Explaining Exactly Why Finnair Joining Avios is (Mostly) Fake News
You’ve probably seen the generic articles at major travel news sites about Finnair joining Avios.
It’s true – but when you see that you could already spend Avios on Finnair flights, and earn OneWorld Tier points, it is hardly the biggest news splash!
I’m a OneWorld fan and have saved and spent Avios for years. This quick guide cuts through the hyperbole and lays out what these new changes at Finnair really mean.
Finnair and Avios: What Has Changed?
The new announcement concerns the Finnair Plus loyalty program. This is their equivalent of the BA Executive Club, or the Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
Previously, you got ‘Finnair Plus Award Points’ each time you took a flight with the Finnish flag carrier. These could be used to buy and upgrade flights with Finnair – though were not transferrable to other schemes. You could not use them to buy BA or Iberia flights for example.
From early 2024, instead of earning Finnair Plus Award Points, you’ll get Avios. The number of Avios points you get will be based on how much you spend, not the length of your flight. This is in line with BA and the other OneWorld members.
Finnair and Avios: What Has Not Changed?
Several parts of this ‘news’ splash is either unchanged, or unknown (for now).
- Tier Points: You already earned Tier Points to reach the different status levels within OneWorld flying on Finnair flights, so no change there.
- Buying Finnair Flights with Avios: This is possible right now via the BA Reward Flight finder, and that will continue once the changes occur.
Unknowns:
- Transfer of Avios: We don’t yet know how easy it will be to move your Avios balance between the reward programmes. Qatar Air and Iberia allow this, creating a flexible setup where you can move your Avios points to where they get the best value.
- Value of Avios at Finnair: How good a deal you’ll get from Finnair for spending your Avios is another unknown. We’ll have to wait until the scheme starts and look at the deals.
That said, Finnair do offer some excellent cash deals – especially if you keep a close eye on their long-haul business class flights to Asia.
How Is the OneWorld Alliance Looking in 2023?
Here are the current members of the OneWorld Alliance – along with the name of their individual loyalty club:
- American Airlines: AAdvantage
- British Airways: Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific: Marco Polo Club
- Finnair: Finnair Plus
- Iberia: Iberia Plus
- Japan Airlines (JAL): JAL Mileage Bank
- Malaysia Airlines: Enrich
- Qantas: Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways: Privilege Club
- Royal Air Maroc: Safar Flyer (joined the alliance in 2020)
- Royal Jordanian Airlines: Royal Club
- S7 Airlines: S7 Priority
- Sri Lankan Airlines: FlySmiles
Currently, you can earn Avios at the BA, Iberia, and Qatar Airways clubs. There are plenty of alternative ways to earn them. A personal favourite is to swap Sainsburys Nectar points for Avios.
Credit cards which earn them are the topic of a major upcoming feature here at Luggage Review.
Wrapping Up: Finnair and Avios
You’ll earn Avios instead of Finnair Plus Award Points at some point early next year.
How much value you get from redeeming them, and how flexible they will be with transfers remains to be seen.
In the meantime, those tier points are earned as usual.
I think this is a positive overall… as long as we all calm down and stop getting too excited about the announcement!
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