In my former life per diems were paid at the end of the month as part of the salary. Unless you were extremely anal it was difficult to keep track of what you spent. Depending on how much you flew the paycheck could look quite healthy but probably compared unfavourably with the monthly visa statement. EK's per diem system is superior to what I was used to because I find it easier to manage my personal funds (I don't consider per diem as my personal money until wheels up & headed to DXB).
As of 31/12/2008 there were 1896 pilots at EK. The 20 to 30 who post regularly on Pprune are clearly unhappy but I believe the per diems are a none-issue. Anybody that knows me knows that I do not miss any meals but drink alcohol sparingly (probably a good idea on layovers these days anyway!) but I nearly always have money left over from layovers. I rarely eat in the hotel (other than breakfast) and I believe that this is true of most of us.
If you are making a decision to join the 500-600 additional pilots need in 2008 this should not be serious consideration. There are far more important issues to ponder.
Scaglietti