150K Challenge: Central Europe, Flying Home in Business
📅 Updated as of 5 Oct 2026. Planned for 15–25 May 2027. Award seats from seats.aero; cash prices from Google Flights and Google Hotels, all checked 5 Oct 2026 (hotel prices for 2 adults unless stated). Rupee values use USD ₹96.34 and EUR ₹108.11 (DealUni FX sheet).
What changed (5 Oct 2026): added total out-of-pocket cost for each plan.
The 150K Points Challenge is back with one rule: don’t waste points on economy to Europe. A return economy ticket costs ₹45,000–75,000 in cash; spending 60,000+ points on it is a poor deal.
The catch: fly out in economy, paid through a bank travel portal that pays you back in points, then fly home in business for just 40,000 points. Ten nights in Prague, Salzburg and Vienna, for a couple, a family of three and a family of four.
TL;DR
- ✈️ Home in business for 40,000 Aeroplan points + about ₹12,800 in fees, Vienna to Delhi. About ₹2.60 a point via Warsaw, ₹4.30 on Air India’s nonstop.
- 💳 Out in economy for ₹40,000–44,000, booked on HDFC SmartBuy or Axis Travel EDGE, earning 17–24% back in points.
- 🏨 Hotels: points only where they’re worth ₹1+; cash elsewhere, via a bank portal or direct when status perks win.
- 📅 Seats exist now on 22–27 May and 3 June 2027.
The route
| Dates | Where | Getting there |
|---|---|---|
| 15–18 May | Prague (3 nights): Old Town, Charles Bridge, the castle | Delhi to Prague, one stop, economy (cash) |
| 18–20 May | Salzburg (2 nights), with a day trip to Hallstatt | Train or bus, about 5–7 hours |
| 20–25 May | Vienna (5 nights): Schönbrunn, Prater, museums | Train, about 2.5 hours |
| 25 May | Fly home in business | Vienna–Warsaw–Delhi on LOT, Aeroplan award |
Flying home: business for 40,000 points
Aeroplan prices this trip on distance, and Vienna–Warsaw–Delhi on LOT Polish Airlines falls into its cheapest long-haul business band: 40,000 points plus about ₹10,149 in taxes and a CAD 39 (about ₹2,600) Aeroplan partner booking fee per ticket. Even better, Air India’s nonstop AI154 (8.5 hours on a 787-8, landing at 8:30 am) prices at the same 40,000 points with lower taxes (about ₹7,900 + the booking fee). That flight sells for ₹1.82 lakh in cash, so you’d get about ₹4.30 a point. LOT’s own connecting fare is ₹1.17 lakh.
| Date (2027) | From | Business seats seen |
|---|---|---|
| 25 May | Vienna, Munich, Milan, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Warsaw | 4–8 |
| 26–27 May | Vienna, Munich, Milan, Warsaw | 2–7 |
| 3 June | Vienna, Munich, Frankfurt, Zurich (3); Warsaw (7) | 3–7 |
Nonstop or via Warsaw? Take the nonstop if it seats everyone: it’s 7 hours shorter. It also showed at 40,000 on 22, 26 and 27 May.
Two Aeroplan extras. On the Warsaw routing you can add a stopover for 5,000 points: a day or two in Warsaw, then fly on to Delhi (up to 45 days allowed). And Family Sharing pools up to 8 members’ points for free, but each member needs a 6-month-old account, so open accounts for the family now.
Flying out: let the bank pay you back
| Card and portal | Flights | Hotels | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Infinia / Diners Black Metal on SmartBuy | 5X: 16.7% | 10X: 33% | Bonus capped at 15,000 (Infinia) or 10,000 (DCB Metal) points a month |
| Axis Magnus for Burgundy on Travel EDGE | 60 points per ₹200: 24% in airline miles (5:4) | Same 24% | Up to ₹2 lakh spend a month |
| ICICI Times Black on iShop | 6X: about 12% | 12X: about 24% | 15,000 points a month |
| HSBC Premier on Travel with Points | 6X | 12X | Monthly cap applies |
Google Flights shows Delhi–Prague one way on 15 May 2027 from ₹29,704 on Air Arabia (low-cost, bags extra), ₹39,959 on Etihad and ₹44,297 on Turkish, all one stop. We budget the Turkish fare. Book it on SmartBuy with Infinia and you get about 7,400 points back, worth ₹7,400. On Magnus for Burgundy via Travel EDGE you get about 10,600 miles’ worth.
Hotels: points only where they beat cash
| City | Hotel | Points | Cash (Google Hotels) | Value a point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna, 5 nights | elaya hotel vienna city center (by Stephansplatz), couples | 75,000 Wyndham | ₹1,01,555 (₹20,311 a night) | 🟢 ₹1.35 |
| Vienna, 5 nights | Vienna Marriott, room for 4 (5th night free) | 2,89,000 Bonvoy | ₹2.99 lakh for 4 (₹36,099 a night for 2) | 🟢 ₹1.03 |
| Vienna, 5 nights | Novotel Wien City, family room | ~44,700 Accor | ₹93,000–1 lakh family room (₹15,827 a night for 2) | 🟢 ₹2.16 (fixed) |
| Prague, 3 nights | Courtyard Prague City (room for 3) | 1,17,000 Bonvoy | ₹84,351 (₹28,117 a night) | 🔴 ₹0.72 |
| Salzburg, 2 nights | Holiday Inn Salzburg City | 78,000 IHG | ₹36,616 (₹18,308 a night) | 🔴 ₹0.47 |
Squeeze out more on every cash booking
Every cash rupee should earn twice. Pick one route per booking:
| Book through | What you get | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Bank travel portal (SmartBuy, Travel EDGE) | 24–33% back in card points. Usually no hotel points or elite perks | 3- and 4-star hotels (Prague, Salzburg) |
| Hotel website or app, paid with your best card | Hotel points, elite nights and status perks, plus your card’s normal earn | Chains where you hold status |
| A Fora advisor | At partner luxury hotels: usually breakfast, a hotel credit, and an upgrade when available. You pay the hotel, so your card still earns | 5-star stays and special trips |
| Rove or TopCashback first | Rove pays about 10–25 miles a dollar on hotels it sells, and its “Loyalty Eligible” hotels still earn hotel points. TopCashback pays cash back on hotel sites it lists | An extra layer before a website booking |
Paying the hotel directly? Infinia and Magnus for Burgundy charge 2% + GST forex; Atlas earns 5 EDGE Miles per ₹100 on direct hotels but charges 3.5%. Our rule: if the perks (breakfast, an upgrade) beat the portal’s extra 15–25%, book direct or through Fora. If not, the portal wins.
The three plans
| Couple | Family of 3 (child 7) | Family of 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly home in business (Aeroplan) | 80,000 | 1,20,000 | 1,60,000 |
| Hotel points | Vienna elaya: 75,000 Wyndham | Vienna Novotel family room: 30,000 Accor + about ₹31,000 cash | None (all hotels on cash via portal) |
| Total points | 1,55,000 | 1,50,000 | 1,60,000 |
| Value of points used | ~₹3.1 lakh | ~₹3.8 lakh | ~₹4.2 lakh |
| Points back from the cash spend (at 24%) | ~50,000 | ~68,000 | ~1,06,000 |
The family of four goes 10,000 over budget: four business seats cost 1,60,000. With spare Bonvoy points, the Vienna Marriott family room (2,89,000, fifth night free) is the best family redemption here.
Total out-of-pocket cost
| Couple | Family of 3 | Family of 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights out (economy) | ₹88,600 | ₹1,32,900 | ₹1,77,200 |
| Hotels paid in cash | ₹1,21,000 | ₹1,52,000 | ₹2,64,000 |
| Award taxes + booking fee (about ₹12,800 a seat) | ₹25,600 | ₹38,400 | ₹51,200 |
| Schengen visas via Austria (incl. VFS) | ₹24,600 | ₹32,000 | ₹39,300 |
| Trains Prague–Salzburg–Vienna | ₹12,000 | ₹15,000 | ₹18,000 |
| Total out of pocket | ₹2,71,800 | ₹3,70,300 | ₹5,49,700 |
| Less points back (₹1 each) | −₹50,000 | −₹68,000 | −₹1,06,000 |
| Net cost | ~₹2.22 lakh | ~₹3.02 lakh | ~₹4.44 lakh |
| Same trip all in cash | ₹5.82 lakh | ₹7.49 lakh | ₹9.67 lakh |
Where to get the points
| Programme | Best Indian sources (card : programme) | For 80,000 Aeroplan |
|---|---|---|
| Aeroplan | Axis Magnus for Burgundy and Burgundy Private 5:4; Axis Atlas 1:2; HDFC Infinia and Diners Black 2:1; SBI MILES 1:1; Marriott 3:1 | 1,00,000 Burgundy points, or 1,60,000 Infinia points |
| Wyndham | Axis Atlas 1:2; Axis Burgundy 5:4; HDFC Infinia 1:1; HSBC TravelOne 1:1 | – |
| Accor | Axis Olympus 1:2; Burgundy Private 5:4; HSBC 1:1; Axis Atlas 2:1 | – |
How to book it, in order
- Now: search Aeroplan for Vienna to Delhi in business on 25 May 2027 (or your date). Find seats for everyone first.
- Transfer and book the same day. Bank transfers take minutes to three days, so hold off until you’ve seen the seats.
- Book the Vienna hotel on points, then the outbound flight and other hotels on SmartBuy or Travel EDGE. Spread bookings across months if a card has a monthly cap.
- December 2026: apply for the Schengen visa through Austria (up to six months ahead). Had two Schengen visas in the last three years? You may get a two-year multi-entry one. Since April 2026 the EU’s Entry/Exit System scans fingerprints and face on first arrival, so allow extra time at Prague.
- Before the trip: book trains on ÖBB or RegioJet.
What could go wrong
- Award seats disappear. We saw them on 5 Oct 2026. Be flexible by a day or two, or fly home from Warsaw, which had the most seats. Cancelling an Aeroplan award costs CAD 150 a ticket (free within 24 hours); changes cost CAD 100.
- Portal prices can be higher than the airline’s own site. Compare first; the points back only help if the fare is close.
- Family rooms: confirm the hotel takes two children in one room before you book.
DealUni take
The smartest use of points to Europe is one business flight home for 40,000 points, a cash fare out that earns points back, and hotel points only where they beat cash. A couple does it on about 1,55,000 points and ₹2.7 lakh in cash, against ₹5.8 lakh all in cash, and gets roughly 50,000 points back. Jaate waqt economy, aate waqt aaram: points wahan lagao jahan kaam aaye.
More 150K Challenges: the full series covers Japan, Maldives and Morocco, and our western Europe trip pairs well.
