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@NRB525 wrote:
Checking the Diners transfer partners today, they all seem to require at least 5,000 points now. Still the same general redemption rates, just no 1,000 point minimums.
That sounds annoying. Hope its not the start of a trend in the industry, because there have been times times where I need like 2-3k to top off an account for an award would hate to be stuck with a left over 2k points in an account I may not use again for years, even worse with loyalty programs where points can expire.
@red259 wrote:
@NRB525 wrote:
Checking the Diners transfer partners today, they all seem to require at least 5,000 points now. Still the same general redemption rates, just no 1,000 point minimums.That sounds annoying. Hope its not the start of a trend in the industry, because there have been times times where I need like 2-3k to top off an account for an award would hate to be stuck with a left over 2k points in an account I may not use again for years, even worse with loyalty programs where points can expire.
And yet this might be the point of raising those thresholds - to force account holders to use their accounts or risk losing value of the rewards.
@yfan wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@NRB525 wrote:
Checking the Diners transfer partners today, they all seem to require at least 5,000 points now. Still the same general redemption rates, just no 1,000 point minimums.That sounds annoying. Hope its not the start of a trend in the industry, because there have been times times where I need like 2-3k to top off an account for an award would hate to be stuck with a left over 2k points in an account I may not use again for years, even worse with loyalty programs where points can expire.
And yet this might be the point of raising those thresholds - to force account holders to use their accounts or risk losing value of the rewards.
I'm not sure what you mean by account holders. I am referring to my loyalty accounts. It is clear credit card companies are not interested in encouraging people to make redemptions. In fact they rather those credit card points not be redeemed. They could care less about the value of the rewards to their customers. Obviously what they are doing by raising the minimum transfer rate is making it so that people have to spend even more on their credit card to have enough to make the minimum redemption. This brings it all back to my original point. That sometimes I do not need 5k points in a loyalty program and by transferring excess I lose value in points unless its a particular loyalty program I make multiple redemptions with.
@NRB525 wrote:
Yes, there are two motivators for the CCC.
Encourage increased use of the card. In the Diners case, there are specific lumps of points you have to have for each redemption. 5,000 is a specific amount, not 5,500 or 6,000.
The other is that it reduces transaction costs. A single 5,000 transfer is cheaper to process than five at 1,000 points.
I see their logic, and 5,000 is a useful number. But I also see the possibility of an annoying remainder in a program one may not use later.
Wait so its not just 5K points minimum? You need to transfer in blocks of 5k? So if you only need 6k Points you still need to transfer 10K and can't do a flat 6k? That would be really annoying if that is what they are doing.
I agree that raising minimum transfer thresholds compels greater usage. Fortunately, the Diners Club Premier really doesn’t need to be used for purchases in order to be useful, especially since the earning rate (1x point/dollar, no category bonuses) doesn’t encourage much spending on it anyway; although I could see it being a problem if car rentals are some of the only charges on the account while taking advantage of the primary car rental collision benefit. Obviously, that assessment wouldn’t apply to the Elite card with its category multipliers.
The Premier’s lounge access has been defraying the AF for me, and it’s solely why I continue to carry it. There are plenty of credit cards available that are more suitable for amassing points with much of their transfer partners anyway, compared to earning on the Diners Club Premier.