{"id":120636,"date":"2023-08-16T14:00:59","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T14:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=120636"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:47:16","slug":"finnair-plus-program-changes-avios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/news\/airlines\/finnair-plus-program-changes-avios\/","title":{"rendered":"Finnair to Adopt Avios, Make Finnair Plus Program Enhancements. Here&#8217;s What You Need to Know."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today, Finnair announced several noteworthy changes to its mileage program &#8212; from adopting Avios as its mileage currency to guaranteeing a certain number of saver award seats on every flight.<\/p>\n<p>For better or worse, these changes aren't taking place quite yet. Instead, Finnair is waiting until &#8220;early 2024&#8221; to make any changes to its program. That gives travelers plenty of time to understand the changes before they're implemented.<\/p>\n<p>Here's what we know so far about the changes to the Finnair Plus program &#8212; and the details Finnair hasn't shared yet.<\/p>\n<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"toc_light_blue no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Page Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#What_You_Need_to_Know_About_Finnair8217s_Transition_to_Avios\">What You Need to Know About Finnair's Transition to Avios<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#When_will_Finnair_transition_to_Avios\">When will Finnair transition to Avios?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#How_will_Finnair_Plus_points_convert_to_Avios\">How will Finnair Plus points convert to Avios?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Will_Finnair_make_changes_to_its_award_chart\">Will Finnair make changes to its award chart?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Will_you_be_able_to_transfer_Avios_between_accounts\">Will you be able to transfer Avios between accounts?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#Other_Changes_to_the_Finnair_Plus_Program\">Other Changes to the Finnair Plus Program<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#What_We_Don8217t_Know_Yet_About_Finnair_Plus_Program_Changes\">What We Don't Know Yet About Finnair Plus Program Changes<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#What_will_the_new_Finnair_earning_rates_be\">What will the new Finnair earning rates be?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Changes_to_existing_transfer_ratios\">Changes to existing transfer ratios?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"#Bottom_Line\">Bottom Line<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<h2><span id=\"What_You_Need_to_Know_About_Finnair8217s_Transition_to_Avios\">What You Need to Know About Finnair's Transition to Avios<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Here's a rundown of the specific aspects you need to know about Finnair's transition to an Avios program.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"When_will_Finnair_transition_to_Avios\">When will Finnair transition to Avios?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Although Finnair made this announcement in August 2023, Finnair isn't making any changes to the Finnair Plus program until &#8220;early 2024.&#8221; That gives travelers plenty of time to take prepare for the program transition and utilize the program as they're used to it.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"How_will_Finnair_Plus_points_convert_to_Avios\">How will Finnair Plus points convert to Avios?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>When Finnair switches to Avios currency in early 2024, all existing Finnair Plus points will transition to Avios at a 3:2 ratio. Say you have 15,000 Finnair Plus points at the time of the change. You'll end up with 10,000 Avios instead.<\/p>\n<p>That might sound like you're losing value in this change. However&#8230;<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Will_Finnair_make_changes_to_its_award_chart\">Will Finnair make changes to its award chart?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Finnair is trying to make it clear that this transition to Avios won't be a stealth devaluation. When Finnair Plus points convert to Avios in 2024, the current Finnair Plus award chart <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.finnair.com\/fi-en\/finnair-plus\/avios\" rel=\"noopener\">will be adjusted to compensate<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;The value of your existing points does not change when switching to Avios, as the prices in Avios will be updated with the same 3:2 ratio.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That means your Finnair Plus points will effectively have the same buying power after the transition to Avios as before. That also means Finnair Plus award rates should become a lot more appealing:<\/p>\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-572\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-572 tablepress-responsive\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1 odd\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Flights between Europe and Asia,<br \/>\nNorth America, Doha or Dubai<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Current Award Rate<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">Imputed New Rate<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Economy<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">45,000 Plus points<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">30,000 Avios<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Premium Economy<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">65,000 Plus points<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">43,333 Avios<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Business Class<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">95,000 Plus points<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">63,333 Avios<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<h3><span id=\"Will_you_be_able_to_transfer_Avios_between_accounts\">Will you be able to transfer Avios between accounts?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Just like when Qatar Privilege Club joined the Avios scheme, travelers will be able to transfer Avios between the Finnair Plus program and British Airways Executive Club at a 1:1 transfer ratio.<\/p>\n<p>British Airways Avios already <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/airlines\/how-to-transfer-avios-between-accounts\/\" rel=\"noopener\">transfer to Iberia, Qatar, and Aer Lingus<\/a>. That means you'll effectively be able to move Avios between the following five programs at a 1:1 transfer ratio &#8212; even if it takes a couple of steps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aer Lingus AerClub<\/li>\n<li>British Airways Executive Club<\/li>\n<li>Finnair Plus<\/li>\n<li>Iberia Plus<\/li>\n<li>Qatar Privilege Club<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/airlines\/how-to-transfer-avios-between-accounts\/\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Transfer Avios Between Accounts (British Airways, Iberia, Qatar, Aer Lingus)<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Other_Changes_to_the_Finnair_Plus_Program\">Other Changes to the Finnair Plus Program<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As part of these 2024 changes, Finnair is changing more than its mileage currency. Here's an overview of the changes Finnair announced in an email to members:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Spend-based earnings<\/strong>: Finnair Plus members will earn Avios based on how much they spend on their flights &#8212; rather than the distance of the flight<\/li>\n<li><strong>Changes to tier point requirements<\/strong>: Finnair will revamp how elite status is earned to reflect the new revenue-based earning system.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Guaranteed award availability<\/strong>: Finnair will guarantee at least four saver award seats on all European flights and at least eight saver award seats on long-haul flights.<\/li>\n<li><strong>New milestone perks<\/strong>: Similar to what we've seen American Airlines implement, Finnair will begin rewarding travelers with bonus Avios upon meeting certain thresholds.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Free internet on select flights<\/strong>: All Finnair Plus members will get complimentary Wi-Fi on intra-European flights on &#8220;operated with Airbus narrow-body aircraft.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span id=\"What_We_Don8217t_Know_Yet_About_Finnair_Plus_Program_Changes\">What We Don't Know Yet About Finnair Plus Program Changes<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As with any program change announcement tease, we're left with significant unanswered questions. Our biggest questions after reviewing Finnair's announcement:<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"What_will_the_new_Finnair_earning_rates_be\">What will the new Finnair earning rates be?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Finnair is announcing that it's switching to a &#8220;spend-based&#8221; earning method, but we don't know what earning rates Finnair will utilize. And it's possible that this program change could lead to a significant devaluation in how much travelers are rewarded for Finnair flights.<\/p>\n<p>That's just what we saw in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/airlines\/british-airways-club\/earn-avios-on-ba-flights\/\" rel=\"noopener\">British Airways' transition to a revenue-based system<\/a>. British Airways took advantage of this program &#8220;enhancement&#8221; to significantly reduce the elite bonus for Executive Club elites.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Changes_to_existing_transfer_ratios\">Changes to existing transfer ratios?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Currently, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/credit-cards\/capital-one-rewards\/capital-one-transfer-partners\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Capital One miles<\/a>, Accor ALL points, and Shangri-La Circle points all transfer to Finnair Plus at a 1:1 transfer ratio. Will this 1:1 transfer ratio be maintained after Finnair adjusts its points be 3:2? If so, Finnair will become a much more appealing transfer partner than currently.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Bottom_Line\">Bottom Line<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Avios is quickly becoming the de facto mileage currency for the Oneworld alliance. British Airways and Iberia have used the currency for years. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/news\/airlines\/qatar-airways-adopt-avios\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Qatar Airways adopted Avios in 2022<\/a>, and now Finnair will join the scheme in early 2024.<\/p>\n<p>As with most mileage program changes, Finnair's announcement focuses on the positive changes. However, it's unclear whether these Finnair Plus program changes will be a net positive or negative until we know all of the details.<\/p>\n<p>Guaranteed award availability, milestone perks, and free Wi-Fi on select flights are certainly positives. But, the transition to a revenue-based earning system &#8212; and related &#8220;review&#8221; of the tier point requirements for elite status &#8212; have the potential to be significant negatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, Finnair announced several noteworthy changes to its mileage program \u2014 from adopting Avios as its mileage currency to guaranteeing a certain number of saver award seats on every flight. Here&#8217;s what we know so far about the changes to the Finnair Plus program and when they&#8217;re going to take effect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":115516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12069],"tags":[12751,12036],"coauthors":[36387],"class_list":["post-120636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-finnair-plus","tag-major-updates"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120636"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255928,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120636\/revisions\/255928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120636"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=120636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}