Since news broke that El Al’s frequent-flyer club and Fly Card would move from Cal to Isracard, Israel’s credit-card market has turned into an aggressive battle for customers. Major players have rushed out offers centered on points, cashback, and flight redemption, hoping to become the first card consumers pull from their wallet, physical or digital.
This month Cal launched FlyAll, a new credit card and loyalty club created with Issta that lets customers earn cashback and redeem points for flights on any airline and hotels worldwide. At launch, Cal said new members would get a $250 sign-up bonus, subject to card spending. Less than a week later, that bonus fell to $150, and in recent days it dropped again to $75.
According to Cal sources, the reduction reflects strong demand since the launch. The terms say the $250 bonus was reserved for the first 10,000 joiners, the next bonus level of $150 was for 25,000 more, and everyone else gets $75. Even after the cut, company sources say the lower bonus is evidence that the card is attracting interest.
Fly Card, the veteran rival, has about 550,000 cards, and at the Isracard launch event the target was set at 1 million cards. Unlike FlyAll, other credit-card clubs do not offer sign-up bonuses, and Fly Card’s incentive is smaller than $250. Cal says it has already handed out $6.25 million to new customers and expects to distribute another $1.5 million. Cal said FlyAll’s strong demand is a vote of confidence in its new value proposition, and that the additional $75 offer applies to 20,000 more upgraders who spend a cumulative 10,000 shekels in the first two months.
