Finnair Avios Subscription: buy Avios from 1.5 Singapore cents each – worth it?

Back in 2024, Finnair adopted Avios points for its Finnair Plus frequent flyer programme. Its members now earn and redeem the same currency as schemes including British Airways, Qatar Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus.

As with these other programmes, the key benefit is that you can move your Avios between them free, instantly and at a 1:1 ratio. You simply move them into ‘hub’ Avios partner The British Airways Club, then across to the scheme of your choice.

All you need is a frequent flyer account with each of your preferred partners (a BA account is free and a must, as you can see). Then simply link your accounts, which is easy enough to do between Finnair and BA – see this guide.

We regularly cover Finnair’s buy Avios sales, including the current 50% bonus offer running until 5th October. Finnair also has a lesser-known way to buy Avios, which works out even cheaper if you can commit to it – the Avios Subscription.

Paid for in Japanese Yen, it brings the cost of Avios down to just 1.51 Singapore cents each. That’s cheaper than any other subscription in the Avios world, and cheaper than any Finnair buy Avios sale since November 2024’s 1.5 cents per point offer.

There’s a catch, of course. Let’s take a look at how it works, and whether it makes sense for you.

How the Avios Subscription works

Finnair offers four subscription packages, and they award you with 24,000, 48,000, 120,000 or 240,000 Avios per year.

You don’t get them up front though – these are credited to your Finnair Plus account in equal monthly instalments of 2,000, 4,000, 10,000 or 20,000 Avios respectively.

You can pay in one of two ways:

• Monthly: charged each month on the date you subscribed, with a minimum term of three months.
• Yearly: one upfront charge for the full year, with a minimum term of 12 months. Why do this? Well, Finnair pitches this as “12 months for the price of 10”, and it is roughly that.

Whichever way you pay, the Avios arrive monthly.

Pay for 240,000 Avios upfront and you’ll receive 20,000 within 72 hours, then another 20,000 on the same date each month. You won’t hold the full 240,000 until the 12th instalment lands, eleven months after you paid.

A few other important points:

• You can only hold one subscription at a time.
• Subscriptions renew automatically. To stop, you must cancel no later than the day before your next billing date.
• Subscribed Avios don’t count towards Finnair Plus tier status.
• An active subscription keeps your account active, so your Avios won’t expire.

  SUBSCRIBE TO AVIOS

Pay in Japanese Yen, not Euros

As we found with Finnair’s buy Avios promotions, the Finnair Shop lets you switch currency, and Japanese Yen consistently gives the lowest price. This has nothing to do with where you live or your account’s default currency – anyone can choose to pay in JPY.

Since most of our readers are Singapore-based, and paying in SGD is not an option, paying in a foreign currency like Euros, US Dollars or Japanese Yen is a must anyway, so it may as well be Japanese Yen!

You’ll need to be logged in to your Finnair Plus account on the Finnair Shop to see the subscription packages.

Here’s the full JPY pricing.

Finnair Avios Subscription (JPY pricing)
Package	Pay monthly	Pay yearly
24,000 Avios (2,000 / month)	5,716 JPY / month 2.86 JPY (2.32 SG ¢) each	57,156 JPY / year 2.38 JPY (1.93 SG ¢) each
48,000 Avios (4,000 / month)	10,034 JPY / month 2.51 JPY (2.03 SG ¢) each	99,835 JPY / year 2.08 JPY (1.69 SG ¢) each
120,000 Avios (10,000 / month)	23,339 JPY / month 2.33 JPY (1.89 SG ¢) each	234,348 JPY / year 1.95 JPY (1.58 SG ¢) each
240,000 Avios (20,000 / month)	44,772 JPY / month 2.24 JPY (1.81 SG ¢) each	445,824 JPY / year 1.86 JPY (1.51 SG ¢) each

The same 240,000 Avios package priced in Euros costs €2,808 a year (1.17 Euro cents, around 1.71 Singapore cents) or €282 a month (1.41 Euro cents, around 2.07 Singapore cents).

JPY is roughly 12% cheaper.

The Finnair Shop displays a message that all transactions are made in Euros, regardless of the currency selected.

Thankfully, this isn’t correct. We topped up our Avios in JPY during the current sale, and our card was charged in JPY for exactly the amount quoted.

Only the top two annual packages really stand out. The smaller packages, and all the monthly options, cost about the same as (or more than) a good Finnair buy Avios promotion, which asks for no commitment at all.

You’re therefore better off waiting for a sale then buying the Avios all in one go in these cases, rather than committing to the subscription option.

How does it compare?

Here’s how Finnair’s top packages stack up against the other ways of regularly buying Avios.

Buying Avios: best rates compared
Option	Avios	Price	Cost per Avios
Finnair Subscription (JPY, yearly)	240,000 / year	445,824 JPY	1.51 SG ¢
BA Balance Boost	Up to 5x recently earned Avios	From 0.92p each	1.55 SG ¢
BA Subscription (yearly)	200,000 / year	£1,989	1.68 SG ¢
Qatar PC Pro (yearly)	180,000 / year	US$2,400	1.70 SG ¢
Finnair Subscription (EUR, yearly)	240,000 / year	€2,808	1.71 SG ¢
Finnair buy Avios sale (to 5 Oct 2026)	100,000 – 200,000 +50% bonus	2.223 JPY each	1.80 SG ¢
Finnair Subscription (JPY, monthly)	20,000 / month	44,772 JPY per month	1.81 SG ¢
Typical BAC / QRPC buy Avios sales (2024 – 2026)	Varies	Varies	1.81 SG ¢ to 2.00 SG ¢

BA’s own Avios Subscription is a very similar product, since both are run by Points.com. Its best rate is 0.99 pence per Avios on its largest annual plan (200,000 Avios for £1,989), or about 1.68 Singapore cents. That’s roughly 11% more than Finnair in JPY.

Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club Pro works the same way. Its best value is the 180,000 Avios annual “Exclusive” plan at US$2,400, which comes to 1.33 US cents (about 1.70 Singapore cents) per Avios. The top “Ultimate” plan costs more per Avios, but throws in 60 Qpoints towards status, so it’s not really comparable here.

The closest rival is BA’s Avios Balance Boost, at around 1.55 Singapore cents.

That’s only marginally more than Finnair’s subscription, with no commitment at all. The catch is that you can only “boost” Avios you’ve earned in the previous 30 days (including those transferred in from a credit card), by up to 5x.

It’s excellent if you have a recent credit card points transfer or flight credit to boost, but you can’t simply buy a large pile of Avios whenever you like through this mechanism.

It’s also worth remembering that Finnair has sold Avios this cheaply before.

In November 2024, the airline ran a 50% discount on purchases of 75,000 Avios or more, bringing the price down to 1.05 Euro cents – 1.50 Singapore cents each. That was before the days JPY pricing was available via the portal.

A sale like that beats the subscription, since all your Avios land within a few days rather than over twelve months. There’s no guarantee we’ll see one again, though. More recent Finnair sales have been pricier, with the current offer one of the best at 1.80 Singapore cents.

As with BA’s version, Finnair’s subscription sits on top of the regular 200,000 Avios per year you can buy through the Finnair Shop. If you’re a determined buyer, you could therefore add up to 440,000 Avios to a single Finnair Plus account in a year, before any promotional bonuses.

The big catch – you pay upfront

The low price comes with an obvious trade-off. You pay today for Avios you’ll receive over the next twelve months.

That’s a significant risk, because Avios programmes can and do devalue, sometimes with little or no notice.

The most recent was a British Airways devaluation in December 2025, which saw Avios rates hiked by around 10% across the board. While it did preserve pricing on ‘sweet spot’ Qatar and Finnair redemptions, there’s no guarantee that future devaluations will leave those untouched.

Another example is Qatar Airways’ introduction of peak pricing, overnight, in 2023, plus the carrier’s unannounced hike in award surcharges in September 2024.

If your award suddenly needs 20% more Avios in month six of your subscription, you’ve wiped out the saving, and you’ll still be buying potentially less-valuable Avios for six more months at the agreed rate.

This is also not a quick way to fund a big redemption.

Pay for 240,000 Avios today and you’ll have just 20,000 of them next week. Assuming you’re starting off with a zero balance, if you need 75,000 Avios for a Qsuite trip to London, you’ll wait until month four to have enough. Will it still cost 75,000 then? There’s no guarantee.

Cancellation terms are restrictive too:

• Annual payers are committed for the full 12 months, with no pro-rated refund if you cancel partway through. Cancelling simply stops the next renewal, a year down the road.
• Monthly payers are committed for at least three months. Cancel within that period and the subscription runs on until the minimum term ends.
• There’s a 14-day cooling-off period with a full refund, but only if the Avios credited so far are still sitting in your Finnair Plus account. Transfer your first 20,000 Avios to BA straight away and you’ll need to move them back before you can claim this get-out.

Finnair is also unclear on whether you can change package.

Its FAQ says monthly subscribers can switch to a different package from their next billing date, while its terms and conditions say packages can’t be upgraded or downgraded. Annual payers definitely can’t change, and while monthly payers may be able to, we wouldn’t subscribe on the assumption that you can.

The three-month option

If a year’s commitment feels too much, there’s a middle ground, in the form of the monthly 240,000 package.

At 44,772 JPY (~S$363) a month, it works out at 1.81 Singapore cents per Avios – almost exactly the same as the best rate in Finnair’s current 50% bonus sale. Commit for the minimum three months and you’ll receive 60,000 Avios, then cancel.

Compared with the annual plan, you’re exposed to any devaluation for only a quarter of the time. Each monthly charge is also a much smaller amount, which better suits capped credit card bonus categories (see below).

That makes it a sensible alternative to waiting for Finnair’s next buy Avios promotion, and it lands you close to enough Avios for a Qatar Airways Business Class award to Europe within three months, especially if you have an existing Avios balance to top up.

Unlock valuable redemptions

For our readers based in Singapore, there are some great value redemptions using Avios points, primarily via the Qatar Airways Privilege Club or through The British Airways Club.

Before you jump to transfer out of Finnair Plus, though, be aware that the programme has some ‘sweet spots’ of its own, such as:

• Singapore to Tokyo on JAL in Business: 41,500 Avios
• Singapore to Tokyo on JAL in First: 53,000 Avios
• Singapore to Europe on Cathay in Business: 72,500 Avios
• Singapore to US/Canada on Cathay in Business: 85,000 Avios

For the more regular Avios awards, though, Qatar Airways Privilege Club is a good option.

One example is to take the excellent Qatar Airways Qsuite to Europe or the USA in Business Class.

Here’s an example of how you can use Avios from a Finnair subscription, transfer them to Qatar Airways via BA, and fly from Singapore to Athens (or several other cities) in Business Class on Qatar Airways for just 70,000 Avios + S$320 in taxes on off-peak dates.

QRPC Qatar Airways
Business Class redemptions from Singapore
(one-way)

Route
	QR Avios	Effective Cost (Avios subscription)	KF Miles
Singapore Athens	70,000 +S$320	S$1,057 +S$320	n/a
Singapore London	75,000 +S$345	S$1,133 +S$345	108,500 +S$65
Singapore New York	95,000 +S$459	S$1,435 +S$459	117,000 +S$89*

* S$125 if routing via FRA

As you can see, 75,000 subscription Avios – costing around S$1,133 – is enough to get you from Singapore to London via Doha in the Qatar Airways Qsuite Business Class, with around S$350 in additional taxes and fees to pay.

That’s a good deal compared to parting with 108,500 miles + S$65 with KrisFlyer, if you don’t mind a stop in Doha.

While a transit in Doha is potentially inconvenient, remember that Qatar Airways serves many cities in Europe and the USA that require a transit anyway when you fly with SIA – like Mykonos, Sofia, Madrid, Boston or Washington.

Do ensure it’s regular award space you’re booking on Qatar Airways flights, not one of the airline’s ‘Flexi award’ options. These offer additional space at double the usual rate (not dissimilar to Singapore Airlines Advantage awards).

Flexi awards carry a “Flexi” label, so beware of that – they’re really poor value in comparison!

Qatar Airways also now applies ‘peak’ Avios award pricing on more popular dates over busier periods. Around 20% more Avios are needed on those dates, which obviously come in at poorer value and should also be avoided.

You can also book Cathay Pacific awards via Qatar Privilege Club online at attractive rates, with no fuel surcharge added, as we reported back in 2024.

QRPC Cathay Pacific
Business Class redemptions from Singapore
(one-way)

Route
	QR Avios	Effective Cost (Avios subscription)	KF Miles
Hong Kong Tokyo	22,000 +S$57	S$332 +S$57	24,000 +S$67
Singapore Hong Kong	22,000 +S$65	S$332 +S$65	35,500 +S$65

These awards represent significant savings on the KrisFlyer Saver award rate with Singapore Airlines. They also give you Oneworld lounge access, arguably a superior pre-flight experience in Cathay Pacific lounges and those of partners like Qantas.

There’s also the option to redeem flights between Singapore and Koh Samui on Bangkok Airways, a Qatar Airways partner, for 11,000 Avios + S$67 in Economy Class.

This can be a great way to avoid high fares on this route (and yes, even Scoot’s fares can be eye-watering!).

There’s also a range of (mainly short- to medium-haul) redemptions you can unlock with Qatar’s Privilege Club using subscription Avios, by simply transferring them across.

Here are some examples.

QRPC
Business Class partner redemptions from Singapore
(one-way)

Route			Using KrisFlyer orAsia Miles
	QR Avios	Effective Cost (Avios subscription)
Singapore Kuala Lumpur (MH)	12,500 +S$127	S$189 +S$127	22,000 +S$65
Singapore Hong Kong (CX)	22,000 +S$65	S$332 +S$65	35,500 +S$65
Singapore Colombo (UL)	22,000 +S$67	S$332 +S$67	45,000 +S$65
Singapore Perth (QF)	38,750 +S$86	S$585 +S$86	42,500 +S$96
Singapore Sydney (QF)	62,000 +S$113	S$936 +S$113	72,000 +S$104
Singapore Sydney (BA)*	80,000 +S$474	S$1,208 +S$474
Singapore Tokyo (JL)	62,000 +S$283	S$936 +S$283	54,500 +S$65
Singapore London (QF)	108,250 +S$69	S$1,635 +S$69	108,500 +S$65
Singapore London (BA)*	87,500 +S$276	S$1,321 +S$276

* Off-peak dates

As you can see, you can unlock some attractive “fares” using subscription Avios.

Another standout using BA Avios is the Singapore to Helsinki option with Finnair, at just 62,500 Avios + S$244 in taxes, which works out at around S$944 in subscription Avios.

You can also redeem this product via the Finnair Plus programme directly, which even has access to additional award space between 355 and 360 days in advance, if you’re able to plan your travel early.

We flew in this product from Helsinki to Singapore in 2024, and loved the experience.

Remember that even relatively “basic” awards like Malaysia Airlines Business Class from Singapore to KL are also your ticket to Qatar Airways’ superb Premium Lounge at Changi Airport, for some pre-flight champagne and à la carte dining.

You can also transfer Avios into the Loganair programme (via BA) for a wide range of UK domestic flights on the regional carrier. These are often priced at over GBP200 (~S$350) one-way, but cost only 6,500 Avios, with minimal taxes and fees to pay.

Which card to use

Finnair’s subscription payments are processed by Points.com under MCC 7399, appearing on your statement as “Finnair Points by PTS”. You’ll be charged in whichever currency you select, so for most of our readers that means a JPY transaction and an FCY fee.

How you pay affects which card makes sense:

• Annual subscribers face a single charge of around S$3,610 for the 240,000 package. That’s well beyond the capped 4 mpd categories on cards like the Citi Rewards and UOB VS, so most of it would earn at those cards’ unattractive base rates. A card with an uncapped bonus rate on FCY spend, like the SCVI or UOB PRVI Miles, is the better fit here.
• Monthly subscribers see a charge of around S$363 each month for the same package. That fits comfortably under the Citi Rewards S$1,000 monthly online bonus cap, alongside your other spend.

You can earn the most miles for the subscription payment using one of the following Singapore-issued credit cards.

Card	Earn Rate	Notes
Citi Rewards* (see our review)	4 mpd	4 mpd on all online spend per statement month, capped at S$1,000 per card.
UOB VS (see our review)	4 mpd	4 mpd on all overseas spend of at least S$1,000 in a statement period, capped at S$1,200 spend.
SCVI (see our review)	3 mpd	3 mpd on all non-SGD spend, provided total card spend (any currency) is S$2,000+ in the same statement month.
Maybank HVS (see our review)	2.8 mpd	All non-SGD spend, subject to S$800 minimum card spend in the same calendar month.
UOB PRVI Miles (see our review)	2.4 mpd	All non-SGD spend.

* Can also be paired with the Amaze card for lower FCY fees, while still earning 4 mpd

Note that the DBS WWMC now specifically excludes MCC 7399 from points earning. While this card previously had ‘hit-and-miss’ success with Points.com transactions, usually rectified later via customer service, it’s now well and truly on the ineligible list.

Finnair’s Avios Subscription, paid in Japanese Yen, is the cheapest regular way to buy Avios anywhere, at just 1.51 Singapore cents each on the 240,000 Avios annual package. It beats BA’s and Qatar Airways’ equivalent subscriptions by 10% or more, and even edges out BA’s Balance Boost.

With Avios moving freely between Finnair Plus, BA and Qatar Airways, those Avios can go towards Qsuite to Europe and the USA, Cathay Pacific Business Class without fuel surcharges, Finnair’s own AirLounge seat to Helsinki, and plenty more.

The trade-off is that you pay a year upfront for Avios that arrive over twelve months, with your money exposed to any devaluation for the whole period – around S$3,610 committed today. The same 240,000 Avios would cost about S$4,320 in Finnair’s current 50% sale, so you’re saving roughly S$700 in return for waiting for your Avios, and carrying that risk.

So is it worth it? It depends on how you redeem:

• If you redeem Avios regularly – say an annual long-haul Qsuite trip plus a few Cathay or Malaysia Airlines short-haul awards – the annual plan makes a lot of sense. You’d more or less use the Avios as they arrive, so they’re never sitting idle for long.
• If you want a lump of Avios for one trip, stick with Finnair’s buy Avios sales (and grab one if a November 2024-style 1.5 cent deal ever returns), or consider the monthly plan for a quick three-month top-up at the same price as the current sale.
• If you’re just accumulating Avios for “one day”, don’t subscribe. As we always say, don’t buy miles speculatively – and a subscription is speculative buying by design.

  SUBSCRIBE TO AVIOS

(Cover Photo: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock)