Best Ways to Book Saudia Business Class with Points and Miles

The national airline of Saudi Arabia, Saudia joined SkyTeam Alliance in 2012, making it the first Middle Eastern carrier to join a global airline alliance. The airline is known for providing an excellent business-class product. In fact, Saudia was ranked as the 20th-best business-class airline in the world in 2025, according to a Skytrax ranking.

When flying in Saudia business class, you can expect spacious lie-flat seats that are electronically controlled, large HD personal entertainment monitors with thousands of hours of complimentary content, delicious gourmet meals, an amenity kit containing self-care products and much more. Plus, you’ll be able to access airport lounges all around the world.

Of course, flying in Saudia business class can be rather expensive if you’re paying with cash. So, in this article, we’ll discuss the best ways to book Saudia business class with points or miles, enabling you to experience this top-tier business-class product while keeping your out-of-pocket costs low.

But first, let’s take a look at the type of experience and amenities you can expect when flying in Saudia business class.

What to Expect in Saudia Business Class

The Saudia fleet includes several different aircraft types, some which are used for long-haul travel and others that are used for short- and medium-haul flights. Each aircraft type has slightly different seat specifications in business class. Long-haul flights generally provide more amenities and a more luxurious experience in business class than short- or medium-haul flights.

The best business-class product in the Saudia fleet (referred to as Super Diamond seats) can be found onboard Boeing 777-368ER (B77Z) aircraft. Saudia boasts that these seats are “first-class seats in business class,” offering the ability to convert into lie-flat beds. These seats also feature a large dining table and an ottoman on which you can rest your feet. Plus, you’ll have your own adjustable reading light as well as a privacy divider. 17-inch HD personal entertainment monitors are located in the back of the seat in front of you and offer over 3,500 hours of content.

Saudia uses these Boeing 777-368ER aircraft for flights between Saudi Arabia and the United States, so you should get to experience the airline’s top-tier business-class product if you’re flying on one of these routes.

Other aircraft types offer similar business-class products with slightly smaller seats and smaller personal entertainment monitors. However, you’ll still enjoy a high degree of luxury when flying in business class on any aircraft type in the Saudia fleet.

On Airbus A320-214 aircraft, you’ll have a business-class seat pitch of 45 inches and a 2-2 configuration. On Airbus A321 aircraft, you’ll have a seat pitch of 46 inches and a 2-2 configuration in business class. On Airbus A330-343 aircraft, which are used for long-haul flights, you’ll have a seat pitch of 54 inches and a 2-2-2 configuration in business class. And, on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, you’ll have a seat pitch of 47 inches and a 1-2-1 configuration in business class.

Business-class passengers on long-haul flights will be treated to gourmet meals inspired by both Arabic and Western cuisine as well as by dishes from your destination country. Vegetarian options are available on all flights.

The meal will begin with your choice of three hors d’oeuvres (either Arabic, Mediterranean or an extra healthy choice) and your choice of two soups. Then, you’ll get to select your entree, for which you’ll have several options. Finally, you can choose between hot or cold desserts or opt for fruit.

For beverages, passengers will have access to espresso, cappuccino, sparkling and still water, a selection of teas, mocktails, antioxidant drinks, smoothies and fresh juices. No alcoholic beverages are served on Saudia flights. Business-class passengers can request a drink or snack from the staff at any time during the flight.

Passengers in business class on many long-haul routes will also receive amenity kits. The theme of these kits is “Fly Through Our Heritage,” and they contain cultural elements and patterns from many of the different regions of Saudi Arabia. Inside these kits, you’ll find an eye cover, socks, ear plugs, a toothbrush, toothpaste and a leaflet that explains the cultural references contained in the kit.

Of course, when flying in Saudia business class, your experience will begin before you even board the plane. You’ll have access to SkyPriority, a suite of special perks including special check-in desks (at certain airports), Fast Track security clearance (at certain airports), priority immigration lines, priority baggage drop-off areas, priority baggage handling, priority boarding and more.

You’ll also have complimentary access to Saudia AlFursan Lounges at certain airports, which includes complimentary food and beverages as well as other services. And, since Saudia is a member of SkyTeam Alliance, you can also access SkyTeam partner lounges all over the world. To see if there are any SkyTeam lounges in a particular airport, use the Lounge Finder tool in the My10x portal.

Best Programs Through Which to Book Saudia Business Class

Because Saudia is a member of SkyTeam Alliance, there are several frequent flyer programs through which you can find Saudia business-class awards. However, each of these programs prices award flights differently, which means that the same award flight may require a different number of miles through each different program.

On top of that, earning points or miles with some programs is far easier than with others. This is because some programs allow points transfers from major U.S. credit card rewards programs, whereas others do not.

With these factors in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best frequent flyer programs through which to find and book Saudia business-class award flights.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

One program through which you can often find Saudia business-class awards is Flying Blue, the joint frequent flyer program of Air France and KLM. You can purchase award flights with Flying Blue miles through either the Air France website or the KLM website by clicking the “Book with Miles” tab in the search box on the homepage.

The Flying Blue program prices many partner award flights using a dynamic pricing model, meaning that award rates are linked to cash prices and it’s very hard to find outsized value on these redemptions. However, this program does offer some awards at “saver” rates, which means that they’re priced according to fixed award charts. These awards tend to offer better value per mile.

The best way to find these saver-level awards is to leave the “Travel dates” field blank when conducting your award search on the Air France or KLM website.

This will trigger the award calendar view, where you’ll be able to see saver award availability denoted in green. Using this method, we were able to find Saudia business-class award availability on a round-trip itinerary between Paris (CDG) and Jeddah (JED) at the saver rate of 134,000 miles and about $478 in taxes and fees.

While the taxes and fees for this award flight are rather high, if you were to book this flight entirely with cash through the Saudia website, it would cost you about $4,783.

Thus, by booking this flight with Flying Blue miles, you’d be getting a redemption value of about 3.2 cents per mile (factoring in the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight). This is an excellent value.

It’s worth mentioning that Saudia does operate several routes to North America (including routes to Los Angeles, New York, Toronto and Washington, D.C.), which would probably be most relevant to our readers. However, after searching each of these routes over a wide range of dates, it seems that these Saudia transatlantic routes are not available as awards through the Flying Blue program.

Nonetheless, if you’re looking to take Saudia business-class flights within the Middle East or between Europe and the Middle East, Flying Blue is a great place to find these types of awards.

Another major advantage of the Flying Blue program is that it’s a 1:1 transfer partner of every major U.S. credit card rewards program, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards. So, if you have a credit card from any of the aforementioned credit card issuers, you’ll be able to easily earn miles with Flying Blue.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Another program through which you can find good rates for Saudia business-class award flights is Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Similar to the Flying Blue program, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club doesn’t seem to offer Saudia-operated business-class awards on transatlantic routes. However, if you’re looking for Saudia business-class flights within the Middle East or flights between Europe and the Middle East, you can often find these awards at excellent rates through the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program.

For example, we found a Saudia round-trip award itinerary between Rome (FCO) and Jeddah (JED) for 70,000 Virgin points and about 82 euros (about $94) in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the same flights with cash through the Saudia website, it would cost you about $3,114.

Thus, factoring in the taxes and fees paid for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 4.3 cents per point, which is excellent.

Plus, the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program is a transfer partner of many major U.S. credit card rewards programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards. So, if you have a credit card from any of these issuers, you should be able to easily earn points with the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program.

Saudia AlFursan

Of course, you can also book Saudia business-class award flights through Saudia’s own AlFursan frequent flyer program. This program has more Saudia business-class award space than any other frequent flyer program.

Plus, the AlFursan program uses a fixed award chart to price some of its award flights, which means that you may be able to find outsized value on Saudia business-class awards through this program.

For instance, we found round-trip Saudia business-class award flights between New York (JFK) and Jeddah (JED) for 130,000 miles. The Saudia website doesn’t display taxes and fees until you get to the checkout page, which we couldn’t access without having miles in our AlFursan account balance.

If you were to book these same flights on the same dates with cash through the Saudia website, it would cost you $6,485.

So, ignoring the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 5 cents per mile, which is outstanding. And, even if the taxes and fees were $1,000 for this flight itinerary (and they’d most likely be considerably less), you’d still get a value of over 4 cents per point, which is still excellent.

Unfortunately, the main drawback of the AlFursan program is that it isn’t a transfer partner of any of the major U.S. credit card rewards programs (such as American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards). This means that the best way for most people to earn AlFursan miles will be to credit SkyTeam Alliance flights to this program, which most U.S. travelers won’t want to do.

Nonetheless, if you happen to fly to the Middle East often, you may want to use the AlFursan program as your primary frequent flyer program. And, if you’re able to save up a balance of AlFursan miles, you should be able to find excellent value on business-class redemptions.

The Bottom Line

Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, offers one of the top-20 best business-class products in the world, according to a 2025 Skytrax ranking. When flying in Saudia business class on long-haul flights, you’ll enjoy a lie-flat bed, gourmet cuisine and a personal entertainment monitor of up to 17 inches on some aircraft types. Plus, before you board your flight, you can enjoy the Saudia AlFursan lounge or a SkyTeam partner lounge, where you’ll find free food and refreshments.

Of course, Saudia business-class tickets are very expensive when purchased with cash. However, by booking these flights with points and miles, you can keep your out-of-pocket cost relatively low and still experience Saudia’s business-class product.

Generally, the best places for U.S.-based travelers to book Saudia business-class awards are the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program and the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program. Both of these programs allow transfers from most or all of the major credit card rewards programs. Plus, both programs also price some Saudia business-class award flights using fixed award charts, which means that you should be able to find outsized value on these flights through both programs.

Unfortunately, finding transatlantic Saudia business-class award space through either Flying Blue or Flying Club seems impossible. You can, however, find these types of awards through Saudia’s own AlFursan frequent flyer program. But, the AlFursan program doesn’t allow transfers from U.S. credit card programs.