Get a good Asia business class flight sale on Finnair – fly from UK, earn Avios and tier points

Finnair has launched its Winter sale – and all flights earn Avios and British Airways Executive Club tier points.

There are special Business Class fares to Asia from the UK via Helsinki, valid until 27th January for – in many cases – travel between 1st February and 10th December 2020.

What makes this sale attractive is that:

• You can start from London, Manchester and Edinburgh
• Finnair flights earn Avios and British Airways tier points
• Finnair is flying brand a new A350 aircraft on many routes with excellent business class seats
• If you fly from London, you can even get a long-haul flat bed aircraft on the European leg if you pick the right departures

Compared to the Club World seat the 1-2-1 configuration is a major improvement. You can read my review of the Finnair A350 business class seat here.

Here is some typical pricing in Business Class, via Helsinki:

• Bangkok £1,698
• Beijing £1,396
• Busan £1,659
• Delhi £1,548
• Guangzhou £1,496
• Hong Kong £1,545
• Krabi £1,649
• Nanjing £1,496
• Phuket £1,648
• Seoul £1,659
• Shanghai £1,496
• Xi’an £1,303

Click here to see the prices out of London, Edinburgh and Manchester in both business and economy class.

In terms of BA tier points, you will earn 440 for a round trip.  This consists of 80 tier points each way between the UK and Helsinki and 140 tier points each way between Helsinki and Asia.

By the way, the website is also offering UK to Helsinki in Business Class from £685!  Give that a miss – British Airways is offering it for £196 return on certain dates in the current sale.  Use BA’s Low Fare Finder tool here to find dates. 

You will earn 160 tier points return and, as a Heathrow Terminal 3 service, you can check out the Cathay Pacific lounge on the way.  This won your vote for ‘Best UK Airport Lounge’ in the 2019 Head for Points Travel & Loyalty Awards.

Your best option to maximise your miles when paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold.  This offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.  Our review of Amex Gold is here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.