Our readers may recall how frustrated many consumers were when El Al suddenly and without notice announced they were no longer honoring HAS points from HAS credit card holders even though thousands of consumers had spent years amassing HAS points for the sole purpose of earning tickets to fly to Israel on their airline.
We had pointed to this as but just one example of why holding onto airline miles and credit card points are a bad idea and bad investment as the airlines and credit card companies constantly were devaluing miles and points by increasing how many miles and points were required for airline tickets. However, no one was really sure what exactly had occurred between El Al and HAS as to why they were discounting the relationship. That was until recently however…
Roughly two weeks ago, an article appeared in Arutz Sheva announcing that a legal suit had been filed by HAS founder HAS founder Zev Dobuler stating that El Al’s “brutal behavior intentionally caused a successful business to collapse, the loss of millions of dollars of investment capital, and the loss of tens of millions of dollars of potential future revenue.” Dobuler’s claim is that once El Al saw how successful a credit card earning El Al tickets could be, it decided to create its own credit card and cancelled its arrangement with HAS, knowing that doing so would result in the collapse of the HAS credit card. In it’s initial response, El Al claims that HAS owed El Al $2 million and it was for that reason they discontinued the relationship and that alone.
What makes this lawsuit particularly notable is that it is being backed by First Libra Fund, an investment company that finances legal claims. And although the subject of whether investment funds should be allowed to finance legal proceedings is still very much in question it appears that both sides are gearing up for battle and that an amicable solution between parties is unlikely. We will be monitoring the situation closely and will be sure to keep our friends and clients updated.
For consumers wishing to take advantage of some great credit card travel offers, we suggest checking out all the new Citi credit cards and offers as Citi credit cards are the new ‘IT’ cards for free vacations, flights and hotel stays.
Menu