Umrah travel is expensive, simply put.  If you’re traveling with a family, it can easily add up to $7k – $10K, and this is booking travel yourself and not through a group.  (I’ve booked Umrah travel for my family without using points and miles so I know how quickly it adds up.)  Last fall, we went for Umrah – and I had booked the trip for the four of us (we left our little one with family) for just $500 out-of-pocket thanks to points and miles.

Chase currently has 3 elevated offers right now that range from 75K – 200K points.  It couldn’t be a better time to start planning future Umrah travel on points and miles.  Here’s five ways you can use these points to book future Umrah travel.

*When applying through my referral link, please use a new browser window.  Don’t log in, if prompted and apply as a guest.  That’s how it credits it back to me, appreciate the support!*

The Offers

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card – Earn 75K bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.  Annual fee is $95.

I’d start with this card if you don’t have it already.  This is one you will want to keep.  For a minimal annual fee you get a great package of perks and benefits.  It’s also the Sapphire product you want to keep (as you need one) if you want to be able to transfer your Chase points to travel partners, and redeem for travel.  And if you already have it, don’t forget you can refer others!  (Hello referral points!)

[Related: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card]

Chase Sapphire Reserve® – Earn 100,000 bonus points + $500 Chase Travel℠ promo credit after spending $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.  Annual fee is $795.

This card has gone through a revamp with more lifestyle and experience credits.  For the first year, because you get a huge signup bonus the increased annual fee can make sense.  But going forward you’ll need to do the math to see if it makes sense for you to keep, and if you can make use of the credits to the get the full value from the card.  And of course, I’m sure you’ve noticed the annual fee has increased.

Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ – Earn 200,000 bonus points after spending $30,000 in the first 6 months.  The annual fee is $795.  This is a brand new addition to Chase’s business card lineup.

Eligibility

It’s important thing to note that eligibility requirements for personal Sapphire products has now changed.  It’s not just about 5/24 status or the 48-month rule anymore.  It includes vague lifetime language; this is from Chase’s website regarding the refreshed Chase Sapphire Reserve:

“This credit card is unavailable to you if you currently have one open.  The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you currently have any other personal Sapphire cards open, previously held this card or received a new cardmember bonus for this card.  We may also consider the number of cards you have opened and closed, as well as other factors in determining your bonus eligibility.”

*It’s still early and there are varying data points about how much these new, vague rules are being inforced.*

Book A Hyatt – And Stay For Free!

Chase has 14 airline and hotel travel partners.  Generally speaking, the best use of your points and miles will be found when transferring your points to these partners, and booking travel direct.  (Of course, we never say never around here when it comes to points and miles.)

I love transferring my Chase points for FREE World of Hyatt stays.  It’s $0 because Hyatt doesn’t charge taxes and fees for award stays!

We stayed for 2 nights, in 2 rooms at Grand Hyatt Istanbul on our way to Jeddah.  It cost me 15K points/night/room, so a total of 30K points + 2 Free Night Certificates.  Then in Makkah, we stayed for 2 nights, in 2 rooms at Jabal Omar Hyatt Regency Makkah.  I can’t reiterate enough how much I loved our short and sweet stay here!  As a Globalist, I received a free suite upgrade (for our first room), along with free breakfast for all 4 of us.  The location is also perfect – walkable to the Haram.  To reiterate, both our stays in Istanbul and Makkah for our fall 2024 Umrah trip, were FREE!

These are rates for a couple days in mid-April, 2026, for Jabal Omar Hyatt Regency Makkah.

At the time of writing, I could not find award availability for March 2026, spring break time, which tends to be a popular time to go.

 

Note that rates have increased.  I booked 2 rooms for 9K points each, for 2 nights.  This is just the nature of the game, and award calendars, availability, and/or rates change.  (The post below breaks down all rates and cash for our fall 2024 Umrah trip.)

[Related: How I booked Umrah Travel For $500]

Book Flights On Air France

You can book flights to Istanbul, Turkey on Air France’s loyalty program Flying Blue.  I’m searching from my hometown of Dallas to Istanbul.  Note that these are one-way rates.

Search tip: Leave the dates open and you’ll be able to see a calendar view.  I’m looking at one-way rates for November 2026.

Flying Blue is an excellent choice, especially when you’re traveling with a family.  Award rates tend to be lower than other programs, though taxes can easily be over $100/person, one way.  Flying Blue also has a discount for children ages 2-11; you can receive a 25% discount on award tickets.  Not to mention, there are often transfer bonuses from banks (like Chase) to the Flying Blue loyalty program.

 

This is what the final points + cash rate would be for a one-way flight from Dallas to Istanbul, for November 2026 travel.

 

If you were to get the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, that’s easily 4, one-way tickets to Istanbul.  From Istanbul, it isn’t hard to catch a cheap, short flight into Jeddah.

Book Flights on British Airways

I booked our flights from Dallas to Istanbul on American Airlines.  I’d happily do this route again.  But what do you do if you don’t have American Airlines miles?

You can book on a partner airline like British Airways.  Chase points transfer to British Airways and there’s often also transfer bonuses to airlines that use the Avios currency.  I would just note and compare airfare taxes as British Airways isn’t known for having lower taxes on award tickets.

Let’s first do a one-way search from New York (JFK) to Istanbul on the American Airlines website:

I booked 4, roundtrip tickets from Dallas to Istanbul, with one stop, for our November 2024 Umrah trip.  It cost me 45k American Airlines miles, roundtrip, plus $150 in taxes, per person.  I booked in February of 2024 for travel in November of 2024.  I can’t reiterate enough to book as far out as possible, and staying flexible by 1-2 days, respectively if you can.

But we don’t have American Airlines miles.  So let’s search the British Airways website for award availibility:

You can note the “off-peak” dates.  Award rates and taxes per person are slightly higher on British Airways.

If you were to catch a transfer bonus from Chase to the Avios currency, you could get this one-way route for less points.

No one wants to use more points, or even pay more in taxes when it comes to award flights.  But it’s good to compare options depending on what points and miles you have, and search and book one-way routes.  Flexibility can offer you better options overall, generally speaking.

“Top Off” An Award Stay With Marriot or IHG

Marriott and IHG are also hotel partners of Chase bank.  While it’s a better value to earn these respective hotel points through co-branded cards, rather than transferring from Chase – you could transfer your points to these brands if you are short points when it comes to covering a hotel stay.

Both hotel brands have options in Makkah and Madinah, while World of Hyatt doesn’t have any properties in Madinah (yet).  There are also sometimes transfer bonuses from Chase to Marriott and IHG.  It won’t be the same value like you get when you transfer Chase points to World of Hyatt.  But if your goal is to lessen your out-of-pocket costs, as opposed to maximzing your points (100%), then this is a good option.

World of Hyatt, while having less of a global footprint, has lower award rates/night at their properties, generally speaking.  Combine that with no taxes and fees on award stays and it’s a winner, hands down, for a favorite use of Chase points.

Take a look at this Marriot property, Jabal Omar Marriott Hotel in Makkah.  It’s on the same road as Jabal Omar Hyatt Regency Makkah.  This street is a convenient location to the Haram, and actually has Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott properties!

Note that this is for a one-night stay.  I’ve completed Hyatt stays – for multiple nights – for less than that!

Book A Flight On Emirates

Emirates isn’t known for lower award rates, and it’s not a part of any of the 3 major airline alliances.  But it is known for its airline experiences whether you’re flying economy or on a more luxurious, first class ticket.

Let’s look at one-way rates from Dallas to Jeddah:

Emirates has 4 types of award tickets: Special, Saver, Flex, and Flex Plus.  Taxes and fees tend to be higher with Emirates, but lower with its partner airlines.  Chase points transfer to Emirates at a 1:1 ratio. 

I do hope to experience a flight on Emirates at some point in the future!

Book A Flight On Virgin Atlantic

You’ll find the best options on Virgin Atlantic from the East Coast.  Let’s search for flights from New York to Jeddah.

I like how you can scroll through dates to find the red label “Saver” options which are their lowest-priced Reward Seats.

 

 

Note the stop, and the taxes for this one-way route.  Taxes do tend to be higher when flying through London Heathrow airport.  But the stop can be a good time to change into your Ihram.  There are occassionally transfer bonuses from Chase bank to Virgin Atlantic – I was able to catch one when I booked our roundtrip tickets from Seattle to Tokyo for our November 2023 trip!

In Sum

• Book as far as out as possible, especially if you need to book for multiple people, during peak travel times.  This way you can ensure getting the route and date you want!
• Try to be flexible by a day or two, if you can.  I get it.  I have two older kids who can’t really afford to miss school anymore.  But if you can, you’ll notice sometimes just changing your dates by a day or two, will get you better award avaibility.
• Book one-way routes.  You don’t have to book roundtrip.  You may find better award availability on different, one-way routes.
• Don’t compare yourself to what others are doing, and booking.  (Social media sure doesn’t help!)  As someone who travels with her family, during peak travel times, it is nearly impossible to always get the max value for your points and miles.  Always be in a points-earning mode, and book in advance.  If you do that, you’re already winning at saving money on travel!

 

Umrah Travel Doesn’t Need To Cost Thousands of Dollars

It’s possible to book an Umrah trip on points and miles, as you would any other trip.  Yes, it can be a bit more challenging but it’s certainly possible.  And I’m here to show you how it’s done!

You can check out more blog posts here on how to save money on booking Umrah travel.

Umrah is achievable for thousands of dollars less!

For more in-depth information, check out A Guide to Umrah on Points & Miles that I’ve created that walks you through:

• How to search for award flight availability (economy seats) from the U.S., on popular routes to Jeddah & Madinah
• How to search for award flight availability on partner airlines for airlines in the same airline alliance, with video walkthroughs on both
• How to book hotel stays on points, in the 4 major hotel loyalty programs
• What cards are best for hotel stays & flights, as well as thinking through card lifecycles
• How to cover other travel-related costs (such as transportation between the 2 holy cities) that isn’t booked directly using points/miles (like airfare & hotel stays)
• What “free breakfast” means in each of the major hotel loyalty programs, and how to get that perk
• How to stay organized in award travel with the TravelFreely App

I’ve also spent thousands of dollars to go to Umrah with my family, and I know the feeling of planning and saving up.  With points and miles, the journey is closer and more attainable than you think.