American Express vs Diners Club Card

Hatter The Mad · 7 Feb 2011 at 14:21

Hi,

I need a charge card that I can stick big purchases on for credit provider protection, and one which gives me airport lounge access.

From what I gather, Amex Gold is about £95 per year and comes with travel insurance, points scheme, is fairly widely accepted.

Diners Club costs £15 (?) a year and comes with similar benefits, including access to business lounges in most International airports, less widely accepted.

Does anyone have experience with either? What's the best?

Dr House · 7 Feb 2011 at 14:45

Natwest black is very good (as long as you make 75k per year)

Tunney · 7 Feb 2011 at 14:52

I have an Amex card through work. So many places in the UK don't accept it that I'd never want to get one for personal use.

Jez · 7 Feb 2011 at 14:54

Tunney said:
I have an Amex card through work. So many places in the UK don't accept it that I'd never want to get one for personal use.

It is the exception rather than the norm that it is not accepted. I have ran an Amex for a couple of years now, i think my total forced (through lack of acceptance) spend elsewhere is probably in the hundreds over that entire period!

Rule of thumb is that anywhere sizable will take it, B&Q being the only exception i have noticed.

mangobreeder · 7 Feb 2011 at 14:54

i have a Coutts World Card, its damn near perfect

Bat · 7 Feb 2011 at 15:05

Jez said:
It is the exception rather than the norm that it is not accepted. I have ran an Amex for a couple of years now, i think my total forced (through lack of acceptance) spend elsewhere is probably in the hundreds over that entire period!

Rule of thumb is that anywhere sizable will take it, B&Q being the only exception i have noticed.

Agreed. I use one for almost all purchases for the cashback and a Barclaycard as backup. Places not taking it are in the minority for me.

Hatter The Mad · 7 Feb 2011 at 15:13

Jez said:
It is the exception rather than the norm that it is not accepted. I have ran an Amex for a couple of years now, i think my total forced (through lack of acceptance) spend elsewhere is probably in the hundreds over that entire period!

Rule of thumb is that anywhere sizable will take it, B&Q being the only exception i have noticed.

Does it get you airport lounge access, like Diners?

Repta · 7 Feb 2011 at 15:15

Hatter The Mad said:
Does it get you airport lounge access, like Diners?

I know the platinum one does, no idea if gold does though. Never had a problem using amex, most places take it now.

Sudden · 7 Feb 2011 at 15:19

Not used it myself, but from parent's experience and various signs in shops all over the world, I would avoid AmEx. Big places, you likely won't have an issue, but any smallish places, especially abroad, either don't accept it or charge an extra 2% or so to use it.

Theophany · 7 Feb 2011 at 15:21

Tbh Amex > DC. Has anybody even applied for a Diners Club card since 1987?

Depending on your spending patterns, the lack of acceptance of Amex is easily offset by the host of benefits it provides. I remember when my parents went to the Cayman Islands to see my uncle, they got stuck at Miami on the flight home. Amex told them to go out and whack everything on their card and they would be on a flight home the next day. They stayed at a 5* hotel, ate at a very sw anky (profanity filter? :/) restaurant and went shopping at all the high-end boutiques. None of which appeared on their statement next month - Amex's way of saying sorry. For something out of their control.

Amex may charge more for membership, not be universally accepted, but they are one of the most sound financial institutions out there. They remained very profitable over the past 3 years, despite their markets falling apart. They treat their customers fantastically well and provide them with VERY generous benefits.

EDIT: Also, the old 'nowhere accepts it' argument is old rope. Their merchant fees have been coming down gradually over the years to a point where they are only a couple % above what Visa/Mastercard charge. Plus, with a growing market of yuppies over the past two decades, more and more places are just taking the hit. There was an article in The Economist a couple of years back interviewing the Amex CEO and he was banging on about getting more universal acceptance for the card.

Beansprout · 7 Feb 2011 at 15:29

Amex Platinum, £300 tho...

Amex Gold's good but no lounge access

BA Amex PP gives a 241 voucher worth £lots when you spend £10k.

They all give various signup bonus points - the Gold was giving 20k points, the BA PP 18k and the Plat up to 42k...

Between me and dad we've signed up to most all the Amex/BA cards to get the bonus points, spent >£10k to get the 241 voucher, so can now get 2x first class long haul flight tickets for only £470 each...not bad going!

Tunney · 7 Feb 2011 at 15:42

Jez said:
It is the exception rather than the norm that it is not accepted. I have ran an Amex for a couple of years now, i think my total forced (through lack of acceptance) spend elsewhere is probably in the hundreds over that entire period!

My not accepted spend for the last 12 months is around £1,200.

A training course and a bunch of meals/drinks.

OllyM · 7 Feb 2011 at 16:04

Just to note that charge cards don't give you Section 75 protection.

No travel insurance on Amex Gold either, you need the Platinum charge card for that. I think you get 'travel accident benefit' if you book the travel on the card but it's pretty meaningless and is in no way travel insurance.

Jez · 7 Feb 2011 at 16:33

Hatter The Mad said:
Does it get you airport lounge access, like Diners?

Mine doesnt, mines the Platinum Cashback. Doesnt have any perks other than the cashback - but that suits me. Huge limit and nice card too if that floats your boat

You need the platinum charge card for the access.

Tunney said:
My not accepted spend for the last 12 months is around £1,200. A training course and a bunch of meals/drinks.

Meals/Drinks are the weak point, looks like you were just unlucky on the training courses

meghatronic · 7 Feb 2011 at 16:43

Good luck finding places that accept Diners!

Places that don't accept my Amex get blacklisted and a complaint e-mail sent (unless it's like a corner shop or something). Yes I'm that anal.

Platinum is good value for money if you travel a lot.

Hatter The Mad · 7 Feb 2011 at 17:01

meghatronic said:
Platinum is good value for money if you travel a lot.

I travel a fair bit. Bummer that I just paid £120 in worldwide travel insurance to the Post Office, otherwise it'd make the £300 pa easier to justify.

OllyM · 7 Feb 2011 at 17:09

They had an offer on recently where you got 42,000 membership rewards points when you spend £1500 in the first 3 months if you were referred by an existing customer to the Platinum charge card, which are worth ~£210, meaning your effective cost for the year was about £90.

How recently was your travel insurance taken out? It might still be inside the cooling off period if it was very recent?

Hatter The Mad · 7 Feb 2011 at 17:17

A month ago, so unfortunately not

Thanks for the tip

[TW]Fox · 7 Feb 2011 at 17:37

Jez said:
It is the exception rather than the norm that it is not accepted. I have ran an Amex for a couple of years now, i think my total forced (through lack of acceptance) spend elsewhere is probably in the hundreds over that entire period!

Rule of thumb is that anywhere sizable will take it, B&Q being the only exception i have noticed.

I find Amex non-Acceptance is certainly not the exception rather than the rule. Lots of places, some quite big, do not accept it.

The most amusing I found was my local BMW dealer not accepting Amex, despite the fact that at the time BMW offered a 'BMW Card' which was advertised heavily in the BMW Magazine and was Amex. Meaning if you had the BMW card, you couldnt pay for servicing, accssories or a BMW on it

Jez · 7 Feb 2011 at 17:53

[TW]Fox;18413455 said:
I find Amex non-Acceptance is certainly not the exception rather than the rule. Lots of places, some quite big, do not accept it.

The most amusing I found was my local BMW dealer not accepting Amex, despite the fact that at the time BMW offered a 'BMW Card' which was advertised heavily in the BMW Magazine and was Amex. Meaning if you had the BMW card, you couldn't pay for servicing, accessories or a BMW on it

Haha, the BMW example is good

I do not find the acceptance an issue at all really, i guess it boils down to your purchasing habits. I generally buy fuel and supermarket shopping, bit of paypal funding and some high street clothing. Thats the bulk of my monthly spend every month and ofc supermarkets and fuel stations, along with chain stores etc accept it. B&Q, some odd independent restaurants, and the Merc specialist (again, independent place, this is the trend) are the only places i have ever had the card rejected from which i can remember.