Recently I converted a bunch of Israeli Isracard Mastercard points to LY Matmid points I had my wife call and check if she could convert her Visa CAL points to LY Matmid points in my account. First of all they said she could only convert to her account. For us that is useless since she flies on bonus tickets from my points so they'd be orphaned. Then they said that if she were to link her account she'd get 1 Matmid point for every NIS 1500 in charges. While I'm not sure how many NIS I spend to earn one Isracard Mastercard point I know that with my Israeli AMEX I earn 1 point for every NIS 5 after the first NIS 200 and I can then convert them to LY Matmid points at a rate of 280 points to 1 Matmid point. That comes out to NIS 1400 per LY Matmid point! Again, very high. So does anyone have the skinny down on which cards are best for earning LY Matmid points? Below is the information I can contribute:

*** As of June 15, 2006 - Official information from LY Matmid ****


Leumi Card +972 (3) 6178888

International / Gold Visa Leumi
70 Leumi Card points = 1 Matmid point

Platinum Leumi Visa
28 Leumi Card points = 1 Matmid point

Leumi Mastercard
60 Leumi Mastercard points = 1 Matmid point


CAL - +972 (3) 5726444

First International Bank of Israel (FIBI)
/Business/Gold/Gold Business
NIS 1500 = 1 flight point

Visa Platinum
NIS 700 = 1 flight point

*In order to earn points, credit cards must be linked to the Cal Matmid program.
*Without this linkage, it will not be possible to accumulate EL AL points. Subject to regulations




Diners - +972 (3) 5726767[b]

[b]International /Gold
NIS 500 = 1 flight point

Platinum
NIS 395 = 1 flight point

*To accumulate points, the Diners Club credit card must be linked to the Diners Matmid Club.
*Without this linkage, it will not be possible to accumulate EL AL points. Subject to regulations



Isracard - +972 (3) 6365555

Regular
7 Isracard stars = 1 Matmid point

Platinum
4 Isracard stars = 1 Matmid point



American Express - +972 (3) 6364470

Regular
28 Amex points = 1 Matmid point

Platinum
8 Amex points = 1 Matmid point

* American Express Platinum cardholders enjoy an enhanced conversion rate from June 1, 2006 to September 9, 2006: 7 Amex points = 1 Matmid point


*** POST EDITED TO INCLUDE KNOWLEDGE ADDED BY OTHERS ***

-- Mastercard/Isracard --

Isracard Corporate Mastercard (Gold)
200 NIS for 1 card point after first 200
7 card points for 1 LY Matmid point
Effectively 1 LY Matmid point for NIS 1400 charges

Leumi Platinum Mastercard
25 NIS for 1 point
28 poinst for 1 Matmid point
Effectively 1 LY Matmid point for every NIS 700 charges

-- AMEX --

Isracard's Gold AMEX
50 NIS for 1 card point (after the first NIS 200)
28 card points for 1 LY Matmid point
Effectively 1 LY Matmid point for NIS 1400 charges

Isracard's Platinum AMEX
50 NIS for 1 card point
8 card points for 1 LY Matmid point
Effectively 1 LY Matmid point for NIS 400 charges

-- VISA --

Visa CAL linked to LY Matmid
1500 NIS for 1 card point

Visa Cal Platinum
NIS 700 = 1 Matmid Point

Leumi Platinum Visa
25 NIS for 1 point
28 poinst for 1 Matmid point
Effectively 1 LY Matmid point for every NIS 700 charges

-- DINERS ---

Diners Platinum
NIS 395 = 1 Matmid Point

GLOBES Platinum Diners cards,
NIS 333 = 1 Matmid point.

Converting Amex points to Hilton HHonors (up to gold - 1.5 card points to 1 HHonors point, platinum card 1.25:1) gives you much better value for money.

Diners Platinum offers the best Shekel to Matmid accumulation.
NIS 395 = 1 Matmid Point

Visa Cal Platinum
NIS 700 = 1 Matmid Point

Diners Platinum offers the best Shekel to Matmid accumulation.
NIS 395 = 1 Matmid Point

Visa Cal Platinum
NIS 700 = 1 Matmid Point

I have pondered this, and reached the conclusion that there are so many places that don't take Diners (at least in Israel) that in the end it isn't worth it. Maybe that's why it gives such a favourable rate?

I have pondered this, and reached the conclusion that there are so many places that don't take Diners (at least in Israel) that in the end it isn't worth it. Maybe that's why it gives such a favourable rate?
Thats really not true, I just got a Diners Platinum for this reason. I have almost no problems using it anywhere in Israel.
I also have a VISA in case they dont accept my Diners.
I use the Diners as a "second" card.
I would definetly recommned it.
BTW - Diners also gives you 50% off on movies at Cinema City. Thats a nice perk.

Converting Amex points to Hilton HHonors (up to gold - 1.5 card points to 1 HHonors point, platinum card 1.25:1) gives you much better value for money.

Sound advice, if not an answer to the question. ;)

i just saw an add for the multi card. i don't know anything about it, but i got the impression ( i think i was asleep when i saw it) that ift offers better conversion rates. sorry i don't have the details...

US AMEX is converting 1050 MR = 15 CAL, 70 points = 1 LY

70 points = $70 = 315 NIS

Hence, Israeli credit cards are a rip off.

US AMEX is converting 1050 MR = 15 CAL, 70 points = 1 LY

70 points = $70 = 315 NIS

Hence, Israeli credit cards are a rip off.
????
What is MR? CAL?

MR = Membership Rewards, the points program at AMEX
CAL = Visa CAL in Israel is a big CC company

What's the basis for comparison - can you convert US AMEX points to Israeli VISA CAL points?

US CCs require a US address (hence usually a US citizen), Israeli CCs require an Israeli address (and you probably have to live here as well ... :) ). As they apply to different people, how can one compare them?

I understand your point apirchik.

However, there are many matmid members that are not in Israel. Also, there are some people like me, who have addresses in both countries so they can take advantage of both CC opportunities.

My point was that AMEX in the US is much more generous than Israeli CCs... You have to spend a lot more on CAL compared to AMEX to get a free flight.


Take care

I understand your point apirchik.

However, there are many matmid members that are not in Israel. Also, there are some people like me, who have addresses in both countries so they can take advantage of both CC opportunities.

My point was that AMEX in the US is much more generous than Israeli CCs... You have to spend a lot more on CAL compared to AMEX to get a free flight.


Take care


I really dont understand your comparison.
From when does Amex convert points to CAL?

I think you are rying to say that in in AMEX, you must spend the equivelence of 315 NIS ($70) to get one LY Matmid point, and in Israel the best conversion rate is 395 NIS with Diners. OK

ON a side note, the best conversion rate in Israel is actually with a GLOBES Platinum Diners cards, the conversion rate is 333 NIS spent = 1 LY Matmid point.

ly787,

Yes, that's what I am saying. Amex points are more valuable than Visa CAL. I don't know much about the other Israeli CCs.

Can's Israelis get an AMEX in Israel? I believe so. Membership Rewards are the same for Israelis too, so the best solution might be for an Israeli to apply for an AMEX.

Can's Israelis get an AMEX in Israel? I believe so. Membership Rewards are the same for Israelis too, so the best solution might be for an Israeli to apply for an AMEX.

There is AMEX in Israel but it's managed by Bank Hapoalim and MR is not the same program as in the USA (although it has the same name).

There is AMEX in Israel but it's managed by Bank Hapoalim and MR is not the same program as in the USA (although it has the same name).

Actually Israeli AMEX was one of the cards I put in the first post.

Now that I realise that my current card is really bad I'm wondering which card I should get. The current card I have gives me current+30 days (shotef plus 30) before it takes the money from my account. This gives me time to settle expenses with my company before the money is taken from my account.

Are there cards in Israel that will give me this and give me much better earning for LY Matmid points?

Though I have no problem providing a US credit card company and address I have no idea how I'd pay off a US-based credit card since I have no income in the US.

The new cards (Multi, More etc) are "American style" that do not charge automatically off your account but give you extra 15 days of credit and you decide when and how much to pay. I'm not sure if you get better transfer rate to LY points from them.

If you can get a US credit card, see my thread here (http://64.78.185.92/forum/showthread.php?t=542711). Diners is best with $50:1 point ratio, while AMEX MR is $70:1 point, both cards have annual fee. Free AMEX with MR Options will give you $140:1 ratio. However, I just came across a no fee Visa Platinum card with $60:1, which IMHO is pretty good.

[QUOTE=EugeneV]If you can get a US credit card, see my thread here (http://64.78.185.92/forum/showthread.php?t=542711).

has anyone figured out if it makes sense to make israeli purchases with a US card for the benefit of getting matmid points? i mean, if we go to "the super" and charge 4600 nis on a US card, then have to pay 2% currency conversion, have we benefited?

not a mathematican....let's see--1000 usd plus 2% conversion= 1020 usd= (depending on the US card) ~ 15-20 matmid points.

using an israeli card, would be worth (at 1400 nis =point)~3.2 points; at 700nis=point rate, 4600 nis~6.5 points.

but what about the 20$ conversion cost... is the 20$ worth 10-15 points?

Reading through the posts here, seems like its just not worth while even trying to work out the conversion ratios from Israeli CC to Matmid points as they are just c**p

Are there any proper ELAL Credit cards that offer you something better?
Like BA's Amex or BMI's MasterCard card's here in the UK, which are so much better and more rewarding.

has anyone figured out if it makes sense to make israeli purchases with a US card for the benefit of getting matmid points? i mean, if we go to "the super" and charge 4600 nis on a US card, then have to pay 2% currency conversion, have we benefited?

No, it's not worth it. But you could use it to book tickets online in USD from US-based airlines and agents (and for USD purchases in general). Best deal is probably Capital One card which earns "GoMiles" AND pays the currency conversion fee for you. Unfortunately, these offers are targetted. Alternatively, there is Pentagon Federal FCU with 1% conversion fee and 1.25% cash back. Are there any Israeli-issued CCs with no annual fee and more than 0.25% rewards?

Are there any proper ELAL Credit cards that offer you something better?
Like BA's Amex or BMI's MasterCard card's here in the UK, which are so much better and more rewarding.

The AMEX Gold information I posted above is from the AMEX offer I took from El Al. First year is no fee and I have a $50 coupon to use towards an El Al ticket by the end of June. The card gives nothing else El Al related. I've been yoing with the idea of getting a US-based CitiBank AAdvantage Master Card which would give 1 mile per USD.

With Leumi Card, both VISA PLATINUM and MASTERCARD PLATINUM offer a conversion rate of 28 credit card points = 1 Matmid point.

Since you get 1 credit card point for every 25 NIS spend, that is a Matmid point for 700 NIS (28 CC points * 25 NIS/CC point).

I currently hold 4 different credit cards, and personally, that above deal is the one I prefer (and use).

My reasons:
1. I hate the fact that Isracard gives no points in their MasterCard and AMEX cards for the first 200 NIS every month.
2. I am not going to pay over $300 a year for AMEX Platinum.
3. As for Diners, I found our that more and more businesses stop accepting it, and because of that I don't want it to be my primary card.

That sounds like a much better deal that the others. The only reason I have to stay with Isracard Mastercard is this deal where they are giving me current + 30 days for charges outside of Israel. I called Isracard to see if they had a card with better conversion but still giving me this current + 30 and they said that this card gives me this because of my employer so would not be available on their other cards.

That sounds like a much better deal that the others. The only reason I have to stay with Isracard Mastercard is this deal where they are giving me current + 30 days for charges outside of Israel. I called Isracard to see if they had a card with better conversion but still giving me this current + 30 and they said that this card gives me this because of my employer so would not be available on their other cards.

I don't know who your employer is, but my employer has this current+30 deal with both VISA CAL and LEUMI CARD VISA.
So I actually have the points conversion I wrote above & the current+30 deal. :)

Since you get 1 credit card point for every 25 NIS spend, that is a Matmid point for 700 NIS (28 CC points * 25 NIS/CC point).
.

That's just so bad! in other words you need to spend 630,000 Shekels to get enough points for a return to Europe.

I need to spend around £16,000 which is roughly 130,000 Shekels (or much less then that, if some of the spend is on BA bookings) with my BA Amex to get a TLV-LHR-TLV (or the other way round) return with BA.

I don't know who your employer is, but my employer has this current+30 deal with both VISA CAL and LEUMI CARD VISA.
So I actually have the points conversion I wrote above & the current+30 deal. :)

So either I need to get a new employer or I need to get my employer to tak to the other CC companies. Which do you think is likely to be easier? ;)

I'm still over here doing the math... can anyone tell me if i got it right?

using an american (delta-amex skymiles maybe?) vs. israeli card with LY tie-in.

delta card needs 70,000pts for free ticket. that costs 70,000$ worth of purchases.

israeli card with 700nis equalling 1 LY mile, so that is 700*1400 LY points for a free ticket= 980,000 nis (217,777$)!!!!!!!

is this right? how can this be right?

when factoring in the 2% conversion rate of using an american card in israel, that 70,000$ *2% = 1400$--MORE THAN the cost of a ticket!!

this says to me that i can either spend an extra 1400$ in currency exchange rates to get a free ticket on a US carrier, or spend 217,777$ in nis on an israeli card to get a free ticket on LY. guess there is no such thing as a "free" ticket. :rolleyes:

any mathemeticians out there who can check my math?

any American CC tie-in that doesn't charge 2% currency fee?

any mathemeticians out there who can check my math?

any American CC tie-in that doesn't charge 2% currency fee?

I wouldn't be surprised! years ago in the UK the gas stations used to have offers such as collect x amount of coupons from filling up with gas and get a crystal decanter and two glasses for free. Once the math was done it worked out you had to spend $7,600 on gas for what you could buy at Argos (retail outlet) for $39.99!!

It would be really awesome if they had a card that worked (not necessarily everywhere) but in the zone of US and IL with no conversion fees....

for my money, I accumulate points on the DL amex, which usually ends up being at least 2 points/$ based on the various promos. DL's miles don't expire and thus are more flexible than LY...

entropy (btw, what does entropy mean?),
2miles/$??? can you point us to those promos please? thanks!

I'm currently working on building up the 25k on my Skymiles business card (spend 25k get 50k bonus...)

There is another card, the HAS Advantage card, which is 1 pt/$ and converts to LY at 60 points/1 LY point.
Of course, it has a 3% foreign transaction fee also... :(

For my math (using $1=1pt):
using HAS, you need to spend 180k to get a C class ticket from east coast-TLV (42k for OW upgrade), or 240k from LA
with DL amex you need to spend 120k for C class from anywhere in the US.

I'm not sure what the difference is in availability between LY and DL for LY flights.
You can't get F flights with DL (but you can with AA, 180k), or upgrades.

Amex Update from ELAL:

Change in Point Exchange Rate for American Express Cards

As of April 2006 American Express has changed its method of issuing points in its Rewards program. Therefore, the exchange rate of American Express points to Matmid Frequent Flyer Club points has also been adjusted. The updated exchange rate from American Express cards is as follows:

American Express Credit Card, Green, Gold and Business
28 Membership Rewards points = 1 Matmid point
(The equivalent of about NIS 1,400 in purchases for each Matmid point, as it has been until now)

American Express Platinum Card
8 Membership Rewards points = 1 Matmid point
(The equivalent of about NIS 400 in purchases for each Matmid point, as it has been until now)

The new point exchange rate is only for convenience, and does not alter the value of the rewards given by American Express.

No major change, as they have noted, though worth while pointing out.

Cheers

I guess that we can infer from that that they have changed how many NIS you spend per MR point?

I got the Israeli Membership Rewards 2006 booklet today and they changed things such that instead of getting a point for every NIS 5 you get one for every NIS 50. I've edited post #1 to reflect this.

wow, what a ripoff!

wow, what a ripoff!

All the "rewards" were divided by 10 as well. The major change to the worse here is that on 49 Shekels spending you would have got 9 points in the old program and now you get 0.

Absolutely a terrible card for earning LY points or anything else. I intend on using my Israeli Amex for my ticket in the summer to get the $50 discount on LY. Also for cases where some hotel may have special extra promotions if using Amex like Hyatt FFN two years ago. Other than that, once the one year free membership is over I'll cancel.

Why are they such a rip? are the companies just greedier? or is there a much lower merchant discount on credit card purchases?

My personal opinion based on zero research is that Israelis stink as consumers and so the companies get away with worthless point programs. There is no real competition considering that three or companies have the whole racket sewn up and they all offer Visa and Mastercards.

My personal opinion based on zero research is that Israelis stink as consumers and so the companies get away with worthless point programs. There is no real competition considering that three or companies have the whole racket sewn up and they all offer Visa and Mastercards.

Even worse. Every bank has its own credit card company. People just take whatever card their bank offers. Getting a card not issued by your bank is a rare event. Besides that, Israeli credit cards are mostly used as debit cards, as consumer credit is usually given through the bank account (it's called overdraft and it's a national hobby around here). Anyway, since credit card companies do not really give long term credit, they are not as profitable as american c/c companies. Add those two up and see why the benefits are .....

My recommendation for c/cs in IL: Diners platinum for matmid points (1 point for every 375 NIS) and you get 4 theater shows in Habima for free every year. Mastercard/Visa Business/Corporate for unlimited Dan lounge access.

Diners also gives access to about 100 lounges worldwide for free. Not bad for a free card.

Cheapest way to get a free LY ticket with a cc -- assuming you can get an American-issued Amex:

1. Get a Starwood Amex. This gives you 6000 Starwood points as a welcoming gift.

2. On your first "stay" at a Starwood property you will get another 1000 points. Then, with each "stay" after that in the first year, to a maximum of 10 more stays, you will get 500 points. Here comes the fun part: Any purchase you make at a Starwood counts as a "stay" (for Amex purposes only, not for getting elite status). So far, I have bought Cokes three different times at the Sheraton Tel Aviv. The first time I got 1000 points, the other two times I got 500 points each. Cost of a Coke there: $3.50. (Have them make the debit in US $ to avoid conversion charges.) Do this 11 times and you will have another 6000 points (total cost: $38.50). You now have 12,000 points.

3. Airline tickets in Israel are generally charged in US $. Put all of your tickets on your Starwood Amex. This not only gets you points but you wind up paying less because you are not spending to convert from $ into shekels (as you would if you pay for your ticket with an Israeli cc). Let's say that you fork out $2000 in airfares during the first year. You get 1 point per $. This brings you to 14,000 points.

4. If you buy anything at the Duty Free Shop in TLV, have the debit made in $ and pay with your Amex. (Again, this is the cheapest way to do it -- as the original prices are in $.) In the last year, I bought an IBM ThinkPad for $920 as well as cigarettes (not all at once) for about $200. (Even if you don't smoke, you have friends who do who will be very happy to buy them from you.) This gave me 1120 points. I was now at 15,120.

5. If you are going overseas, use your Amex. In America, of course, it costs nothing for conversion charges. It does cost you in Europe but unless you have a European cc (as I do) you are going to have to convert anyhow. Between hotel charges, restaurants, car rentals, et al, you are certain to spend at least $5000 in the year. If you followed my other steps, you are now at 20,000 points. Convert them to Delta SkyMiles. You will be given a 25% bonus and get 25,000 SkyMiles for your 20,000 Starwood points.

6. Cancel your Starwood card and apply for a Gold Delta Amex to take its place. Buy something. Anything. It can be a box of Kleenex at you local supermarket. You will receive 10,000 SkyMiles for this first purchase.

You are now at 35,000 SkyMiles. Your first year with the Starwood Amex was a freebie. Ditto with the Delta Gold Amex. You have spent a total of $38.50 which you would not normally shell out (for the Cokes).

Now pause. If what you are seeking is a r/t to Europe on LY, you are in. Delta only asks for 30,000 SkyMiles for this ticket.

Okay, this is not what you want. You want a freebie ticket to the States. You would need 80,000 SkyMiles to get this. The additional SkyMiles are going to be more difficult to obtain, so go back a few steps.

Do not give up your Starwood Amex. Pay the $30 annual fee to have it renewed. Additionally, do not send your Starwood points to Delta.

Instead, open a MilleMiglia account with Alitalia. You will get 1,000 miles for signing up. Transfer in your 20,000 Starwood points (getting, again, the 25% bonus) and you are now at 26,000 miles.

The next few times you fly, fly on a SkyTeam partner. Any partner. Even by flying Coach you will get 1 mile for every mile you fly. Let's say that you buy a r/t ticket TLV-JFK-TLV for $900. Round trip gives you 11,354 miles from AZ.

You now have 37,354 AZ miles and 900 Starwood points. A bit later you have to fly to to Miami. Let's say this cost you $1500. You fly TLV-JFK-MIA and pick up another 13,410 miles. You now have 50,764 miles in your AZ account -- and AZ demands only 50,000 for a freebie trip to the States.

(You can not get the ticket on El Al, but you can on any SkyTeam partner.)

You also have 2400 Starwood points left over. Starwood requires that transfers to AZ be in multiples of 2,500 points. But if you have been in the States twice you have unquestionably spent that $100 (plus a lot more) so you can transfer them into AZ and start building for your next freebie.

Moreover, you will have flown 24,764 miles during the year. Take one more SkyTeam flight -- any SkyTeam flight -- and you will be over the top for the 25,000 miles you will need for AZ's Ulisse status (the equivalent of Silver).

You now are entitled to:

1. Free entry to AZ VIP lounges in Italy.
2. Free entry to the Dan Lounge in TLV (just remember to ask for the invitation when you check in on an AZ or AF flight).
3. A 25% mileage bonus on all your SkyTeam flights.
4. 10 kilos additional checked luggage (on AZ flights only).
5. Use of the First Class check in line for any SkyTeam flight (including Early Check In at the train station in Tel Aviv).

Doggone! I knew I should have asked Dovster before putting my AF flight yesterday on my CO FF card.

Doggone! I knew I should have asked Dovster before putting my AF flight yesterday on my CO FF card.


Yosithezet, this would be a particularly good deal for you. You are SPG Gold, which means that you get 3 Starpoints for every dollar you spend at a Starwood property. The Starwood Amex would bring that up to 4 Starpoints.

You would get the 6000 for signing up plus the additional 6000 for your first 11 stays. You would need 8,000 more Starpoints to convert to either AZ or DL miles and get the 25% bonus.

You would get those Starpoints simply by spending $2000 at Starwood properties -- which you undoubtedly do in the course of a year anyhow.

You would now have your first 25,000 mile. Spend an additional $1,250 at Starwood, get 5000 more points, and you will be at the 30,000 level you need for a free flight to Europe -- and that is without ever getting on a SkyTeam flight or even spending a single cent anywhere except at Starwood.

It would be good except:

1) I bought my Gold status with the Amenity and don't stay at SPG properties all that often. The vast majority of my stays are at Hyatts.

2) I'd have to change NIS to USD in order to pay the card off since I don't have USD income. (Although currently my charges are all converted to USD before conversion to NIS so that might not matter anyway. Hmmm.)

3) I have the AAdvantage M/C for using while in the US this summer.

2) I'd have to change NIS to USD in order to pay the card off since I don't have USD income. (Although currently my charges are all converted to USD before conversion to NIS so that might not matter anyway. Hmmm.)

3) I have the AAdvantage M/C for using while in the US this summer.

If you have AAdvantage M/C you must have a U.S. bank account, right?

If so, I think you will find it much less expensive to make a few large wire transfers each year to put money into that account.

still, if you are buying a lot of stuff in Israel, in NIS, Amex's 2% conversion fee plus really bad rates gets you.

Agreed, but there is no conversion rate on items which are priced in dollars (such as airline tickets, Duty Free shopping, and hotel-bought Cokes).

Agreed, but there is no conversion rate on items which are priced in dollars (such as airline tickets, Duty Free shopping, and hotel-bought Cokes).

You need to do A LOT of duty free shopping in order to get your miles :D

hotel bought cokes cost about 500% over the normal price!

I suppose if you are the cigarette dealer for your kibbutz you could do OK but then again, you'll need a lot of sales....

still, if you are buying a lot of stuff in Israel, in NIS, Amex's 2% conversion fee plus really bad rates gets you.

Well the idea here is not to use it in Israel but to use it on things you are purchasing which will eventually pass through dollars before getting converted into NIS. I spend a good amount of time in hotels in Asian countries. When they charge my Israeli CC the charge goes from local currency into USD and then from USD into NIS. So if I were to stop it at USD with a US CC and then transfer NIS to a USD into US account I could then potentially earn points/trips at a more favourable rate.

Well the idea here is not to use it in Israel but to use it on things you are purchasing which will eventually pass through dollars before getting converted into NIS. I spend a good amount of time in hotels in Asian countries. When they charge my Israeli CC the charge goes from local currency into USD and then from USD into NIS. So if I were to stop it at USD with a US CC and then transfer NIS to a USD into US account I could then potentially earn points/trips at a more favourable rate.

You can open a USD back account in any Israeli bank (parallel to your NIS account) and make the CC charge in USD. This way is the best to avoid the CC company ridiculous change rate and rating system (local - USD - NIS).

You can open a USD back account in any Israeli bank (parallel to your NIS account) and make the CC charge in USD. This way is the best to avoid the CC company ridiculous change rate and rating system (local - USD - NIS).

But I'll still need to convert my NIS salary into USD so I might as well do it in a way that I can earn points/miles with a US card.

You need to do A LOT of duty free shopping in order to get your miles :D

Not really. By buying one IBM ThinkPad (at a much lower price than I would have paid in a usual Israeli computer shop) plus $200 worth of cigarettes, I got over 1,100 Starpoints in the last year.


hotel bought cokes cost about 500% over the normal price!


Not quite. At the Tel Aviv Sheraton they cost $3.50. In most Tel Aviv bars they run about $2.45.

Still, I am not urging this as a way of getting Starpoints except, as I noted, 11 times in the first year. You will collect 6000 points in bonuses that way (as well as a dollar for each point spent). Total cost: $38.50.

Of course, you can buy those 6038 points directly from Starwood, or at least most of them. It would cost you $300 for 6000 points -- and you don't even get the Cokes.

3.50, that's a bargain :)

I had a glass of your Yiron the other day at Bugsy, it was very good.

I was a big fan of the DL 50,000 sign up + 50(or 25k) after spending 25k. I only need 7k more of 'fake' spending to get there....

Do you know if there is a card with the milemiglia? if one could manage a good CC 'scam' with them it might be worth it to try for the 80k reward to TLV.

But I'll still need to convert my NIS salary into USD so I might as well do it in a way that I can earn points/miles with a US card.

You convert your NIS to USD at much better rates this way.

Not really. By buying one IBM ThinkPad (at a much lower price than I would have paid in a usual Israeli computer shop) plus $200 worth of cigarettes, I got over 1,100 Starpoints in the last year.


No such thing as IBM ThinkPad anymore. They sold the whole product line to Lenovo.

Any laptop would be much cheaper in the USA than in the TLV dutyfree. I would not but a computer directly from the shelf but customize it a little anyway.

Not quite. At the Tel Aviv Sheraton they cost $3.50. In most Tel Aviv bars they run about $2.45.


You can buy a 1/2 liter coke bottle accross the street from the Sheraton for 5 NIS (about $1.10).

You can buy a 1/2 liter coke bottle accross the street from the Sheraton for 5 NIS (about $1.10).

How many miles/points do you get for that 1/2 liter?

How many miles/points do you get for that 1/2 liter?

You can start swimming from the Sheraton to the west ... :D

If you buy some beer 6-packs these days you will get some floating devices as gifts. This may help you to get to your destination over water ... :)

No such thing as IBM ThinkPad anymore. They sold the whole product line to Lenovo.

Any laptop would be much cheaper in the USA than in the TLV dutyfree. I would not but a computer directly from the shelf but customize it a little anyway.

1. But IBM still handles the customer service, at least here in Israel. The computer came without an instruction booklet in English and IBM mailed it to me.

2. I had been searching on the internet for prices for this model in the States (I was on my way to Florida when I bought it) and found that -- once sales tax was included -- the price was just about the same, and perhaps a bit higher, than at the Duty Free.

3. I would not want to start looking around the States for a ThinkPad which had an English/Hebrew keyboard. True, I will probably never use the Hebrew but when I buy my next one, one of my kids will get this one. (Just as my daughter got my old ThinkPad when I made this purchase.)

Do you know if there is a card with the milemiglia? if one could manage a good CC 'scam' with them it might be worth it to try for the 80k reward to TLV.

The only Millemiglia-specific cards that I know of are available to Europeans only.

Of course, you can get to 20,000 Starpoints, as I outlined, convert them to Millemiglia miles, and be at 25,000 miles. (Actually, 26,000 if you have not yet signed up for the program.)

You would be 54,000 miles away from a Biz Class award to Israel.

The first round trip LAX-TLV (in deeply discounted coach) on a SkyTeam airline would give you a minimum of 15,148 miles. Do it again in the same year and you will be up to 30,296. You will also reach elite level and get a 25% bonus for your next flights. The third would get you to 48,935 miles.

If you are any kind of F/Ter at all, you can figure out how to get the remaining 5065 miles without even breaking a sweat.

Now, let's compare that to LY. El Al will give you 100 points for a deeply discounted fare r/t LAX-TLV. It wants, however, 4000 points for a Biz Class awar for the same itinerary. In other words, you would have to make 40 trips before you earned enough.

Of course, unless you are making this trip 13.3 times a year, you will never get to 4000 points -- the earlier ones will expire before you get enough.

El Al just started a new promotion where by they will give 20% more points for conversion between June 15 - July 31

Every purchase using your credit card brings you closer to your next overseas flight!
Matmid members who convert points / stars from credit cards between June 15 and July 31, 2006 will receive 20% more points!*

*The free points are considered Extra Points and they are given to members who convert stars / points from their credit card accounts to their Club accounts between June 15 and July 31, 2006.

If the number of free points is a fraction: the points will be rounded down if they are less than 0.5 and rounded up if they are 0.5 and higher. Visa Cal credit card (including Diners) points will be converted only for customers who have linked their credit cards to the Matmid program in Cal. Subject to Cal / Diners regulations.

The deal is for Matmid members in Israel only, converting points from Israeli credit cards only.
Subject to Club rules.
Errors and omissions excepted.

http://www.elal.co.il/default.asp?v_doc_id=4595&v_lang_id=0

you get 1 point on elal matmid per 12.5 points at leumi visa platinum card, what is mean that you need to spend 490k shekels= 110000$ to have free ticket tlv-nyc

you get 1 point on elal matmid per 12.5 points at leumi visa platinum card, what is mean that you need to spend 490k shekels= 110000$ to have free ticket tlv-nyc

Per El Al's website you get 1 per 28 points for the Leumi Platinum Visa. Are you sure about your numbers?

Per El Al's website you get 1 per 28 points for the Leumi Platinum Visa. Are you sure about your numbers?


28 it is on elal but in visa leumi platinum you get 1 point per 12.5 shekel spend. so 28x12.5=350 shekel per 1 elal matmid point

El Al just started a new promotion where by they will give 20% more points for conversion between June 15 - July 31


Got an email saying that this was so popular they have extended it to August 31. Of course if it was so successful then nobody would have points left to convert. ;)

Got an email saying that this was so popular they have extended it to August 31. Of course if it was so successful then nobody would have points left to convert. ;)

Well, I was waiting until the last days of the month in order to maximise the benefits. Now I shall have a whole extra month's worth of points (including our daughter's wedding) to add to the pot!

I'm currently working on building up the 25k on my Skymiles business card (spend 25k get 50k bonus...)

There is another card, the HAS Advantage card, which is 1 pt/$ and converts to LY at 60 points/1 LY point.
Of course, it has a 3% foreign transaction fee also... :(

For my math (using $1=1pt):
using HAS, you need to spend 180k to get a C class ticket from east coast-TLV (42k for OW upgrade), or 240k from LA
with DL amex you need to spend 120k for C class from anywhere in the US.

I'm not sure what the difference is in availability between LY and DL for LY flights.
You can't get F flights with DL (but you can with AA, 180k), or upgrades.

HAS Advantage are now converting 40points / 1 LY point.
You need to spend $56K for a US (exc. LA) <-> TLV ticket

Cheapest way to get a free LY ticket with a cc -- assuming you can get an American-issued Amex:

1. Get a Starwood Amex. This gives you 6000 Starwood points as a welcoming gift.

2. On your first "stay" at a Starwood property you will get another 1000 points. Then, with each "stay" after that in the first year, to a maximum of 10 more stays, you will get 500 points. Here comes the fun part: Any purchase you make at a Starwood counts as a "stay" (for Amex purposes only, not for getting elite status). So far, I have bought Cokes three different times at the Sheraton Tel Aviv. The first time I got 1000 points, the other two times I got 500 points each. Cost of a Coke there: $3.50. (Have them make the debit in US $ to avoid conversion charges.) Do this 11 times and you will have another 6000 points (total cost: $38.50). You now have 12,000 points.



HI dovster, do you know if a purchase at a starwoods property still counts as a stay and is still worth 500 points? i do not see this on their site, but was planning a sheraton coke run soon, and didn't want that coke for naught.

HI dovster, do you know if a purchase at a starwoods property still counts as a stay and is still worth 500 points? i do not see this on their site, but was planning a sheraton coke run soon, and didn't want that coke for naught.

It was never on any their site and, AFIK, it was never Starwood's policy. It was an Amex mistake and Starwood didn't object to it because Amex was paying for the points. I believe it is still the case -- but keep in mind that there are a few restrictions:

1. It is only good for the first year that you have your Starwood Amex.

2. The Coke (or anything else you buy) gives you 1000 points, the following 11 give you 500 each. After that, zip.

3. The bar/restaurant where you get the Coke has to bill you under the hotel's name. In Israel, and most of Europe, this is not a problem -- it will be rung up that way automatically. In some American Starwoods the bar is a franchise operation which charges your card under its own name and you don't get the miles.

4. This does not count as a stay for Starwood purposes (you won't get credit towards higher status); it only gives you the points. Generally, the points are credited to you account about two weeks after the other Amex points you earned that month. Incidentally, there is no extra benefit in giving them your Starwood account number unless your dining bill is over $40, just pay with your Starwood Amex.

In today's "The Marker" - Thursday March 1, there is a whole article with charts on how much you need to spend with your credit card to get one free ticket on LY.
Buttom line is that AMEX Platinum, MULTI Platinum and MULTI Buisness Gold have the best per shequel rate. For each 350 Shequels you get one Matmid point.
Diners Platinum - 395
Diners - 500
Visa CAL and Leumi Platinum - 700
Isracard Platinum - 1000
Visa Cal, Mastercard Gold - 1500
Multi Gold, AMEX, Isracard - 1600
Leumi Visa Gold - 1750

They even calculated how much you need to spend with each card to get a free ticket to either E. Europe, W. Europe and US/Far East (US is East Coast).
I will try to copy it later form the THE MARKER website.

Great information. Any idea what it takes to get the AMEX Plat, or the Multi cards mentioned? Fees, etc?

Recently I converted a bunch of Israeli Isracard Mastercard points to LY Matmid points I had my wife call and check if she could convert her Visa CAL points to LY Matmid points in my account. First of all they said she could only convert to her account. For us that is useless since she flies on bonus tickets from my points so they'd be orphaned. Then they said that if she were to link her account she'd get 1 Matmid point for every NIS 1500 in charges. While I'm not sure how many NIS I spend to earn one Isracard Mastercard point I know that with my Israeli AMEX I earn 1 point for every NIS 5 after the first NIS 200 and I can then convert them to LY Matmid points at a rate of 280 points to 1 Matmid point. That comes out to NIS 1400 per LY Matmid point! Again, very high. So does anyone have the skinny down on which cards are best for earning LY Matmid points? Below is the information I can contribute:

*** As of June 15, 2006 - Official information from LY Matmid ****












*** POST EDITED TO INCLUDE KNOWLEDGE ADDED BY OTHERS ***

-- Mastercard/Isracard --

Isracard Corporate Mastercard (Gold)
200 NIS for 1 card point after first 200
7 card points for 1 LY Matmid point
Effectively 1 LY Matmid point for NIS 1400 charges

Leumi Platinum Mastercard
25 NIS for 1 point
28 poinst for 1 Matmid point
Effectively 1 LY Matmid point for every NIS 700 charges

-- AMEX --

Isracard's Gold AMEX
50 NIS for 1 card point (after the first NIS 200)
28 card points for 1 LY Matmid point
Effectively 1 LY Matmid point for NIS 1400 charges

Isracard's Platinum AMEX
50 NIS for 1 card point
8 card points for 1 LY Matmid point
Effectively 1 LY Matmid point for NIS 400 charges

-- VISA --

Visa CAL linked to LY Matmid
1500 NIS for 1 card point

Visa Cal Platinum
NIS 700 = 1 Matmid Point

Leumi Platinum Visa
25 NIS for 1 point
28 poinst for 1 Matmid point
Effectively 1 LY Matmid point for every NIS 700 charges

-- DINERS ---

Diners Platinum
NIS 395 = 1 Matmid Point

GLOBES Platinum Diners cards,
NIS 333 = 1 Matmid point.
I did a 'research' regarding conversions and found that:

Multi-Platinum (VISA\MC) have the best rate of conversion which is 1 Matmid point = 350 NIS (Card will be given based upon a similar card granted to you by your bank and will cost 8.88 NIS a month)
AMEX platinum will have the same rate, however, it is by invitation only (or one should be very rich :) and it will cost 320$ a year
Also Diners platinum will give you the same rate, however, it is not cheap as well (I don't know the exact price of holding that card)

In Any case, one should not convert points on a regular basis, but wait until ELAL does the "Mivtsa" of adding 20% to the converted points once a year

Having lived in Europe until last summer, I was fortunate enough to enjoy the benefits of credit cards that really give you your "miles worth"!

The best Israeli card gives you a conversion rate of 1 matmid point for 350 shekels. That means that for a free return trip to Europe from Israel I will need to spend 900x350=315,000 shekels. And remember that's only with the best cards such as the AMEX or Multi Platinum cards which are obviosuly not easily obtainable.

On my BA Diners (from France) I received 1 mile for every Euro spent and 1.4 mile for every Euro spent on BA (whom I spent a lot with). With my Air France AMEX Gold it was even better as I received 1 mile for every Euro (or 1.4 mile for every Euro on Air France) but these miles where status miles which meant that I could literally earn status (silver, gold, or platinum if I was to be a very big spender) without much flying on Air France.

Taking the BA Diners for example, having spent 20,000 Euros I would be able to get a free return ticket from Europe Zone 1 (inc. the UK, Germany, and France) to TLV. That works out at about a third of the cost of the only the best Israeli credit cards. For all other cards it's completely rubish! :mad:

I think it's time for ELAL to establish their own affinity credit card (Visa, MC, or AMEX) like BA, Air France, Lufthansa, and most other serious airlines do in their home countries and major hubs, that shall give us loyal customers the ability to convert miles at a real rate, not the cr**y one that the Israeli banks/CC companies provide today.

Anyone ready to petition ELAL on this topic?

Cheers!

you can get status miles with the credit cards for the euro airlines?

There's no doubt the mileage earning possibilities on the El Al credit card partners suck.
The best one is the HAS card in the US which is 1pt/40$.

you can get status miles with the credit cards for the euro airlines?

Yes, on my Flying Blue AMEX Gold card all miles are status miles. This is true for Air France and KLM since the merger. Prior to the merger KLM did not give status miles on credit cards, but Air France did.

i can try to compare.
i have accounts in elal matmid and continental one pass.
i need 1400 points to get a free economy class ticket to bangkok at elal and 80000 miles to get the same at skyteam.
i have a leumi platinum card, what is allow me to earn 1 elal point for 350 shekels=82$
i have also amex international dollar card that earns 1 continental mile per 1 dollar spend.
so to earn a free ticket to bkk i need 490000 shekels= 115000$.
to earn a ticket to bkk at onepass i need to spend 80000$.

so the difference is around 45% in the behalf of onepass

didn't LY used to have pretty good availability when you're using points? If that's so, then its certainly a big difference in how much the miles are worth.. Given the difficulty obtaining CO award tickets....

El Al just started a new promotion where by they will give 20% more points for conversion between June 15 - July 31

Every purchase using your credit card brings you closer to your next overseas flight!
Matmid members who convert points / stars from credit cards between June 15 and July 31, 2006 will receive 20% more points!*

*The free points are considered Extra Points and they are given to members who convert stars / points from their credit card accounts to their Club accounts between June 15 and July 31, 2006.

If the number of free points is a fraction: the points will be rounded down if they are less than 0.5 and rounded up if they are 0.5 and higher. Visa Cal credit card (including Diners) points will be converted only for customers who have linked their credit cards to the Matmid program in Cal. Subject to Cal / Diners regulations.

The deal is for Matmid members in Israel only, converting points from Israeli credit cards only.
Subject to Club rules.
Errors and omissions excepted.

http://www.elal.co.il/default.asp?v_doc_id=4595&v_lang_id=0

Looks like they are doing it again from Sept 9, 2007 through Oct 9, 2007.

http://www.elal.co.il/ELAL/Hebrew/HidePages/MatmidDeals/He_FFCreditCardDeal1908

Just a small tip I would like to share - Not sure if this was already written somewhere before though.

When you call your CC company to transfer the points to ELAL you can tell the CC company (At least it works with Leumi cards) to transfer MORE points then you actually have to ELAL (This is important if you have 20% extra points offer from ELAL for a limited time). So if you have for example 1000 points on your CC you can tell the CC company to transfer 1200 points and will just have to make sure you get those extra 200 points in the following months.

When you call your CC company to transfer the points to ELAL you can tell the CC company (At least it works with Leumi cards) to transfer MORE points then you actually have to ELAL (This is important if you have 20% extra points offer from ELAL for a limited time). So if you have for example 1000 points on your CC you can tell the CC company to transfer 1200 points and will just have to make sure you get those extra 200 points in the following months.

Blast .... why didn't I read this post before the 9th of October :mad:
Anyway, thanks for the tip, I'll hang onto it for next time :)

A little OT: Here we go - more proof to how rubish airline credit cards are in Israel.

I know this is unrelated to ELAL but it proves a point. Miles & More just launched a credit card in Israel with CAL. The card gives 1 Mile for every 29 shekels with the gold card and 1 mile for every 17 shekels with the platinum card.

Compare this to the Miles & More CC in Germany - it gives you 1 mile for every Euro spent, i.e. for every 5.30 shekels approximately.

I am not sure why there is such a difference between credit cards in Israel and in Europe - I can only assume that the CC companies in Israel are ripping us off.

A little OT: Here we go - more proof to how rubish airline credit cards are in Israel.

I know this is unrelated to ELAL but it proves a point. Miles & More just launched a credit card in Israel with CAL. The card gives 1 Mile for every 29 shekels with the gold card and 1 mile for every 17 shekels with the platinum card.

Compare this to the Miles & More CC in Germany - it gives you 1 mile for every Euro spent, i.e. for every 5.30 shekels approximately.

I am not sure why there is such a difference between credit cards in Israel and in Europe - I can only assume that the CC companies in Israel are ripping us off.
I tried to compare this card with Multi Platinum (used with LY transfer points - where 12.5 NIS gets you 1 point and 28 points is 1 LY point thus you need 12.5*28=350 NIS for one LY point) - I hope I did not mess this one up :-) :

For europe (C zone) LY takes 900/1800/3200 (Y/C/F) points and LH takes (15000/28000/25000/45000/60000 (YFlySmart/Y/CFlySmart/C/F - Taking into account the "Book your flight award online and save miles" promotion)

LY Y = 350 (NIS per Point) * 900 = 315000
LH YFlySmart = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 15000 = 255000
LH Y = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 28000 = 476000
So LH YFlySmart wins
LY C = 350 (NIS per Point) * 1800 = 630000
LH CFlySmart = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 25000 = 425000
LH C = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 45000= 765000
So LH CFlySmart wins
LY F = 350 (NIS per Point) * 3200 = 1120000
LH F = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 60000= 1020000
So LH F wins


For North America (E zone) LY takes 1400/3000/5000 (Y/C/F) points and LH takes (50000/57000/90000/140000 (YFlySmart/Y/C/F - Taking into account the "Book your flight award online and save miles" promotion)

LY Y = 350 (NIS per Point) * 1400 = 490000
LH YFlySmart = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 50000= 850000
LH Y = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 57000 = 969000
So LY Y wins
LY C = 350 (NIS per Point) * 3000 = 1050000
LH C = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 90000 = 1530000
So LY C wins
LY F = 350 (NIS per Point) * 5000 = 1750000
LH F = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 140000= 2380000
So LY F wins


I prefer to use LY points for long hauls - So will stick to Multi for now.

I tried to compare this card with Multi Platinum (used with LY transfer points - where 12.5 NIS gets you 1 point and 28 points is 1 LY point thus you need 12.5*28=350 NIS for one LY point) - I hope I did not mess this one up :-) :

For europe (C zone) LY takes 900/1800/3200 (Y/C/F) points and LH takes (15000/28000/25000/45000/60000 (YFlySmart/Y/CFlySmart/C/F - Taking into account the "Book your flight award online and save miles" promotion)

LY Y = 350 (NIS per Point) * 900 = 315000
LH YFlySmart = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 15000 = 255000
LH Y = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 28000 = 476000
So LH YFlySmart wins
LY C = 350 (NIS per Point) * 1800 = 630000
LH CFlySmart = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 25000 = 425000
LH C = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 45000= 765000
So LH CFlySmart wins
LY F = 350 (NIS per Point) * 3200 = 1120000
LH F = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 60000= 1020000
So LH F wins


For North America (E zone) LY takes 1400/3000/5000 (Y/C/F) points and LH takes (50000/57000/90000/140000 (YFlySmart/Y/C/F - Taking into account the "Book your flight award online and save miles" promotion)

LY Y = 350 (NIS per Point) * 1400 = 490000
LH YFlySmart = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 50000= 850000
LH Y = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 57000 = 969000
So LY Y wins
LY C = 350 (NIS per Point) * 3000 = 1050000
LH C = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 90000 = 1530000
So LY C wins
LY F = 350 (NIS per Point) * 5000 = 1750000
LH F = 17 (NIS Per mile) * 140000= 2380000
So LY F wins


I prefer to use LY points for long hauls - So will stick to Multi for now.

The point you make is valid but this does not change the fact that we are being ripped off by the credit card companies in Israel.

For example if you were to hold a LH CC in Germany the LH YFlySmart award (15,000 miles) would cost maximum 15000 Euros of spend or approx. 80000 shekels compared with 255000 shekels in Israel with the Multi Platinum which is the best case for Israeli credit cards together with the American Express Platinum which also gives one ELAL point for every 350 shekels.

This is the point I was making. The Credit Card companies in Israel are ripping us off. I wonder if anything can be done about this. I may write in to the newspaper to get them to write about it.

Cheers!

Hey,

I know the topic is Matmid and not M&M but as Israelies had no possiblty to earn something else than Matmid till now, this will be interesting for them.

I noticed the new offer to collect Miles& More miles with the Israeli Credit cards company CAL.
It offeres :

Miles & More Gold Card
Earn 1 award mile for every 29 ILS spent
No expiry of award miles
Welcome Bonus of 3,000 award miles*

Miles & More Platinum Card
Earn 1 award mile for every 17 ILS spent
No expiry of award miles
Welcome Bonus of 3,000 award miles*

Link: https://www.lufthansa.com/online/myportal/lh/il/miles_and_more/program?nodeid=2158213&l=en&cid=1000266

did somebody had experiance with this offer ?

Hey,

I know the topic is Matmid and not M&M but as Israelies had no possiblty to earn something else than Matmid till now, this will be interesting for them.

...
did somebody had experiance with this offer ?
Hi,
Not sure what you are asking exactly but if you read the posts above yours you will see a detailed analysis of this card compared to others.

Looks like they are doing it again from Sept 9, 2007 through Oct 9, 2007.

http://www.elal.co.il/ELAL/Hebrew/HidePages/MatmidDeals/He_FFCreditCardDeal1908

It's baaaack. This time from Sept 24, 2008 through November 15, 2008.

Couldn't find it in English but the Hebrew explanation is at: http://www.elal.co.il/ELAL/Hebrew/HidePages/MatmidFlyer/He_Terms20_180908

Pay attention its limited to 4 tranfsers only... 8-(
So its better to wait to two weeks before the end in order to transfer the
points...

Hey,

I know the topic is Matmid and not M&M but as Israelies had no possiblty to earn something else than Matmid till now, this will be interesting for them.

I noticed the new offer to collect Miles& More miles with the Israeli Credit cards company CAL.
It offeres :

Miles & More Gold Card
Earn 1 award mile for every 29 ILS spent
No expiry of award miles
Welcome Bonus of 3,000 award miles*

Miles & More Platinum Card
Earn 1 award mile for every 17 ILS spent
No expiry of award miles
Welcome Bonus of 3,000 award miles*

Link: https://www.lufthansa.com/online/myportal/lh/il/miles_and_more/program?nodeid=2158213&l=en&cid=1000266

did somebody had experiance with this offer ?

The United States based HAS advantage card is the best card for ElAl accunulation. I think it is 1 mile for every $4 of spending.