Cancelling Finnair Plus membership and re-registering
Oct 21, 2015, 6:54 am
#16
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY, SK, TK
Posts: 7,601
You can open new account. I have two accounts for several years( with two different email addresses), one for collecting miles from personal flights and other for miles from business related flights as required by my workplace. From Finnair's point of view both are personal account.
Or do you mean AY calculates those two account's points into one in terms of status accrual?
Oct 21, 2015, 7:01 am
#17
Moderator, Finnair
Join Date: May 2011
Location: MMX (CPH)
Programs: Eurobonus Diamond, QR Gold, AY+ Platinum, A3*G, Nordic Choice Lifetime Platinum, SJ Prio Black
Posts: 14,176
I assume this is due to tax law. If employer pays for travel and lets you use the points, it is an taxable income. Some companies therefore demands that all points earned are company property. I have seen this travel policy in many companies, even thought it might be difficult to police.
Allowing two accounts makes status more difficult, but at least that means you get to own the points you earn on personal travel.
Allowing two accounts makes status more difficult, but at least that means you get to own the points you earn on personal travel.
Oct 21, 2015, 7:20 am
#18
Ambassador: Finnair Plus
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+ Plat, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Discoverist, Priority Club Plat Amb, Miles and Smiles Elite
Posts: 5,294
I hope this requirement does not widespread to many companies since it is just complication and dispersed the status points so that in fact you are losing status benefits which also benefit employer indirectly (points accrual from leisure/private flights).
Or do you mean AY calculates those two account's points into one in terms of status accrual?
Or do you mean AY calculates those two account's points into one in terms of status accrual?
Oct 21, 2015, 7:27 am
#19
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Helsinki-Vantaa APT, Finland
Programs: AY LUMO
Posts: 6,059
Oct 21, 2015, 7:36 am
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 19
Thanks for the move to the right place, Beckoa.
Finnair customer service adviced me to make a new account and then they would transfer my few thousand points from the current account to the new one in this case. Lifetime points couldn't be transferred but that's okay, because I didn't have a lot of them anyway. Now I have a new account and the old one was deleted, so everything is in order
.
Thank you everyone for your answers! This is a great forum / community.
Purjelentaja, nice to know that also you have found it best to travel via Prague when travelling to Asia. Finnair has a double points campaign at the moment, so I will almost get a business class return tickets worth of points to Japan with just one trip.
Finnair customer service adviced me to make a new account and then they would transfer my few thousand points from the current account to the new one in this case. Lifetime points couldn't be transferred but that's okay, because I didn't have a lot of them anyway. Now I have a new account and the old one was deleted, so everything is in order
.Thank you everyone for your answers! This is a great forum / community.
Purjelentaja, nice to know that also you have found it best to travel via Prague when travelling to Asia
. Finnair has a double points campaign at the moment, so I will almost get a business class return tickets worth of points to Japan with just one trip.
Oct 21, 2015, 7:38 am
#21
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
I assume this is due to tax law. If employer pays for travel and lets you use the points, it is an taxable income. Some companies therefore demands that all points earned are company property. I have seen this travel policy in many companies, even thought it might be difficult to police.
Allowing two accounts makes status more difficult, but at least that means you get to own the points you earn on personal travel.
Allowing two accounts makes status more difficult, but at least that means you get to own the points you earn on personal travel.
Oct 21, 2015, 7:38 am
#22
Moderator, Finnair
Join Date: May 2011
Location: MMX (CPH)
Programs: Eurobonus Diamond, QR Gold, AY+ Platinum, A3*G, Nordic Choice Lifetime Platinum, SJ Prio Black
Posts: 14,176
Oct 21, 2015, 7:55 am
#23
Moderator, Finnair
Join Date: May 2011
Location: MMX (CPH)
Programs: Eurobonus Diamond, QR Gold, AY+ Platinum, A3*G, Nordic Choice Lifetime Platinum, SJ Prio Black
Posts: 14,176
The risk of getting a remark in a tax audit is enough for most employers to add the restriction to your travel policy. Then, if employee fails to report personal usage of points, it is only the individual who committed the tax fraud and not the employer.
Oct 21, 2015, 8:03 am
#24
Join Date: May 2014
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+Plat, ALL Plat, Scandic L2
Posts: 3,620
As far as I rememeber, Vero took Nokia and a few other (then) large Finnish employers to court over the tax liability of loyalty programs. That initially resulted in a gas factory where the employee had to keep track of which points came from business and personal trips respectively, and convert spent points to taxable value.
I reckon it was overturned in appeal.
I reckon it was overturned in appeal.
Oct 21, 2015, 9:31 am
#25
Ambassador: Finnair Plus
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+ Plat, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Discoverist, Priority Club Plat Amb, Miles and Smiles Elite
Posts: 5,294
As far as I rememeber, Vero took Nokia and a few other (then) large Finnish employers to court over the tax liability of loyalty programs. That initially resulted in a gas factory where the employee had to keep track of which points came from business and personal trips respectively, and convert spent points to taxable value.
I reckon it was overturned in appeal.
I reckon it was overturned in appeal.
Oct 21, 2015, 9:36 am
#26
Join Date: May 2014
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+Plat, ALL Plat, Scandic L2
Posts: 3,620
The guideline I was given (before the court appeal) consisted of comparing the list price of the equivalent product. For upgrade, list price of upgraded-to class ticket minus the cost of the upgraded-from class ticket. Gas factory, I told you.
Oct 21, 2015, 10:01 am
#27
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY, SK, TK
Posts: 7,601
I don't bother about tax. As company Y-policy I upgrade all my long-hauls and use more points that way than I have earned from company-paid tix. I rack tons of more points through credit card and own longhaul (business, sure) tickets and promos. There is nothing left over for Vero.
BTW I would not have Plat card without my own things, at most I would say Silver. So, our company is saving quite bit on various costs that would incur in my travels if I didn't get them for free with status. Maybe company should credit me back something
BTW I would not have Plat card without my own things, at most I would say Silver. So, our company is saving quite bit on various costs that would incur in my travels if I didn't get them for free with status. Maybe company should credit me back something
Oct 21, 2015, 10:06 am
#28
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+Plat
Posts: 863
I don't bother about tax. As company Y-policy I upgrade all my long-hauls and use more points that way than I have earned from company-paid tix. I rack tons of more points through credit card and own longhaul (business, sure) tickets and promos. There is nothing left over for Vero.
BTW I would not have Plat card without my own things, at most I would say Silver. So, our company is saving quite bit on various costs that would incur in my travels if I didn't get them for free with status. Maybe company should credit me back something
BTW I would not have Plat card without my own things, at most I would say Silver. So, our company is saving quite bit on various costs that would incur in my travels if I didn't get them for free with status. Maybe company should credit me back something
Oct 21, 2015, 10:13 am
#29
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY, SK, TK
Posts: 7,601
through careful planning of own trips to maximize. After all, I am sure I have used all of company points and some of my own for business travel, so it should be clean.
Oct 21, 2015, 11:31 am
#30
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Posts: 2,395
Welcome to FT, Pako Arjesta. As you can see, we´re a fun bunch. About the only place where you don´t get laughed at when telling you´re starting your trip with an extra HEL-PRG-HEL. You definitely should come to one of our meetings to hear intresting stories. What happens in FT DOs/meets, stays in...