Finnair Plus the other week launched a buy points sale with up to a 100% bonus that ends tomorrow (September 18, 2023).
Finnair Plus recently made changes to its award charts + reintroduced fuel surcharges (overall roughly 30% devaluation).
You can access Finnair Plus here.
The airline is also moving to Avios in 2024, and current points are converted at a 3:2 ratio to the new loyalty currency. It is unclear if there will be further award chart devaluation.
Finnair Plus members can then link their accounts with BA and move Avios between accounts, and from BA, you can further move them to Iberia or Qatar Airways and vice versa.
Bonus Table:
You must buy at least 100,000 Finnair Plus points to get the 100% bonus.
Price:
The price of a Finnair Plus point purchased at the 100% bonus level is 0.64 euro cents each. The price in Avios would be at the 3:2 ratio 0.97 cents.
Finnair Award Chart:
| Zone | Economy Class | Premium Economy | Business Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights within Northern Europe* | 10,000 points | – | 15,000 points |
| Flights within the rest of Europe** | 20,000 points | – | 30,000 points |
| Flights between Europe and Asia, North America, Doha or Dubai | 45,000 points | 65,000 points | 95,000 points |
*Bergen, Copenhagen, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Krakow, Oslo, Reykjavik, Riga, Stockholm, Tallinn, Tromsø, Vilnius, Visby, Warsaw and all flights within Finland. Please note there is no Business Class on flights within Finland.
**incl. Tel Aviv. Business Class may not be available on all European routes.Prices are for flights in one direction; double prices for round trips.
Finnair Fuel Surcharges:
| Zone | Economy Class | Premium Economy | Business Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | €10 | – | – |
| Rest of Europe, excl. Iceland, Israel, Canary Islands and Madeira | €15 | – | €15 |
| Iceland, Israel, Canary Islands and Madeira | €30 | – | €30 |
| Doha, Dubai and India | €30 | €35 | €40 |
| North America | €30 | €50 | €80 |
| Rest of Asia | €45 | €75 | €120 |
| Connecting segment* | +€10 | +€10 | +€20 |
The surcharge cannot be paid with points.
*If you have a connecting flight, the surcharge consists of the higher zone fee and the connecting segment fee. For example, Rovaniemi–Helsinki–New York flight in Economy Class: surcharge €30+€10, or Singapore–Helsinki–New York in Business Class: surcharge €120+€20.
Prices are for flights in one direction; double prices for round trips.
Recent Finnair Changes:
Finnair New Superlight Ticket Type, Decreased Luggage Allowance & Seat Fees
Report Finnair Gate Carry-On Weighing Experiences
Finnair’s Gate Display “CARRY-ON BAGGAGE REMOVAL”
Finnair Plus Moves To Avios Platform & Goes Revenue Based
Finnair Changes Business Class Carry-on Allowance Third Time in Two Months
Conclusion
The move to the Avios platform creates an ambiguity of possible other changes. However, Finnair has said that the award charts are converted at the same 3:2 ratio, but there can always be surprises.
The recent change in the number of points required for awards + reintroduction of fuel surcharges essentially meant a 30% devaluation.
These Finnair Plus points have been most valuable when used for Finnair’s own awards, but there is currently very little premium cabin award availability on long-haul routes that I have looked at.
Also, the award availability might become even trickier in 2024 once Finnair moves to the Avios platform. The program may get polluted with Avios from BA looking for better redemption opportunities with Finnair, especially on those long-haul routes where BA’s fuel surcharges are ridiculous.
