Diners Club Business Card

Pauline Hatch

Pauline is a personal finance expert at CreditCard.com.au, with 9 years in money, budgeting and property reporting under her belt. Ask Pauline a Question about this card.

The Diners Club Business Card

As a charge card, the Diners Club Business Card offers cardholders the opportunity to earn uncapped Diners Club Reward points on their business spending, with no pre-set spending limit. Also offered on this card are a number of enticing features, such as free airport lounge access, a full suite of insurances, and monthly statements that are ATO compliant, featuring a GST breakdown for all Diners Club transactions.

What we love...

One of the first things to note here is that as a cardholder, you have the option to have just the Diners Club Business Card on your account, or the Diners Club card plus a Mastercard. While the Mastercard does expand accessibility, allowing you to use the card in more places, it does have a much higher annual fee. More on that later.

If you opt for the Diners Club Business Card on its own, you will have one earn rate to remember. You will earn unlimited points with no expiry, at a rate of:

• 1 Reward Point per $1 spent

However, if you choose to add a Mastercard companion card to your account, you will earn:

• 1 Reward Point per $1 spent on the Diners Club Business Card
• 0.5 Reward Points per $1 spent on the Mastercard

Again, the points earned here are unlimited, with no expiry. With either option, you can take advantage of the Diners Club rewards points pooling program, which allows all rewards points earned by each card member to be pooled into the main business account.

From there, there is a wide range of redemption options to choose from, allowing members to redeem points for merchandise and gift vouchers, or convert them to travel partner programs, including 15 international airline partners, with 1 Reward Point equal to 1 Qantas Point.

The extras for both options are also the same, and these go as follows:

• Lounge Access: A great perk for frequent travellers, the card offers free access to more than 1,000 Diners Club and Airport Lounges around the world. Making travel a lot easier to bear, these lounges can provide a place to relax in comfort, or work in peace.
• Diners Club Shipping: A good one for online shoppers, this feature provides discounted shipping and other extras when cardholders shop online with merchants based in the US.
• Diners Club Cellar Door: For wine lovers, this offers access to great deals on wine, with Australia-wide shipping and no minimum purchase or commitment.
• Diners Club Privileges: Cardholders can get offers and benefits globally including accommodation, dining and shopping discounts.
• Complimentary Insurance: This card offers travel cover in the form of International Travel Insurance, Interstate Flight Inconvenience Insurance and Transit Accident Insurance, and purchase protection in Extended Warranty Insurance, Purchase Cover Insurance and Guaranteed Pricing Scheme.
• Joint & Several Liability: Within the range of business features, the card offers joint and several liability to suit each cardholder’s business structure.
• Simplified Accounting: Statements feature GST reporting, making it easier to control and manage expenses. The Diners Club Business Card statement complies with ATO guidelines, allowing them to be accepted as a substitute for Tax Invoices.

What’s not so great...

With the Diners Club Business Card, you will have to decide whether you want the Diners Club card only, or the Mastercard companion card as well. The annual fee on the Diners Club option is pretty reasonable, but be aware of the additional cardholder fee and the rewards fee. The Mastercard option has a much higher annual fee, but does not charge a rewards fee.

You will benefit from a higher earn rate on the Diners Club card, but it doesn’t offer the same acceptance as Mastercard. You may find you need the Mastercard to get full use of the account, but that means you will need to get much more out of the features and rewards to make the higher annual fee worth paying.

Why should you choose this card?

The Diners Club Business Card is a charge card, not a credit card. Unlike a credit card, it doesn’t have a pre-set spending limit. This does not mean you have unlimited spending power at your fingertips, but if you prove your ability to repay your account, you could potentially enjoy access to a more flexible amount of credit than a credit card could offer.

With up to 51 days to pay off your purchases, the card could provide an excellent boost to your cash flow. Plus, there is the fact that, unlike a credit card, there is no temptation to let your balance roll over to the following month, costing you in interest.

Overall Rating

A business charge card earning Diners Club Reward points, the Diners Club Business Card offers the option of increased acceptance via Mastercard, plus a selection of handy features and extras.