HAS Advantage files 21 Million Dollar lawsuit against EL AL
Tel Aviv, Israel (November 2015) - $20.8MM lawsuit brought against EL AL for causing the collapse of HAS Advantage, the first ever support Israel credit card with almost 30,000 members. Almost $10MM of investment capital has been lost as well as over a decade of life’s work of the founder, Zev Dobuler.
According to HAS’ Founder & CEO, Zev Dobuler, EL AL breached multiple agreements with HAS causing it to collapse, unlawfully profited from HAS and illegally used HAS ideas and business models presented to them for a joint venture, for use in their Israeli credit card, the FLY CARD.
According to HAS’ Founder & CEO, Zev Dobuler, EL AL breached multiple agreements with HAS causing it to collapse, unlawfully profited from HAS and illegally used HAS ideas and business models presented to them for a joint venture, for use in their Israeli credit card, the FLY CARD.
Statement from HAS Founder & CEO, Zev Dobuler
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Dear Former HAS Advantage Cardholders,
It has been an honor serving as the Founder and CEO of HAS Advantage, a great company with great customers; customers who not only held Israel in their hearts, but in their pockets as well. HAS has been my life’s work. As someone who made Aliyah from Far Rockaway NY in 1990, I’ve always dreamt of building bridges between Israel and its supporters around the globe. HAS was the brainchild of this dream. Since envisioning the concept in 2002, as a young 24 year old just out of the IDF, I invested every ounce of my strength and effort into creating and launching HAS. HAS encompassed travel to Israel, support of Israel and promotion of blue and white products. To date, we donated almost $1MM to charity and sent thousands of customers to Israel on Bonus Tickets. |
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When HAS unraveled last year, I held back from releasing any statements about what happened, as I was doing everything possible to try and settle the dispute with EL AL. Releasing any information would have only pushed a potential resolution further away. Ultimately, after many attempts to resolve this matter over the last 18 months, EL AL continually declined to reach a resolution and as a result on November 3, 2015 HAS filed a $20.8MM lawsuit against EL AL in Israel. The lawsuit and the details have now become public knowledge.
You can click here to read an article from the Jewish Press explaining about the lawsuit in more detail.
To summarize: In July 2012, EL AL approached HAS and requested to partner with it to issue a joint HAS EL AL credit card called the “EL AL Advantage” card. The joint credit card was a win-win for HAS, EL AL, cardholders and partner HAS charities. Unfortunately, the joint card became the basis of a dispute between the two companies which caused HAS to collapse at the hands of EL AL.
It’s a shame that the “EL AL Advantage” card never came to fruition and that EL AL wasn’t willing to implement what had been agreed upon in order to jointly launch the card. HAS negotiated the joint card with the best intentions in mind for our cardholders and partners.
May cooler minds prevail in all your dealings. I want to thank you for your membership and hope that one day we may work together again.
You can click here to read an article from the Jewish Press explaining about the lawsuit in more detail.
To summarize: In July 2012, EL AL approached HAS and requested to partner with it to issue a joint HAS EL AL credit card called the “EL AL Advantage” card. The joint credit card was a win-win for HAS, EL AL, cardholders and partner HAS charities. Unfortunately, the joint card became the basis of a dispute between the two companies which caused HAS to collapse at the hands of EL AL.
It’s a shame that the “EL AL Advantage” card never came to fruition and that EL AL wasn’t willing to implement what had been agreed upon in order to jointly launch the card. HAS negotiated the joint card with the best intentions in mind for our cardholders and partners.
May cooler minds prevail in all your dealings. I want to thank you for your membership and hope that one day we may work together again.
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With Admiration and Love of Israel,
Zev Dobuler HAS Founder & CEO |
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Important Notice to Cardholders:
Unfortunately, due to a legal dispute with EL AL, US Bank has terminated the HAS Advantage program. HAS Advantage and US Bank are no longer affiliated as of April 2014. This website reflects the HAS Advantage program as it was until April 2014. US Bank has issued all former HAS cardholders a new US Bank credit card. Please contact US Bank at 1-866-322-7989 with any question you may have about your new card including points and benefits. We very much appreciated your business and we're so sorry this has happened.
Unfortunately, due to a legal dispute with EL AL, US Bank has terminated the HAS Advantage program. HAS Advantage and US Bank are no longer affiliated as of April 2014. This website reflects the HAS Advantage program as it was until April 2014. US Bank has issued all former HAS cardholders a new US Bank credit card. Please contact US Bank at 1-866-322-7989 with any question you may have about your new card including points and benefits. We very much appreciated your business and we're so sorry this has happened.