Finnair resumes flights to Osaka and adds more Tokyo services, bookable with Avios
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Finnair has announced plans to boost its flights to Japan, albeit with longer flight times than pre-covid due to the need to avoid Russian airspace.
If you have been struggling to find Avios availability on British Airways to Japan next year, you may want to see if you can find seats on Finnair – albeit you can’t use an American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher or a Barclays Upgrade Voucher.
Osaka
There will be three flights per week to Osaka starting on 26th March.
Flights will use an A350 and depart Helsinki on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Tokyo Narita
As well as its existing daily flight to Tokyo Haneda – where landing slots are restricted – Finnair is adding four weekly flights to Tokyo Narita for Summer 2023.
Services to Narita will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, starting on 27th March. It has already been tentatively restarting Narita with two weekly flights this Winter.
Other routes
Hong Kong and Delhi are being expanded to daily from late March.
Services are timed to allow sensibly timed connections to the Finnair flights from Heathrow, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin.
Our review of the innovative new ‘no recline’ Finnair business class seat is here. I also took a look at the new Finnair Premium Economy seat here.
Our guide to earning Finnair Plus points from UK credit cards is here.
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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2025)
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:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
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.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
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.
American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
