Do Air India Maharaja Points Expire? Every Way to Extend Their Validity (2026)
Air India Maharaja Club points normally remain valid for 24 months, but they do not have an unavoidable hard expiry for active members. Completing an eligible paid Air India or Air India Express flight extends the validity of your entire eligible points balance by another 24 months from the travel date.
There is one important warning: once Maharaja Points expire, they cannot be revived. This makes it essential to act before the expiry date shown in your account.
Air India Maharaja Points Expiry: The Rule In One Table
| Activity | Extends existing points? | What happens? |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible paid Air India flight | Yes | Entire eligible balance receives 24 months from the travel date |
| Eligible paid Air India Express flight | Yes | Entire eligible balance receives 24 months from the travel date |
| Air India or Air India Express award flight | No | No extension |
| Complimentary ticket voucher | No | No extension |
| Star Alliance partner flight | No | May earn points, but does not reset the validity of the whole balance |
| Credit-card points transfer | No | Adds points but does not extend the existing balance |
| Buying Maharaja Points | No | Purchased points get their own 24-month validity |
| Hotel, shopping or another non-airline partner | No | Partner points have their own validity; existing balance is not reset |
| Qualifying activity through a Family Pool | Yes, for eligible pooled points | Special Family Pool rules apply |
Do Air India points have a hard expiry?
Not in the usual sense. A hard-expiry programme removes points after a fixed period even if the member remains active. Maharaja Club instead follows a rolling-validity system for members who continue flying with Air India or Air India Express.
Every eligible flight resets the validity of the full eligible balance to 24 months from that flight's travel date. For example, if you take an eligible flight on 10 August 2026, your balance should remain valid until approximately August 2028, subject to the exact date displayed by Air India.
However, the expiry becomes final once it occurs. The expired Maharaja Points cannot be revived or restored.
Best way to extend Maharaja Points: take an eligible paid flight
The simplest and most reliable method is to complete an eligible revenue flight operated by Air India or Air India Express.
Your ticket should meet all of these conditions:
- The passenger name must match the name in your Maharaja Club account.
- Your Maharaja Club membership number should be attached to the booking.
- The flight must be eligible to earn Maharaja Points.
- You must actually complete the journey; merely buying a future ticket does not extend the points.
- The flight must not be an award ticket or a complimentary-ticket voucher.
A short domestic flight can be sufficient. You do not need to book Business Class or take an international journey, the important factor is that the completed flight is an eligible revenue flight credited to your account.
Air India Express now counts
Maharaja Club members can earn points on eligible Air India Express flights taken on or after 22 May 2026. An eligible Air India Express flight can extend the validity of all Maharaja Points by 24 months.
When booking through Air India Express, select Maharaja Club as the loyalty programme and enter the correct membership number. Do not choose Tata NeuCoins if your objective is to earn Maharaja Points and protect the balance, because Air India Express allows members to earn either Maharaja Points or NeuCoins on a booking, not both.
Use a Maharaja Club Family Pool
A Family Pool can help when you are unlikely to fly but another eligible family member travels regularly.
Under Air India's Family Pool rules, points transferred to the Family Head's account are valid for two years. The validity of eligible pooled points is extended when the Family Head or a Pool Member earns Maharaja Points from a revenue flight after the pool has been created.
This route comes with an important limitation: points that remain in a Pool Member's individual account from before the pool was created retain their original expiry dates. They are not automatically protected by another member's later flight activity. The Family Head also controls redemption of the pooled points.
Therefore, do not create a Family Pool at the last minute without first checking where your current points will remain and which points will actually benefit from future family flight activity.
Claim points from an earlier Air India flight
If you recently flew Air India but forgot to attach your Maharaja Club number, use the Claim Missing Points facility.
- A claim can normally be submitted starting seven days after travel.
- Eligible Air India flights can generally be claimed for up to 12 months from the travel date.
- The extension is linked to the original travel date, not the day on which you submit the claim.
- Submit the claim before your existing balance expires, because an expired balance cannot be restored.
The retroactive claims for Air India Express flights are not yet available. Add your Maharaja Club number correctly before completing an Air India Express journey.
What does not extend the validity of Air India points?
Transferring credit-card points
Moving reward points from a bank or credit-card programme into Maharaja Club can increase your balance, but Air India does not list such transfers as an activity that extends the existing balance. The extension benefit is tied specifically to eligible Air India or Air India Express travel.
Buying Maharaja Points
Purchased points are valid for 24 months from their purchase date. Buying points should therefore be treated as a way to cover a redemption shortfall, not as a dependable method for resetting the expiry date of older points.
Earning through hotels and other partners
Points earned from non-airline partners have a 24-month validity. Partner activity does not replace the qualifying-flight requirement for extending the full balance.
Flying a Star Alliance airline
An eligible Star Alliance flight may earn Maharaja Points when credited to Maharaja Club, but Air India's published extension rule specifically names eligible Air India and Air India Express flights. Do not rely on a Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, United or another Star Alliance flight to reset the expiry of your entire balance.
Redeeming points or taking an award flight
Using a portion of your balance does not reset the remaining points. Award flights and complimentary-ticket vouchers are explicitly excluded from the extension rule.
A practical points-expiry checklist
- Sign in to Maharaja Club and note the exact expiry date shown in Account Summary.
- Plan an eligible paid Air India or Air India Express journey well before that date.
- Add your Maharaja Club number while booking or before check-in.
- Confirm that the name on the ticket matches your loyalty account.
- Complete the flight and retain the boarding pass.
- Wait for the Maharaja Points to post, Eligible flight points are normally credited shortly after completion.
- Return to Account Summary and verify that the expiry date has moved forward by 24 months.
- If an eligible Air India flight fails to credit, file a missing-points claim promptly.
Do not leave the flight until the final few days. A cancellation, operational disruption, account mismatch or delayed credit could leave too little time to fix the issue.
Frequently asked questions
Will the cheapest Air India ticket extend my points?
It can, provided the fare is eligible to earn Maharaja Points, the flight is operated by Air India or Air India Express, and the journey is completed and credited to your account.
Does booking a ticket extend the points immediately?
No. The extension is based on completing the eligible flight, not purchasing the ticket.
Can I extend points by transferring rewards from my credit card?
No. A transfer may add new Maharaja Points, but it should not be treated as an extension of the existing balance.
Can expired Maharaja Points be reinstated for a fee?
No. Air India's current FAQ says expired Maharaja Points cannot be revived.
How often should I fly to keep the points alive?
Complete at least one eligible Air India or Air India Express revenue flight within every 24-month window. Flying earlier gives you a safer buffer.
Final takeaway
Air India Maharaja Points have a 24-month rolling validity rather than an unavoidable hard expiry. The safest solution is simple: complete an eligible paid Air India or Air India Express flight before the expiry date and ensure it credits to Maharaja Club. A properly structured Family Pool can also protect eligible pooled points when another member takes a qualifying revenue flight.
Credit-card transfers, buying points, partner transactions, Star Alliance flights and award travel should not be used as substitutes for the qualifying-flight rule. Check the expiry displayed in your account and act early—once the points expire, Air India will not restore them.
Official sources
Information checked in July 2026. Loyalty-programme rules can change; verify the expiry date and current conditions in your Maharaja Club account before making a booking solely to preserve points.