entropy

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...

haniboo

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

entropy

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.

jonnye

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

yosithezet

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

yosithezet

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.

entropy

wow, what a ripoff!

apirchik

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.

yosithezet

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.

entropy

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

yosithezet

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.

cohenyf

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.

Dovster

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).

yosithezet

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

Dovster

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.