Originally Posted by
Maz1982
Yeah I'm new to this so wouldn't be aiming for any elite status or flying just to get points. Flown for years but only collected points here and there. Being from a London I think air France has been mentioned but never loom directly for these flights abd go with whats cheapest. Love the experience with saudia and want to explore the bits of aisa that I've missed so it works for now. Any suggestions welcome. What do you do?
It's just that redeeming Alfursan miles on other ST carriers can be awkward, and communication isn't always straightforward. I think you've already discovered that.
If you want the miles as currency you can use for ticketing, rather than earning you status, you might be better putting them in the KLM/AF programme, or even Air Europa (though its unclear how long it will last in the ST world, your miles should be safe). Could be worth looking at those airline's FFP websites to see how many miles Saudia flights earn in their programmes.
If your interest is in earning status, and the airport/airline benefits that brings, there are great difference among programmes about how status thresholds are achieved. I think Garuda is currently one of the simplest and easiest for achieving elite status: but pretty much pants in the redemption department.