Diners Club Club Rewards - In the last few years, what benefits has Diners Club taken away...

but still insisted on charging the $95 fee ($300 for Carte Blanche)? Here's what I can recall:

1. Reduction of billing cycle from average of 60 days to 30

2. Loss of major airlines in Club Rewards (e.g., United)

3. Loss of personal travel consultant services as part of Club Rewards Tailored Travel

4. Loss of Golf Course Access program for Carte Blanche members

5. Loss of Restaurant Savings Program

6. Reduction in number of participating airport lounges offering free access with card

7. Ending of "In the Club" newsletter in monthly statement

8. Inability for members to switch between Classic and Carte Blanche cards

9. Ending of Club Plus Account with no notice

10. Ending of Annual Account Summary statement (not sure about this one; have requested it a half dozen times with no results)

Am I missing any?

but still insisted on charging the $95 fee ($300 for Carte Blanche)? Here's what I can recall:

1. Reduction of billing cycle from average of 60 days to 30

2. Loss of major airlines in Club Rewards (e.g., United)

3. Loss of personal travel consultant services as part of Club Rewards Tailored Travel

4. Loss of Golf Course Access program for Carte Blanche members

5. Loss of Restaurant Savings Program

6. Reduction in number of participating airport lounges offering free access with card

7. Ending of "In the Club" newsletter in monthly statement

8. Inability for members to switch between Classic and Carte Blanche cards

9. Ending of Club Plus Account with no notice

10. Ending of Annual Account Summary statement (not sure about this one; have requested it a half dozen times with no results)

Am I missing any?

As of this week
- a functioning CSR phone line without an extended wait
- a functioning website that card members can access to pay their bills


I have had my card for almost 20 years, and after this week will empty my rewards into amazon gift cards, and cancel.

I have had my card for almost 20 years, and after this week will empty my rewards into amazon gift cards, and cancel.

According to the new club rewards website, Amazon cards are not available? Can you still get these?

As of this week
- a functioning CSR phone line without an extended wait
- a functioning website that card members can access to pay their bills


I have had my card for almost 20 years, and after this week will empty my rewards into amazon gift cards, and cancel.
Do you also sell your stocks at the bottom of a crash?

See the my post in the other thread. Apparently BMO is working on new features including new types of redemptions. I would at least wait a while for the "ugly transition pains" to sort themselves out and see what the new bank offers once it's got things working again.

In case you haven't been reading the other thread, the things you mentioned above are the side-effects of the switch this past week from Citi to BMO. Obviously the switch didn't go as smootly as they wanted, but it's not a change in policiies, but rather technical issues related to the switch.

I'm not cliaiming that BMO will certainly make the card better. I'm just saying that this period right now is a switchover anamoly, and IMHO you should evaluate BMO's approach to cardmembers only after the switchoever is complete.

Am I missing any?
Yes. The ending of the Citi logo being on anything.

Ie, everything you mentioned except the Club Account ending was done by Citi, who is all gone as of this week.

While it's not the best indication, of course, only the Club Account ending is the work (as far as we can tell) of new owner BMO (or perhaps the transition team?).

Meanwhile, there are already new things added in the past week (ability to see your up-through-today Club Rewards points balance online), and undoubtedly more coming. So I would expect this to be a low point, because everything Citi has done to the card is done and over with, and BMO has not yet had a chance to roll out (and make work) all the new stuff they're planning. (See my post today in the other thread for more on what they're apparently planning.)

but still insisted on charging the $95 fee ($300 for Carte Blanche)? Here's what I can recall:
(...)

2. Loss of major airlines in Club Rewards (e.g., United)
(...)


I thought the dropping of United was done at United's behest, not Diners Club's. If my recollection is correct, then that benefit wasn't "taken away" by Diners Club.

but still insisted on charging the $95 fee ($300 for Carte Blanche)? Here's what I can recall:
...
6. Reduction in number of participating airport lounges offering free access with card
...
Am I missing any?
How is 400 lounges instead of 80 a reduction? :confused:

For my travel patterns, lounge access, and the lounges themselves, have gotten better recently. But as I also have Priority Pass I will be dropping DC if they get around to charging an annual fee for formerly exempt members.

Do you also sell your stocks at the bottom of a crash?



I do if it's right before the company goes bankrupt. Better to get a small return than no return at all.

According to the new club rewards website, Amazon cards are not available? Can you still get these?

Apparently not. A big negative in my opinion. So my back up will be Williams and Sonoma/Home Depot.

but still insisted on charging the $95 fee ($300 for Carte Blanche)? Here's what I can recall:

....

Am I missing any?

--Loss of fee-free use of card outside of the US, with introduction of 3% foreign usage fee

--Loss of fee-free conversion of points of airline miles

How is 400 lounges instead of 80 a reduction? :confused:

My information came from a Diners Club CSR, who stated that although the airport lounge web site lounge lists hundreds of lounges worldwide, only a subset is accessible to U.S. cardmembers. She didn't have an exact count, but said it was "less than a hundred these days..."

The only way to find out is to call Diners Club directly, as many of the lounges have this caveat:

"Cardmembers please check with your issuer for terms and conditions of lounge access"

I think it has to do with some lounges only allowing access for those with pure Diners Club cards issued outside the U.S. (and I think starting with a 3 or 6), versus the U.S. Diners Club cards co-branded as MasterCards starting with a 5. Apparently since the local franchise subsidizes the lounges, it gets to set the access protocol.

I thought the dropping of United was done at United's behest, not Diners Club's. If my recollection is correct, then that benefit wasn't "taken away" by Diners Club.

I think you are correct. Once Diners Club became a MasterCard, I am sure United pulled out of Club Rewards redemption, so as not to affect its close relationship with Chase and its suite of Mileage Plus Visa affinity cards.

However, I think it's a matter of semantics as to whether Diners Club or UA "took away" the benefit. The fact is that a points-to-UA miles conversion no longer exists.

As a one-time GS UA customer, that was huge for me.