Finnair to join Avios scheme - what does it mean for you?

Finnair has announced it will adopt Avios as its loyalty scheme next year, so you’ll be able to collect and spend Avios points on flights and upgrades. 

The airline, which is based in Finland, offers flights to more than180 destinations between Asia, Europe and North America via Helsinki. It will join Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways and Vueling, which offer Avios as their main loyalty currency. 

Here, Which? explains what the changes mean for you and offers tips on how to boost your Avios points.

What does the change mean?

If you’re a member of the existing loyalty programme called Finnair Plus, then all your points will be automatically converted to Avios with a 3:2 ratio. 

This means if you have 30,000 Finnair Plus points, they will be converted to 20,000 Avios points.

However, Finnair said the ‘purchasing power of the current points’ will remain unchanged as the redemption rates will be adjusted accordingly.

• Find out more: how to save money on flights. 

What else is changing with Finnair Plus?

From spring 2024, the loyalty programme will become spend-based. This means that you’ll reach tiers and earn Avios points based on how much you spend on your flight and travel extras purchases.

Currently, you're awarded Finnair Plus points based on the zone or distance flown and the ticket type or booking class. 

There will also be more membership benefits, including free internet access for messaging on short-haul European flights. 

Finnair will also increase the number of seats available for Avios redemption on each flight. 

It will guarantee at least four to six 'award seats' on Finnair flights within Europe (two in Business where it exists and four in economy) and eight seats on Finnair long-haul flights (two in Business, two in Premium and four in Premium Economy).

• Find out more:which airline has the best economy seats? 

Is Finnair a good airline?

Finnair came joint-third in our survey of the best and worst airlines with a customer score of 75%. 

Customers we surveyed in October 2022 gave it five stars for customer service and cabin cleanliness, and four stars for value for money, cabin environment, boarding and food and drink. It received three stars for its seat comfort.

However, it didn’t become a Which? Recommended Provider because of its no-show clause. 

• Find out more: best and worst airlines in 2023.

What does this mean for British Airways Executive Club members? 

Once the changes come in, you’ll be able to transfer your Avios points between Finnair Plus and the British Airways Executive Club with a 1:1 exchange rate.

You may wish to do this because although both schemes will use Avios as the name for their mileage currencies, each will have a different redemption rate for the number of Avios points needed for a flight.

Therefore, it can be useful to transfer Avios between programmes to book flights where you’ll get the best value. It also means BA Executive Club members can use Avios points to upgrade Finnair flights. 

The new redemption rate values for Avios haven't yet been published by Finnair. 

What can you spend Avios points on?

Avios points can be spent on reward flights, upgrades and hotels. 

Most of the time points can only be claimed against the cost of the flight, but not taxes and fees. So even when you’ve earned enough points for a free flight, you may still have to pay hundreds of pounds.

How to boost your Avios points

Here are three tips on how to increase your Avios points balance.

1. Use an air mile credit card

An air mile credit card is a type of reward card that allows you to collect airline loyalty scheme points on your everyday spending and there are several providers that offer Avios points. 

Both British Airways  and Barclaycard  offer competitive deals (one Avios point per £1 spent).

The British Airways American Express Credit Card has no annual fee and a representative APR of 30% (credit is subject to status and terms apply). 

New card members can get 5,000 Avios points if they spend £1,000 in the first three months and a companion voucher if they spend £12,000 in one year. 

The Barclaycard Avios offers the same introductory bonus and also has no annual fee. It has a representative APR of 28.9% (credit is subject to status and terms apply). 

If you spend £20,000 in your first year, you’ll get a cabin upgrade voucher or 7,000 bonus Avios points.  

• Find out more: best air mile credit cards.

2. Use free loyalty schemes 

Nectar points can be converted into Avios points and this can be done on the Nectar app or online. 

Every 400 Nectar points can be converted to 250 Avios points, so this equates to one Nectar point being worth 1.6 Avios points.

You can also convert any BPme rewards if you have a loyalty account with BP for your fuel. 

For every 40 BPme Rewards points you will get 25 Avios. 

• Find out more:loyalty cards compared. 

3. Check for retail partners 

You can earn Avios points when you use the British Airways Executive Club shopping portal. It has more 1,500 retailers, including Botts, Currys and M&S. 

You can also link your Uber account to your British Airways Executive Club account, so you’ll earn Avios on your journeys. You can earn 1 Avios point for every £1 spent with Uber.

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