Diners Club Club Rewards - Diners Club - Egypt

Just got a call from Commercial International Bank saying that they're cancelling all Diners Club cards and will issue Mastercard replacements immediately. The lady said that people have been getting many complaints about the card not being accepted abroad.
Called the other bank that issues them in Egypt (National Bank of Egypt) and they said they're not issuing new cards.
1)Anyone know what is going on? Is Diners Club pulling out of here? What about other countries in the Middle East?

2)I'm *G, so the diners club was good for accessing some lounges when not traveling with star. Any recommendations by members in the region about another good card with lounge access?

Citigroup made the same change to US Diners Club several years ago when they owned the franchise. They switched to a Diners Club branded Mastercard. All of the benefits and weaknesses stayed the same, with an occasional addition or deletion to Club Rewards partners.

The reason was lack of acceptance of DC in many places.

You can read the other threads here to learn what happened after BMO bought the franchise.

...cancelling all Diners Club cards and will issue Mastercard replacements immediately.

Citigroup maed the same change to US Diners Club several years ago ...

It does not sound as if the Egyptian franchisee will be issuing Diners Club branded MasterCards, but rather that they are ending their relationship with Diners Club. It is unlikely that the new owners of Diners Club International will permit any other franchises to switch to another network. However, the bank could easily offer a lounge access benefit similar to Diners by bundling a PriorityPass membership.

Yup, as Mia said they seem to be cancelling their agreement with Diners all together. Tried calling Diners club's number in Egypt but no answer. Would suck to see Diners pull out of Egypt. Hopefully they'd be able to strike a deal with any of the other banks. Any idea who one should contact to get more information about what Diners Club's strategy for this market will be?

Any idea who one should contact...

Not specifically, but Diners Club International (http://www.dinersclub.com/about-us.html)is now owned by the USA-based card issuer Discover Financial Services (http://www.discoverfinancial.com/company/business.shtml#fragment-1). Diners Club International does not issue cards, they own the transaction processing network and license banks to issue cards.

Have you tried all the numbers listed here?

http://www.dinersclub.com/customer-service/detail.html?country=Egypt&x=12&y=6

I was finally able to get through to the DC office in Cairo, and the lady wasn't aware of any of the cards being cancelled. She also said my card is still valid. I think there's a communication problem going on somewhere. Or perhaps the bank is trying to pressure DC on certain points.