In a recent circular to the travel industry, Qantas has advised that Diners Club cards and Discover credit cards will no longer be accepted by the airline. (NB, this is not Discovery Bank, but Discover, a credit card affiliated with Diners).
This appears to be because Diners Club has closed Diners Club merchant facilities for merchants in Australia and closed all personal accounts in Australia too. This apparently took place on July 30, 2024. Diners advised clients of this in a statement on the Diners Club website.
Michi Messner Qantas Regional Manager Africa told Travel News that the notification was correct, and said: “This was communicated via our monthly Qantas Wrap newsletter. For any current bookings made with Diners Club or Discovery cards, there are specific processes in place regarding refunds and reissues.”
How will existing transactions be refunded or re-issued?
Qantas says that for agents working on Amadeus, automatic refunds will continue to be processed as usual.
On Sabre, Travelport, and other technology partners, Qantas says refunds cannot be automated or processed to the original form of payment. Therefore, agents are asked to submit refund requests through the BSP Link, attaching a statutory declaration as standard practice when processing refunds to an alternate form of payment. For further details, agents should refer to Qantas’s Refund Policy.
Reissues with additional collection - Effective 31 October 31, 2024, an alternative payment method will be required for any reissues involving Diners Club or Discovery cards.
The airline advises agents who have questions or who need assistance to reach out to Qantas.
One travel agent spoke to Travel News, saying that this was a real blow. “We have many corporate customers who have personal and lodged Diners Club cards that they will no longer be able to use for air tickets or payments in the Australian market.”
Katie Gaynor, Discover Senior Manager of Public Relations told Travel News that Discover Global Network (of which Diners Club is a member) has lost acceptance in Australia and transactions were no longer being processed – this kicked in on October 31, 2024.
Confirmed Gaynor: “We are working to find solutions to regain acceptance with Qantas. We are committed to strengthening Discover Global Network, to increasing acceptance worldwide, and in APAC (Asia-Pacific) regionally.”
