Tag Archives for diners club.
What are the cards that really offered outsize value and aren’t available anymore, or played a real role in the development of where we are today?
I don’t know how The Points Guy can offer such a list without talking about Diners Club.
In addition to Diners Club, Starwood, and Marriott offers, you can earn 30% additional British Airways miles when transferring Radisson Gold Points to BA by July 20, 2006. (Hat tip to Free Frequent Flyer Miles.)
Some time ago British Airways stopped allowing people to open frequent flyer accounts. Strange, I know. You had to book a full fare coach ticket to be eligible to join Executive Club (and then discount coach tickets still only earn a fraction of flown mileage). At the time I advised folks to just go ahead and open British Airways accounts ‘just in case’. You never know when you might need one, such as when Jaguar was offering 10,000 miles for a test drive (and since you can combine 4 accounts in a household, you could earn 40,000 miles from the simple promotion). It turns out that another way to get a British Airways account is to get a co-branded British Airways Visa. After all, the points you earn from that Visa need somewhere to go.…
Looks like the 50% bonus on Diners Club transfers to British Airways is back, valid between May 1 and August 31, 2006. There’s no information online yet but it’s mentioned in the program insert that comes with March bills. Not as good as the old days where the bonus was 100% during the summer, but better than a hole in the head and a welcome relief considering recent cutbacks in the Diners Club Club Rewards program. I’ll be taking advantage of this one, topping off my BA account for some transatlantic premium class flying… especially since the alternate uses for Diners Club points have dwindled with the departure of United, USAirways, America West, Northwest, and Continental from the program. Update: Details are available on the British Airways website though not yet on the Diners Club…
Colloquy says that the comeback of Diners Club continues, noting that US Diners Club cards will benefit from the global acceptance of Mastercard. They do note the devaluation of Diners Club Club Rewards points vis a vis Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards tickets: Diners Club’s effort to make the card easier to use puts it squarely in the sights of competing card issuers and their airline partners. Southwest Airlines has already raised the number of Diners Club points required for a free ticket: Previously, Diners Club customers had to spend just $16,000 to earn a free Southwest ticket; now they will have to spend $24,000. By contrast, it takes $19,200 in spending on Southwest’s own Bank One credit card to earn a free ticket on the airline. The piece doesn’t mention the devaluation for Priority Club…
Starting April 1st 2500 Diners Club points will yield only 1500 Priority Club points, down from the current 2000. It will also take 3000 Diners Club points for 1 Southwest Rapid Rewards credit, up from 2000. Club Rewards members have until March 31 to redeem at the current rates. Meanwhile, transfers of Club Rewards points between May 1 and August 31 will receive a 50% transfer bonus just like last year. This is something of a disappointment because previous years had seen a 100% summer bonus. Between March 1 and May 31, transfers to USAirways earn a 25% bonus. (Registration required.)
I have long recommended the Diners Club credit card because, despite limited acceptance and a hefty annual fee, the benefits were really unparalleled: an outstanding rewards program, two full billing cycles to pay, free iDine Prime membership, concierge services, and primary rental car insurance. Needless to say, the anticipated linkup between Diners Club and Mastercard had me very excited. If my Diners Club card would get accepted everywhere that takes Mastercard, it would rise to a spot as my #2 credit card (behind the Starwood Amex). However, I’ve been nervous. I assume that the linkup with Mastercard would mean lower interchange fees for Citibank, which issues Diners Club in North America. And with lower fees I imagined cost-cutting from the benefits budget. Diners Club has assured the contrary. I received an information packet in the…
Diners Club is doubling the cashback from its restaurant savings program for your most expensive restaurant visit through the end of 2004. Registration is required. The Restaurant Savings Program is basically iDine, with cashback up to 20% rather than frequent flyer miles as the reward. You eat at a participating restaurant, pay with the card, and the rebate appears on your account statement. This promotion doubles that rebate, meaning savings up to 40% on a single visit. Make your reservation through the Diners Club concierge and you’ll also earn 500 Club Rewards points as part of their current promotion to get you to use their free concierge service. (First 3 uses yield 500 points apiece with 250 points thereafter, up to a maximum of 2000 bonus points per month. The promotion runs through January 31st.)…
Diners Club is offering a 30% bonus on transfers to United through January 15. They’re also offering a 30% bonus on transfers to USAirways through January 31.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
