Currency

I would highly recommend ordering at least following 2 cards 1-2 months in advance, not just for Umrah but they are handy for travelling anywhere around the world.

Halifax Clarity Card (Credit Card)

It's a Credit Card and you can spend depending on your credit limit, remember to pay back by the due date :)

www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card/

Whatever you spend abroad will be converted to Sterling at a rate set by MasterCard®. Use it to pay on the tills or for online hotel payments etc. as the conversion rates are great and they don't charge a fee.

Avoid withdrawing cash as they will start charging interest from the day you withdraw cash, they don't charge a fee though.

Revolut Card (Debit Card)

Download the Revolut app on your phone (using iTunes or Play Store) and top up for about GBP 5, you can use your debit or credit card to top up your revolut account.  You can top up using the app on your phone and its quite simple.

www.revolut.com/

This is more of a Debit Card and you can use the amount you top up with.

There are 3 different types of the card, I went for the basic one 'Standard' which was sufficient for my needs. Initially, it said that I need to pay about £5 for card postage, and I did not order the card then, a week later got an email from Revolut offering free postage :)

On 'Standard' card you can withdraw up to £200 from any ATM in foreign currency without any transaction fees. After £200 they charge a fee of 2%. I did withdraw more than £200 and discovered that its better than using any currency exchange shop.

Remember to top up with a decent amount before you leave your home country so that you have sufficient when you land in Saudi, you can then withdraw in local currency (Saudi Riyal) from Jeddah/Madina airport ATM for taxi etc.

You can top up more when you are in Saudi using the app, basically, transfer money from your other accounts to Revolut, and then use in local currency.