I originally booked LAX–Helsinki in Finnair business class for 62.5k Avios (effectively about 50k points after a transfer bonus).
A couple of days before departure, my flight was cancelled due to a technical issue and I was rebooked onto British Airways instead, flying LAX–LHR in Club Suite on the 777-300ER, then connecting to HEL.
After arriving in London, I received another message saying the LHR–HEL segment was also cancelled and I was rebooked on a later Finnair flight, which added a long layover in London.
However, despite being assigned a business seat in the rebooking, I was ultimately downgraded to economy due to overbooking when I checked in.
After finally arriving in Helsinki, I submitted EU261 compensation claims for the cancellations and downgrade. All of them were approved, and I received around €800 in cash compensation plus additional Avios refunds for the downgrade.
Overall, a simple award booking turned into multiple disruptions, rebookings, and a downgrade, but ended up generating significant compensation value.
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