Still Value in Diners?

[TonyHancock]

This is becoming more complicated than a Fred Perry tasting menu........but dare I say more interesting!!

So.....I think there is still some value left in Diners. :shock: :shock: :shock:

The Amex Plat charge is my go to card for restaurants, 3 points per $, travel 2 points per $ and overseas transactions 2 points per $, and now ATO with a paltry 0.5 points per $.

Diners 2 points per $ works at Supermarkets, Petrol Stations, and anywhere else where Amex only offers 1 point per $.

The MasterCard that comes with diners is only of use where neither Amex or Diners is accepted.

This is based on transfer to SPG and then on to BAEC.

Am I missing something? I must be.

 

[andye]

Was interested to see that the Diners dual scores a 5* rating at Canstar.

 

[albyd]

I wonder how much they paid for that

 

[andye]

Its interesting because by the maths, the DC earn isnt too bad. It's just the acceptance issues, the DC v Explorer or Accelerator comparison & the pitiful Mc earn that means it doesn't make sense (for me anyway) . The other 5*s earn their place

 

[Jamesaurus]

My thinking is this,
Pros:
Competitive points earn for QF: Diners Club
Travel insurance

Cons:
No sign up points despite annual fee
Just Brisbane and Darwin airport lounges?

Overall I'm not rushing out to nab these cards when considering others on the market..

 

[Happy Trails]

We have a longstanding yearly ritual whereby I call up to cancel and they bung me 5000 points and refund the annual fee.
Still have to pay the $55 QF 'reward' fee though.

 

[albyd]

How much do you spend on your DC to get annual fee waived Happy Trails?

I’d spent about $200k and was getting fee waivers until last year when they reluctantly reduced by 50%.

Haven’t used it anymore since the devaluation & wasn’t expecting to get any concessions. Will ask when my renewal statement arrives before deciding whether to can it or downgrade it to the basic non points earn DC.

I’ve saved a lot of money in annual fees since July. Long may Amex continue to bring in the points

 

[CaptJCool]

[have had this card since Ansett Golden Wing days

The relatively cheap fee plus 2.1 QF spend works fine. While I earn a healthy clip, child Support and mortgages don't earn any points so I work within my spending envelope.

I try different TRAVEL providers to work the system because there's no loyalty on their part. Neither is there on the card companies offering incentives to churn. While those of us who didn't churn missed out. So much for them rewarding loyalty.

At least most of the airlines "reward loyalty"
QF issue is when business spends other people's money they aren't loyal when it comes to their OWN CASH

 

[Happy Trails]

How much do you spend on your DC to get annual fee waived Happy Trails?

I’d spent about $200k and was getting fee waivers until last year when they reluctantly reduced by 50%.

Haven’t used it anymore since the devaluation & wasn’t expecting to get any concessions. Will ask when my renewal statement arrives before deciding whether to can it or downgrade it to the basic non points earn DC.

I’ve saved a lot of money in annual fees since July. Long may Amex continue to bring in the points

I've spent next to nothing on it the past several years so I'm a little surprised they've bothered to retain to retain me.
By the the same token I guess I don't cost them much either and it keeps up their numbers.
It's worth hanging on to for the occasional lounge access and I've had it for nearly 30 years so perhaps there's some sentimental value there too.

 

[albyd]

I've spent next to nothing on it the past several years so I'm a little surprised they've bothered to retain to retain me.
By the the same token I guess I don't cost them much either and it keeps up their numbers.
It's worth hanging on to for the occasional lounge access and I've had it for nearly 30 years so perhaps there's some sentimental value there too.

Thanks for the heads up HT. How do you go about gettin the annual fee waiver? What do you usually say when you call up for a fee waiver? Obviously what I’m saying isn’t cutting it.

 

[Happy Trails]

Thanks for the heads up HT. How do you go about gettin the annual fee waiver? What do you usually say when you call up for a fee waiver? Obviously what I’m saying isn’t cutting it.

I just say I wish to cancel which gets me immediately transferred to a retention person who lists all the benefits - points, lounges etc.
I counter that I can get more points with other cards and that I rarely need the lounge access so it's not worth paying the annual fee.
They then propose the fee waiver and points bonus which I duly accept.
It's the QF branded card with the lower, $95, fee which I don't know if that makes a difference.

 

[albyd]

I just say I wish to cancel which gets me immediately transferred to a retention person who lists all the benefits - points, lounges etc.
I counter that I can get more points with other cards and that I rarely need the lounge access so it's not worth paying the annual fee.
They then propose the fee waiver and points bonus which I duly accept.
It's the QF branded card with the lower, $95, fee which I don't know if that makes a difference.

I’ve got the ‘rewards’ card. Haven’t been collecting much in the way of QF points on account of my bronze status. May end up converting to the QF one tonoower my cost in the event a waiver isn’t forthcoming.

 

[albyd]

Just thought I’d post my experience with Diners today for those still persisting with it. I spoke with Diners today and indicated I wanted to cancel my card as I’d clearly not used it since July changes came into effect. Told them whilst I understood MC earn rate had to fall with reducing interchange that reducing Diners earn by a third was just profiteering when Diners and Amex were excluded from the changes and Amex had if anything improved their offer.

They wouldn’t budge on a fee reduction beyond 50% on any of the dual card products (including Qantas) but did allow me to downgrade to the basic rewards Diners, waived the annual fee including the rewards fee and gave me 5000 points.

I don’t seem to be having as much luck with deals from Citi (despite putting through some decent spend before the devaluation) as some other AFFers are reporting but happy with this deal since not planning to use the card.

 

[albyd]

Received an email today no more HHonours points from December.

 

[andye]

I came up to annual renewal time. Not spent a $ since being given points to keep the Dual account open 4 months ago.
Asked to cancel. Offered downgrade to DC alone and waived annual fee for me and for mrs andyes supplementary.
Will keep for the lounge access (though I already have priority pass) but doesn't seem to be much in it for Diners

 

[FromTheRail]

I had my fingers crossed, but in the end it's not to be, Diners is dead on the ATO, I did a little test a few months ago and just got the confirmation that no points were received for it, I know they announced it before but sometimes they can say things but for some reason they still work, now its bye bye diners and my ~$250,000 per year spend

 

[Smithy789]

My Diners Card
- earns 2 points per dollar spent. (That may not be true for all DC cardholders)
- converts points to Velocity at 1:1. (It used to be 1.5:1, but the conversion rate appears to have been improved recently)
- and from Velocity to Krisfly at 4:3
- has no annual fee. (Again, that may not be true for all DC holders)
So whilst I can't accrue points by paying the ATO, there is certainly still good value to be found with DC.

 

[AustSerbKor]

With the recent addition of the Rex Lounges in Syd and Mel and the Plaza Lounge in Mel there is getting to be more value in Diners. I mainly use it when transiting through Asia though which makes travelling on varying quality carriers on dirt cheap fares slightly bearable.

 

[TonyHancock]

With the recent addition of the Rex Lounges in Syd and Mel and the Plaza Lounge in Mel there is getting to be more value in Diners. I mainly use it when transiting through Asia though which makes travelling on varying quality carriers on dirt cheap fares slightly bearable.

That is interesting. I just checked PP and still no MEL international lounge although restaurants have been added.

I just spent the evening cleaning up my direct debits and moving them across to 28 Deg MasterCard and Amex. It is the annual cancel the card day tomorrow and I am expecting my cancellation will be accepted.

The value for me has now gone. The reduction in points earn and the reduction in transfer rate to SPG coupled with a now swollen Avios balance means I have little use for Diners these days.

 

[bernardblack]

That is interesting. I just checked PP and still no MEL international lounge although restaurants have been added.

I just spent the evening cleaning up my direct debits and moving them across to 28 Deg MasterCard and Amex. It is the annual cancel the card day tomorrow and I am expecting my cancellation will be accepted.

The value for me has now gone. The reduction in points earn and the reduction in transfer rate to SPG coupled with a now swollen Avios balance means I have little use for Diners these days.

I just had that discussion a couple of weeks ago. I expected them to accept, since I haven't used the card at all since renewing last year except for two lounge visits right about that time where they invalidly charged for my guest. Otherwise I took up the Explorer then and it's better in virtually every scenario.
But, they offered a full fee waiver (including the supp fee) for me to keep it open. So I'm viewing it as a year of free lounge access in the event my booking class and/or other Priority Pass vouchers don't cut it.

 

[TonyHancock]

I just had that discussion a couple of weeks ago. I expected them to accept, since I haven't used the card at all since renewing last year except for two lounge visits right about that time where they invalidly charged for my guest. Otherwise I took up the Explorer then and it's better in virtually every scenario.
But, they offered a full fee waiver (including the supp fee) for me to keep it open. So I'm viewing it as a year of free lounge access in the event my booking class and/or other Priority Pass vouchers don't cut it.

Stone Me! They just waived the $299 fee for another year. Like you say it is free lounge access for a year. (Where PP isn't available)

(Actually Citibank Business did too but I canceled that anyway.)