tmiw

I saw the equivalent thread over in the Chase forum for the CSP so I figured Diner's Club needed one too. Unfortunately BMO doesn't seem to allow product changes from what I've read even though they don't have a no-AF product to downgrade to.

Anyway, I have the Premier and I like some aspects of it, though I'm not sure yet about paying the AF for year 2. Recently I used it for a Silvercar rental because their primary CDW coverage was a lot less ambiguous about covering their Audi A4s compared to Chase's. OTOH it's possible Chase would have had no problems if I called and cleared it with them first and I would have gotten 2x UR points for travel.

The chip being PIN preferring is also nice too (and was the primary reason for getting the card) but to be honest I'm not sure that's really needed for international travel other than to "blend in" with the locals and make certain use cases (like self-checkouts) less of a hassle. PIN does provide the cardholder more time to contact BMO to get the card cancelled but the thief can just tap the card for small purchases to get around that. And I've had a couple of negative experiences when using the chip domestically which has started to make me wonder whether chip and signature will actually be easier to use in the US.

What do other cardholders think? Are you going to keep your card beyond the first year? Something to keep in mind too is that I've heard that BMO has no plans to ever bring back applications for the cards (though this hasn't been confirmed by them publicly).

uklevi

Keep. I love my card and the chip and PIN and no FTF. I don't like chip and sign. Rewards are fine. I like blending in. Enough said.

I do think BMO will bring back the applications. I don't know why they'd spend all the time and effort developing the cards and releasing them only to take them off the market permanently. I think they were overwhelmed and the application process was flawed. Now that they are reducing cash advance limits I believe they are on the right track towards fixing. I think they will relaunch by the end of the year (If I'm wrong I'm sorry) but with no Elite card. (BMO must have had no idea about MS.)

sdsearch

Well, keep in mind they never brought back the Professional card applications in the first place. So they do have a track record of not bringing something back.

uklevi

If they do they do if they don't they don't. Simple as that I suppose. I'd argue that they never brought back the Professional card applications because they were designing the Consumer cards.

rymetymeuk

I got my cash limit slashed from 50k to 10k. i am actually pretty happy about it, when I had called to get it reduced to $0 they had said it wasn't possible.

either way, I like my Elite card, even though Target is gone.

tmiw

They weren't willing to reduce it even to a token amount (like $2-300)? In any case, still better than no reduction like you said.

rymetymeuk

no they couldn't reduce it to anything lol crazy. you'd have thought they'd be like "Sure, thanks for helping us reduce our exposure"!

eajusa

If you know the history of Diners Club, you will realize that the card is a shell of its original self. I have read that some older card holders have a sentimental attachment to it. I can't let sentiment waste my money. The chip and pin, for the few times I might need it, is not enough to justify the $95 AF. My United card has primary car rental insurance. The highest transfer ratio is 1:2.64 for Best Western Rewards which I seldom use; and at that rate you still have to spend $12K to cover the AF, since I value BWR at .8125 cents per point. So, I will cancel my account before AF comes round again. I imagine there's no prorated AF refund with BMO, so I have until December to cancel.

sdsearch

Well, if you pay the annual fee to keep the United card, I see your point. And if you live in Pennsylvania, then I understand you ignoring the fact that transfers to AS are 1:1 and if you lived in a city served by AS (given that redemptions on AS are limited to one partner only) then you might find AS miles more valuable than 2.1 cents, which would put the value (after conversion from DC) ahead of what you value BW points at.

In my case, I don't keep most of the cards that have primary car rental insurance except this one. The other ones I churn (I had a United card for a year but cancelled when the annual fee hit). So this is the one I keep. It's not really sentimental value, it's just why not churn the cards I can churn and keep the card I can't churn anyway?

Also, in my case, I use Club Rewards points to "top off" what I need to top off, more than outright bulk transfers. Without bothering to calculate CPMs, I needed 10k more BW points than I had, so I transferred a few thousand Club Rewards points to BW. I'm using BW points this year for a mix of hotels with varying daily rates, so I can't be bothered to evaluate except CPM, my simple calculation is that these hotels (and other hotels in their area that I might consider) cost more than I want to pay cash, and BW is the only points hotel in the area, and the redemption rate is reasonable for that area. (For example, BW is the only chain hotel right now in Seward, Alaska, and yes it's 36000 points per night but it's also $300ish per night before taxes in the middle of summer. And I need several nights there because of different daylong activities I want to do based from there, which I can't do from Anchorage where there are more hotel choices.)