The trend for airlines to reward loyalty through spend continues, as Finnair will become the latest carrier to transition the Finnair Plus program to revenue tiers based on traveler money.
Finnair is taking inspiration from Oneworld carrier American Airlines’ playbook when it comes to its 2024 frequent flyer program.
The Scandinavian carrier announced radical changes to the Finnair Plus programincluding changing reward currency and moving loyalty tiers to spending.
Finnair Plus in 2024: Avios and spend-based loyalty tiers
The most significant change to the Finnair Plus 2024 program is the switch from their own currency to Avios from IAG. Following qatarairways, Finnair becomes the fifth carrier to switch to the common frequent flyer currency. Travelers who currently have Finnair Plus points will automatically convert to Avios at the rate of three Finnair Plus points for every two Avios. Current reward prices will also change by the same ratio starting in 2014.
Once the program transitions to an expenditure-based program, travelers will earn tier points and Avios for purchases of additional flights and journeys on board Finnair, airfare for flights marketed or operated by a partner airline and purchases made with a Finnair Visa credit card. if the flyers spend more than 1,500 euros per month.
The loyalty program will continue to have four levels: Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum Lumo. The airline hasn’t announced how much it will cost to reach each tier, but it does say that “from the start of 2024 it will no longer be possible to reach tiers with the number of flights alone – you can maintain your level or reach a new level by collecting the necessary number of level points.
Just like the American AAdvantage program, the new Finnair Plus will offer loyalty tier rewards as well as ‘milestones’ between tiers. Some of the milestone rewards include extra Avios for Basic members, lounge passes for Silver and Gold members, and upgrade benefits for Platinum and Platinum Lumo members. The airline has not announced how much it will need to spend to achieve these milestones.
The announcement comes with other core promises for travelers, including more customer service channels and a minimum number of award seats on flights. In addition to investing in customer service using WhatsApp, Finnair guarantees at least six award seats on all flights within Europe and eight award seats for long-haul international flights. Finnair Plus members will also benefit from improved internet access on flights operated on their Airbus A320 family of aircraft.
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