How do I book award seats to Israel for a large family?

Book at schedule open (about 11 months out), split the family across two or more award programs and separate reservations, and consider two adults flying different routings the same day. El Al typically releases between zero and four partner award seats per flight - and many flights show none at all - so one program alone rarely covers a big family.

Do kids need their own award seat?

Yes, from age 2 every child needs a full award ticket. Under 2, a lap infant on an international award usually costs 10% of the adult cash fare plus taxes - which can run hundreds of dollars. A few programs (British Airways charges 10% of the adult miles) are far cheaper for infants.

Which program is best for booking multiple award seats to Tel Aviv?

No single program - that is the point of the two-player setup. One spouse builds Chase points (United nonstop saver space), the other builds Amex (Flying Blue, Aeroplan, Qantas). Two programs on the same dates doubles your realistic seat count.

Is it cheaper to fly the family via Europe on points?

Often. Nonstop award space for 4-6 seats is the rarest inventory in this market. Connecting through Paris, Amsterdam, or Frankfurt opens far more seats, and programs like Flying Blue and Aeroplan price the connection on the same award.

Points for the Whole Family: Getting 4-6 Seats to Israel

One seat to Israel on points is a hobby. Four to six seats - for the chasunah in Yerushalayim, the family aliyah pilot trip, Sukkos with the whole mishpacha - is an operation. Generic points sites never cover this, because their readers fly solo. Ours do not. Here is how it actually works.

The short answer

No single program reliably shows 4-6 award seats to Tel Aviv. The winning setup: two adults, two points currencies, booked at schedule open (~11 months out), sometimes split across two reservations or even two flights the same day. Add the infant math below and a family of six crosses the ocean for what one yom tov cash ticket costs.

Why this is hard (the 0-4 seat problem)

El Al typically releases between zero and four partner award seats per flight - and many flights show none at all, especially in business class. United’s saver space is similar. When the seat map says 4 and you need 6, no amount of refreshing changes it. So the strategy is not “find one perfect flight.” It is “assemble coverage from multiple programs at once.”

The two-player setup

This is the single highest-value move a frum family can make in points:

Player one (Chase): Sapphire Preferred or Reserve. Ultimate Rewards transfer to United (the only path to nonstop saver space) and Flying Blue.
Player two (Amex): Gold, then Platinum later. Membership Rewards transfer to Flying Blue, Aeroplan, ANA, LifeMiles - and Qantas, the only card path onto El Al metal. The full ecosystem breakdown is in Amex vs Chase for Israel.
Household effect: on the same dates, you can pull 2-3 seats from United saver space via Chase and 2-3 more through Flying Blue or Qantas via Amex. Same flight, two programs, four to six seats.

Refer each other between applications - the referral bonus is real money toward the next trip - and stagger applications so one of you always has a welcome bonus in progress.

The booking sequence

Start 11 months out, the week schedules open. Yom tov and summer seats go to the people who do this.
Grab whatever the best program shows - even 2-3 seats. Book them.
Fill the rest from the second program on the same flight, or the same day on a different routing.
Split PNRs without fear. Two reservations of three are fine. Seat assignments can be coordinated after booking; airlines seat families together at the airport far more often than the internet fears.
Last resort, split the day: one adult takes the older kids on the nonstop, the other takes the little ones through Europe and lands a few hours later. Nobody enjoys it; everybody gets there.

The infant and kid math that surprises people

Under 2, on your lap: on international awards most programs charge 10% of the adult cash fare plus taxes - on a $1,400 yom tov-adjacent fare that is $140+ per direction, and in business class it gets genuinely painful. British Airways (Avios) charges 10% of the adult miles instead - often the cheapest infant ticket in the game.
Age 2 and up: full award seat, same miles as an adult. This is where the two-player setup pays for itself.
Book the infant when you book. Calling to add a lap infant later means recalculating against the current cash fare, which only goes one direction before yom tov.

For the cheapest per-seat prices, start with economy under 30k. If dates are locked to yom tov, the sukkos playbook covers timing. And when nonstop space for six simply does not exist, Europe backup routes is your pressure valve.

Ranked: the best cards for a family points operation

Chase Sapphire Preferred (player one) - United nonstop saver space plus Flying Blue; the anchor card. Apply now
Amex Gold (player two) - 4x on groceries and food, the spend a big family actually has; feeds Qantas, Flying Blue, Aeroplan. Apply now
Capital One Venture X - 2x on everything else, transfers to both Qantas and Flying Blue; annual travel credit offsets the fee. Apply now

Award seat release patterns per One Mile at a Time and DansDeals; infant pricing policies per AwardWallet’s international lap infant guide, verified September 2026. Always confirm the infant price before ticketing - airlines change these policies quietly.