Today, it was announced that Finnair Plus will adopt Avios as its points currency in 2024. When this happens, it will join other Oneworld programs that use Avios, including British Airways Executive Club, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Iberia Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub, and Vueling Club.
Finnair is also moving towards a revenue-based earning model for paid flights, similar to what many North American airlines now use, and what British Airways will adopt later this year.
Finnair Plus to Join the Avios Loyalty Program
In early 2024, Finnair Plus will adopt Avios as its points currency, becoming the latest addition to the Avios loyalty program.
Prior to Finnair’s announcement, the latest addition to the Avios ecosystem was Qatar Airways Privilege Club in Spring 2022.
Existing Finnair Plus members will see their Finnair Plus points converted into Avios at a 3:2 ratio.
It’s worth noting that Finnair states the value of the points will remain the same, as it plans on scaling the cost of redemptions at the same 3:2 ratio. This should mean that booking Finnair with Avios should cost slightly less than booking with Finnair Plus points currently, which isn’t necessarily a great deal.
Additionally, once the integration is complete, members will be able to freely transfer Avios between the other existing “flavours” of Avios and Finnair Avios. Therefore, it’ll be possible to move points from transferable points currencies into other flavours of Avios, and then move them into Finnair Avios as needed.
This is a positive change for North American Miles & Points enthusiasts, as British Airways Executive Club has numerous transfer partners in both Canada and the US, including:
As it stands, Finnair Plus is only a transfer partner with Capital One Miles in the United States.
Moreover, Finnair is slated to increase the number of “Saver” award seats it makes available. On its long-haul routes, there will be at least two business class, two premium economy, and four economy award seats on every flight.
On intra-European flights, there will be at least two business class and four economy award seats made available for booking.
Finnair currently flies to the following US destinations from its hub in Helsinki:
- Chicago (ORD)
- Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Miami (MIA)
- New York (JFK)
- Seattle (SEA)
More details, including the exact transition date, are yet to be known, and will become available closer to the transition date.
Finnair Plus to Adopt Revenue-Based Earning Model
Along with the move over to the Avios ecosystem, Finnair will adopt a revenue-based earning model, similar to what British Airways announced earlier this year.
In short, members will earn Avios and elite status tiers through spending, rather than by the distance flown. Notably, this is different to the British Airways Executive Club model, as British Airways has elected to keep Tier Points pegged to the distance-based model.
This change isn’t all too surprising, given that British Airways, Iberia, and many North American airlines such as American Airlines, Delta, and United have adopted or will adopt a revenue-based model.
As with other programs, a revenue-based earning model rewards passengers on full-fare tickets flying in premium cabins the most. Passengers who tend to fly on discounted fares in any class of service will likely earn fewer points than those with a distance-based model.
Once again, more details on the exact nature of the structure of the revenue-based earning model for both points earned and status tiers will be provided in the future.
Conclusion
In 2024, Finnair Plus will become the latest loyalty program to use Avios as a currency. The move is expected to happen in Spring 2024, although the official date has yet to be released.
Finnair has also indicated that it will make more award seats in every cabin available for award bookings, including two business class seats on every long-haul flight. Since the airline flies to a handful of destinations across the United States, it should make for a predictable way to fly to Europe.
Finnair will also adopt a revenue-based model both for earning Avios and for its elite status tiers.
More details about the transition are expected in the coming months.
