Buy Finnair Plus Avios with up to a 50% Bonus
Note: This up-to-50% bonus ended on October 5, 2026. See our buy points tracker for the sales that are live right now.
Like many airlines, Finnair Plus puts on occasional promotions during which Avios are sold with a bonus or a discount. Whenever these sales pop up, it’s a good idea to take stock of what’s at stake and see if you can work it in your favour.
This time, you can buy Finnair Plus Avios with up to a 50% bonus, making this one of the better deals we’ve seen from the program – and there’s even a trick to getting the lowest price possible.
If you have your eyes on some aspirational oneworld flight redemptions or a flight to Northern Europe, a sale like this could be a strategic move to score travel in premium cabins while stretching your points budget further.
Buy Finnair Plus Avios with up to a 50% Bonus
Finnair Plus has launched its newest promotion on purchased Avios, offering a tiered bonus structure that tops out at 50% bonus Avios. The size of the bonus depends on how many Avios you purchase:
- 7,000–24,000 Avios: 30% bonus
- 25,000–54,000 Avios: 35% bonus
- 55,000–89,000 Avios: 40% bonus
- 90,000–200,000 Avios: 50% bonus
The promotion runs from September 21 through October 5, 2026, and it’s open to Finnair Plus members who joined before September 18, 2026 and hold at least 50 Avios in their account. At the maximum 50% bonus, Finnair Plus Avios work out to approximately 1.45 cents (USD) each when paying in US dollars, or closer to 1.41 cents (USD) with the currency trick below.
Note: Unlike some previous Finnair Plus promotions, this current offer does not include a Tier Points bonus.
We value Finnair Plus Avios at 2 cents per point (CAD). At today’s exchange rates, the top tier works out to roughly 2 cents (CAD) per Avios, so this sale lands right at our valuation rather than comfortably under it. The upside comes from a specific high-value redemption, not from stockpiling.
One tip worth knowing is that the bonus doesn’t show up at all while your Finnair Plus balance sits at zero. When we first loaded the shop with an empty account, 200,000 Avios priced at the plain €4,200 with no bonus in sight.
Moving just 50 Avios over from British Airways Club with Avios Combine was enough to trigger the offer, and the tiers appeared as soon as we reloaded the page. There’s no 1,000-Avios floor on the transfer, so the 50-Avios eligibility threshold is easy to clear, as long as your Finnair Plus account was opened before September 18, 2026.
How to Transfer Avios Between Accounts
Read moreWith Finnair Plus, you can purchase a maximum of 200,000 Avios each calendar year, excluding any bonus points. Max out this offer at the 50% tier and 200,000 purchased Avios become 300,000 Avios for about $4,340 (USD), or roughly $6,100 (CAD), before tax.
The Trick to Getting the Lowest Price
Finnair’s purchase portal defaults to EUR pricing, where the base rate is 2.1 cents per Avios (≈ 2.41 cents USD). If you switch the payment currency to USD, the base rate drops to 2.17 cents per Avios, which brings the 50% tier to approximately 1.45 cents (USD) per Avios.
Several outlets have reported that Japanese yen is cheaper still, at 3.33 yen per Avios at the top tier, or about 2.11 cents (USD) before the bonus and roughly 1.41 cents (USD) after it. We haven’t tested the yen pricing ourselves, and the shop displays a disclaimer that transactions are processed in euros, so check the final amount on the payment screen before you commit, and use a card with no foreign transaction fees either way.
Which Credit Card Should You Use to Buy Avios?
Finnair Plus processes Avios purchases through Points.com, which means these transactions won’t earn travel category bonuses on credit cards like the American Express Platinum Card.
Therefore, your best strategy here is to use:
- A card with a strong baseline earning rate
- For Canadian cards, this means the Business Platinum Card from American Express (1.25 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent) or the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege† (1.25 RBC Avion points per dollar spent)
- In the United States, consider the Capital One Venture X Rewards Card (2 Capital One Miles per dollar spent)
- A card which you’re working on a minimum spending requirement
- Check out our picks for Canada’s Best Credit Card Offers, updated monthly
- A card with no foreign transaction fees, since purchases will be in a foreign currency
- Scotiabank’s suite of Scene+ credit cards are best for this purpose, including the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite +* Card, the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card, the Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card, or the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card
Great Credit Cards for Buying Avios
Welcome bonus: 130,000 Membership Rewards points
Annual fee: $799
First-year value
$1,914
Welcome bonus: 100,000 Avion points
Annual fee: $399
First-year value
$826
Welcome bonus: 100,000 Scene+ points
Annual fee: $399
First-year value
$601
Welcome bonus: 35,000 Scene+ points
Annual fee: $150
First-year value
$600
Welcome bonus: 50,000 Scene+ points
Annual fee: $120
First-year value
$455
Welcome bonus: 80,000 Scene+ points
Annual fee: $599
First-year value
$451
As a reminder, Points.com is registered in Canada, and you’ll be obligated to pay GST/HST if you have a Canadian billing address. If at all possible, you should aim to use a foreign billing address to avoid the added costs, which erode the value from the sale.
When Does It Make Sense to Buy Finnair Plus Avios?
Speculatively buying points without a redemption in mind is almost never a good idea, since loyalty programs could implement changes at any time. However, buying points during sales can also deliver exceptionally strong value, especially when you compare it to paying cash for the same flights.
When Should You Buy Points?
Read more50,000+ travellers get this email
Weekly deals, credit card insights, and points strategies – free forever.
Guaranteed Award Availability with Finnair
Finnair guarantees a minimum amount of award seats that are released on all of its short- and long-haul flights.
For flights to and from North America, you’re guaranteed to find at least four award seats available in economy, and at least two award seats available in premium economy and business class on Finnair-operated flights at the following rates:
- Economy: 30,000 Avios
- Premium economy: 43,500 Avios
- Business class: 62,500 Avios
If you value predictability, then you can depend on there being at least two business class award seats on every Finnair flight.
Plus, those award-flight prices are excellent, especially when you consider that the taxes and fees on Finnair flights are also quite reasonable.
Premium flights are almost always the best deal when it comes to award redemptions. Buying 90,000 Avios at the 50% tier gets you 135,000 Avios for about $1,950 (USD), or roughly $2,740 (CAD), which covers a round-trip booking in business class to Europe (125,000 Avios) with change to spare, and comes in at a fraction of the cash fare for the equivalent itinerary.
As a reminder, Finnair operates flights between Helsinki and Toronto, New York, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Seattle (in North America).
If you don’t live in or near any of these cities, consider booking a positioning flight to get yourself to one of them once you have a Finnair-operated flight locked in.
Positioning Flights: What You Need to Know
Read moreSweet Spot Redemptions on Partner Airlines
Finnair Plus offers members access to oneworld airlines, as well as non-affiliated partners. Each partner airline is subject to its own award chart, which can be found on the Finnair website.
If you’ve located award availability on a oneworld or partner airline, you’ll be happy to know that Finnair Plus doesn’t levy a hefty amount of taxes and fees for award bookings in premium cabins. Plus, award pricing is quite reasonable, and in many cases, it’s better than what you can find for the same flights booked via The British Airways Club.
If you can find “Saver” award availability on flights with American Airlines, you might do well with Finnair Plus – especially if you have your sights set on the Caribbean and Mexico.
I booked a one-way flight from Vancouver to Cancun via Dallas for just 25,000 Avios plus a few hundred dollars in taxes and fees, which is an absolute bargain.
While it’s exceedingly rare, if you come across Cathay Pacific business class award availability, the pricing with Finnair Avios is excellent. You’d pay just 85,000 Finnair Plus Avios for a flight from Vancouver or Toronto to Hong Kong.
In fact, if you’ve found award availability with oneworld airlines but it doesn’t show up on the Finnair Plus website, I’d encourage you to call in and see if they can price it out. You may well be pleasantly surprised with the results.
Padding Your Other Avios Balances
Outside of the aforementioned excellent applications of Finnair Plus Avios, you can consider using a sale like this to pad your overall Avios balance.
One of the unique aspects of Avios is that it’s a points currency used by multiple programs. In addition to Finnair Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub, The British Airways Club, Iberia Club, and Qatar Airways Privilege Club use Avios, too.
Each program has its own set of sweet spots, and if you can find award availability for a flight in one of the other programs, you can buy Finnair Plus Avios during this sale and convert them into other “flavours” of Avios from within the ecosystem.
Depending on the program you’re moving Avios to or from, there are some strings attached to this, but it’s worth looking into.
How to Transfer Avios Between Accounts
Read morePrevious Finnair Plus Promotions
Finnair Plus runs these sales every month or two, alternating between a tiered discount and a tiered bonus. The recent editions stack up as follows.
| Dates | Offer | Best price per Avios |
|---|---|---|
| September 21 – October 5, 2026 | Up to 50% bonus | ~1.45 cents (USD) |
| June 16–18, 2026 | Up to 40% discount | ~1.30 cents (USD) |
| May 18–22, 2026 | Up to 50% bonus | ~1.45 cents (USD) |
| March 17–30, 2026 | Up to 40% discount | ~1.30 cents (USD) |
| Ended November 30, 2025 | 50% bonus plus 10% Tier Points bonus | ~1.62 cents (USD) |
| Ended November 2, 2025 | Up to 40% discount | ~1.46 cents (USD) |
The 40%-off editions have been the cheapest way in, since they take the price down to about 1.3 cents (USD) when paid in US dollars. A 50% bonus is the program’s standard alternative, and this one matches the May 2026 sale rather than beating it.
Other Ways to Earn Avios
Before jumping on this promotion, consider these more cost-effective methods to build your Avios balance.
Canadian Credit Card Options
American Express Membership Rewards transfer to The British Airways Club at a 1:1 ratio, occasionally with transfer bonuses up to 30%. Consider these cards as great pathways to a tidy sum of British Airways Avios:
RBC Credit Cards for Earning Avios
Welcome bonus: 100,000 Avion points
Annual fee: $399
First-year value
$826
Conclusion
Finnair Plus is currently offering up to a 50% bonus on purchased Avios, with Avios coming in at approximately 1.45 cents (USD) each at the top tier, or about 1.41 cents (USD) if the yen pricing holds up.
As we’ve explored in this article, there are certainly some great redemption opportunities available, and plenty of ways to turn your purchased points into outsized value with the right strategy. Whether you’re targeting guaranteed business class seats on Finnair to Europe, sweet spot redemptions on American Airlines, or topping up your broader Avios balance for use across the ecosystem, this sale is worth a close look.
If you’re interested in taking advantage, don’t delay – the promotion runs through October 5, 2026, so lock in your purchase before it expires.
Member Discussion