Traveling to the Nordic countries to witness the mesmerizing Northern Lights has been a long-cherished dream for us. With family planning on the horizon, we knew this was the perfect year to make it happen. After considering various options, we decided on Finland, given the abundance of activities and experiences it offers. However, our journey to making this dream a reality wasn’t without its challenges.
To check for award flights, visit the Finnair website, navigate to the 'Book' section, select 'Award Flight,' and enter your travel details. The same INR 56,000 flight could now be booked for just 28,000 Avios plus approximately INR 6,000 in taxes.
If you have other better options to redeem for a flight to Finland, please do comment and let us know!
Initial Planning and Setback
We began planning our trip quite late, around the end of September, for a December departure. However, the steep prices forced us to reconsider, and we decided to shift our trip to the end of January. Since Finnair is one of the few airlines offering direct flights from Delhi to Helsinki, we checked their fares—only to be taken aback by the exorbitant prices. A one-way ticket to Helsinki was priced at INR 56,000! Even today, a flight for May 1st costs approximately the same.
Discovering Award Flights
Where there’s a will, there’s a way! A friend, Karan, guided us towards booking award flights using Avios points, available at a fixed rate. We explored ways to accumulate Avios and were fortunate to have enough points to cover our roundtrip flights from Delhi to Helsinki.To check for award flights, visit the Finnair website, navigate to the 'Book' section, select 'Award Flight,' and enter your travel details. The same INR 56,000 flight could now be booked for just 28,000 Avios plus approximately INR 6,000 in taxes.
Building Our Travel Itinerary
We needed a total of 1,12,000 Avios (28,000 * 4) for our roundtrip flights. Since we also planned to visit Rovaniemi and Ivalo, Karan suggested an amazing trick—Finnair allows one internal flight free of cost on the same day of entering or leaving Finland. Leveraging this, we added a flight to Rovaniemi at no extra charge.Finalized Itinerary:
- 6:30 AM flight from Delhi to Helsinki (28,000 Avios per person)
- 2:30 PM arrival in Helsinki
- 7:30 PM flight to Rovaniemi (free of cost)
- Flight from Ivalo to Helsinki:
- One seat booked with 6,500 Avios + INR 3,000 (taxes)
- One seat booked with cash for INR 18,000
Final Cost Breakdown
| Expense | Avios | Revenue (INR) |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi to Helsinki (Roundtrip) | 1,12,000 | 24,000 (Taxes) |
| Ivalo to Helsinki (Award) | 6,500 | 3,000 (Taxes) |
| Ivalo to Helsinki (Revenue) | - | 18,000 |
| Total | 1,18,500 | 45,000 |
Massive Savings Using Avios
Had we booked everything in cash, the total cost would have been around INR 2,60,000 (Delhi-Helsinki: INR 56,000 * 4 + Ivalo-Helsinki: INR 18,000 * 2). Instead, by smartly using Avios, we brought the cost down to INR 45,000, saving a whopping INR 2,15,000—valuing each Avios at approximately INR 1.8.Final Thoughts
This experience reinforced the immense value of credit card points and airline loyalty programs. Strategic use of Avios made our dream trip both achievable and affordable. If you're planning an expensive trip, explore award flights—it might just save you a fortune!If you have other better options to redeem for a flight to Finland, please do comment and let us know!
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