Interesting …. some partner Avios redemptions will be cheaper at finnair.com than via BA
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Back in August, in an unexpected move, Finnair announced it will be adopting Avios as its loyalty currency from early 2024.
It joins British Airways, Qatar Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus in using Avios.
The switch has now been confirmed for 9th March 2024.
EDIT: Finnair dropped us a note after this article was published to say that, whilst the Avios switch will happen on 9th March, the ability to transfer Avios between BA and Finnair will not go live until a few weeks later.
Now …. you have always been able to redeem Avios for flights on Finnair, because Finnair is a British Airways partner in the oneworld alliance.
As far as flying on Finnair itself is concerned, the big change is that there will be GUARANTEED Avios availability on every Finnair flight. Finnair is promising:
- 4-6 award seats on shorthaul European flights (two in Business where it exists, four in Economy)
- eight award seats on long haul flights (two in Business, two in Premium Economy and four in Economy)
Given that Finnair has extensive routes to Asia – and that British Airways does not any longer – there are some good opportunities here.
I don’t want to reinvent the wheel but this HfP article looks at where Finnair flies.
Finnair has now published its redemption charts
It turns out that there is an interesting new angle now at play.
There is NO arbitrage for BA services. Finnair will match British Airways Executive Club pricing on all British Airways redemption flights.
This is not the case with oneworld partner airlines though.
In some cases you will be able to save Avios by moving your Avios to Finnair Plus (after 9th March) via ‘Combine My Avios’ and booking via its platform.
Click here to see the Finnair reward charts. You need to scroll down to ‘Avios prices for award flights with partners’.
I can’t go through every interesting option but here are a few.
An example: Cathay Pacific
Asia to Europe with Cathay Pacific will be 72,500 Avios one-way in Business Class and 110,000 Avios one-way in First Class.
Book London to Hong Kong on the same Cathay Pacific flight via BA Executive Club, however, and it will cost you 92,750 Avios one-way in Business Class and 123,750 Avios one-way in First Class.
You can make a worthwhile saving by booking this Cathay Pacific Avios flight via the Finnair website after 9th March.
(It isn’t totally clear if Finnair pricing includes connecting flights in the same region. We know that ‘Finnair to Finnair’ connections will be chargeable but it is possible that, say, Japan to Hong Kong to London to Cathay Pacific will still cost the same as Hong Kong to London. If this is the case then the Finnair reward chart will be even better value.)
An example: Qatar Airways
Europe to Doha with Qatar Airways will be 41,250 Avios one-way in Business Class and 54,000 Avios one-way in First Class.
If you connect beyond Doha you will need to price the connection separately.
Book London to Doha on Qatar Airways via BA Executive Club and it will cost you 43,000 Avios one-way in Business Class (with peak pricing due to start in 2024) and 80,000 Avios one-way in First Class on the A380 service.
On the off-chance you can get A380 First Class seats from London, you will make a decent saving booking via Finnair.
An example: Royal Jordanian
Europe to the Middle East with Royal Jordanian will be 36,000 Avios one-way in Business Class.
Book London to Amman on Royal Jordanian via BA Executive Club and it will cost you 38,750 Avios one-way in Business Class. A small saving, but still a saving.
Even better …. if it turns out that Middle East connections are included with Finnair Plus, you could get from London to, say, Dubai on Royal Jordanian for 36,000 Avios one-way in Business Class. This seems unlikely although the Finnair chart does say ‘Europe to Middle East’ and not ‘Europe to Jordan’.
Conclusion
We haven’t looked at taxes and charges in this discussion. We are assuming that there is no difference between booking a oneworld airline via Finnair Plus and via British Airways Executive Club.
There is one other thing to note. Qatar Airways is, very quietly, adding online booking for all oneworld airlines to its website. Once this process is complete, and once Finnair joins Avios, you will have three options for booking a oneworld partner airline with Avios:
- via British Airways Executive Club
- via Finnair Plus
- via Qatar Airways Privilege Club
If you were planning to book, say, Cathay Pacific then you’d need to check the Avios cost and fees on all three websites to see which was cheapest, and move your Avios accordingly. Fun and games ….
You can see the new Finnair reward chart (from 9th March) on its website here.
PS. The reason I didn’t add Iberia Plus to the list above is that partner airline Avios bookings via Iberia Plus are NOT refundable. BA, Finnair and Qatar will all let you cancel for a small fee.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (November 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:
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.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
Huge 80,000 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. Click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) 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.
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