Israel’s credit card sector is still reeling from the takeover of El Al’s frequent flyer’s club credit card FlyCard by Isracard (TASE: ISCD) from ICC CAL. The credit sector is now looking at the next obvious growth development – the loyalty club of Hungarian low-cost giant Wizz Air is set to establish a hub at Ben Gurion airport.
“Globes” has learned that, along with Israeli credit card companies ICC CAL and MAX, Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) is also expected to try to win exclusivity on the card. Leumi’s participation in the race has surprised senior figures in the industry.
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Sources have also told “Globes” that ICC CAL tried to convince the Hungarians to forgo the tender and grant it exclusive rights to the card directly. ICC-CAL’s efforts to persuade Wizz Air are on the grounds that it has gained experience from its long-standing cooperation with El Al on Fly Card, and that it has an existing operational infrastructure in place.
The great interest in the credit card industry stirred up in Wizz Air’s Israel loyalty club, which has not yet been established, is the huge potential of such an endeavor. Even before setting up its hub, the Hungarian low-cost carrier has in recent years been the biggest foreign airline operating at Ben Gurion Airport, and Wizz Air will grow in significance after receiving the flight slots of Ryanair, which has not yet resumed operations in Israel. The hub will also allow Wizz Air to compete head-on with Israeli airlines.
The Israeli credit card industry sees the new club as an opportunity to recreate the success of El Al’s frequent flyer club, which was recently valued at more than NIS 2.7 billion, more than double its valuation in 2022, making it the most valuable customer loyalty club in Israel.
Bank Leumi declined to comment on this report.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on April 30, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.
