Several readers have asked what they can do about being told there is a $20 fee for getting seat assignments or even requesting mehadrin kosher meals on El Al tickets bought with Qantas points.
Luckily the workaround is simple.
Only El Al’s US office is charging that fee.
You can call El Al in Israel at +972-3-9771111 and you won’t have to pay the $20 fee. You can call via Google Voice for 2 cents/minute.
Alternatively, you can Whatsapp El Al for free at +972-53-566-3033. Not all El Al Whatsapp agents speak English, so you may have to use Google Translate to write in Hebrew.
In general, it’s worth going to El Al Israel for customer service issues instead of El Al USA.
Have you been able to avoid these fees?
Leave a Reply
28 Comments On "Reader Question: How Do I Avoid El Al Fees For Seat Assignments On Qantas Booked Flights?"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
Never had an issue. Always whatsapped their contact #. Quick nd easy
Tried a few times successfully, but you need to contact them Business hours Israel local time
When calling or texting Israel on Friday or Erev Yom Tov, remember to calculate the time difference. You don’t want to accidentally call them on Shabbos or Yom Tov.
I did SMS with Qantas and there was no charge.
SMS Qantas # is – 478-772-6827
If you want a kosher meal, you should confirm with elal
did this a couple of times as well and was always successful
Is this a US number?
yes
Is ElAl still blocking most available flights on Qantas? Sitting on 530k Qantas points.
Hi Avi
I could buy off your 530k Qantas points
How can I contact you?
Perfect! Right on time, just booked El Al PE with Qantas. One note, El Al is blocking business awards on flights to San Francisco. Anyway, 93k Qantas points that’s a lot for Premium Economy.
Sell them
hi dan. wrong place for this but i cant find how to ask a general question. i’ve been banned from target.com cause they decided i’m a reseller. heres my order history- 4 boxes of up & up diapers, 1 ipad, 1 playstation, 4 boxes of up & up diapers, 3 packages of bounty paper towel!! Is this a common thing and is there anything to do about it? I’ve tried calling customer service & corporate but I’ve gotten nowhere. So frustrating!! #bantarget
@hii ask in the forums
Post here
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?board=1.0
SMS Qantas # is – 478-772-6827
Is this a US number or Ausie?
us
I always just did it online
1 (800) 223-6700 is the us tel csts. Not sure exactly to which department it reaches acording to which menu choice you select.
Still never found a direct elal flight (economy) on Qantas!
I did it through Quantos for no cost, both the seat and meal
You can call the US number on weekends or after hours and it goes through to the Israel office. That’s how I reserved seats twice.
Very easy, just don’t fly ElAl.
anyone want to buy qantas points?
i
This same “workaround” worked for me for many other issues as well…
Bottom line: El Al USA office is horrible of the horrible, to avoid at all costs
dont fly with tis MCHALly SHABOSSYM
Just booked 2 LY tickets through QF, was able to choose seats and reserve kosher meals on elal.com no problems