Finnair Plus selling Avios points for just 1.49 cents each

In March 2024, Finnair adopted Avios points as the loyalty currency for its Finnair Plus frequent flyer programme, joining the “currency union” of British Airways, Qatar Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus.

Members can move their Avios among these programmes instantly at a 1:1 ratio, which allows them to take advantage of miles purchase promos in one programme for sweet spots or unique partners in another.

In fact, there’s now a purchase promo for Finnair Plus that reduces the cost per Avios to just 1.49 cents each, the lowest rate in recent memory. 

Buy Finnair Avios with up to 50% discount

Buy Finnair Avios

From now till 21 November 2024, 6 a.m Singapore time, Finnair Plus members can purchase Avios at a discount of up to 50%, per the table below

To trigger the maximum discount of 50% and get the lowest rate of 1.49 cents per Avios, you’ll need to purchase at least 75,000 Avios.

Finnair Plus has no activity prerequisite to purchase Avios, so you can sign up for a new account and buy points at a discount immediately.

Avios will be added to your account within three days of purchase, and each member is capped at buying 200,000 Finnair Avios per calendar year.

What can you redeem with Avios?

Finnair Avios can be instantly converted at a 1:1 basis to other “flavours” such as British Airways Executive Club or Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

For example, you could convert these Avios to Qatar Privilege Club, which offers good value redemptions between Singapore and Europe and the USA. 

It will cost you 70,000-75,000 miles for a one-way Business Class ticket to Europe, versus 103,500 miles for KrisFlyer, and 95,000 miles for a one-way Business Class ticket to the USA, versus 111,500 miles for KrisFlyer.

While you will need to transit in Doha, keep in mind that Qatar Airways serves many destinations that Singapore Airlines does not such as Boston, Chicago, Miami and Washington DC, so either way you’d be looking at a one-stop itinerary. 

Even if you don’t plan to fly with Qatar Airways, there are some excellent partner redemptions to consider. Qatar Privilege Club partners with Bangkok Airways, which allows you to redeem tickets on the Singapore to Koh Samui route for just 6,000 miles. Commercial tickets on this route are often expensive, so there’s potential for great value here.

Here’s some other examples of sweet spots worth considering (with the operating carrier in brackets):

While Qatar Privilege Club does not impose fuel surcharges on Qatar Airways redemptions, it does tack on an award booking fee, payable on top of the standard airport fees and government taxes.

This fee was hiked without notice in September 2024 by up to 80% in some cases. 

Keep in mind that this fee applies per segment, so if you’re flying through Doha on a round-trip Business Class ticket, for instance, you’ll pay US$720 in award redemption fees alone. Ouch. 

Fortunately, this fee does not apply to non-Qatar Airways redemptions, so if you plan to fly with Bangkok Airways or one of its other partners, you won’t have to pay it (you will pay whatever fuel surcharges those carriers impose, however).

When do Finnair Avios expire?

Finnair Avios do not expire so long as you earn or redeem at least one Avios every 18 months. 

Do note that transferring Avios from one programme to another does not count as activity and does not affect the expiry date.

What credit card should I use to buy Finnair Avios?

Finnair does not process miles purchases directly, so they won’t code as airline spend. Instead, miles purchases are processed through Points.com in USD under MCC 7399 (Business Services Not Elsewhere Classified).

Here’s the best cards to use to maximise miles on this purchase. 

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd	Cap of S$1K per s. month
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min S$1K, max S$2K FCY spend per s. month
Maybank World Mastercard Apply	3.2 mpd	Min. S$4K per c. month, no cap
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	3.2 mpd (till 31 Jan 25)	Min S$800 per c. month, no cap
SCB Visa Infinite Apply	3 mpd	Min S$2K per s. month, no cap
UOB PRVI Miles Apply	2.4 mpd	No cap
S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month

Remember, you can pair the Citi Rewards Card with Amaze to earn 4 mpd on Points.com purchases, while paying lower FCY fees than banks.

Do not use HSBC cards or the DBS Woman’s World Card for Points.com purchases, as MCC 7399 will not earn points. 

If you have a DBS Altitude Card and have registered for the 5 mpd FCY spend promotion, you can also use that for this transaction. Remember, a minimum spend of S$1,000 per calendar month applies to trigger the 5 mpd rate, and there’s also a cap of S$2,000 per calendar month. 

What about Citi PayAll?

Another way of buying Avios (the British Airways or Qatar Airways variety) would be through the Citi PayAll service, which is available to Citi cardholders with a 2.6% fee.

From now till 28 February 2025, the platform is running a promotion that upsizes the earn rate to a flat 1.75 mpd across participating cards, reducing the cost per mile to 1.49 cents each. 

Card	Base	Bonus	Cost Per Mile  (@ 2.6% fee)
Citi ULTIMA	1.6 mpd	0.15 mpd	1.49¢
Citi Prestige	1.3 mpd	0.45 mpd	1.49¢
Citi Premier Miles	1.2 mpd	0.55 mpd	1.49¢
Citi Rewards	0.4 mpd	1.35 mpd	1.49¢

To illustrate how this works, suppose you spend S$5,000 on Citi PayAll during the promotion period: 

• You will earn 8,750 miles (S$5,000 x 1.75 mpd)
• You will pay an admin fee of S$130 (S$5,000 x 2.6%)
• The cost per mile is therefore S$130/8,750 miles = 1.49 cents

This works out to the same price, but comes with a big caveat: you’ll only receive the base miles first; the bonus component will only come by 23 May 2025.

Conclusion

From now till 21 November 2024, Finnair is selling Avios for as low as 1.49 cents each, which is among the best prices we’ve seen. Finnair has been plugged into the Avios ecosystem, so you can use this promotion to top up your British Airways or Qatar Airways Avios balance at a discounted price. 

There’s some good sweet spots to be redeemed with Avios, but as always, I’d discourage you from speculatively purchasing miles. Find something you want to redeem first, then make your purchase!