Diners club companion card

[cfellows]

I can't recall where exactly now, but does anybody else remember seeing somewhere that the diners club card would soon be getting a paywave/paypass/tapngo feature?
I am sure i saw it soon after signing up and receiving my cards

*edit
I just went back through this thread and it seems like in October last year Diners/Citi started sending out new cards to people with paypass. Strange I was already using my diners then and have never received a new card. Is it even worth calling to ask to save 2 seconds each time i use it?

 

[gizzard]

It sounds similar to the wait for an additional card holder to be issued with their Diners card. An unknown amount of time to wait.

 

[Legoman]

After a trip around Asia, I've found that the card is accepted everywhere in Japan with an eftpos terminal, and effectively no-where in Singapore or Malaysia. In the latter 2 countries, terminals which support JCB or UnionPay will bring up a message saying card not supported.

That's odd. Diners Club claims to be a quasi-JCB + UnionPay card.

I'm in South Korea and am finding that the Diners is accepted in virtually every place although they're not quite used to having to swipe cards and look for a chip.

It also claims to be a quasi BC-card for South Korea, so I guess that claim is working.

 

[DeKa]

If you go into the Citi mobile app, you can request a replacement card. That has a chip .. not that it always works.
For some reason you cannot request a replacement card on the Citi website.

Strangely, I could not activate the new card in the app or on the website. I had to call...

 

[DeKa]

Does anyone know when these (Chip & PayPass) Citi Linked Diners will actually work?

They are painful to use at places like Coles.

As you start to swipe, the terminal picks up the PayPass and gives an error. It asks you to swipe or insert the chip. Swiping again gives the same error - so next step is to insert the chip.
Inserting the chip gives another error.
Then, you’re finally able to swipe as the terminal knows the other options aren’t available.

 

[Bagpuss]

Does anyone know when these (Chip & PayPass) Citi Linked Diners will actually work?

They are painful to use at places like Coles.

As you start to swipe, the terminal picks up the PayPass and gives an error. It asks you to swipe or insert the chip. Swiping again gives the same error - so next step is to insert the chip.
Inserting the chip gives another error.
Then, you’re finally able to swipe as the terminal knows the other options aren’t available.

I’ve never had a problem.
You need to insert the card first, then it will prompt to be swiped.
If you just try swiping first it will try a contactless payment and you will have the issues you are experiencing.

 

[VintageDom]

I’ve never had a problem.
You need to insert the card first, then it will prompt to be swiped.
If you just try swiping first it will try a contactless payment and you will have the issues you are experiencing.

Hi Bagpuss, thanks for the tip. I will try that next time.
Hi DeKa, I absolutely aggree about it being painful.
It seems the technology maybe newer than the EFTPOS machines. I find it worse at Coles compared to Woolworths.

 

[DeKa]

Thanks.

I guess it’s like the early days of Amex contactless - it was pretty hit and miss too.

 

[Legoman]

I only have rare reason to try and use the card (acceptability reasons), but when I do, I don't even bother trying paypass at all because I know it won't work and I haven't got the time for the nonsense of arguing with the terminal just to pay for something. I just go straight to mag stripe swipe. Sometimes that is accepted straight away, other times I have to try the chip and then back to swipe again, but either way I am yet to experience the chip (via contact or NFC) ever work. Only the magnetic strip has ever worked for me.

 

[Myztikal_]

FYI, from the Citibank website (Citi Australia - Platinum Card)

Will the Linked Diners Club Card also come with the benefits of a standalone Diners Club Card (e.g. Diners Club lounge access, etc.)?

"No, The Linked Diners Club Card does not have any Diners Club benefits such as lounge access. Card benefits will remain the same as what is available on your Citi Credit Card."

 

[Legoman]

Finally conclusive proof this DIners Club card is NOT foreign exchange fee free as claimed to be (or at least the fee has been rolled into the exchange rate used to hide it).

A few days ago I purchased seat upgrades on a couple of American Airlines flights in the US in $US currency. Both transactions were for exactly US$ 76.87, done within a few minutes of each other, by the same merchant, in the same currency, one with my 28 Degrees MasterCard and the other on the Citibank Diners Club card.

The converted charge to my Mastercard account is A$ 114.09 and on the Diners Club card it is A$ 115.58

Approximately 1.3% worse off by using Diners Club. There are different levels of "fee free" obviously and the 28° version of it is better.

 

[gizzard]

Are you going to take it up with Citi?

 

[Legoman]

Are you going to take it up with Citi?

Pffftttt, no. I'll just use the 28° instead

 

[Myztikal_]

There was a report in another thread that the companion Diners card allowed them lounge access similar to what a standard diners club card would do.

Keen to know if anyone else has attempted to use this and if so, were you charged or did it use up one of your free Priority pass memberships?

 

[p--and--t]

There was a report in another thread that the companion Diners card allowed them lounge access similar to what a standard diners club card would do.

Keen to know if anyone else has attempted to use this and if so, were you charged or did it use up one of your free Priority pass memberships?

I only have experience with the the Diners Qantas Frequent Flyer Card and not any other form of Diners card.

The Diners Qantas Frequent Flyer Card comes at $95 pa

Lounge Access and other benefits additional $55 pa

Secondary card on the same account $50 pa

Secondary card lounge access and other benefits additional $55 pa

Two cards, two sets of benefits 95 + 55 + 50 + 55 = 225 pa

These gives two people unlimited free access to lounges in many hundreds of locations throughout the world for 12 months, free travel insurance (check the T&Cs suit your circumstance) and 1 QFF point per dollar spent unlimited.

For other types of cards I suggest you check their website for the terms and conditions of that specific variety of card.

 

[theblank]

Finally conclusive proof this DIners Club card is NOT foreign exchange fee free as claimed to be (or at least the fee has been rolled into the exchange rate used to hide it).

Yes and No. Citibank are not charging any extra foreign exchange fee, like the 3% they add to the Visa/MC purchases. So Citibank is correct in saying No fee.
But obviously Diners club are taking a cut, before passing on the AUD amount to Citibank.

I think most Diners club users have long known that the currency conversions by them have always had a nice margin.

Approximately 1.3% worse off by using Diners Club. There are different levels of "fee free" obviously and the 28° version of it is better.

yes, this was my conclusion long ago ( possibly about 1.3 give or take a few points, I have forgotten). But I am also very sure the currency conversion is being done on posting date (or 24 hours before) and not transaction date. Its very hard to be conclusive though, as Diners do not publish their conversion rates (nor does Amex) nor do they have any informaiton how its set, unlike Visa/MC

also be aware, Visa/MC set their rates the day before. So that makes it even harder to make comparisons.

 

[Legoman]

Over the days of my purchases up until the reconciled amounts appeared in my accounts, the AUD<->USD exchange rate moved from 67.2c to 67.1c. So negligible a change as to not be statistically significant.

 

[Myztikal_]

I only have experience with the the Diners Qantas Frequent Flyer Card and not any other form of Diners card.

The Diners Qantas Frequent Flyer Card comes at $95 pa

Lounge Access and other benefits additional $55 pa

Secondary card on the same account $50 pa

Secondary card lounge access and other benefits additional $55 pa

Two cards, two sets of benefits 95 + 55 + 50 + 55 = 225 pa

These gives two people unlimited free access to lounges in many hundreds of locations throughout the world for 12 months, free travel insurance (check the T&Cs suit your circumstance) and 1 QFF point per dollar spent unlimited.

For other types of cards I suggest you check their website for the terms and conditions of that specific variety of card.

Thanks, guess there's no such thing as a free lunch

 

[p--and--t]

Thanks, guess there's no such thing as a free lunch

This arrangement works out just fine for my partner and I.

We charge all our woolies, coles, airline purchases and miscellaneous other purchases to the Diners where there is no surcharge which enables us not to exceed our monthly points gathering limit at ANZ (7,000).

On our recent 5 week sojourn overseas we used 14 lounge accesses between us. At an average charge of around $50 per access if we had paid for them, we received a $700 lounge benefit, plus free travel insurance (which we used to pay approx $650) for $225.

 

[coolstepslg]

There was a report in another thread that the companion Diners card allowed them lounge access similar to what a standard diners club card would do.

Keen to know if anyone else has attempted to use this and if so, were you charged or did it use up one of your free Priority pass memberships?

Have also been unable to add the linked Diners Club to PayPal. Also tried directly entering the card number into eBay checkout. Although it accepts the entry as a Diners Club card, eBay returns an error when trying to charge to it.

Will try it at a supermarket next.

There was a report in another thread that the companion Diners card allowed them lounge access similar to what a standard diners club card would do.

Keen to know if anyone else has attempted to use this and if so, were you charged or did it use up one of your free Priority pass memberships?

I have a flight in Saturday and would like to know this too. It would be great if I could use this campanion diners card for lounge access for the kids for fee free? Can anyone thats tried confirm here please? Myztikal do you know the link to the other thread?