Diners Club has removed the ability to transfer reward points to Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), which recently merged with Marriott Rewards. As of last Thursday, Diners Club Rewards points can also no longer be transferred to American Airlines AAdvantage or EVA Air Infinity MileageLands.
Until recently it had been unclear how Diners Club transfers to Marriott Rewards would work following the Starwood/Marriott merger. It seems Diners Club’s solution is to remove the option altogether. By way of comparison, Amex Membership Rewards points can still be transferred to the combined SPG/Marriott program – but there was a 125% devaluation in the conversion rate.
Very little notice of the change was provided to Australian Diners Club cardholders. Two AFF members reported that they received notification last Tuesday – just two days before the change was implemented.
The change is also bad news for those using Diners Club to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles in Australia. AAdvantage miles are a valuable currency, but are difficult to earn outside of the United States. (Notwithstanding, you can buy AAdvantage miles.) Now, it is no longer possible to transfer points from any Australian credit card reward programs directly to American Airlines AAdvantage. That’s a real shame.
Amex Membership Rewards is now the only Australian credit card program that offers transfers to SPG/Marriott Rewards. Meanwhile, the CommBank Awards program and the Citi Prestige credit card both offer transfers to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands at a 3:1 rate.
Even after these changes, the Diners Club Rewards program still boasts an impressive list of 14 airline, hotel and retail transfer partners:
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Garuda Miles
- Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Malaysia Airlines Enrich
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Virgin Australia Velocity
- IHG Rewards Club
- Flybuys
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: SPG transfers after Marriott merger
