- Prakriti Arora and Ashish booked business class seats from Prague to Delhi for Rs 17,000.
- They transferred 100,000 Axis points to Air Canada Aeroplan to redeem 80,000 points for award seats.
- The couple used credit cards for major expenses to accumulate points for travel redemptions.
A business class flight from Europe to Delhi can easily cost lakhs. But travel creators Prakriti Arora and Ashish say they managed to fly the same route for just Rs 17,000 for two. They did not find a secret sale or a Rs 17,000 business class fare. Instead, they used credit card points, an award-seat search and a little bit of last-minute luck to turn a ticket worth over Rs 4 lakh into a dramatically cheaper trip. But can you do it too? Yes, and they explained how.
They Booked Business Class Seats Just 5 Days Before Departure
Travel content creators Prakriti Arora and Ashish spotted two award seats only five days before their departure. They were travelling from Prague to New Delhi, with a stop in Warsaw, and found the seats through Seats.aero. The award booking required 80,000 points plus around Rs 17,000 in taxes for both travellers.
For comparison, Prakriti and Ashish said regular tickets for the same date were costing more than Rs 4 lakh for two people. To make the booking, they transferred 100,000 Axis points to Air Canada Aeroplan, which gave them the required 80,000 points.
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The couple also revealed that they had gradually moved their household and other major spending to credit cards, including M4B, Atlas and DCB. They had spent around Rs 3.3 lakh on flights during previous trips, which helped them accumulate the 100,000 points needed for this redemption.
Their strategy was to use credit cards for larger expenses, collect points and then redeem them for travel.
The Experience Was Completely Worth It
The journey started with the couple flying from Krakow to Warsaw. Even on the short one-hour flight, they said they were served champagne and appetisers. After landing in Warsaw, they visited the LOT Airlines business lounge. However, they described the lounge as underwhelming.
The longer flight to Delhi was a different experience. The business class cabin had a 2-2-2 configuration, with spacious and comfortable seats. The crew welcomed them with champagne and a small bite before take-off.
Once the flight took off, they were served drinks followed by appetisers. Both chose grilled aubergine. For the main course, they were served salmon and pumpkin gnocchi, which the couple said was prepared by a Michelin-star chef.
Then came an entire dessert spread with cheese, bread, ice cream and cakes. Prakriti joked that there was so much food that a nap felt justified. There was no lounge in Delhi, but the bedding made up for it.
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About three hours later, they woke up to rose and lime pudding before eventually landing in Delhi. Prakriti joked that after the amount of food they had eaten, they felt as though they had gained two to three kilograms.
Business Class Does Not Always Mean Paying Business Class Prices
The couple's Rs 17,000 figure was not the cost of the business class ticket itself. It was the taxes paid for the award booking after they redeemed 80,000 points.
They also shared another tip for travellers who want to try the same strategy. According to them, points can also be purchased during bonus deals if someone does not already have enough credit card points. They claimed this can bring the effective cost down to around 40 to 60% of the regular ticket price.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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