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 Amex & Diners Cards
The charge card category is an exclusive one, inhabited by only two players: American Express and Diners Club.
Charge cards, as the name implies, are cards which require that the outstanding balance be paid off each and every month (although there's more flexibility in that regard than is generally known). That's the first point of difference with credit cards. The second point of difference concerns airline miles. Amex and Diners don't award airline miles directly; they award points. And the points, in turn, can be converted to miles in the programs of participating airlines as well as points in participating hotel programs.
If your travel patterns are such that you can pour most of your miles into a single program, it probably makes sense to use the card associated with that program. You get the advantage in most cases of almost universal acceptance of VISA or MasterCard, and the convenience and cost-efficiency of using a single card.
Many travelers, however, must distribute their miles among a primary program and several secondary programs. That's where the multi-mile flexibility of Amex and Diners can be a frequent traveler's best friend.
Diners has always enjoyed a significant advantage over Amex in transfer options. Where American Express Membership Rewards points can be exchanged for miles in 11 airline programs, Diners Club Rewards points are convertible into miles in the programs of 20 airlines. (Diners once had a significant competitive advantage over Amex in this area, but no more. See "How Diner Lost its Mileage Mojo" for the story.)
Diners also boasts more hotel partners, allowing points transfers into seven hotel programs versus four for Amex.
Here's a summary of the entry-level Amex and Diners rewards cards:
| |
American Express Preferred Rewards Green Card [1] |
Diners Club International Charge Card [1] |
| Annual fee |
First year free; $110 thereafter |
$95 |
| Sign-up bonus |
5,000 |
12,000 points (1,000/month for the 1st 12 months) |
| Airline partners |
AeroMexico, Air Canada, AirTran, All Nippon, Continental, Delta, El Al, Frontier, Global Pass, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Mexicana, Southwest, Virgin |
Air Canada, Air France, Alaska, American, Asiana, British Air, Delta, El Al, Frontier, Global Pass, Hawaiian, Icelandair, Korean, Mexicana, Midwest, SAS, South African, Southwest, Thai, Virgin |
| Hotel partners |
Best Western, Hilton, InterContinental, Starwood |
Best Western, Choice, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, Starwood |
| Merchant acceptance |
Not disclosed by Amex, but assumed to be significantly less |
24 million |
| Double points for purchases at stand-alone supermarkets, gas stations, drugstores, the U.S. Postal Service, wireless phone bill payments |
Discontinued eff. Oct. 1, 2006 |
No |
| Fee to transfer points to airline programs |
$.40 per 1,000 points, with a maximum fee of $50 |
$.95 or 95 points per 1,000 points transferred |
| Maximum points/year |
N/A |
N/A |
[1] Both Amex and Diners offer higher-priced rewards cards as well, with additional benefits
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