How We Accumulated 1,18,500 Avios for Our Dream Finland Trip

[da3m0n]

​

After detailing how we redeemed our Avios to save over INR 2,15,000 on our Nordic adventure, it's time to share how we actually accumulated the required 1,18,500 Avios.

Credit Cards We Used​

We primarily use the following credit cards for our daily spending:

• HDFC Infinia – Primarily for vouchers, SmartBuy offers, and select transactions.
• Axis Atlas – Used for most daily spends after completing INR 4 lakh on Amex Platinum Travel.
• Amex Platinum Travel & Platinum Charge – Used strategically for travel-related expenses and reward accumulation.

Credit Card Transfer Ratios to Avios​

Credit Card Variant	Reward Points	Conversion to Avios
HDFC Infinia	1 RP = 1 Avios	1:1
Axis Atlas	1 Mile = 2 Avios	1:2
Amex (Platinum Travel & Charge)	2 MR = 1 Avios	2:1

​

Breaking Down Our Avios Accumulation​

1. HDFC Infinia – 26,100 Avios​

We transferred 26,100 points from HDFC Infinia to Finnair Avios at a 1:1 ratio. These points were accumulated over 4-5 months, mostly through SmartBuy’s 5X offers.

2. Axis Atlas – 36,000 Avios​

With Axis Atlas, we leveraged its excellent 1:2 transfer ratio by transferring 18,000 miles, which converted to 36,000 Avios. Since Avios can be transferred internally within the Avios ecosystem via British Airways, we moved these points from Qatar Airways to British Airways and finally to Finnair Avios. These miles were accumulated over approximately one year, primarily from daily spending and hotel bookings that couldn't be done via SmartBuy.

3. Amex Platinum Travel & Platinum Charge – 56,400 Avios​

We were still 56,400 Avios short, so we turned to Amex Membership Rewards (MR).

• I already had 56,000 MR points from Platinum Travel, but that wasn’t enough.
• To bridge the gap, I had anticipated this trip and applied for the Amex Platinum Charge card, which came with a 135,000 MR welcome bonus.
• We transferred 1,12,800 MR points to British Airways at a 2:1 ratio, yielding 56,400 BA Avios, which were later transferred to Finnair Avios.

​

Final Summary​

Card	Points Transferred	Avios Earned
HDFC Infinia	26,100	26,100
Axis Atlas	18,000 Miles	36,000
Amex (Plat Travel + Charge)	1,12,800 MR	56,400
Total	1,56,900	1,18,500 Avios

To accumulate these points, we had to take the Amex Platinum Charge Card (annual fee: INR 60,000 + GST) and strategically spend INR 4 lakh on Amex Platinum Travel. We still have some leftover MR points, which we plan to use for our next trip—either on Marriott stays or another airline redemption.

Would love to hear your thoughts on how we can optimize this more strategically!

 

[Yugi]

I think your updated savings should be 2,60,000 - 45,000 - 70800 = 144200.

Because you spent 60K + GST to acquire those points inorganically through Amex Plat Charge Card.

 

[da3m0n]

I think your updated savings should be 2,60,000 - 45,000 - 70800 = 144200.

Because you spent 60K + GST to acquire those points inorganically through Amex Plat Charge Card.

You can say so, but we did earn other benefits on the Plat Charge card such as Hertz Rental Discount and upgrade. Also, the 5X Reward Multiplier for some of our bookings & were still left with 78,000 MRs. So it's hard to put an exact value on the plat charge fees in the calculation.

 

[Half Human]

Nice sum up.

One doubt which one was more useful with respect to avios accumulation, comparing each cards' avios to the spent on that card?

Was it infinia with the 5x smartbuy portal?
Maybe 10% on an avg?

 

[BVCBVC is verified member.]

Good planning and glad you had good experience.

Not sure but for this, But IndusInd Avios card would've helped??

 

[Yugi]

You can say so, but we did earn other benefits on the Plat Charge card such as Hertz Rental Discount and upgrade. Also, the 5X Reward Multiplier for some of our bookings & were still left with 78,000 MRs. So it's hard to put an exact value on the plat charge fees in the calculation.

Yes, but once you account for cost then for all future trips you can directly calculate the savings. Amex Plat Charge fee is something you have account for when doing calculations for savings. Glad it worked out in your favor.

 

[da3m0n]

Good planning and glad you had good experience.

Not sure but for this trip IndusInd Avios card would've helped??

I guess IndusInd avios also could have been a good choice but since we already had MR points, Plat charge made more sense for us.
Also, this was our first redemption using air miles so happy with what we were able to get.

 

[da3m0n]

Nice sum up.

One doubt which one was more useful with respect to avios accumulation, comparing each cards' avios to the spent on that card?

Was it infinia with the 5x smartbuy portal?
Maybe 10% on an avg?

Let's see, I haven't done the exact spend calculation yet, but let's break it down here.

1. HDFC Infinia (Mostly 5X Spends): Since all spends accumulate at 5X, to earn 26,100 Avios, one would need to spend INR 1,56,600 (calculated as 26,100 * 150 / 25).
2. Axis Atlas: Given that most spends earn 2 Miles per INR 100, and around INR 90,000 was spent on hotels/flights, the breakdown is:
   • Milestone Bonus: 2,500 Miles on hitting INR 3 Lakh spend
   • Hotels/Flights: 90,000/100 * 5 = 4,500 Miles
   • To earn 11,000 Miles, one would need to spend 5,50,000 INR at the 2 Miles per INR 100 rate.
   • So, to accumulate 18,000 Miles, the total spend required would be ~6,40,000 INR.
3. Amex Platinum Travel: Spending 4 Lakhs results in approximately 56,400 MR points.

So in our case, we spent around 12 Lakhs, plus the Plat Charge card Fess.

​

Optimizing for Maximum Avios​

If we were to optimize the spend:

Step 1: Spend on Axis Atlas (7.5 Lakhs)​

• 1,00,000 INR at 5 Miles per 100 INR → 5,000 Miles
• 6,50,000 INR at 2 Miles per 100 INR → 13,000 Miles
• Milestone Bonus: 2,500 Miles (at 3L spend) + 2,500 Miles (at 7.5L spend)
• Total Miles Earned: 23,000 Miles, which converts to 46,000 Avios

Step 2: Spend on HDFC Infinia (5X SmartBuy)​

• To earn 72,500 Avios, we use the 5X SmartBuy multiplier.
• Formula: Avios Earned = (Total Spend * 25) / 150
• Rearranging: Spend Required = (72,500 * 150) / 25 = INR 4,35,000

Final Calculation:​

• Total spend on Infinia + Atlas = 7,50,000 + 4,35,000 = INR 11,85,000
• Total Avios earned = 46,000 (Atlas) + 72,500 (Infinia) = 1,18,500 Avios

This confirms that an annual spend of ~INR 12 Lakhs, strategically allocated, can indeed earn a round trip to Finland. 🚀

 

[Half Human]

Let's see, I haven't done the exact spend calculation yet, but let's break it down here.

1. HDFC Infinia (Mostly 5X Spends): Since all spends accumulate at 5X, to earn 26,100 Avios, one would need to spend INR 1,56,600 (calculated as 26,100 * 150 / 25).
2. Axis Atlas: Given that most spends earn 2 Miles per INR 100, and around INR 90,000was spent on hotels/flights, the breakdown is:
   • Milestone Bonus: 2,500 Miles on hitting INR 3 Lakh spend
   • Hotels/Flights: 90,000/100 * 5 = 4,500 Miles
   • To earn 11,000 Miles, one would need to spend 5,50,000 INR at the 2 Miles per INR 100 rate.
   • So, to accumulate 18,000 Miles, the total spend required would be ~6,40,000 INR.
3. Amex Platinum Travel: Spending 4 Lakhs results in approximately 56,400 MR points.

So in our case, we spent around 12 Lakhs, plus the Plat Charge card Fess.

​

Optimizing for Maximum Avios​

If we were to optimize the spend:

Step 1: Spend on Axis Atlas (7.5 Lakhs)​

• 1,00,000 INR at 5 Miles per 100 INR → 5,000 Miles
• 6,50,000 INR at 2 Miles per 100 INR → 13,000 Miles
• Milestone Bonus: 2,500 Miles (at 3L spend) + 2,500 Miles (at 7.5L spend)
• Total Miles Earned: 23,000 Miles, which converts to 46,000 Avios

Step 2: Spend on HDFC Infinia (5X SmartBuy)​

• To earn 72,500 Avios, we use the 5X SmartBuy multiplier.
• Formula: Avios Earned = (Total Spend * 25) / 150
• Rearranging: Spend Required = (72,500 * 150) / 25 = INR 4,35,000

Final Calculation:​

• Total spend on Infinia + Atlas = 7,50,000 + 4,35,000 = INR 11,85,000
• Total Avios earned = 46,000 (Atlas) + 72,500 (Infinia) = 1,18,500 Avios

This confirms that an annual spend of ~INR 12 Lakhs, strategically allocated, can indeed earn a round trip to Finland. 🚀

Thanks for this beautiful breakdown ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

So that also means that if one can use Infinia as the core card and efficiently, then maybe the same 118500 avios could have been achieved at a much lower spend??? Esp instead of atlas??

 

[da3m0n]

So that also means that if one can use Infinia as the core card and efficiently, then maybe the same 118500 avios could have been achieved at a much lower spend???

Yes, if you only have spends using SmartBuy/Gift Vouchers.
If you can spend INR 1,12,500 purely on SmartBuy then you can accumulate 18,750 points per month.

 

[Half Human]

Yes, if you only have spends using SmartBuy/Gift Vouchers.
If you can spend INR 1,12,500 purely on SmartBuy then you can accumulate 18,750 points per month.

Yes sir 🫡🫡

 

[sahilgulati5]

Good Planning. Congrats. You can try this method for AVIOS. Buy AVIOS Directly from finnair in Black Friday sale ( LAST year ,They were offering 1point around .93paise) Since you converted ur points around that time you could have saved extra.

 

[Hell_Kitty]

​

After detailing how we redeemed our Avios to save over INR 2,15,000 on our Nordic adventure, it's time to share how we actually accumulated the required 1,18,500 Avios.

Credit Cards We Used​

We primarily use the following credit cards for our daily spending:

• HDFC Infinia – Primarily for vouchers, SmartBuy offers, and select transactions.
• Axis Atlas – Used for most daily spends after completing INR 4 lakh on Amex Platinum Travel.
• Amex Platinum Travel & Platinum Charge – Used strategically for travel-related expenses and reward accumulation.

Credit Card Transfer Ratios to Avios​

Credit Card Variant	Reward Points	Conversion to Avios
HDFC Infinia	1 RP = 1 Avios	1:1
Axis Atlas	1 Mile = 2 Avios	1:2
Amex (Platinum Travel & Charge)	2 MR = 1 Avios	2:1

​

Breaking Down Our Avios Accumulation​

1. HDFC Infinia – 26,100 Avios​

We transferred 26,100 points from HDFC Infinia to Finnair Avios at a 1:1 ratio. These points were accumulated over 4-5 months, mostly through SmartBuy’s 5X offers.
View attachment 88884

2. Axis Atlas – 36,000 Avios​

With Axis Atlas, we leveraged its excellent 1:2 transfer ratio by transferring 18,000 miles, which converted to 36,000 Avios. Since Avios can be transferred internally within the Avios ecosystem via British Airways, we moved these points from Qatar Airways to British Airways and finally to Finnair Avios. These miles were accumulated over approximately one year, primarily from daily spending and hotel bookings that couldn't be done via SmartBuy.
View attachment 88885

3. Amex Platinum Travel & Platinum Charge – 56,400 Avios​

We were still 56,400 Avios short, so we turned to Amex Membership Rewards (MR).

• I already had 56,000 MR points from Platinum Travel, but that wasn’t enough.
• To bridge the gap, I had anticipated this trip and applied for the Amex Platinum Charge card, which came with a 135,000 MR welcome bonus.
• We transferred 1,12,800 MR points to British Airways at a 2:1 ratio, yielding 56,400 BA Avios, which were later transferred to Finnair Avios.

​

View attachment 88886

Final Summary​

Card	Points Transferred	Avios Earned
HDFC Infinia	26,100	26,100
Axis Atlas	18,000 Miles	36,000
Amex (Plat Travel + Charge)	1,12,800 MR	56,400
Total	1,56,900	1,18,500 Avios

To accumulate these points, we had to take the Amex Platinum Charge Card (annual fee: INR 60,000 + GST) and strategically spend INR 4 lakh on Amex Platinum Travel. We still have some leftover MR points, which we plan to use for our next trip—either on Marriott stays or another airline redemption.

Would love to hear your thoughts on how we can optimize this more strategically!

Charge card is 66k+ GST right?

 

[sahilgulati5]

Charge card is 66k+ GST right?

Yes right .

 

[da3m0n]

Charge card is 66k+ GST right?

Earlier it was 60 + GST

 

[da3m0n]

Good Planning. Congrats. You can try this method for AVIOS. Buy AVIOS Directly from finnair in Black Friday sale ( LAST year ,They were offering 1point around .93paise) Since you converted ur points around that time you could have saved extra.

if could plan that well in advance 😛