Our readers may recall how frustrated many consumers were when El Al suddenly and without notice announced they were no longer honoring HAS points from HAS credit card holders, even though thousands of consumers had spent years amassing HAS points for the sole purpose of earning tickets to fly to Israel on their airline.
We had pointed to this as just one example of why holding onto airline miles and credit card points are a bad idea and a bad investment. Airlines and credit card companies constantly devalue miles and points by increasing how many miles and points are required for airline tickets.
No one was really sure exactly what had occurred between El Al and HAS in terms of why they were discontinuing the relationship. That was, until recently.
An article appeared in Arutz Sheva announcing that a legal suit had been filed by HAS founder Zev Dobuler, stating that El Al’s “brutal behavior intentionally caused a successful business to collapse, the loss of millions of dollars of investment capital, and the loss of tens of millions of dollars of potential future revenue.” Dobuler’s claim is that once El Al saw how successful a credit card earning El Al tickets could be, it decided to create its own credit card and canceled its arrangement with HAS, knowing that doing so would result in the collapse of the HAS credit card. In its initial response, El Al claimed that HAS owed El Al $2 million and it was for that reason only that they discontinued the relationship.
What makes this lawsuit particularly notable is that it is being backed by First Libra Fund, an investment company that finances legal claims. Although the subject of whether investment funds should be allowed to finance legal proceedings is still very much in question, it appears that both sides are gearing up for battle and that an amicable solution between parties is unlikely. We will be monitoring the situation closely and will be sure to keep our friends and clients updated.
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By Eli Schreiber
