tsastor

I wonder if this new card will increase or decrease the chances of finally having a Diners club lounge at HEL. It seems that Helsinki, with Oslo, is almost the last of the European capitals to not have one.

HELflyer

When comparing the cards, note that AmEx MR points also convert to BA Miles or Flying Blue points (at the same 5:4 rate), Continental or Delta miles (at 3:2) or Iberia points (18:1 - I don't know their program so no idea if that's a good rate or not) - AND you can keep the MR points on your account indefinitely long (they don't expire) and only transfer them to your airline of choice when you need them. With the obvious risk of course that an airline could end their MR partnership at any time (leaving you with the unused MR points if you didn't convert them yet).

The basic Green Card earns 1 MR for 1€, Gold Card earns 2 MR/€ for gas and groceries (whatever the definition) and 1 MR/€ for everything else. So depending on the card and what you buy, you get between 0.8 and 1.6 EB, BA or FlyingBlue points/miles per €.

I think even at 0.8 vs 1 point per €, I'd prefer AmEx over the EB MC due to the flexibility, but then again I don't fly much *A.

The new Finnair DC still does look like a pretty good deal, in a very rough comparison that's equivalent to between 1.25 and 1.875 miles per € (though of course to judge the value properly you should compare the redemption value of the points, not the distance you'd need to fly for the same earnings).

Are the Diners lounges any good? Especially on non-OW routes ex-HEL, or *A/other dominated airports where they don't have a decent OW lounge.

WilcoRoger

I used the one in VIE - pales in comparison to the SEN or even the *A biz lounge there. In AMS I think it's the same contract lounge that AY uses (Menzies?) In BUD, I think it's the SONY lounge (one of the 2 MA lounges in T2A) where you get access with the right colour OW anyway

TTL

Thinking of the cost of credit cards in Finland might give some more perspective.

For Platinum Amex the annual fee is €550. For that you get two platinum cards (for yourself and your spouse) and five gold cards (for the luckiest ones of your children). Plus two PriorityPass Prestige cards equaling two sets of free lounge entries to any of the PP lounges anywhere. Plus a very well covering travel insurance for the entire bunch of 7.

For DC Premium the annual fee is €200. For that you get one Premium DC card with a revolving credit of €10 000 and a GlobeCard Gold MasterCard with a spending limit of €10 000 (but better use it for incidentals only, since the bill is due in full amount every month). Plus entry to some DC lounges (that I have not ever used - and think I will not be using too much in the near future either). Plus a very well covering travel insurance for the card holder. It did have the advantage of ensuing the EBG status, but that advantage is by now gone.

"Regular" VISAs and MCs... Do bother only to have the S-Bank VISA. which gives you S-rebates up to 5% and 0.5% payment type rebate, when doing business in the S-chain in Finland. No annual fee and maximum revolving credit limit of €5 000. Or, in case you have your banking business in OP, why not have the combined OP-VISA with a K-plus account. No annual fee if you do enough banking during the year. It might help purchasing Baltic herring 50% off the market price (or a 50" LCD TV or a 15 megapixel digital camera).

After all it is cash that counts, even if it were just numbers on your banking account !

TapioR

I sent a message to Finavia last week through the feedback form on helsinki-vantaa.fi.
I simply stated that there are three airports among the 30 largest in Europe that do not have a Diners lounge. The airports are HEL, MXP and OSL. I asked if HEL stills wants to belong to that group?

I received a reply that my wish will be taken into consideration in future planning and that my message has been forwarded to one of the directors.

HELflyer

I agree about the S-Bank Visa, and another basic card worth having (at least if you live or frequently visit anywhere near their department stores) is the Stockmann MasterCard - also free so why not take it as a backup card, and if you put enough money through it to get their "exclusive" status, you are entitled to two 10% discount shopping days a year.

The OP-Bank "discounts" and various "waived fees" if you have enough business with them are an illusion and a marketing gimmick though, aren't they? Or at least I thought the discounts are through bonuses that you earn, but any bonus not used to pay for their services is credited to your bank account, so it's the same as if you paid money for the services in the first place.

Perhaps getting a bit off-topic (sorry), but at least a baseline for what to compare the airline and reward program cards against... depends on how much you would spend on the card and how much you value the earned miles/points, to decide if it's worth paying the yearly fees. Diners lounge access could be nice to have though, and worth something on its own, when flying airlines you don't have status with.

I hadn't realized that Platinum AmEx included Priority Passes, though I don't think that (plus other benefits) is worth 550€ a year to me, and I also don't think I would be spending enough to get them waive the Platinum fee.

WilcoRoger

Well, I wouldn't be ready to give up the MR points (or AY for that matter) for a 0,5% rebate. You can get the up to 5% rebate using a "S-bonus card" and/or the "K-plussa card"* and paying for your purchases with your favourite mileage earning card - this is FT, after all, isn't it?

*Totally off-topic, sorry
For those who may not know, the K-supermarket in Jumbo gives up to 4% instant rebate on check-out for K-plussa card holders, the 4% kicking in at over 200€ grocery (non cumulative, one-time sums) This is the shopkeeper's initiative and has been going on for a few years now.

This comes on top of the regular K-plussa rebates, so we are looking at an up to 9% rebate on groceries (+miles )

Diners Club Finland rep

Hello,

All versions of printable Finnair Plus Diners Club applications now include return address.

You can now also apply online using your Finnish digital bank signature.

Best Regards,
Diners Club Finland customer service

WilcoRoger

Welcome to FT, good to see you here.

Too bad the online application fails on the digital bank signature phase with a friendly "We are experiencing technical difficulties. We are currently unable to handle your application. We will contact you by email as soon as possible." message

Richie

Welcome,

As you might have noticed, there are plenty of travelers who wish Diners Club lounge to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Could you please be so kind and forward that wish within your organisation, thank you.

I will apply for DC, if there will be a DC lounge in HEL

-R

Helsinki Flyer

Hear, hear. ^

nordic

The number of lounges in Europe was a surprise to me. Few years ago the lounges in Germany and Amsterdam were shut down. When were they reopened?

Helsinki Flyer

The SAS-co-branded DC will start earning 1 EB-point/€, instead of the previous DC-reward point/€. Is that a good thing or not? I don´t know.

tsastor

During last year the lounge program was expanded dramatically, probably as a result of the sale of the business and the franchises by Citibank to new owners. At the same time access to previous lounges in e.g. Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands were reinstated.

JMA84

I just realized that this might be more appropriate in this thread, sorry for the copy-paste:

"I'm actually facing a similar issue. What prompted this inquiry, was the change to the Diners club-rules which makes me only collect Eurobonus-points. I don't know if this is a good thing, though.

Currently I have around 28k AY points (although the website only lists 3 flights and around 8k points? I wonder where the rest is coming from)

I also have around 6k SAS points, and an Eurobonus Diners club.

My flying habits: Around 10-15 return flights in the Nordics per year (work-related so ticket doesn't have to be the cheapest, homebase is Helsinki) and then 2-3 personal flights around Europe or intercontinental. Lounge access is nice, but I also like the points. I don't care so much for "status" or the supposed better treatment you receive with it.

Which program gives me the most bang for the point? I would get 2 points per euro on the Diners Club with Finnair, but if those are worth less than half of eurobonus-points...


Thanks for the help!