IndiGo, in August 2024, announced that IndiGo BluChip would be launched soon. BluChip is the loyalty programme for IndiGo, and the airline intends to reward all its customers with loyalty points and perks for flying with the airline.

The programme is being rolled out for the airline customers who pre-registered, and today, when I logged into my IndiGo account (just a name/email/phone number combination), I received my IndiGo BluChip membership number. Every member is issued a unique 9-digit IndiGo BluChip membership number. It will be a while before I memorise it, but here is everything I know about the programme.

IndiGo BluChip

IndiGo BluChip is IndiGo’s loyalty and rewards programme. The airline will award a points currency, BluChips, to everyone participating in the programme.

• BluChips Earning: You earn 8 BluChips per INR 100 spent on base fare (plus fuel surcharge, if any) on IndiGo flights and IndiGo codeshare flights marketed by IndiGo but operated by Turkish Airlines and Qantas.
  • Members will earn Base and Tier Bonus IndiGo BluChips irrespective of their booking channel, i.e., IndiGo Website/App, third-party websites, OTAs, offline travel agents or bookings done through corporate booking channels.
  • Select 6E add-ons like Seat Select, Excess Baggage, and Fast Forward are also eligible for earning IndiGo BluChips; however, they are only available when booked on the IndiGo website or mobile app, not when you book them via an OTA or a TA. Similarly, the select 6E Add-ons purchased through the IndiGo Contact Centre at the airport during check-in or inflight will not earn IndiGo BluChips.
  • Any additional fees paid as part of the modification of the booking do not qualify for earning IndiGo BluChips.
• You will also earn IndiGo BluChips when you transact using other programme partners (this is still being built up).
• Direct Booking Bonus: When you book IndiGo flights directly through IndiGo’s website or mobile app, you earn a bonus of 4 IndiGo BluChips/INR 100.
• Discounts on Ancillaries: IndiGo will offer discounts to the BluChip members on Seat Select, Excess Baggage and Fast Forward add-on services on IndiGo-marketed and operated flights. 10% for the Blu 3 members, 20% for Blu 2 members and 30% for Blu 1 members.

• Spending your IndiGo BluChips: You can redeem your IndiGo BluChips on IndiGo flights for yourself and nominees (up to 5 nominees). There are no blackout dates on redemptions on IndiGo. You can book any flight (excluding IndiGo marketed, Codeshare Partner operated flights) 365 days a year. You can also use your perks for your Nominees.
• IndiGo BluChips are evergreen: Your IndiGo BluChips never expire if you do any accrual or redemption activity with IndiGo or any of the Program Partners of the IndiGo BluChip Programme within the preceding continuous 24-month period.

IndiGo BluChip Tiers

The programme has three Loyalty Tiers. Everyone starts at Blu 3, goes to Blu 2 and then Blu 1, the top tier. The TrueBlue Mosaic tiers inspire this terminology; however, in IndiGo’s world, 1 is the top, and three is the lowest. As you can imagine, I am Tier 3 now, and this status is universally valid.

Tiers have a 12-month validity period, after which their status is reviewed. Subject to the criteria for that Tier, the membership will either be retained in the same tier or downgraded to the next lower tier. Tier benefits are linked to the Tier, and their validity is related to the Tier.

• Blu 3  is the entry-level tier.
• Blu 2 is IndiGo’s mid-tier. To upgrade or retain the Blu 2 Tier, members must spend a minimum of INR 100,000 and complete four IndiGo flights within 12 months.
  • Blu 2 members earn a tier bonus of 2 IndiGo BluChips on every INR 100 spent.
  • When you achieve IndiGo BluChip Blu 2, you get 20 6EPrime passes, which are worth approximately INR 20,000. You can use them for yourself or your nominees.
• Blu 1 is IndiGo’s top tier. To upgrade or retain the Blu 1 Tier, members must spend a minimum of INR 200,000 and complete eight IndiGo flights within 12 months.
  • Blu 1 members earn a tier bonus of 4 IndiGo BluChips on every INR 100 spent.
  • When you achieve IndiGo BluChip Blu 1, you get 40 6EPrime passes, which are worth approximately INR 40,000. You can use them for yourself or your nominees.

Tiers are evaluated for upgrade daily to check the previous 365-day period for the minimum spends and flight criteria. Tiers are evaluated for retention/downgrade on the Tier’s anniversary to check the last 365-day period for the minimum spends and flight criteria.

IndiGo co-brand credit cards

Spending on IndiGo co-branded credit cards earns you 6E Rewards. These will remain a separate credit-card reward programme for the time being and accrue you 6E Rewards. The merger timeline or process for the two is not known yet.

Redemption of IndiGo BluChips

Redemption tickets booked using IndiGo BluChips either in whole or in part cash part IndiGo BluChips are not eligible for any accrual of IndiGo BluChips.

My First Thoughts

IndiGo’s new loyalty programme is a simple earn-and-burn programme, and it adds perks for members as they go up to Blu 2 and Blu 1 status in the programme. The airline does not have the distractions of pandering to a crowd with alliance affinities and can operate in a closed loop by itself, at least to take it off the ground. As was expected, the benefits offered are also simple, and you get limited use of the existing 6E add-ons as you progress up the programme, and you do not have unlimited use of the Fast Forward queue and so on.

It will be interesting to see how this progresses in the times ahead.

Bottomline

IndiGo’s new BluChip programme is being rolled out to customers who have pre-registered it. The programme earns 8 points/INR 100 spent, with another 2-4 as a bonus for Blu 2 or Blu 1 tier guests. If you book directly with the airline, you also get another 4 points/INR 100 spent. The loyalty programme has three tiers; you get 6E Prime as a benefit as you move up the tiers. You earn for tickets and some add-ons and can redeem them for all flights. But if you redeem even one Blu-Chip on a flight, it becomes ineligible to be counted towards qualifying flights on the next one.

What do you make of the IndiGo BluChip loyalty programme?

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