Increased Redemption Points

[DitchDiners]

Has anyone noticed that Diners has markedly increased the number of rewards points required to purchase an item? As an example, a $500 Wish Gift card requires 80,000 points, where last month you only required 62,400. That is an increase of over 28% or you need to spend another $17,600 (dollar per point) for that item.

Is Diners trying to lose all of its customers? There is no incentive to stay with this program when Amex has an equivalent $500 gift card for 62,500 points.

And then there is the surcharge issue that more and more merchants are getting on board because Diners charge them obviously too much (or is that just an lame excuse for the retailer to scum more money from the already stretched consumer). I went to purchase a mattress last week using my Diners and they wanted to add a 5% surcharge on a $2200 selling figure.

Why am I paying rewards and membership fees and getting a poor return? Good bye Diners. You won't be able to butter me up with your membership fee waiver and three months double points like last time I attempted to cancel my cards.

Everyone else should ditch Diners in protest. Their rewards program is a joke.

[rwatts]

About 18 months ago I posted on this forum a rumour posted to Crikey.com that Diners would be out of Australia by the end of that year.

Obviously it didn't happen but presumably things were shaky at that time (smoke<=>fire). It would not surprise me if Diners in Australia were not being kept going primarily due to it supplying the Defence Travel Card.

Richard.

[BAM1748]

After using Diners for more than 10 years, I spoke to them last week advising I would likely be cancelling my account this month because I wasn't happy with a couple of things one of which being the fact that when you call you always got India and I wanted to speak to someone in Melbourne and they could never transfer me back.

Good bye Diners indeed.

[vet]

I was recently at an Amex function with restaurants. The sods on some tables were so proud they knocked Amex down from, they claimed, 7% to 5%. But most others were on lower rates of 2.55% that, as part of the 5k/5t etc promo, were now on .89, .99%, 1.25% and 1.99%. M'thinks Amex saw the light. Maybe Diners will go the way of the diner-saurs.

[DitchDiners]

Interesting comment rwatts as per:

"It would not surprise me if Diners in Australia were not being kept going primarily due to it supplying the Defence Travel Card".

Our national police agency last year also ditched Diners for a more convenient and user friendly credit card.

It will be interesting to see if that rumour of Diners departing our shores is true.

[kpc]

Still has the best transfer ratio to spg tho @2:1

[albatross710]

As a merchant we rarely see any Diners cards and we sell premium products. I think they have lost their way. They have the highest merchant fee and the slowest settlement (4-5 days).

No tears here.

[Gordon]

Last year, I worked for NSW Dept. of Community Services ( DoCS ).
DoCS use Diners for their travel requirements.
' Best available rate ' airfares go on it, as do rental cars, and 'emergency accommodation' in hotels.

I recall seeing a 'booking fee' of $55.00 per transaction on an account.

Here's an example of how the 'smart' managers best use our tax dollars.....

Staff require to escort child from Sydney to Perth.

Diners booking per adult = $2,650. each ( return + booking fee )
If staff booked their own fare, via Red E-deal online.... cost = $209. each way.
Staff get to keep QFF points etc.

but no, we had to go with bloody Virg*n, and pay 'business class' prices, at the economy service !! and the NSW Tax Payers covered the tab !!

Apparently, Virg*n was the 'flavour of the month' somehow. It's a bit like a Govt. Dept. stating, that all service vehicle fuel MUST be paid for this month with the XXX card, and not the ZZZ card.

( .... and yes, they don't like staff ' shooting their mouth off ' )

regards,