Saudia's AlFursan loyalty programme has relaunched its mileage sale with a hefty 96% bonus, timed to Saudi National Day. It runs from September 15 to September 30, 2026, and unlike some promotions, the bonus applies at any purchase level — even a tiny 1,000-mile top-up qualifies.

The maths: miles normally cost SAR 112.5 (about 30 US dollars) per 1,000 before the bonus, which works out to roughly 1.53 US cents per mile with the promo applied. You can buy up to 200,000 miles per calendar year (pre-bonus), so maxing out the offer would leave you with 392,000 miles.

Why bother? Saudia's business class award space is widely available through partner programmes, so buying miles isn't especially compelling there. The real hook is first class. Saudia flies first class on select Boeing 777s — mainly on routes between Saudi Arabia and Europe or the United States — and that cabin is notably hard to book with partner miles. AlFursan's own award chart prices a one-way first class ticket from Saudi Arabia to Europe at 62,500 miles, which you could buy outright for about 959 US dollars under this promotion. A one-way to anywhere in the US except Los Angeles costs 105,000 miles, or roughly 1,619 dollars in purchased miles. For a lie-flat suite across the Atlantic, that's a strikingly low cash equivalent.

The catch is availability. Saudia first class award space is scarce, though it sometimes opens up close to departure, and tools like Seats.aero make it easy to check before committing to a mileage purchase. Worth noting too: the airline has been on an upswing. The source author's recent business class flight revealed big improvements in both service and catering — reason enough to think the first class product may be better than the one last reviewed back in 2017.

This is a niche play rather than a universal win. If you already hold transferable points, you can often book Saudia business class without buying anything. But for points enthusiasts with a specific itch to try one of the harder-to-reach first class cabins out there, this promo lowers the bar considerably — provided you can actually find a seat. Anyone tempted should decide before September 30, 2026, when the offer closes.

Story via One Mile at a Time.