# Bought new points in DRI... good or bad idea?



## Blue9927

Hello experts,

I'm hoping you all can help me! We were owners in DRI in something called the "trust" as our sales guy told us. We had 3000 points and paid about $750 in maintenance fees.

Last week we bought an additional 6000 points and our maintenance fee is now about $1500. We also have an option to purchase an additional 6000 points within a certain timeframe for an additional $10,000.

My first question: is this a good deal? Our sales person spent a lot of time talking about the benefits of being in the silver platform, which we will be after the final purchase listed above. 

My second question: could we have just purchased additional points off of ebay or somewhere else re-sale and have the same benefits with less cost?

Our seven day rescission period ends today/tomorrow (since today is Sunday). I have a rescission letter all drafted up but want to hear some opinions before I pull the trigger.

Thanks so much!
Blue


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## Passepartout

Without passing judgement on the value of DRI, I would advise rescission. If you feel you need (want) more points, buy 'em resale. They can be had for pennies on the dollar and added to your account. Those 'status' things, silver, gold, platinum or whatever are just never worth the price.

Buy from the developer and you will instantly lose 90+% of the value. 

I am crippled today with a deathly slow connection, so check yourself on eBay by signing on and entering 'Diamond Resorts Int'l' in the search window. When it returns some, look down the left side for completed auctions. It will show you actual prices paid, not asking prices. Prepare to have your eyes opened.

Rescind!

Best Wishes! and Welcome to TUG!

Jim Ricks


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## nightnurse613

And..I'm not sure Sunday doesn't count?? Is it 7 BUSINESS days or 7 calendar days??  I'm a silver member but I don't think I would pay $10,000 for those upgrades....


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## Blue9927

The contract says seven calendar days and if the seventh day is a Sunday or holiday, then the following day is the last day. We went to the presentation last Monday.


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## Blue9927

Thanks Rick. I appreciate your feedback!


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## JudyS

Rescind! Rescind! Rescind!

If you decide you want this deal, it will almost certainly be available later. If you decide you don't want it, you will be stuck with it if you don't rescind. 

Diamond has a reputation for very high special assessments. Search these boards for "Point at Poipu" to learn more.

Rescind immediately. Follow all instruction in your contract. I would also fax in my rescission (in addition to overnight mail or whatever the contract calls for), just to be sure.


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## RuralEngineer

*3500 points for $0*

Check marketplace or ebay.  I got 3500 points transferred into my account for only the $250 transfer fee.

Stephen


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## hvsteve1

When I was originally pitched the "trust", I was told it would keep my MF under control because of the way the trust was set up and the history of increasing annual fees in The Club or individually owned units. Now, the MF in the trust seem to have gone up much higher than the other types of ownership and the salespeople are saying it's because the selection of resorts in the trust need updates and renovations. As a matter of fact, the young lady last month told me I could increase my level in The Club to a point where I would be really happy with my ownership for a mere $150,000.   

I told her the most I could afford to to upgrade my membership was a mere $125,000. :rofl: 

Bottom line, I always viewed the trust as a scheme to extort more money out of people who had already purchased as many weeks as they could use and had paid to convert to points.  They had to have _something_ new to offer people who had already been maxed out over the years.  If my recollection is correct, the trust was under Sunterra and I get the impression Diamond is not happy with the concept and is no longer trying to sell it. I may be wrong, but that's the impression I got from my most recent sales pitches.


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## dougp26364

Blue9927 said:


> Hello experts,
> 
> I'm hoping you all can help me! We were owners in DRI in something called the "trust" as our sales guy told us. We had 3000 points and paid about $750 in maintenance fees.
> 
> Last week we bought an additional 6000 points and our maintenance fee is now about $1500. We also have an option to purchase an additional 6000 points within a certain timeframe for an additional $10,000.
> 
> My first question: is this a good deal? Our sales person spent a lot of time talking about the benefits of being in the silver platform, which we will be after the final purchase listed above.
> 
> My second question: could we have just purchased additional points off of ebay or somewhere else re-sale and have the same benefits with less cost?
> 
> Our seven day rescission period ends today/tomorrow (since today is Sunday). I have a rescission letter all drafted up but want to hear some opinions before I pull the trigger.
> 
> Thanks so much!
> Blue



It all comes down to how you feel about paying developer prices. DRI has a system that essentially locks out resale purchases. In order to use their internal system, you have to buy direct from DRI.

For a little background I'll tell you that we own with HGVC and with Marriott, both of which have internal exchange systems similar to DRI. Hands down DRI's system beats both HGVC and Marriott. 

Why?

Marriott's system gives you fewer points for your week than it takes to reserve the same week. It's also convoluted to the point that it's more difficult to move from their traditional weeks system to a points based reservations system. I have found a lot of limitation in trying to reserve older resorts using points (no inventory available) and their online system isn't nearly as good as DRI's.

HGVC has a great points based reservations system but they just don't have the locations. They just keep building more units in Orlando, Las Vegas and Hawaii. Unfortunately, the sell Orlando and Las Vegas by telling everyone they can easily book Hawaii. With so many non-Hawaiian based owners wanting to book Hawaii, it's getting really tough to get the resort, unit and/or view you'd like to have if/when you want to go to Hawaii.

DRI has 100's of resorts with the majority having good to very good availability. For instance, I had absolutely no problem booking a deluxe ocean view unit for Maui for the exact dates I wanted. In fact, I was so confident I'd get those dates, we booked our airfare before we could book our unit. DRI has more resorts in more locations with better availability than most systems plus, DRI demands a certain quality level. It's taking some time for DRI to get all the resorts it manages up to par but, it's getting to the point where you know you expect a certain level of quality from the employee's to the resort grounds to the resort amenities to the staff themselves. 

So it really comes down to how you feel about paying developer prices. On these forums, there are those who refuse to consider paying developer prices no matter what the situation. The knee jerk responce is to rescind under any circumstances. Whether or not that the best answer for you is your own personal decision.


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## craigrow

For us the upgrades that are available at the silver level and above are a valuable benefit of being in The Club with a silver level or above. We regularly upgrade a view or room size for $99. If you had to own points for all the upgrades we take those upgrades would cost you about $500 each in maintenance fees. That's a bit more than just a "status thing."

Which trust did you buy into Blue? I assume it's not Hawaii at that price.


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## Blue9927

"Which trust did you buy into Blue? I assume it's not Hawaii at that price."

It's the U.S. Trust. Apparently that's how we bought our original 3000 points so our sales person was up selling us on the trust. He took us into a private office (not the regular sales floor) for our pitch. He said the private office was because we were members of the trust. I'm sure that was a line but I'm not really sure why we were in the office and not out on the floor. 

I sent in our rescission letter, both via fax and certified mail. Fingers crossed.

I'm confused by some of the comments I've read so far. If I buy points re-sale, can I add them to my existing account? Anyone know how I can do that?


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## JudyS

dougp26364 said:


> ... On these forums, there are those who refuse to consider paying developer prices no matter what the situation. The knee jerk responce is to rescind under any circumstances. Whether or not that the best answer for you is your own personal decision.


Just to clarify my response, I think there are (rare) situations where it makes sense to buy direct from the developer. However, the Original Poster wasn't sure if s/he wanted this purchase. If you're not sure you want a particular timeshare, rescission is best. The same deal, or a very similar deal, will almost always be offered to you later, should you decide you want it.


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## singlemalt_18

*Do what is best for YOU!*



JudyS said:


> Rescind! Rescind! Rescind!
> 
> ...Diamond has a reputation for very high special assessments. Search these boards for "Point at Poipu" ...





hvsteve1 said:


> ...the young (sales) lady last month told me I could increase my level in The Club to a point where I would be really happy with my ownership for a mere $150,000.




*Reality can be found somewhere between these to quotes...*

Indeed, somewhere between the popular sentiment of many on this forum and the completely ludicrous attempts of the vast majority of TS sales creatures, lies the truth.

There is no doubt that various TS ownerships can be found in the secondary market for almost nothing, but if you read the many discussions on the intricacies of proper closings and the various subtleties of  - in the case of DRI – in the club or not in the club, it is not always an easy road to navigate… especially for people who may prefer some simplicity in using their TS.  There is also the usual “buyer beware” risks ALWAYS associated with the private markets of Ebay, Amazon, and Craigslist.  *Good deals can be had, but its not without a good amount of due diligence and a little luck.*

The retail sales world is a terrible experience as well, and it is true that many unknowing folks are egregiously taken advantage of, _thus the venom_. I am glad that I didn’t stumble on to this forum until I had more than a dozen years of timesharing experiences under my belt.  I formulated my own thoughts and opinions over that time, and was not force fed lethal doses of other people’s buyer’s remorse.  My wife and I now have many wonderful memories and have been to many places we might not have otherwise been… if not for our purchase of TS.

I am a DRI member.  I am not a big fan or cheerleader, nor am I an over zealous warmonger.  *Timeshare ownership of all kinds is far from perfect, and as long as that much remains understood, it is possible to simply find some benefits to ownership.*  After more than ten years of traditional ownership we decided to buy additional points and convert.  So far we have been quite satisfied with The Club.

Overall, the price you paid for your points at retail from DRI was a good price. Also, the Trust type of ownership actually can and does help to keep maintenance fees down.  In the case of the now infamous Point at Poipu special assessment, those who owned thru the trust paid a fraction of what those who owned directly paid. *The typical owner of a direct week was charged about $5,800, while an owner in the trust with 12,000 points paid only about $1,800… *

Make up your own mind, and good luck!


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## craigrow

singlemalt_18 said:


> Overall, the price you paid for your points at retail from DRI was a good price. Also, the Trust type of ownership actually can and does help to keep maintenance fees down.  In the case of the now infamous Point at Poipu special assessment, those who owned thru the trust paid a fraction of what those who owned directly paid. *The typical owner of a direct week was charged about $5,800, while an owner in the trust with 12,000 points paid only about $1,800… *




How good the price was depends on which trust Blue is buying into. 6,000 points for $10K seems like a reasonable price if it's in the Hawaii trust. I suspect that Blue is buying into the US trust however. Blue, if you got an offer from Diamond of 6,000 points in the Hawaii trust for $10K please let us know how you did it.

I think it's more accurate to say the trust reduces the risk of large assessments via diversification. While the Hawaii trust owners paid less than PoP deed owners, they paid a lot more than KBC deed owners.


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## JudyS

singlemalt_18 said:


> *The typical owner of a direct week was charged about $5,800, while an owner in the trust with 12,000 points paid only about $1,800… *



*only about $1,800*

Well, I think that makes my point about DRI having high special assessments.


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## fluke

Blue9927 said:


> "Which trust did you buy into Blue? I assume it's not Hawaii at that price."
> 
> It's the U.S. Trust. Apparently that's how we bought our original 3000 points so our sales person was up selling us on the trust. He took us into a private office (not the regular sales floor) for our pitch. He said the private office was because we were members of the trust. I'm sure that was a line but I'm not really sure why we were in the office and not out on the floor.
> 
> I sent in our rescission letter, both via fax and certified mail. Fingers crossed.
> 
> I'm confused by some of the comments I've read so far. If I buy points re-sale, can I add them to my existing account? Anyone know how I can do that?



I think it was wise to rescind while you still could and then decide your best approach.

You can by resale trust points for nothing via multiple outlets.  Problem with resale trust pints -you only access the trust they are in (US, Hawaii, California, Europe) and do not access the other properties.

However there is a way to get resale points into the club and utilize DRIs system.  But as Doug stated above it does require at least some resale purchase.  A relatively small points purchase (2000 -2500)has been able to move larger resale trust points (10,000 -15,000) into the club with elite status.  At least this has worked in the past.  

If this was a pathway you chose I would recommend negotiating directly with DRI and getting guarantees placed in  writing within the contract before signing.


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## Eileen A.

I heard recently (can't remember where - maybe here on TUG) that now in order to bring resale points into the Club you have to purchase 1/2 of that number points from Diamond.

For example - you want to bring in 10,000 resale points - you would need to
buy 5,000 additional points directly from Diamond.

Can anyone confirm that this is true???


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## singlemalt_18

craigrow said:


> While the Hawaii trust owners paid less than PoP deed owners, they paid a lot more than KBC deed owners.



KBC deeded owners cannot call Point at Poipu a home resort...* they are NOT P@P owners.*  The more specific aspects of the “diversification” principle has been previously discussed in detail on this and other forums.



JudyS said:


> *only about $1,800*
> 
> Well, I think that makes my point about DRI having high special assessments.



To say the DRI has high assessments would be a _hasty generalization_.  Yes, the P@P  is a DRI property, but the issues surrounding that property’s SA are unique to that property.  DRI has however gained a reputation for raising MFs to more adequately fund reserves, as well as performing much needed upgrades to properties that have been allowed to fall behind.  

People who stay at Diamond properties are hard pressed to waste too much time or energy complaining about dated draperies and countertops, or most importantly, LUMPY BEDS!  Love em’ or leave em’, they are committed to quality, and that has already been expressed here by others.

Yes, the SA for Hawaii Trust owners was “only” $1,800.

Inconvenient? *Yes.*

Financially insurmountable? *No.  ...and this is the key!*

And _less than a 1/3 of what deeded owners were assessed?_ *You Betcha !*


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## JudyS

I guess we have different ideas on what constitutes a "high" special assessment. I have owned at about 10 different resorts for the past five years or so, and the highest Special Assessment I have paid was $350 for one week. (I do own at a resort that will probably have a larger assessment soon, but not as high as $1800 per week.)

The point here really isn't whether DRI is worth the money--some TUG posters think it is, and some think it isn't. The point is that the Original Poster wasn't sure whether she wanted more points or not. If you aren't sure you should buy, then I think you should *always *wait until you have more information. And, what sort of MFs and Special Assessments you might have to pay is a main piece of information to consider.


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## dougp26364

I guess we should get one thing straight about the high SA at P@P, DRI was the messenger but, the water intrusion and nothing being done about it happened when Sunterra was the management company. Had Sunterra identified the problem and had Sunterra done something about it earlier, P@P owners and Hawaiian trust owners might not have had such a high SA to contend with. I believe this particular high SA can be blamed on Sunterra and not DRI.

On the other hand, DRI was the company in charge when owners at Polo Towers got the bill for a $1,200 SA per two bedroom unit to remodle the units. The HOA did not collect enough in cash reserve to plan for this eventuality and, once the units got that dated look, they had to ask owners to vote on an SA to remodle. It was a rather difficult vote and it took two efforts to pass but, in the end it was the owners who voted to pay the SA. 

There was also another small SA, around $150 per two bedroom unit, to install a new water treatment system, security and to convert the tennis courts to a childrens splash park. Again, I believe this SA required the vote of the owners to pass. 

DRI does not have a history of high SA's. They do have a history of fixing Sunterra's lack of maintenance for the period of time they were in charge. Because Sunterra was such a lousy management company, it should put DRI owners on notice that SA's in increasing MF's to make up for insufficient cash reserves is a real probablity as problems are discovered and require fixing.


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## csalter2

*No problem with DRI For Me*

I have been with DRI since they bought Sunterra.  All I have seen since they have taken over is consistent upgrading of  the properties and I have been to several of them.  If I prepare well, I can usually go to most of the resorts with little problem. There are some difficult spots to go to like southern California, but guess what, DRI just bought the Monarch group and now there will be more southern California options. There are many systems that don't have any where near the number of timeshare options as DRI and charge as much if not more in maintenace fees.

Being a Marriott owner and now being a weeks owner who is enrolled in their new points program, I can see that Marriott took a page out of DRI's points program. Marriott requires you to buy your points from them to get all of the benefits of the points.  

Blue9927, you will have limited options with your resale points. You will not be able to use them in the Club. You will only be able to use them in the US resort system.  Whe biggest advantage to using the Club is that you will save on exchange fees when you use DRI properties and affiliates. That is a huge savings. People don't really think about that. I am not in the Hawaiian Collection, but when I stay at The Point or the Ka'anapali Beach Club, there are no charges or fees for the exchange. 

As far as maintenance fees are concerned, there are very few timeshare companies whose fees don't go up some each year. Being a Marriott owner, I can tell you my fees for my Hawaii property have consisitently increased. My DRI fees have increased to but for the amount of time I can be on vacation my maintenance fees are very low. I can stretch my 30,000 DRI points out for months for a very low per night charge that is ridiculous. Package deals from travelocity and orbitz don't beat it. When I retire, folks are going to think I am rich, because I already know how to travel the world with my DRI and Marriot programs.  Believe me I am far from rich. 

Blue, if you decide to eventually buy more points, they key is learning how to use your points to the maximum.  Learn how to use the various elements of the program. There are many options, but the best use of your points is for accommodations. Look at Club Select too. That also gives you more options. 

Bottom line, if you can buy some points resale and then add points, that is the best way to go. However, don't buy more than you can afford in maintenance fee.


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## hvsteve1

On my recent visit to Powhatan, I was pitched more points, which I , of course, didn't buy.  The important thing to know about DRI points is the memo I was shown that they will now sell points only in numbers needed to exchange for a week.  In other words, you cannot buy a small number of points to bring your current ownership or points from a secondary purchase to the minimum needed for membership in The Club.  Now, you have to buy the points necessary for a week's exchange, no partial amounts.


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## Eileen A.

Do you know what the minimum number of points Diamond now requires to bring a resale into the Club?  Not sure what is meant by enough for an exchange.


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## AmexBlack

*Diamond Resorts Trys to Buy BlueGreen*

Go to Yahoo Finance 

Type Ticker BXG to see the news!


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## timeos2

AmexBlack said:


> Go to Yahoo Finance
> 
> Type Ticker BXG to see the news!



Sound like they got shut out & they don't like it.


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## fluke

Eileen A. said:


> Do you know what the minimum number of points Diamond now requires to bring a resale into the Club?  Not sure what is meant by enough for an exchange.



I would speak directly with DRI corporate.  The salesman at the sites tend to misrepresent facts to make more commission.  I think that if the policy has truly changed the corporate DRI would give the best answer.

I don't have contact numbers for their corporate sales, but there are people that have contacted them and posted on this site over the last 12 months.


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