I'm not so sure it's worth it for me to argue with Dan, but here goes. I did research into the HAS card today and found out the following:
Using the HAS card you get a point for every dollar spent, with a few stores offering 2 points per dollar spent.
The points transfer at a 40:1 ratio into Matmid, so 56,000 HAS points transfers into 1,400 Matmid (enough for a coach RT ticket), 120,000 transfers to 3,000 (enough for a RT Biz ticket) and 200,000 transfers to 5,000 (enough for a RT First Class ticket).
You need to have at least 2,500 HAS points to do a transfer, but transfers can be done with a minimum of only 40 HAS points, so if you are short 5 Matmid points, you simply transfer 200 HAS.
Transfers take 7-10 days but for $50 you can get them to transfer within 48 hours.
Transfers can go into ANY Matmid account, even if it's not in your name.
There is no Annual Fee
The Signature card offers no pre-set credit limit, and almost all the advantages of any other Visa Signature card. I have yet to figure out if it offers Purchase Protection and an additional year of Warranty like most other Visa Signature Cards.
Having stated all this, I feel that the HAS card is an awesome card for someone who lives in NY area and is constantly flying to E"Y. As for coach, you will not find any other program that after $56,000 of spending you can get a RT direct ticket to E"Y. With business coming up at $120,000 of spending, there is the same option of getting a Continental 120,000 mile ticket in Continental's Business First, but with CO, the SaverPass Awards are rarely available from a non-platinum account, and the SPG AMEX doesn't transfer well into Continental anyway. With First Class at $200,000 in spending, that is more than A"A would charge you to fly first (180,000), but then again, with A"A you will usually end up having to fly through LHR because of the limited availability that ElAl gives to A"A on their flights. And once you are trying to get on an ElAl direct flight from EWR or JFK, your best option for availability is to book directly with Matmid points. Another great thing about having Matmid points at your disposal, is using them on an upgradeable fare and using 1,400 points to upgrade your ticket to Business Class. Lastly, if you normally transfer from AMEX to Matmid at 70:1, this is a much better transfer ratio.
Dan, I am looking forward to hearing your rebuttal on the matter. I'm pretty sure I'm in for a beating from you.