The Diners Club Story
We’ve been around for a while; in fact 2010 marked 50 years of service to the New Zealand public. But our story starts even before this; take a look back through the years…
The Beginning – Frank McNamara first develops the vision that was to become Diners Club when dining out one night in New York City in 1949; Frank is caught without his wallet when he goes to settle the bill and resolves to never be without an alternative form of payment.
1950 – Diners Club is born: Together with the help of his attorney, Ralph Schneider, Frank creates Diners Club. Initially 14 restaurants accept Diners Club Cards, with just 200 of Frank’s friends and business associates being part the first ever charge card system; but demand takes off and by the end of the first year membership has increased to 20,000 cardmembers!
1951-1952 – Diners Club experiences rapid growth, with acceptance expanding to all major U.S. cities. The first rental car companies are joined up as merchants, along with hotels and florists – broadening acceptance to include more than just restaurants. Frank McNamara retires as President of Diners Club.
1953-1954 – Diners Club goes global and can officially be called the first internationally accepted charge card. The Card is now accepted in the U.K., Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Spain and selected African countries, with 17 branch offices in cities across the globe and over 130,000 cardmembers.
1955-1956 – With franchises now in Brazil and Australia, Diners Club stock is listed on the American Stock Exchange and membership soars to over 250,000 cardmembers. Diners Club Cards are now able to be accepted by merchants in New Zealand.
1957-1958 – Diners Club sponsors the New York Giants in its first TV campaign. The strong relationship with travel is also created, with travel agencies across America now taking holiday bookings on Diners Club Cards and travel insurance offered to cardmembers. Sadly, Diners Club Founder Frank McNamara dies at the young age of 40.
1959-1960 – Diners Club continues to grow its travel expertise by introducing the first ever charge card travel accident insurance, a guaranteed hotel reservation program and by beginning discussions with banks about providing traveller’s cheques. In November 1960, Mr Maurice Sexton establishes a Diners Club franchise in New Zealand.
1961-1962 – Diners Club decides it’s time to upgrade the original paper cards in favour of new plastic versions, which are rolled out to over 1.25 million cardmembers.
1963-1964 – A ‘No-Cash’ day in Connecticut means that everyone uses their Diners Club Card instead of cash. Diners Club pushes its profile even further when it makes it onto the big screen in “The Man from the Diners’ Club”, starring Danny Kaye. Sadly, in 1964 founding partner Ralph Schneider dies.
1965-1966 – Diners Club is the first charge card to be accepted in Soviet bloc countries. American and Japan Airlines now accept Diners Club Cards and the ‘Charge and Go’ system is introduced which allows travellers with selected travel agents to book on an extended payment basis.
1967-1968 – Cementing its travel expertise, the first automatic air travel insurance program for airline tickets purchased with a Diners Club Card is introduced, along with a computerised travel reservations system.
Diners Club Card is now accepted in 130 countries and launches an advertising campaign with the line “The Diners Club is for men who know how to spend money”. The campaign has to stop running because it is so successful the current computer system can’t handle the increase in membership.
1969-1970 – Diners Club introduces a programme to authorise credit cards using an auditory response system. Celebrated actor and producer Peter Fonda highlights the popularity and usability of Diners Club by charging the entire movie budget of ‘Easy Rider’ on his Diners Club Card.
1971-1972 – The Diners Club Service Centre moves to Denver from New York and Cards are now widely accepted across the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
1973-1974 – Five out of every six credit card carrying travellers entering America use a Diners Club Card. Diners Club get its own Media Services Division and the Card can now be used to buy Broadway tickets over the phone.
1975-1976 – Diners Club introduces the first Corporate Charge Card Program. Membership now exceeds 2 million members worldwide.
1977-1978 – Diners Club extends a new $15,000 credit line to its cardmembers, along with free Thomas Cook traveller’s cheques and $30,000 worth of free life insurance when booking travel with a Diners Club Card. The introduction of the Double Card means consumers can separate business and personal expenses.
1979-1980 – Diners Club Cards are the first credit cards to be used in China, as membership exceeds 4.2 million cardmembers.
1981-1982 – Diners Club launches an advertising campaign for business travellers with the line “You can drop our name where it counts.” Citibank purchases the rights to the Diners Club International trademark.
1983-1984 – Club Rewards, the first Card loyalty programme, is introduced and Diners Club sets the industry standard with the range of rewards and frequent flier miles available to cardmembers. A new plastic card is released, aimed at deterring counterfeiting.
1985-1986 – Club Gifts is launched as membership numbers surpass 5.7 million cardmembers.
1987-1988 – Diners Club Cardmembers can now access cash through ATMs across the world. Diners Club also receives an award for “Best Frequent Traveller Affinity Charge/Credit Card”, as judged by frequent business travellers.
1989-1990 – Life magazine honours Diners Club Founder Frank McNamara as one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century. Diners Club launches an advertising campaign with the line “We take care of business” and offers the first multinational corporate card. Countrywide Banking Corporation Limited acquires the New Zealand franchise in June 1990.
1991-1992 – Diners Club becomes “The International Symbol for Yes” in a new advertising campaign. A new key travel partnership is introduced with the British Airways charge card.
1993-1994 – The Club Rewards programme is extended to include ‘Premier Rewards’ and the ‘Points-Plus-Charge’ programme. The Inaugural Diners Club Matches professional golf tournament is also established.
1995-1996 – The International Diners Club website is launched at www.dinersclub.com. Diners Club further supports travel agencies with Premier Performances, a programme designed to increase their business.
1997-1998 – Frank McNamara’s creation of Diners Club is described as “one of the 75 greatest management decisions ever made” by American Management Association. Diners Club also picks up the prestigious Freddie award for the “Best Frequent Traveller Affinity Charge/Credit Card.” National Bank become the newest owners of the New Zealand franchise.
1999-2000 – Diners Club is honoured with the Freddie award for the second and third years in a row and is chosen as the global corporate card for British Petroleum. Diners Club International also launches the super premium black card which is introduced into selected countries.
2001-2002 – Diners Club New Zealand becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Diners Club Singapore, who in turn is owned by Johan Holdings Berhad. A new ‘Travel in good company’ campaign is launched in the U.S to align personal and business travelling with Diners Club Cards.
2003-2004 – A new campaign for the business traveller is launched.
2005-2006 – Diners Club and MasterCard offer joint acceptance within the U.S with a short-term partnership.
2007-2008 – Diners Club international is acquired by Discover Financial Services, a leading U.S credit card issuer and electronic payment services company. The Diners Club logo is refreshed and rolled out to merchants worldwide. The Diners Club Multinational Corporate card now spans 40 countries.
2009-2010 – An exciting time for Diners Club with the launch of the global ‘Belong’ campaign and the introduction of our new range of Personal Credit Cards. Diners Club also forms a partnership with Pulse to create a global cash network.