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You can transfer Avios freely at a 1:1 ratio between British Airways, Qatar Airways, Finnair, Iberia, and more, making Avios one of the most flexible airline currencies around. And you’ll want to do so because the sweet spots and redemption possibilities are different with each one, which has actually boosted the overall valuation of Avios for me — it’s like 5 programs with 5 different sets of sweet spots in one.
For example, if you’re buying Avios, it makes sense to buy from Finnair for the best rates. If you’re transferring credit card points in Canada, British Airways is the only option, and you can move your Avios from there.
On top of moving your own Avios between airlines, you can also pay just €10 to transfer your Avios to someone else. Read on for the full how-to guide.
Introducing Avios.com
Avios.com is the new and improved website that makes it extremely easy to transfer your Avios. The rules are pretty straightforward. You can only transfer Avios between your own accounts, and if you’re part of a British Airways Household Account, you can only transfer your share of the pooled balance.
Transferring Avios with Avios.com is pretty straightforward. Between British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Aer Lingus, Vueling, and Loganair, you can transfer Avios directly through the website after signing in to your account. Note you’ll need to have two-factor authentication enabled for all accounts.
Avios.com is super easy to use
You can move any increment of Avios, including 1 Avios.
Move Avios in increments of 1
Moving to Qatar is only slightly more complicated and requires linking your British Airways account. Only British Airways Avios can transfer directly to Qatar; British Airways acts as an intermediary for transferring Iberia or Finnair Avios to Qatar.
To transfer Avios to Qatar, first link your British Airways and Qatar accounts
In reality, you rarely need to move Avios to Qatar because Qatar can pull Avios directly from your British Airways account after linking when completing a booking on the Qatar Airways website. The only time I’ve ever had to transfer Avios to Qatar was to complete a booking through Live Chat, since some airport codes don’t work properly with online search.
Use British Airways as an intermediary for transferring Avios to/from Qatar
Transfer Avios to Anyone for €10
Now, my favourite tool with Avios is being able to transfer unlimited Avios to anyone for just €10. Finnair is the only Avios program that lets you transfer Avios directly to another person, so if you want to transfer your Avios to someone else, you’ll first need to use the Avios.com tool to move your Avios to Finnair. Once the other person receives their Avios in Finnair, they can then use the same Avios.com transfer tool to move their Avios to British Airways or anywhere else.
To complete the Finnair transfer, head to Finnair’s “Transfer Avios” page. It’s interesting that this page lives in the Finnair Shop, and you have to input information and then “Add to Cart”, as if completing a shopping purchase.
Transfer unlimited Avios to anyone else for just €10 with Finnair
Finnair even includes a Product Description that highlights two important rules: no transfers to Finnair Plus Junior accounts (for children aged 2-17), and the sender’s Finnair Plus account must be at least 90 days old. So even if you have no plans to transfer Avios in the immediate future, it makes sense to set up an account right now just in case. The person receiving Avios is not subject to the 90-day rule.
Takeaway
The Avios ecosystem is one of the most flexible loyalty currencies in the world, and Avios.com makes it remarkably easy to take advantage of that flexibility. With just a few clicks, you can move Avios between British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and other programs, allowing you to book through whichever program offers the best pricing and/or availability.
Even better, Finnair’s €10 transfer feature makes it easy to share Avios with friends and family when needed — and you might need it now with Qatar Avios’ new booking restrictions. Between the ability to move Avios across multiple programs and transfer them to another person for a flat fee, Avios remains one of the most versatile airline currencies available to Canadians.
Featured Image Credit: Finnair
