How I redeemed 2L points for a Maldives trip worth 5L

by rahul.joshi · 12 Jan 2026, 01:37 am · 850 views · 20 replies

12 Jan 2026, 01:37 am

Just got back from an incredible Maldives trip that I basically paid for entirely with credit card points. Here's the complete breakdown:

Trip Overview

Duration: 5 nights, 2 adults

Actual spend: ₹68,000 (flights + incidentals)

Value received: ₹5,20,000 approximately

Net savings: ₹4,52,000

Points Used

Flights (DEL-MLE-DEL)

Transferred 75,000 HDFC Infinia points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Booked 2 roundtrip tickets on SriLankan Airlines via KrisFlyer (37,500 miles each)

Actual ticket value: ₹1,20,000 (₹60K per person for direct flights)

Points value: ₹1.6 per point

Hotel Stay (5 Nights at Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi)

Transferred 1,25,000 Amex MR points to Hilton Honors

Got 1:2 transfer bonus (became 2,50,000 Hilton points)

Redeemed for 5-night overwater villa stay

Cash price during same dates: ₹4,00,000

Points value: ₹3.2 per Membership Reward point!

How I Accumulated These Points

HDFC Infinia: Regular spending + SmartBuy 10X events (built 75K in 8 months)

Amex Platinum Travel: Flight bookings + hotel stays + welcome bonus (1.25L in 1 year)

Tips for Similar Redemptions

Finding Award Availability

Search 11 months out (when most programs release space)

Be flexible with dates

Use tools like AwardHacker, KrisFlyer search

Maldives has good availability Sept-Nov (wet season but still amazing)

Point Transfers

NEVER transfer until you confirm availability

Call the airline after transfer to book if website glitches

Hilton transfer bonuses happen 2-3 times a year - wait for them!

Cost Breakdown

Seaplane transfer: ₹45,000 (₹22,500 per person) - paid cash

Food/drinks at resort: ₹15,000 (mostly included in half-board)

Activities: ₹8,000 (snorkeling, diving)

Was It Worth It?

Absolutely YES.

Annual fees (Infinia ₹12,500, Amex ₹60,000)
Opportunity cost of not taking cash back

The value I got far exceeded any other redemption option. The overwater villa alone would've cost ₹80K per night in cash!

Next Goals

Eyeing a business class redemption to Europe. Need to build 1.5L more points. ANA Round-the-World seems achievable with Amex MR transfers.

Happy to answer questions!

19 Comments

shreya.kulkarni · 12 Jan 2026, 09:07 pm

This is the dream! Which month did you go? I'm planning Oct 2025.

aditya.singh · 13 Jan 2026, 04:21 pm

₹3.2 per MR point is insane value. I usually get 0.5-0.7 on Amazon shopping. Really need to explore transfers more.

ananya.reddy · 13 Jan 2026, 07:37 pm

How did you get 2:1 Hilton transfer bonus? I checked last month and it was 1:1 only.

varun.malhotra · 18 Jan 2026, 03:55 am

The ROI on points vs cashback is clear here. People who redeem Infinia points for ₹0.5 on Apple vouchers are leaving massive value on table.

sneha.nair · 14 Jan 2026, 07:38 am

Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi is bucket list level. Those overwater villas are stunning. Jealous!

kavya.krishnan · 14 Jan 2026, 05:59 pm

I tried this exact route but couldn't find KrisFlyer award availability for Maldives for ANY dates in next 6 months. How did you find space?

ananya.reddy · 14 Jan 2026, 03:39 pm

The seaplane transfer is the hidden cost everyone forgets. ₹45K is steep! Some resorts offer speedboat which is cheaper.

siddharth.patel · 15 Jan 2026, 03:20 pm

For others reading: You can also transfer HDFC points to British Airways Avios. Sometimes better availability than KrisFlyer for Maldives routes.

ananya.reddy · 16 Jan 2026, 06:14 pm

This makes me want to stop cashing out my Infinia points on Apple vouchers and actually plan premium trips!

varun.malhotra · 15 Jan 2026, 08:03 pm

Food at Waldorf must be crazy expensive. ₹15K for 5 nights seems low? Or was most included?

siddharth.patel · 17 Jan 2026, 07:51 am

Alternative route: Transfer Amex to Marriott, book St. Regis Maldives. Similar luxury, sometimes better availability.

divya.pillai · 19 Jan 2026, 01:41 am

Did you have to pay any fuel surcharges on the SriLankan flights? Sometimes those kill the deal.

harsh.agarwal · 20 Jan 2026, 12:46 am

How was the weather in wet season? I'm considering Oct but worried about rain ruining the trip.

vikram.iyer · 20 Jan 2026, 03:12 pm

₹60K per person for Maldives flights is actually expensive. I got Go First (RIP) for ₹28K last year. But points redemption still makes sense.

deepika.menon · 24 Jan 2026, 04:09 am

For people without premium cards: You can still do this with SBI Vistara card slowly building miles. Takes 2-3 years but doable.

neha.gupta · 21 Jan 2026, 06:28 am

The Hilton 2:1 transfer bonus is KEY. Without it you'd need 2.5L Amex points. Always wait for bonuses on hotel transfers!

priya.sharma · 21 Jan 2026, 11:21 pm

What's your monthly spend to accumulate 2L points in a year? That's impressive without any manufactured spending.

ananya.reddy · 22 Jan 2026, 06:08 am

I did similar trip using Accor points for Raffles Maldives. Cost me 1.8L Accor points for 4 nights. Also incredible value.

sneha.nair · 23 Jan 2026, 05:01 am

The opportunity cost argument is real though. ₹72,500 in annual fees could've bought a decent domestic trip. But Maldives in overwater villa > anything domestic.

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