Palm-lined beach path at Novotel Goa Dona Sylvia Resort, 29 August–1 September 2026.
The plan
I went to Goa with Komal from 29 August to 6 September. For a points person, this looked like a satisfying test: could I put together the flights and the stays without paying the ordinary cash price for either?
The answer is more interesting than a clean “free trip.” The flights were award tickets. Some hotel bills were reduced with ALL points. The points reduced the hotel bills, but cash charges remained. Award tickets still have taxes and fees. Here is the maths as booked, not just the headline.
The flights
We flew Delhi to Goa Dabolim on 29 August and back on 6 September, on Air India-marketed flights operated by Air India Express. The itinerary lists AI 9722 / IX 1068 outbound and AI 9723 / IX 1340 back.
The redemption emails show 10,000 Maharaja points per person for the award booking, so 20,000 points for the two of us. Each e-ticket has a ₹10,000 base-fare component and ₹2,220 of taxes and carrier fees, for a ₹12,220 ticket-face total. The ₹10,000 component is not a second cash payment; the payment method includes frequent-flyer points. I recall the comparable cash fare for both tickets on those dates being around ₹40,000. Against the ₹4,440 of ticket fees, that suggests a saving of roughly ₹35,560, or about ₹1.78 per Maharaja point. It is a rough comparison based on my fare estimate, not a verified quote, and I still need to reconcile the final card charge.
Aboard Air India Express on the Goa trip, 29 August–6 September 2026.
The hotel trail
The first three nights were at Novotel Goa Dona Sylvia Resort in Cavelossim. The booking was ₹30,585.60 for two adults, with 12,000 ALL points. Its final hotel bill records ₹26,404.68 credited against the room charges via reward points and a ₹4,180.92 balance; the hotel separately confirmed that ₹4,180.92 was charged to the card. On that booking, the points offset worked out to roughly ₹2.20 per ALL point. That is the documented booking offset, not necessarily the best possible use of those points. The property faces the beach and has a huge games room. My Accor Platinum status also got us free breakfast and lounge access with unlimited food and drinks at Dona Sylvia. I have not put a rupee value on those benefits, but they were part of what made this stay feel worthwhile.
Garden, pools and palm lawn at Novotel Goa Dona Sylvia Resort, 29 August–1 September 2026.
Games room, food and Seagull dining at Novotel Goa Dona Sylvia Resort.
From 1 to 3 September we stayed at Mercure Goa Devaaya Resort. The original reservation quoted ₹16,048 due at the hotel. Two later ALL messages say 7,000 and another 1,000 points were applied there. We also got a room upgrade with a river-view jacuzzi and free breakfast. I wrote a positive review afterwards: a comfortable stay and courteous staff. Fishing was complimentary; cycling cost ₹200. The morning island nature walk was ₹250 per person, and the boat ride was ₹750 per person. We spotted a crocodile from the boat. These activity prices are what I recall, not amounts reconciled against the final hotel bill. I cannot yet put a reliable final cash/points split on this stay without its final checkout bill, and I have not assigned a cash value to the upgrade or breakfast.
Villas, river-view jacuzzi and sunset at Mercure Goa Devaaya Resort, 1–3 September 2026.
Fishing, cycling, the island walk, our boat ride and the crocodile we spotted at Mercure Goa Devaaya.
For 3 to 6 September we stayed at ibis Styles Goa Vagator. The ibis booking was ₹14,190.75, with 6,000 ALL points and ₹1,114.77 shown as due at the hotel. That implies ₹13,075.98 of the booking value was offset by points, about ₹2.18 per point. The hotel gave us a room with a good view and free breakfast. All the rooms were the same category, so there was no upgrade to offer. That is a different kind of status benefit from the lounge at Dona Sylvia or the jacuzzi-room upgrade at Mercure; I have not priced any of them into the points maths.
Pool at ibis Styles Goa Vagator, 3–6 September 2026.
The trip beyond the rooms
Dona Sylvia was right by the beach, with a games room large enough to make the resort itself part of the holiday. Mercure offered complimentary fishing, ₹200 cycling and a ₹250-per-person morning island walk. The ₹750-per-person boat ride was the one where we spotted a crocodile. The day-by-day itinerary and the rest of our food and beach stops deserve their own post.
A Goa meal. The exact dining venue has not been verified.
The maths, without pretending away cash
| Booking | Points used | Cash evidence | Booked value / points offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two return award tickets, Delhi–Goa | 20,000 Maharaja points | ₹4,440 ticket taxes/fees shown; card charge to verify | Around ₹40,000 comparable cash fare, per my estimate; ~₹1.78/point after ticket fees |
| Novotel Goa Dona Sylvia · 29 Aug–1 Sep | 12,000 ALL points | ₹4,180.92 card charge | ₹30,585.60 booked total; ₹26,404.68 points credit on the final bill |
| Mercure Goa Devaaya · 1–3 Sep | 8,000 ALL points applied during stay | Final cash balance unknown | ₹16,048 original booking total; later redemption may include extras |
| ibis Styles Goa Vagator · 3–6 Sep | 6,000 ALL points | ₹1,114.77 shown as due at hotel | ₹14,190.75 booked total; ₹13,075.98 implied points offset |
“Due” is a booking-stage amount, not proof of what was finally paid. The ₹40,000 flight cash fare is my estimate, not a saved quote; ticket-face totals are not a cash comparison.
- Confirmed point redemptions: 20,000 Maharaja points + 26,000 ALL points (12,000 Dona Sylvia + 8,000 Mercure + 6,000 ibis)
- Verified card charge: ₹4,180.92 at Dona Sylvia; ₹1,114.77 listed as due at ibis, final receipt pending
- Known ticket fees: ₹4,440 across both e-tickets; card settlement to confirm
- Effective ALL value: Dona Sylvia ₹2.20/point; ibis ₹2.18/point. Mercure not yet reconcilable.
For anyone who does not think in points, here is the same trip in plain money. ALL points have a standard redemption value of about ₹2.23 each (2,000 points take €40 off a hotel bill), which is how I have valued the hotel points below.
| Booking | Cash (revenue) price | Paid with points | Cash paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two return award tickets, Delhi–Goa | Around ₹40,000 comparable fare, per my estimate | 20,000 Maharaja points (≈ ₹35,560 saved after fees) | ₹4,440 |
| Novotel Goa Dona Sylvia · 29 Aug–1 Sep | ₹30,585.60 booked rate | 12,000 ALL points (≈ ₹26,760) | ₹4,180.92 |
| Mercure Goa Devaaya · 1–3 Sep | ₹16,048 booked rate | 8,000 ALL points (≈ ₹17,840)* | To reconcile |
| ibis Styles Goa Vagator · 3–6 Sep | ₹14,190.75 booked rate | 6,000 ALL points (≈ ₹13,380) | ₹1,114.77 |
| Total | ≈ ₹1,00,824 | 46,000 points | ₹9,735.69 so far |
*At ₹2.23 a point, Mercure’s 8,000 points are worth more than the room’s booked rate; the two redemptions made during the stay may have covered extras beyond the original booking. The ₹40,000 flight fare is my estimate, and the cash total still excludes any final Mercure balance.
Put simply: roughly ₹1,00,824 of flights and hotels at cash rates, covered by 46,000 points plus ₹9,736 of actual cash spent. That is the shape of the saving even before counting the breakfasts, the lounge and the upgrade, none of which I have priced.
In percentage terms: this trip would have cost roughly ₹1,00,824 in cash. I paid ₹9,736 out of pocket, plus 46,000 points. That is under 10% of the cash price; points covered more than 90% of this trip.
What I would do again
First, keep the confirmation and the final checkout bill for each stay. Points in a booking email are only part of the story. Dona Sylvia’s final bill shows the actual credit, while Mercure’s later point-use messages changed the picture after the original booking.
Second, compare the whole trip, not the most flattering redemption. Two award seats can still mean taxes and carrier fees; a hotel booking may still carry a cash balance. If I want to say “all the flights and stays were booked on points,” I need every final bill to support the exact points-and-cash split. For now, the honest headline is that points did a lot of work on this Goa trip, but the final cash total still needs reconciliation.