American Express Membership Rewards (US) (Edit)

American Express's Membership Rewards program offers a wide variety of partners. Members can directly redeem points for travel on airlines or transfer points to airline frequent flyer accounts, allowing flexibility in choosing rewards. Points are earned on a $1 = 1 point basis and frequent promotions offer bonus points or double points on purchases with AMEX partners.

Features

Membership Rewards is a good choice for those who are not concerned with direct point transfers to American and United (but see below). However, is possible to access those airlines through their respective alliance partners. There is a reward available at every possible point level, for both frequent and infrequent travelers alike.

Membership Rewards offers the widest variety of rewards of any similar credit card program. Members can choose travel-related rewards such as frequent flyer miles, air, car or hotel certificates, multi-night hotel stays or cruises, or they can redeem points for thousands of non-travel rewards including books, gift certificates, pool tables, electronics or tickets to the Masters and two rounds of golf at Augusta.

Point transfers to airlines and hotels take approximately three business days. Redemption of points for merchandise can take up to several weeks, but shipping is free so there is no cost to redeem points.

American Express's airline partners for direct point to mile transfers are All Nippon Airways, LatinPass, Mexicana, Aeromexico, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, Hawaiian Airlines, Continental Airlines, US Airways, Delta Air Lines, El Al Israel Airlines and Southwest Airlines. More recently, British Airways (BA), a leading OneWorld airline, became a program partner. This makes MR much more valuable for people committed to American Airlines, since there is now an efficient way of getting miles from AMEX to the OneWorld airlines. The situation with Star Alliance is similar in that while it's not possible to transfer points to United or many other Star Alliance programs directly, it is possible to obtain free flights on just about any Star Alliance airline via All Nippon Airways, Aeroplan (formerly Air Canada) or US Airways by transferring points into one of those programs, and then obtaining a free ticket on any eligible Star Alliance airline, including United, Lufthansa, Singapore Air, and many others.

Pros

Huge variety of rewards, something for everyoneFree shipping on all rewardsPoint transfers to other programs only take about three business daysRewards are available from one point to 1,000,000 pointsAbility to turn points into money with MilePointOnline redemption.

Cons

Not directly partnered with the most common Star Alliance airline, United. Poor transfer ratio to some programs (e.g., 3 points = 1 Starwood point). Must call to register other frequent traveler programs with AMEX before making first transfer to that program. Cannot transfer points to other people's airline or hotel programs unless they are additional cardholders. AMEX annual fee + $40 Membership Rewards fee is at least $95 per year, making it more expensive than most airline or hotel branded Visa/Mastercard cards.

Diners Club Club Rewards (Edit)

On the surface, the Diners Club card is similar to many other affinity cards, in that you earn one mile (actually two Club Rewards points, which translates to a mile) for every dollar spent. But the Diners Club card is a particular favorite among those who charge a lot to airlines, hotels, upscale stores, high-end restaurants and car rental companies. The card enjoys wide acceptance at these types of establishments, and over the years, the program has gone the extra mile to satisfy its customers. Diners Club was the first card to allow transfers of points for frequent flyer miles on virtually any airline, and in most cases, to the account of any individual (not just the cardholder). And, the Diners/British Airways "Double Miles" promotion was attractive to all mileage junkies. As a result of features and promotions like these, the card has won numerous Freddie Awards. Unfortunately, many of Diners' most compelling features have been copied by other cards or have been watered down.

Features

When you call Diners Club, a person answers the phone -- a live, intelligent, helpful person who asks you your name (not even your account number). Billing cycles last up to 62 days, meaning you can "float" your charges for an extra month without penalty. If you rent a car with the card (except in New York State, due to local laws), you not only get collision damage coverage; you also get primary coverage. This means that, if you're in an accident, your own insurance company never knows about it (however, covered drivers are limited to cardholders and their families). Although many cards offer primary coverage outside the United States, Diners is the only one that covers car rentals in Israel, Ireland and Jamaica. Other features include an automatic 20 percent discount at certain restaurants and free admission to more than 80 airport lounges in 27 countries (only three -- one in Newark and two in Miami -- are in the United States).

Pros

When you sign up for Diners and use the card regularly, you can receive up to 12,000 bonus miles during your first year of membership -- reason enough for many people to give it a whirl. Big spenders can also usually negotiate a "retention bonus" for renewing their card. Diners is obviously a great card for people who need to pay their bill every other month and those who rent a lot of cars. The Club Rewards program's only other unique claim to fame these days is its promotions. The British Airways Double Miles Sale, which has taken place every summer for at least the past four years, is probably the fastest route in the world to a frequent flyer seat on the Concorde. Other recent promotions have included a 20 percent bonus for points cashed in for American miles and a 25 percent bonus on Continental. Be warned, however, none of these deals are guaranteed parts of the Diners program.

Cons

Even at the best of times, Diners was never a card you could use at the corner grocery store. It has far less acceptance than American Express, and substantially less than Visa and MasterCard. Although it's widely welcomed in many European countries, Diners killed that golden goose when it imposed a three percent surcharge on all purchases made in foreign currencies. With a recent membership fee increase to $95 a year (plus $35 per additional card) the cost-benefits ratio takes another hit. Even worse is a controversial charge of 95 cents per 1,000 miles to convert Diners points to airline miles -- in other words, it will cost you $50 more for a pair of domestic air tickets than it would on any other affinity card. Club Rewards offers other options beyond its dozens of airline partners, including upgrade coupons, airport lounge memberships, hotel stays, points in some other programs, plus endless electronics and toys, but there are absolutely no bargains. Between the limitations on earning miles and the penalties for redeeming them, it almost seems as if Diners has a death wish.