Should you buy Avios points via Finnair Plus for 1.4 cents each?

Last month Finnair announced a raft of changes to its loyalty programme Finnair Plus from early 2024, perhaps the most interesting of which is that the scheme will adopt Avios as its reward currency, joining British Airways, Qatar Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus.

That will see Finnair Plus points automatically converted into Avios at a 3:2 ratio, plus the ability to then make unlimited free 1:1 transfers to the likes of British Airways Avios and Qatar Privilege Club Avios, whenever you like.

In early 2024 we will convert all your Finnair Plus award points to Avios with a 3:2 ratio. This will not require any actions from you.

The value of your existing points will not change when switching to Avios, as the prices in Avios will be updated with the same 3:2 ratio.

Finnair

This will significantly improve the redemption opportunities for those holding Finnair points, allowing them to tap good value awards like Singapore to London in the Qatar Airways Qsuite Business Class for 75,000 Avios + S$299, or Singapore to Sydney in Qantas Business Class for 62,000 Avios + S$101.

Finnair points are on sale

Most of our readers don’t have a Finnair Plus account, so the airline’s occasional miles purchase promotions don’t usually generate much interest here in Singapore, however the new link-up with Avios makes the latest deal worth a look.

Between now and 11.59pm EET on 18th September 2023 (5.59am SGT on 19th September 2023), Finnair is allowing members to buy miles with a bonus of up to 100%.

You don’t need to have interacted with the Finnair programme before to purchase miles, so it’s possible to simply sign up for a new account and then buy points right away.

Here’s how the cost of both Finnair Plus points and the equivalent cost for Avios, when they finally become those, looks under this 100% bonus offer, with purchases priced in EUR regardless of your account location.

Finnair Plus Buy Miles Promotion

Finnair points purchased	Bonus	Cost
		Per AY point	Per Avios point
1,000 – 4,000	None	1.29 EUR ¢ (1.88 SG ¢)	1.93 EUR ¢ (2.83 SG ¢)
5,000 – 19,000	40%	0.92 EUR ¢ (1.35 SG ¢)	1.38 EUR ¢ (2.02 SG ¢)
20,000 – 49,000	60%	0.80 EUR ¢ (1.18 SG ¢)	1.21 EUR ¢ (1.77 SG ¢)
50,000 – 99,000	80%	0.72 EUR ¢ (1.05 SG ¢)	1.07 EUR ¢ (1.57 SG ¢)
100,000 – 200,000	100%	0.64 EUR ¢ (0.94 SG ¢)	0.97 EUR ¢ (1.41 SG ¢)

  Buy Finnair Plus points

At the top end, this allows those buying at least 100,000 points to receive double the usual number in their account, equivalent to buying Finnair points for 0.64 Euro cents (0.94 Singapore cents) each.

Since Finnair points will eventually be converted into Avios at a 3:2 ratio, it means effectively buying Avios points for 0.97 Euro cents (1.41 Singapore cents) each, if you’re willing to wait for that to happen!

For example, if you buy 200,000 Finnair plus points during this promotion for EUR 2,575 (S$3,765), you’ll receive:

• 200,000 Finnair points (base)
• 200,000 Finnair points (bonus)
• 400,000 Finnair points (total)

400,000 Finnair points will become 266,666 Avios in early 2024 (3:2 ratio), so you’ve effectively bought Avios for 1.41 Singapore cents each.

Note that bonus points will be added to your account up to three days after your purchase, so don’t worry if you initially see only the non-bonus quantity added.

Is it worth it?

Buying Avios at 1.41 Singapore cents a piece is a no-brainer in our book – provided you are interested in one of the many Oneworld redemption options possible using this currency, especially with Qatar Airways between Asia and Europe.

However, while the headline purchase price is excellent, there are some risks to be aware of with this offer.

Finnair points will only morph 3:2 into Avios points in “early 2024”, which means a long wait in store.

For potentially up to half a year, you’ll only be able to use Finnair points to redeem the carrier’s own flights, or those of Oneworld partners, and in both cases the rate offered isn’t fantastic value.

Also, in our experience, these transitions have a habit of taking longer than promised! Who knows exactly when your Finnair points will become Avios points – there’s no precise date yet – and until then, they aren’t a lot of use (and so you won’t want to be using them).

We don’t usually recommend sitting on large volumes of points in a single frequent flyer programme that you aren’t going to use for a while, but then there isn’t usually an opportunity to buy Avios quite this cheap either.

It’s a gamble not all will be comfortable taking.

For what it’s worth, Finnair is promising account linking and 1:1 transfer of your Avios “in spring 2024”, which would be between March and May next year by most definitions, so that looks set to be the earliest you’ll be able to use these points as Avios (i.e. at good value).

If you have a British Airways Executive Club account, in spring 2024 you will be able to link your Finnair Plus and British Airways Executive Club accounts and transfer your Avios between your loyalty program accounts. This means that your opportunities to collect and use Avios are significantly wider than previously, as you will have access to not just Finnair Plus awards but also British Airways Executive Club rewards.

Furthermore, you can link a British Airways Executive Club account to Qatar Airways Privilege Club or Iberia Plus account, if you have one. This will widen your opportunities to collect and spend Avios even more and make your Finnair Plus membership even more useful to you.

Finnair

You also run the risk of Avios programmes like British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Privilege Club, where you’ll likely be moving these points later once they do become Avios, devaluing their currencies in the meantime – both carriers have done so without notice in the past.

Overall, given the large volume of points you’ll need to purchase to get the most competitive rates, this one is probably only for the brave.

Which card to use

If you are going to buy miles in this promotion, and assuming like most of our readers you are based in Singapore, you’ll want to achieve the maximum number of credit card miles for the purchase itself when buying Finnair Plus points.

The transaction happens in Euros, and payment is processed by points.com.

You can earn the most extra miles for the purchase transaction by using one of the following Singapore-issued credit cards:

Card	Miles per S$1	Notes
Citi Rewards Visa / MasterCard (see our review)	4.0	4 mpd on all online spend in a statement period, capped at S$1,000 per card.
DBS WWMC* (see our review)	4.0*	4 mpd on all online spend in a calendar month, capped at S$2,000.
UOB Visa Signature (see our review)	4.0	4 mpd on all overseas spend of at least S$1,000 in a statement period, capped at S$2,000.
Standard Chartered Visa Infinite (see our review)	3.0	For non-SGD spend, provided total card spend (any currency) is S$2,000 or greater in the same statement cycle.
HSBC T1	2.4	All non-SGD spend.
UOB PRVI Miles (see our review)	2.4	All non-SGD spend.
DBS Vantage	2.2	All non-SGD spend.
OCBC Voyage Visa (see our review)	2.2	All non-SGD spend.
Citi PremierMiles (see our review)	2.0	All non-SGD spend.
Citi Prestige (see our review)	2.0	All non-SGD spend.

* Note: Our readers have reported that using the DBS WWMC card via points.com does not automatically award the higher 4 mpd earn rate. You must usually appeal and claim the bonus miles later.

On the face of it, you can’t go wrong buying Avios as cheap as 1.41 Singapore Cents each. The popular frequent flyer currency should return you at least that in value, and arguably a fair bit more, through future First and Business Class flight redemptions with Oneworld carriers including Qatar Airways.

However, that doesn’t make this purchase offer via Finnair Plus risk-free. Since you’re buying Finnair points initially, it’s important to remember these won’t become Avios points until “early 2024” – if everything goes to plan.

You are therefore significantly deferring their use a fair way into the future, and there’s a risk of devaluation while you wait for the points to morph into the Avios ecosystem.

If you’re buying (and for what it’s worth – we’re not)… fingers crossed!

Hat-tip to Head for Points

(Cover Photo: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock)