I received Diner's Club statement and I found some changes on my account: Citibank USA, NA has acquired yopur account from Citibank (South Dakota),NA. As a result of the acqusition, all the references to Citbank (South Dakota), NA in the agreement governing your account now refer to Citibank USA, NA. Notice of change in terms: The Agreement governing to our Diners Club Card is changed as follows: A) Change in Annual Membership Fee: Effective on the closing date of your March 2002 billing statement, the Agreeement is changed to provide that the renewals on or after April 2002, the annual Membership fee for Primary Card is increased to $95. B) Other changes: Effective April 1,2002 the Agreement is changed to provide: 1. The charge we may assess if any check, or similar payment instrument, you sent to us as paymentis not honored is increased to $30. 2. We will not send you a billing statement when the only activity on your account is one or more payments and the closing balance is zero. 3.There may be a delay of up to five days in crediting a payment that is received at an adress other than that provided for on your billing statement or that is not made in accordance with any of our instructions; 4. We will not lose any of our rights under the Agreement if we accept payments that reflect "paid in full" or other restrictive endorsements, unless they are sent to the address shown on your biolling statement under heading "Billing Rights Summary". 5. From time to timewe monitor and record your telephone calls regarding your account to ensure the quality of our service. If you do not wish to accept these changes, you must contact us before April 26,2002 requesting to cancel your account. Call 1-800-2 DINERS (800-234-6377) or include your name, address and account number. Upon receipt of your request, we will cancel your account effective immediately. Use of your card after April 1, 200, will constitue your acceptance of the changes, even if it is before April 26,2002. Ron.
So let me see, you get a statement showing your airline tix to the Cayman Islands (where you were going to get an offshore Visa but you're now unsure because the feds and IRS are strongarming Visa International into letting them look at offshore accounts of US citizens) and you decide to pay the whole balance. You send a check but don't use the card again that month and they send you nothing to show the account is paid up?!?!? WTF
The terms here are b.s. Diners club is a good card if you rent cars all the time for the primary insurance and your employer picks up the bill. The card is not worth having with a $95 fee and these other messed up terms if you have to pay for it yourself. Ron, I hope you cancel the card unless your employer pays or you rent cars all the time. LOL on Citibank when you and others cancel.
I dont' know what your problem is with the terms - Several of my cards don't send statements when the balance is 0 - DC tells you up-front. The rest of the terms are pretty standard. Annual fee? Amex = $55 for a basic green card + $45 for membership rewards (total = $100). Diners Club with rewards program is $5 less ... and the miles are good with EVERY airline and in EVERY hotel program. I've got 200k points - and I'll "fill up" my Starwood, Marriott, 6 Continents accounts to be able to redeem at least 3 free nights at each ... plus have miles left over to "top off" my United, Continental, and Delta accounts. That's the real advantage of DC Rewards program. As for the card itself- I like the 62 days to pay. Compare that to Amex. If you're 15 days late with Amex, you lose ALL your points earned on that statement, plus get nailed with a $29 late charge, plus a $15 charge to get your points back, which they'll only do a few times). Diners doesn't count you as late (or charge you, report you, or even call you) until the 2nd statement. That usually means you get from 58-85 days from the date of the initial charge to the absolutely-must-pay-by date. VERY handy if you're on an extended trip or your expenses are delayed in getting reimbursed. Ron - keep the card if you travel. It's worth it (imho). -mj
mj, You should consider the MBNA Quantum Rewards Card. No annual fee, points don't expire, and can be used on any hotel and any airline. www.quantumselectrewards.com
Make a "DIRECT BILL" charge on the card every month, like AOL, MCI, CELL PHONE, DIRECTV, CABLE, or some other charge...YOU WILL GET A STATEMENT EVERY MONTH.
Marci- you missed my point. I like the ability to "top off" my existing frequent account- Diners Club points can be directly deposited into those other programs in any amount (over 2,000 I think). For instance- my Delta SkyMiles balance is 48,000 - I need 60,000 for a European first class ticket - I can move 12,000 miles from Diners to Delta. I can also "top off" my Marriot Rewards account with the extra 5,000 points I need to reach the reward level needed for a free weekend. That only cost me a fraction of my Diners points (which never expire). With QuantumRewards you earn "points" which are redeemable WITH MBNA for a ticket/room that they book for you. NOTE -- THERE ARE SOME SERIOUS RESTRICTIONS HERE - i.e. maximum $80/nite for rooms at 5,000 points [won't get a room at the W, that's for sure!] and airline tickets are booked at the lowest 21-day advance purchase fare available, which usually means you get whatever airline is cheapest - first or business class seats are not available. Sure, you can earn points for a room/seat, but most frequent flyers/sleepers have points spread across multiple programs, and the ability to have a block of points (Diners) that can be transferred to multiple programs is big. It's also nice to be able to use points for "special" vacations - 5-star hotels and first class travel. It doesn't appear MBNA can do that. I also think the primary rental insurance, 2-statement grace, no preset limit, conceirge desk, and unexcelled customer service are a better set of benefits for me. Many other frequent travelers agree-Diners won the Freddie award for the last 3 years. -mj
I thought the Quantum Rewards points expire after 5 years, according to the website or did MBNA change this ? Regarding the Diners Club change in terms, I feel that they increased the annual fee to promote the Montage card a little more to people who don't have Diners because you can also get Club Rewards points with this card if you pay an annual fee of $75 (complete benefits package). I don't think primary auto rental insurance is included in the complete benefits package, though.
I pay for the annual fee for the card and I have both the charge card and Montage Card. I think I have both cards for $95 and it isn't bad at all. I didn't rent car all the time. I rent the car last month and I didn't need to pay the auto rental insurance. I liked the customer service and it is good. I used my card almost every chance I got and my rewards points can be reduced the annual fee. Ron.
