Flat Bed Business Class to Europe from 49K Points

Flat Bed Business Class to Europe from 63K Points

Fly Finnair Business Class to Europe from 49K points each way, thanks to a 30% transfer bonus from AMEX Membership Rewards to British Airways Avios (you can combine your BA and Finnair Avios, assuming both Avios accounts are at least 30 days old). You can remain in Finland or easily venture elsewhere in Europe (see below some of the cities Finnair flies to nonstop from Helsinki, HEL).

How to Book Finnair Business Class

We recommend signing up for a free Finnair account as you'll also have access to more calendar dates, since Finnair's award calendar opens 359 days in advance, compared to 331 days in advance for American AAdvantage 330 days in advance for Alaska Mileage Plan.

To get Avios into your Finnair account either transfer directly to Finnair using Capital One points, or transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards, AMEX Membership Rewards, or Bilt points to British Airways Avios. Then, when logged into British Airways Executive Club, select the “Combine my Avios” option and scroll down the page to select Finnair Plus, where you'll be prompted to log in.

Combine British Airways Avios with Finnair Plus

Don't book using British Airways Avios, because taxes are much higher than with Finnair.

If you already have JAL Mileage Bank miles, book Finnair Business Class for 85,000-100,000 roundtrip, or 60,000 miles one way (but your JAL account must have been open for at least 7 days prior to booking the award).

Here are the best date ranges; note that award availability is dynamic, so check availability before transferring points.

Chicago ORD-HEL and HEL-ORD: several July 2027 dates
Dallas DFW to HEL and HEL-DFW: several July 2027 dates
New York JFK to HEL and HEL-JFK: several July 2027 dates
Toronto YYZ to HEL: very few Aug. 2026 and July 2027 dates
HEL to YYZ: a few April and July 2027 dates

Finnair Business Class: Best Seats

On Finnair's A350-900, with a 1-2-1 configuration and direct aisle access across all rows, all seats are the same, but we suggest avoiding the first and last rows of the main business class cabin (rows 1 and 8) and also row 9 if your A350 has a second smaller business class cabin, since these are closest to the lavatories and galleys. The A350 Business Class seat doesn't recline, but there is a flat bed created by raising panels that connect the seat to the ottoman.

Finnair Business Class, A350 — Finnair Business Class

Nonstop Flights from Helsinki

Finnair serves many European destinations from Helsinki, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Geneva, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Prague, Reykjavik, Riga, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna, Zurich, among others.

Where to Stay

In Helsinki, we recommend Hotel Kamp, which we reserve for clients with Virtuoso benefits. Further afield, we recommend the Grand Hotel Kempinski in Riga, Nimb Hotel in Copenhagen, Cheval Blanc Paris, the Park Hyatt Vienna, and Ballyfin in Ireland, among many other European options.

Here's our Nimb Copenhagen video review: