Editor’s Note: This article is intended to inform and not to encourage travel to Syria. Check official safety advisories and use your own judgment before planning a trip.
Syria might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about using travel rewards. But for adventurous travelers, it’s absolutely possible to get there using credit card points and airline miles.
Right now, the only airport with commercial service is Damascus International Airport (DAM). However, flights to Aleppo (ALP) are expected to launch soon.
The tricky part? Many airline websites don’t even recognize these airports. But some do — and with the right points, you can fly to Syria for fewer miles than you might expect.
Best Points Programs for Flying to Syria
Here are the top airline loyalty programs that support award bookings to Damascus:
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club (Avios): Good rates on a luxury airline, but you’ll need to connect in Doha, which is a little out of the way to get to Syria.
- Air Canada Aeroplan: Solid distance-based award pricing for convenient, one-stop Turkish Airlines flights.
- Alaska Mileage Plan: Great redemption rates and low surcharges for Royal Jordanian flights.
Best Credit Cards for Earning the Right Points
Most major credit card programs let you transfer points to Aeroplan or Avios, making it super easy to build the right balances to fly to Syria.
- American Express Platinum Card® and the American Express® Gold Card transfer directly to Qatar Avios and Aeroplan (and Alaska via Hawaiian until June 30, 2025), making them the best options for racking up American Express® Membership Rewards.
- The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a card you should have in your wallet anyway — the fact that Chase Ultimate Rewards points also transfer to both Aeroplan and Avios programs makes it a great fit for this use case.
- The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card both have great welcome offers, which are almost enough on their own to fly round-trip using one of these programs. Or you can find a cheap cash rate and offset the purchase at a rate of one cent per point — a feature unique to Capital One miles.
- The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card also has a great welcome offer and earns valuable Alaska miles on every purchase.
- The Bilt Mastercard (rates & fees) is ideal for boosting your Alaska balance as Bilt Rewards is the only major transferable points program that transfers directly to Alaska Mileage Plan at a 1:1 ratio.
Best Airlines and Booking Options for Award Flights to Syria
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
You can fly from major U.S. cities like New York (JFK) to Damascus with a connection in Doha (DOH) on Qatar Airways from just 40,000 Avios each way in economy.
Even better — there are frequent transfer bonuses to Qatar and other Avios programs, like the 30% bonus from ThankYou points last month, dropping the cost to just 31,000 points each way.
I personally flew Qatar back from Damascus to Jakarta (CGK) via Doha (DOH) and enjoyed lie-flat business-class bliss on this ultra-unique route for just 70,000 Avios.
Award space in business is wide open — and there’s a quirky bonus. Qatar codes its Damascus flights as "first class," even though it’s the same business product.
This unlocks access to the stunning Al Safwa First Class Lounge in Doha, which is normally reserved for premium-paying passengers and top-tier Qatar elites.
Even if your connecting flight is in economy or business class, as long as your ticket to or from Damascus is marked as first class, you can enter.
Turkish Airlines (via Air Canada Aeroplan)
Another great option to get from the U.S. to Damascus is via Turkish Airlines, booked through Aeroplan. You can fly from cities like Boston (BOS) to Damascus from just 40,000 points one-way.
The benefit of using Aeroplan over Avios is the extremely reasonable taxes and fees, which are just $64 USD (and even less on the way back).
Turkish plans to increase its service to Damascus, so award space may become even more available.
Royal Jordanian (via Alaska Mileage Plan)
Royal Jordanian flies from Damascus to the U.S. through Amman. A one-way ticket from Damascus to Washington Dulles (IAD) via Alaska MileagePlan is priced reasonably at 55,000 miles.
But you can get better value by breaking it into two bookings:
- Damascus to Amman (AMM): 7,500 miles
- Amman to U.S.: 35,000 miles
That’s a total of 42,500 miles, saving you 12,500 compared to booking it as one itinerary. Plus, this gives you the option to explore Jordan, which is a great bonus.
Royal Jordanian is also adding new nonstop flights to Aleppo (ALP), and you’ll be able to book these for just 7,500 Alaska miles each way when they launch.
How to Calculate if an Award is Worth It
One airline might charge 25,000 miles for a flight, while another might let you snag it for half that using a partner.
To figure out if you’re getting good value, use Daily Drop’s Cent Per Point Calculator or this simple formula:
(cash price) - (taxes and fees) / (points cost) = value per point
In general, you’ll want to get at least 1.2 – 1.5 cents in value for airline miles and around 2 cents per point for credit card points.
Bottom Line
Flying to Syria with points and miles is easier than you might think. But once you land, you’ll need to plan carefully.
Due to sanctions, you can’t book hotels in Syria online, and points hotels don’t operate there anymore. (Although you’ll still spot some old Sheratons and Ritz-Carltons that are no longer active.)
If you’re serious about visiting, check out our separate guide on visas and where to stay in Syria. It covers everything you need to know to pull off this unique trip.
