Once a very niche program in the world of points and miles, Finnair Avios has become one of our favorite ways to book award flights … whether you want to fly Finnair itself or one of its many partner airlines like American, Japan Airlines, or LATAM.
When Finnair joined the family of airlines using Avios a few years back, it opened the floodgates to its incredible award rates for flights all over the world. Since you can transfer Avios from British Airways (and other airlines) over to Finnair Avios, you can often book the exact same flights for fewer points and/or lower fees through Finnair.
It also means that, even though only Capital One and Rove miles transfer directly to Finnair, you can effectively transfer all major transferable points to Finnair. For example, you can transfer Amex Membership Rewards or Chase points to British Airways, then kick those points from BA to Finnair.
Finnair's website is generally easy to navigate, and it works well if you're booking Finnair flights or select partner airlines. But the major hurdle with Finnair Avios is that most partner-airline award tickets can't be booked on its website. Instead, you need to call or chat online with a live agent to book many of the best deals.
Believe me, the juice is worth the squeeze. Keep reading for a step-by-step guide on how to book award flights with Finnair Avios – both online and via phone call or online chat.
Why You Should Book with Finnair Avios
Plain and simple, to save big.
Finnair still uses a standard award chart – the cheat sheet to tell you how many miles it costs to book a flight. This means award rates are determined by region, and its partner award chart is one of the best in the business.
For example, if you're looking to book American Airlines business class, you could book this flight from New York (JFK) to Buenos Aires (EZE) for 85,000 British Airways Avios one way.
But if you book the same flight with Finnair instead, it would cost just 55,000 Finnair Avios – a savings of 30,000 points – just by transferring Avios from British Airways to Finnair, and booking with a Finnair agent.
It's not just cheaper rates – sometimes you can save a boatload in fees, too. For instance, booking American's new business class suites from Los Angeles (LAX) to London (LHR) costs 85,000 British Airways Avios one way, plus a ridiculous $1,400 in taxes and fees.
But by booking the same flight with Finnair instead, it's just 65,000 Finnair Avios and a more reasonable $350 in taxes and fees – saving you 20,000 points and over $1,000 in fees.
These are just two examples of many where you can save on points, fees (or both) by booking with Finnair Avios compared to other programs in the Avios ecosystem. And it's not just on American Airlines flights – you'll find these kinds of savings across several partner airlines, such as Cathay Pacific, LATAM, Royal Air Maroc, and more.
So, how exactly do you book these flights with Finnair and reap the savings? Keep reading to find out.
Sign Up and Link Accounts
First things first, you'll need a Finnair Plus account to book with Finnair Avios. Go here to sign up now if you don't already have one.
If you don't already have a British Airways account, you'll also want to sign up for a British Airways Executive Club account, so you can link the two and transfer Avios back and forth. While you're at it, if you have Citi points, it's not a bad idea to open a Qatar Airways account as well … for all the same reasons.
We highly recommend that you create these free accounts now if you haven't already. There is a new requirement that your accounts must be at least 30 days old before you can transfer Avios between airlines.
By linking your accounts, you'll unlock more transfer options. While you can transfer Capital One miles and Rove miles directly to Finnair, you can transfer points from Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Wells Fargo to British Airways, then kick them over to Finnair.
Capital One miles also transfer to British Airways, and we frequently see transfer bonus opportunities. This means it's sometimes best to transfer points from these banks to British Airways to take advantage of any bonus points, then convert your British Airways Avios to Finnair Avios later on.
If you have Citi ThankYou points, it's a little more complex. You'll first need to transfer from Citi to Qatar Airways, then from Qatar to British Airways, and finally, from British Airways to Finnair. But don't let that stop you!
Read more: Our full guide to transferring Avios Between Accounts
Booking Online (Finnair & some partner airlines)
The easiest flights to book with Finnair Avios are the ones you can book online.
Naturally, you can book Finnair flights with points on the airline's own website. But if you're trying to book a flight operated by one of Finnair's partners, there are only a handful you can take care of online. Most notably: Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Qantas.
Best of all, you don't need any points to search and can check award availability up to 361 days in advance. In our experience, Finnair's site is super fast and easy to use.
Step 1: Log in to Finnar.com
You'll need to log in to be able to search for award tickets on Finnair.com.
Be prepared to receive a text message on your phone for two-factor authentication. And a heads-up: there won't be any indication that this code is from Finnair. It will simply be a 6-digit code and nothing else.
Step 2: Start an Award Search
Once you're logged in, searching is pretty simple. To start, click the “Award flight” tab.
It will be easiest to search for award availability one way at a time – even if you plan to book roundtrip in the end.
Choose the cabin, number of passengers, enter your route and travel date, then search.
Step 3: Look for the Cheapest Dates
When searching for award flights, Finnair's site defaults to a one-week flexible date search.
While it's not quite the full-month view you can get on some other sites, this is a great way to see if you can shift your plans by a day or two to find those hard-to-book business class seats.
Keep in mind that the price displayed is the total for all passengers. If you're looking for Finnair business class flights from the U.S. to Northern Europe, you'll find rates of 62,500 Avios per person or 125,000 for two. See the full award chart for Finnair flights here.
If there's no availability within +/- three days of the date you initially searched for, you'll see a message indicating no award seats are available. You'll simply need to keep trying for a date in a different week until you get results. This will take trial and error.
Step 4: Select Your Flight, Transfer Points & Book
Once you've selected a date, you'll see a list of flights to choose from. Once again, you'll see the total Avios required for all passengers here.
There are only a few filters and sorting options, but adjusting them can help you find the exact flights you're looking for if the list is long.
Since only a few airlines can be booked on Finnair's website, the list of flights to choose from is generally short.
You'll need to have Avios in your Finnair account to proceed any further. If you need to transfer points from any of the banks (or from your British Airways account), all transfers are usually instant.
Booking by Chat or Phone Call (most partner airlines)
Looking to book an American Airlines flight with Finnair points? Or other partner airlines like Alaska, Fiji Airways, LATAM, or Royal Air Maroc?
Flights on these airlines, along with a few others, require a phone call or online chat to book.
Don't let that stop you, though – Finnair agents are very friendly and knowledgeable about booking award travel. In my experience, booking flights with Finnair agents has always been pretty painless.
While online chat may be easier if you're at your desk, it typically takes longer to get a human agent. In most cases, it will be quicker to pick up the phone and call an agent to book.
Regardless of how you contact Finnair, you'll want to do your homework first.
Find the Availability
The first rule for booking any award flight over the phone or via an online chat with an agent is to check award availability beforehand.
Since you can't search for these flights on Finnair's site, you'll need to turn to other airline sites or award search tools to verify availability, then call or chat online with an agent to book with Finnair Avios.
The exact site or tool you use will vary depending on the airline you're trying to book. For example, you can use Virgin Atlantic's website (and in some cases Delta's site) to check for availability on LATAM flights. For American Airlines award availability, use Alaska's website.
In general, if you can book American Airlines flights with Alaska miles, you should be able to book them with other partner airline miles, like Finnair, too. In many cases, this same strategy works with other airlines as well.
Calling Finnair to Book (Quickest)
It's usually quicker to call a Finnair agent on the phone. Agents often pick up instantly or within five minutes, but this can vary depending on the time of day and other factors.
Finnair has two U.S. numbers you can call: 929-474-6049 or 323-694-7646. These customer service lines are open Monday – Friday, from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Eastern Time, and on weekends from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
Once you get in touch, follow these three steps:
- Ask the agent, “Can you check availability to fly (insert airline) in (insert class of service) using Finnair Avios?”
- Give them the route, dates, and exact flight numbers where you found availability through other websites or tools.
- Wait for the agent to confirm the flights are bookable through Finnair, then ask if they can hold the line while you transfer points to book.
The agent will likely make the reservation for you and send you an email with a direct link to pay the taxes and fees online. This is how it worked when I booked a LATAM business class seat through Finnair in the past.
Finnair agents are typically friendly and well-versed in booking award flights. If you strike out finding availability through one agent, and you're certain it should be there, you may want to hang up and call again to try another agent. You may have better luck with someone else.
Using the Online Chat
To use the online chat, it's easiest to log in to your Finnair.com account first. Then click the chat icon in the bottom-right corner.
Finnair's AI chatbot, Sisu, will then start messaging you. Since you'll need to get connected with a human agent to book an award flight, give it the prompt to “book an award flight with an agent” right away.
Once you've connected with a human agent, provide the dates, route, and exact flight numbers where you found availability on other websites or tools. I generally find that speaking to these agents, like a travel agent, gets the best results.
The agent will then check on their end for availability and pricing and get back to you quickly. For this American Airlines flight from New York (JFK) to Buenos Aires (EZE), it's an incredible deal.
After confirming availability, ask the agent to stay on the line while you transfer points to complete the booking. They will send you a special link to pay the taxes and fees online.
Finnair's Change & Cancellation Policy
Finnair charges a $50 fee for changes or cancellations to award tickets, which is pretty reasonable.
One important note if you're canceling your ticket to get your Avios refunded: You'll need to contact a Finnair agent to expedite this process.
In our experience, the redeposit of your Avios is not instant. It usually requires a quick call or online chat to have an agent manually process the cancellation so you can use those Avios elsewhere.
Bottom Line
Finnair Plus tends to have the best overall sweet spots in the Avios ecosystem. This means you can often save big by transferring Avios from other airlines that use this currency, like British Airways and Qatar Airways.
Finnair's website is pretty easy to use, but the caveat is that only a handful of airlines can be booked online. In most cases, it's well worth it to jump through a few hoops and book with a Finnair agent by phone or online chat, when necessary.
