In August 2023, major changes were announced to the Finnair Plus program. Finnair has now revealed more details about what exactly we can expect with the new program, so let’s go over all the details.
In this post:
Finnair Plus making major changes in 2024
As of late January 2024 (an exact date will be provided soon), the Finnair Plus program will be overhauled. Let’s go over the details of what’s changing.
Finnair Plus will adopt Avios as rewards currency
In 2024, Finnair Plus will adopt Avios as its rewards currency, which is the same currency used by transatlantic joint venture partners British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia, as well as Qatar Airways and Vueling.
When Finnair adopts Avios as its rewards currency, Finnair Plus points will be converted into Avios at a 3:2 ratio, and Finnair Plus tier points will also be converted into tier points with the new program at a 3:2 ratio. Finnair is promising that redemption rates will be adjusted accordingly so that there’s not a devaluation.
Finnair Plus Avios & tier points earning rates
With Finnair adopting Avios as its rewards currency, the program will also start awarding Avios and elite status based on how much you spend, rather than how much you fly. This will factor in both ticket revenue and ancillary revenue (though surcharges on award tickets won’t qualify toward this).
Finnair Plus members will earn anywhere from 6-10x Avios per €1 spent, as follows:
- Finnair Plus basic members will earn 6x Avios per €1 spent
- Finnair Plus Silver members will earn 7x Avios per €1 spent
- Finnair Plus Gold members will earn 8x Avios per €1 spent
- Finnair Plus Platinum members will earn 9x Avios per €1 spent
- Finnair Plus Platinum Lumo members will earn 10x Avios per €1 spent
Not only is that the rate at which you’ll earn Avios that you can redeem toward awards, but this is also the rate at which you’ll earn tier points toward status. Starting in 2024, elite requirements will be as follows:
- Finnair Plus Silver status will require 15,000 tier points
- Finnair Plus Gold status will require 45,000 tier points
- Finnair Plus Platinum status will require 80,000 tier points
- Finnair Plus Platinum Lumo status will require 300,000 tier points (250,000 of which have to be collected on Finnair)
One unique aspect of the Finnair Plus program is that you can redeem your points for elite status. With the new program, you’ll be able to redeem three Avios for one Finnair Plus point. This could be an interesting opportunity for those looking to earn oneworld Sapphire or oneworld Emerald status, given the lounge access perks that this offers.
We’ll see what the limits are on these redemptions, but this potentially means you could redeem 135,000 Avios for oneworld Sapphire or 240,000 Avios for oneworld Emerald. I wouldn’t say that’s a slam dunk, necessarily, but at the margins I could see that being worthwhile.
Finnair Plus introducing milestone rewards
Finnair Plus will be introducing milestone rewards, whereby you earn certain additional rewards when passing thresholds:
- Finnair Plus basic members will receive 3,000 bonus Avios after earning 12,000 tier points
- Finnair Plus Silver members will receive two lounge passes after earning 20,000 tier points
- Finnair Plus Gold members will receive two upgrade benefits after earning 55,000 tier points
- Finnair Plus Platinum members will receive four upgrade benefits after earning 95,000 tier points
- Finnair Plus Platinum Lumo members will receive eight upgrade benefits after earning 310,000 tier points
- Finnair Plus Platinum Lumo members will receive four upgrade benefits after earning 320,000 tier points
Finnair Plus simplifying upgrade benefits
As of 2024, Finnair Plus will be simplifying its upgrade benefit for elite members, offering just a single type of upgrade voucher, so that members have more flexibility. Then the number of “credits” required for an upgrade will vary based on the flight’s length. Specifically:
- You’ll need one upgrade voucher to upgrade a short haul flight from economy to business
- You’ll need two upgrade vouchers to upgrade a long haul flight from economy to premium economy
- You’ll need three upgrade vouchers to upgrade a long haul flight from premium economy to business
- You’ll need four upgrade vouchers to upgrade a long haul flight from economy to business
Finnair Plus increasing saver award availability
Finnair Plus will increase the number of “saver” award seats available on flights:
- Short haul flights will have at least six award seats (two in business and four in economy)
- Long haul flights will have at least eight award seats (two in business, two in premium economy, and four in economy
This is fantastic news, given how stingy Finnair currently is with award availability!
Finnair introducing free inflight messaging
As of 2024, Finnair will introduce free inflight messaging for all Finnair Plus members on short haul flights operated by narrow body aircraft. Furthermore, Finnair Plus Gold and Platinum members will receive a 30-minute streaming Wi-Fi package on all flights operated by A319s, A320s, and A321s.
Why I’m cautiously optimistic about these changes
If you’re a Finnair frequent flyer, it’s understandable that you’re probably not excited about these changes based on what we know so far. Revenue based points earning is rarely intended to reward the average consumer more, and on top of that, the promise of upgrades being “simplified” probably isn’t good news either.
That being said, I feel pretty positively about these changes, given the current limited value of Finnair Plus points:
- It’s possible to transfer Avios between the various “currencies,” so I suspect we’ll see free transfers between British Airways Executive, Finnair Plus, etc.; that’s valuable flexibility, since currently Finnair Plus doesn’t partner with any major transferable points currencies in the United States
- Finnair Plus currently has horrible redemption values on partner airlines, so when it uses the Avios platform, hopefully that will improve
- I’m excited about the promise of more saver awards, including a guarantee of two business class award seats per long haul flight
- Finnair Plus will allow you to convert Avios for tier points (which you need for status) at a 3:1 ratio, and this could potentially be a way to redeem transferable points currencies for oneworld Sapphire or oneworld Emerald status
So I’m not trying to be delusional here and suggest that Finnair Plus is making these changes to do us all a favor. However, from a redemption perspective, I think this could be a positive development.
Bottom line
Major changes are coming to the Finnair Plus program as of late January 2024. We’ll see Finnair adopt Avios as its rewards currency, and also introduce revenue based points earning. On top of that, Finnair is promising more award availability and is changing its upgrade program.
For those who just casually collect Finnair Plus points, I think these changes will be a net positive, given the current limited ways to earn Finnair Plus points, plus the limited value of redemptions through the program.
What do you make of these Finnair Plus changes?
Great summary, so it looks like we could get a platinum card for 80,000 using Avios, which will be converted from 240,000 Finnair points purchased with a 100% bonus earlier this month for Euro 1,300, or am I missing something.
Unfortunately there are limits on how many points can convert per tracking period, so this wouldn't work.
I think there's an extra step to that calculation (you are confused because Ben wrote 3 avios converts to 1 finair plus point - he meant Finair tier point I think)
Here's the calculation working backwards:
a) 1:3 finair tier points to avios, so to get plat of 80,000 tier points, you will need 240,000 avios
b) 2:3 avios to finair plus points, so 240,000 avios = 360,000 plus points, so it seems you will need $1950 EUR for Plat status.
Do we know yet whether Finnair will continue to award AA Loyalty Points based on distance flown?
The Finnair email I received today states they plan to adopt the Avios conversion in late January (exact date to be communicated at least one month before). The ability to link and transfer Avios 1:1 between Finnair and BA Avios becomes available later in spring 2024.
According to Finnair website, the 3:1 Plus to Tier point conversion changes Oct 2, 2023 for Gold status members from a maximum of 75,000 to 40,000 Tier points (Silver...
The Finnair email I received today states they plan to adopt the Avios conversion in late January (exact date to be communicated at least one month before). The ability to link and transfer Avios 1:1 between Finnair and BA Avios becomes available later in spring 2024.
According to Finnair website, the 3:1 Plus to Tier point conversion changes Oct 2, 2023 for Gold status members from a maximum of 75,000 to 40,000 Tier points (Silver from 40,000 to 15,000 and other tiers unchanged). Seems Status requirement thresholds for Gold and Platinum will remain 5,000 tier points above their respective max conversions.
I have not seen anything regarding a change in carrier surcharges, fees for award flights. Curious, given the BA like minimum number of awards available for each flight.
My take of this change is: As an AY Gold, I need to spend 5625 € a year to requalify for my current tier. That's way more than I spent to reach it last time (approx 2300 €)
There are simply cheaper airlines to fly with.
The new upgrade benefits have already been explained. Look for the table "Upgrade benefits (one way)"
https://www.finnair.com/fi-en/finnair-plus/finnair-plus-changes
It's pretty much equivalent to the current system (you can convert 4 short-haul vouchers to 1 long-haul voucher), but they have added intermediate levels for premium economy.
TLDR: The Finnair Plus changes are great news as long as you aren't a Finnair Plus member...
How do expiration policies differ among Avios issuers? Basically, where should I hold my Avios? Right now I hold at BA and have transfer permission set up with Iberia, Qatar, and Avios.com.
Finnair Plus currently partners with Capital One in US.