No Need to Open Ten Sites: Celebrities Discover a New Way to Book a Vacation
Video: The launch event for Isracard’s Time Off platform / Editing: Gilad Man Mannheim
Michal Aloni, Agam Rodberg, Ron Shachar, Shirley Bouganim and Titi Aynaw in one place? Usually that sounds like the start of a glamorous event, but this time there was also a very practical reason, the launch event for Time Off, Isracard’s new travel platform. Aloni and Rodberg, who serve as Isracard ambassadors, arrived at the event alongside Ron Shachar, Shirley Bouganim and Titi Aynaw to get to know the new platform up close. It is designed to bring order to one of the most familiar tasks on the way to a vacation, how to book everything without getting lost among websites, comparisons, benefits and small add-ons that pop up along the way.
From the moment they entered the event, it was clear that everyone’s mind was already on vacation. “I’m already waiting for boarding,” Agam Rodberg said with a smile, adding, “The best flights are the spontaneous ones, when you show up with a small bag and buy everything abroad.” Because let’s be honest, planning a vacation is fun mostly until the moment you realize you have opened ten tabs, three apps, two price comparisons, and it is still not clear whether you found a good deal or just got tired along the way. That is exactly where Time Off comes in, Isracard’s new travel platform for the company’s customers.
Instead of running between websites and piecing together the whole puzzle on your own, Time Off lets users find flights, hotels, attractions, travel insurance, eSIM, foreign currency solutions, exclusive benefits and financing options under one roof. The advantage is not only convenience, but also transparency, price comparisons against the market and dedicated benefits for Isracard and American Express customers, so they can get to their vacation with a little less headache and a lot more peace of mind.
Michal Aloni summed it up in a way anyone who has planned a vacation recently can relate to: “You know how it is when you’re before a vacation, planning the trip, and then you say, okay, how much does this flight cost me? Wait, a hotel comparison. By the time you actually go on vacation, you’ve already lost the desire to go on vacation.” Ron Shachar added, “Finally, someone thought of making a site where you can centralize everything and stop us from searching in all kinds of places for better prices.”
The launch comes at a time when vacation planning has become a project in itself for many Israelis. According to a survey conducted by Isracard, 69% describe the search and comparison process on travel websites as long, confusing and exhausting, and about 60% fear that in the event of a change, cancellation or malfunction, they will not have access to available customer service. Time Off was designed to address exactly that need, a simpler, more transparent and clearer experience, with a sense of security לאורך הדרך.
Agam Rodberg / Screenshot, Isracard
A vacation with peace of mind
One of the platform’s standout features is that it does not stop at the booking stage. Time Off offers a broader package that accompanies the customer from the search and price comparison stage all the way through services and benefits during the vacation. This includes not only the vacation components themselves, but also complementary solutions such as travel insurance, eSIM, foreign currency, financing options and additional benefits, making the entire experience more organized, accessible and convenient.
Itamar Furman, CEO of Isracard, commented on the launch and said: “Household vacation spending in Israel amounts to tens of thousands of shekels a year. Isracard, as the leading credit card group in Israel, is deepening its activity in the tourism and leisure sector, with a significant consumer offering for more than 3.7 million customers. Today we are launching a unique travel platform that will change the experience of planning and booking a vacation, managing the budget and staying abroad. Time Off brings value in savings, ease of use and the knowledge that behind the vacation stands a company you can rely on. All of this ties into our strategy, to be there in the money time for our customers.”
And while Isracard talks about a support package, the celebrities had already started fantasizing about the next destination. Titi Aynaw said, “For the past few years I’ve had a rule, once a year I travel to a place I haven’t been to.” Ron Shachar, for his part, already has his mind across the ocean: “I’m flying to New York in a moment. The hope is פשוט to come back from there. I פשוט חייב לחזור, if I don’t come back there will be a problem.” And on one thing he will not compromise: “A transatlantic flight is business.”
Agam Rodberg provided one of the funniest moments of the event when asked about an awkward vacation situation and said: “I don’t lock public bathrooms because I’m afraid of getting stuck. It can be like someone comes in every so often, and I’m like: no, no, thank you, I’m here.” And where will Titi find it hard to go back to? “Thailand, but I will go back. I couldn’t stand the food. Burgers and pasta, that was my diet for two weeks.”
From a consumer standpoint, the central idea is clear: Israelis are not just looking for a vacation, they are looking to know they booked it right. Clear pricing, market comparisons, benefits tailored to customers and the support of a familiar Israeli company לאורך הדרך. For anyone who already knows the feeling of the vacation not yet having started but the mind already being exhausted from planning, this is exactly the point where the new platform seeks to simplify the process.
Michal Aloni / Screenshot, Isracard
Lior Reviv, deputy CEO and head of the private division at Isracard, added: “We created Time Off מתוך understanding that today’s Israeli consumer is looking for much more than another vacation booking site. In an era when the travel world has become complex, expensive and sometimes uncertain, we created for our customers a solution that will accompany them from the search and booking stage all the way to the end of the vacation abroad. Our goal is not only to sell a vacation, but to be partners on the journey, with a package of service, reliability and benefits tailored to today’s Israeli consumer.”
So the next time you are planning a vacation and discover that the road to it has become a project in itself, there may be a simpler way to do it. One that brings everything you need together in one place, from planning to returning home.
To the Time Off platform >>
*Subject to the terms on the Time Off website. Failure to repay the loan or credit may lead to late-payment interest and enforcement proceedings.
