Max Credit Card Launches Direct Attack on Competitors in Israel's Travel Sector

Max credit card company officially entered the competitive battle over Israel's travel and tourism credit card market with a new advertising campaign launched on Monday. Featuring presenters Lucy Ayoub and Shahar Hason, the campaign directly targets Max's two main competitors, CAL and Isracard, criticizing the Diners Club card issued by CAL and the limitations of the Fly Card loyalty program. The industry conflict began months ago when Isracard took over the management of El Al's "Frequent Flyer" program and the flagship Fly Card from CAL, which has about 550,000 customers.

The competition quickly escalated into a marketing war involving high-profile endorsers such as NBA player Deni Avdija and singer Niv Sultan for Isracard, and Gal Malka and Matan Peretz for CAL, alongside legal disputes including injunctions and accusations of false advertising. Max, which has operated the Sky Max card for several years, intensified its marketing recently but avoided direct confrontation until now.

In the new campaign, Max avoids naming competitors explicitly but clearly targets both fronts. Ayoub highlights that one competitor offers a credit card with points limited to a single airline and restricted seats and destinations, referring to El Al's frequent flyer program. The ad then criticizes CAL's FlyAll club, which relies heavily on the Diners brand and restricts card acceptance at many merchants. Hason concludes with the slogan, "Not accepted? That’s not respectful."

Max's main argument focuses on Diners Club's closed network model, where the same company handles card issuance and merchant processing, resulting in higher merchant fees (1.5% to 2%) compared to Visa and Mastercard's average 0.68%. These high fees allow CAL to offer attractive cashback and point accumulation rates but lead many small businesses in Israel (estimated 30%-40%) and Europe to refuse Diners cards. Although FlyAll also issues Mastercard cards, key benefits and point accrual are tied to the Diners option.

Max claims that limited card acceptance reduces the effective point accumulation for customers and accuses CAL of not transparently disclosing these restrictions. CAL responded by praising FlyAll's rapid growth to over 100,000 customers in 45 days and called Max's claims misleading, urging consumers to compare offers to find the best travel deals. Max countered by emphasizing that Diners cards are widely not accepted, while Sky Max offers unrestricted airline points accumulation.