Is there any point getting a Diners Club card, the card that time forgot?
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A reader asked me last week to take another look at Diners Club, the charge card that time forgot. As it I haven’t covered it for three years, and it does still offer airline miles as rewards, I thought it made sense.
Most of you will probably have never ever seen a Diners Club card. In London, you are more likely to find a shop accepting China UnionPay cards than Diners Club.
Diners Club was the first real ‘travel and entertainment’ focussed charge card, well before American Express chose to focus on this market. Well before credit cards were first available, the charge cards issued by Diners Club and Amex were the only way to pay for items on plastic.
In recent years ownership has passed from Citi to Discover Financial Services, although the UK operation is a franchise, independently owned by Affiniture Cards since 2012.
A Diners Club personal card will cost you £50 per year. As it is a charge card, you MUST clear your full balance every month. There is no option to pay interest and roll over a balance.
Diners Club in the UK does still operate a loyalty scheme, with some decent partners. However, the earnings rate is very poor.
You earn 1 point for every £5 spent on your card. These transfer to:
- American Airlines (400 points / £2,000 spend = 1,000 miles)
- Hilton HHonors (380 points / £1,900 spend = 2,000 HH points)
- Marriott Rewards (380 points / £1,900 spend = 1,500 Marriott points)
- IHG Rewards Club (280 points / £1,400 spend = 1,500 IHG points)
- Starwood Preferred Guest (380 points / £1,900 spend = 750 SPG points)
Oddly, the website still calls IHG Rewards Club ‘Priority Club’ which has not been the case for a couple of years.
These exchange are roughly 50% as good as you would get from holding an Amex card or a dedicated credit card from one of these programmes.
The only vaguely interesting option is Marriott, because the UK Marriott credit card is no longer available. However, with Marriott in the process of merging with Starwood, anyone keen to boost their Marriott points via card spend should just get the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express and then wait for the points to become transferable.
Diners Club offers airport lounge access – for a fee
Diners Club also has an airport lounge programme.
You get access to 450 airport lounges, in what looks like a cut-down version of the Priority Pass programme. These include the No 1 Traveller lounges at both Gatwick terminals. The fee is £15 per visit which, for many of the lounges they use, is noticeably cheaper than paying on the door.
The £50 Diners Club annual fee is also cheaper than the £69 Priority Pass fee, albeit Priority Pass has a broader lounge network. Both charge £15 per visit.
Is there any point looking at Diners Club?
Not really, in my view. With card acceptance being very poor outside of the hotel and restaurant sector, the rewards programme would need to be exceptionally good to justify getting the card and paying the £50 fee – and it isn’t.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.
Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card
1% cashback uncapped* on all your business spending (T&C apply) Read our full review
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