Europe and the Americas, apart from Air India and IndiGo, which are building up their networks to serve these continents directly as well. Earlier this month, we saw people in transit seeking shelter in place as flights were grounded, and it took them over a week to get out. However, the closure of West Asian corridors left not just the people in these airports stuck, but also those who were booked to travel from Europe and the Americas into India and vice versa.As with any geopolitical conflict, the element of surprise caught everyone off guard, but among the first to return home were the people with balances in their mileage accounts. They booked tickets on other carriers using their points as a backup in case their original flights routing through West Asia were not operating. Sometimes twice over.After the immediate shock of losing connectivity and being grounded in a conflict zone for days, the consequences started to show up. Airfares for direct flights to the West from India have skyrocketed, and inventory has been reduced. One-way tickets to Europe in Economy Class for a month later jumped from Rs.50,000–60,000 to Rs.2 lakh.But there has been a silver lining. Those with adequate points have been able to book tickets without extra consequences, doing business as usual (subject to availability). For instance, a close relative needed to be in Paris for an interview but wasn’t paying those prices. He just picked up points from his collection over the years, and booked a ticket worth Rs.2,00,000 with 55,000 points and US $50. Never mind that it was in economy class, he at least gets there. And this is not the only example around me. Many others have been up to it.If you are of the school of thought that you don’t travel much and hence don’t need this, think again. Loyalty points and miles are today far more entrenched in our daily lives. Banks allow their credit card subscribers to earn bank points and transfer them to various airlines’ frequent-flyer programs. HDFC Bank, American Express, Axis Bank, and HSBC are among these, with a good selection of partner schemes to transfer your points to.Banks and airlines/hotels also come together to launch co-branded cards, where spending on the cards brings you points into their loyalty programme. Marriott Bonvoy, Etihad Guest and IndiGo BluChip are the current co-brand card issuers in India. Air India’s Maharaja Club has about 100 partners offering rewards when you book through their special links. These include car services, retail partners and cruises. You can even earn points on your meal orders at home, with Zomato partnering Air India Maharaja Club and Swiggy partnering IndiGo BluChip, Flipkart SuperCoins and Marriott Bonvoy.One of the bigger picture perspectives has high-net-worth individual (HNI) customers and offer them even more points on spends on their credit cards.For instance, HSBC has the HSBC Premier programme, which offers a credit card with the best in class points system. Axis Bank took its popular Magnus product and launched a “for Burgundy” variant, where if you hold the card and are a member of the Burgundy Wealth Management programme, you get double the value out of the points accumulated on the card. Similarly, the American Express Platinum (Metal) card and the HDFC Bank Infinia have points earnings that are above the market in many cases. For instance, buying medicines or booking hotels via the HDFC bank Smartbuy portal gets you 10X points equivalent to 33% value of the purchase. And with Amex, you get ten times the usual points (25 points/`100) when you purchase with the Platinum Charge Card.The bottom line is, if you are a traveller, frequent or not, you should start being interested in accumulating points. Even if they don’t make sense on day one, they can facilitate travel for you and your family in days when cash spending might not make any sense.The Author is Founder And Editor, Livefromalounge.com