#26 Among Airlines
Point Value
1.20 ¢
Hobby Score
3.5
Finnair is one of seven airlines that use Avios as their currency.
Finnair Plus associated alliance is oneworld Alliance
Visit oneworld Alliance
Transferring from other Avios programs is the most common way for Americans to "earn" Finnair points. There are no co-branded credit cards for U.S. customers, and Capital One is the only transferable currency partner with Finnair.
You’ll earn Avios based on your ticket price (excluding taxes and fees), booking class, and elite status. The remaining base fare is multiplied by the following tier multipliers:
Finnair’s only credit card transfer partner is Capital One. You can transfer any miles earned with a Capital One card (that earns transferable miles) to Finnair at a 1:1 ratio. This is one weak aspect of the Finnair Plus program, but fortunately it can be overcome. Since you can transfer Avios between all seven airlines who use them, you can actually transfer from every major reward currency, just in a roundabout way.
You can also earn Avios by flying with Finnair partner airlines. Earnings are based on travel class, booking class, and distance flown. If you hold Finnair status, you'll receive a bonus when flying on American Airlines, British Airways, or Iberia:
To view earning charts for each partner, go here, scroll to “Avios from oneworld flights” or “Avios from other partner airlines’ flights”, then select an airline to see full details.
Since Finnair uses Avios, the same currency as six other European airlines, you have a wide range of redemption possibilities. Your best value will come from using Avios for airfare on Finnair, an Avios partner, a oneworld partner, or any of their other partner airlines.
Finnair still uses an award chart for both its own flights and partner flights. They guarantee a minimum number of award seats on every flight:
Award seats open 360 days before departure. The chart applies to one-way awards. If your booking includes a connection, you’ll be charged for each segment except flights within Finland and Northern Europe (zone 1). Click here and scroll about halfway down to see the award chart. Finnair also charges surcharges on all flights, but it is a flat rate depending on the route and class of service, and they are very reasonable. These must be paid in cash, not Avios. You can see the surcharge chart on the same page as the award chart.
You can book award flights on British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and Qatar Airways directly through the Finnair website. For all other partners, you must book through Finnair’s chat service (bottom right of the site) or by calling customer service. Always confirm availability and pricing before calling.
Discover your points' highest-value redemption options. Use the filters to find the optimal sweet spot for your next trip.
Finnair is good for booking flights on its own metal, but they often fall short when it comes to partner bookings. There are still a few sweet spots here and there, but by and large you’ll find better options through another program that uses Avios. It’s important to shop all Avios options
If you are hoping to redeem Avios on Finnair metal, be aware that they release their flights 360 days in advance. If there is a specific flight you’re hoping to use Avios for, search the first day those flights come out, as Finnair does guarantee a certain number of award space seats on each flight
If you travel to northern Europe or are based in the region, Finnair Plus can be a good program to join. Finnair offers solid coverage and strong redemption options to Asia. For U.S.-based customers, though, Finnair Plus won’t offer much value. The main advantage is that they use Avios, so redeeming Avios earned from a Finnair flight is simple.
You can freely transfer Avios between the seven airlines that use them, giving you flexible redemption options. Finnair is also part of oneworld, so redeeming Finnair Plus Avios with partner airlines is straightforward. They’re most valuable on Finnair flights, for certain partner sweet spots, or after transferring them to programs like British Airways, Iberia, or Qatar.
The challenge isn’t using Avios—it’s earning them. Finnair Plus isn’t ideal for U.S.-based travelers because there’s no co-branded credit card and only one transfer partner (Capital One). If you already have Finnair Plus Avios, you’ll find ways to use them without trouble, but we don’t recommend trying to actively earn them unless you fly Finnair or travel to northern Europe on a regular basis.
Finnair Plus has five tiers of elite status, starting with Basic. You begin as a Basic member when you join for free, and your personal one-year tracking period starts at that time.
Here are the five elite tiers, requirements you’ll need to get to each level, and the benefits of each
In addition to earning elite status levels, you can also earn other extra benefits by reaching certain levels of Tier Points during the status qualification period
