# Using credits to make maintenance fees magically disappear



## clifffaith (Jul 10, 2016)

The last two times we've been to a DRI "update", we've been given a more or less confusing presentation on how to make our Diamond points/credits work to our advantage to drastically reduce maintenance fees.  The bottom line of both presentations was "spend $30K with us today because you'll be spending $30K over the next three years anyway" (our maintenance fees are $10K/year).

Some of the "scheme" involves the DRI credit card, good for 1% cash back, double points on DRI resort purchases.  That adds up to nothing fast, and was a pain in the butt to get my first $50 back earlier this year.  Another part is buying DRI trip insurance for your booked week, then 60 days out you put in an ongoing search (waitlist) for your exact unit, call to cancel the original vacation and then rebook your same unit resulting in half your points becoming available because reservations made within 60 days of travel only cost half the usual number of points.  Then you use all those extra points you're saving to book cars, activities etc for points rather than cash -- or at least you do until someone closes that loophole.  There were several other gobbledygook tips for turning more points into money to reduce maintenance fees.  Most a load of BS as far as we could tell.

We wonder if any DRI owner is doing any of these things to reduce their maintenance fees and finding it workable? I'd love to find someone working the system the way they tell us it can be worked, just to see if it is actually possible. 

We found yesterday's sit down very interesting -- they spent the whole time telling us how our maintenance fees are outrageous, especially since you can book the same rooms so cheap on Expedia, etc.  Funny thing is that until we found TUG in March of this year we had no idea that Diamond rooms were available on travel websites.  Strange way to (not) make a sale.  Also find it strange how they never seem to know what ownership level we hold, which collections our points are in, or when the last time we bought was.  Don't know if they just pretend they don't know any of this and  it is a stalling tactic to keep us talking to the salesperson while the manager looks up the info.  At the very least you'd think they'd want to keep track of folks like us who have rescinded contracts in the past.  Not like they were busy in Ramona, CA yesterday -- they have spots for three presentations and only two were going on.  Can't imagine why they didn't know who was coming in unless it is all a big charade.  Hawaii where they are churning dozens of people a day I can understand, but out in the boondocks I don't get being ignorant of the prospect's background info.


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## artringwald (Jul 11, 2016)

I got two years maintenance fees for free. When DRI went public, I bought $5000 worth of their stock. When the $1500 MF was due, the stock was worth over $6500 so I sold $1500 and paid the MF. It kept going up so I did the same thing again the next year. It was a great feeling to get money back from DRI. But then they started changing the rules for points and Club membership, so I got feed up with DRI and sold the remaining stock for $5200. However, I wouldn't recommend this strategy for anyone now. With the Apollo acquisition, DRI stocks will disappear.


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## dougp26364 (Jul 11, 2016)

There's ALWAYS been a scheme since they came out with points but, there's always been a cost.

One thing owners did in the old days, back when the company was called Sunterra, was buy up points on the resale market, validate them by making a small developer purchase to get them into Sunoptions, then reserve and rent out popular weeks for profit. This became something of a cottage vacation rental industry. When DRI took over they enforced a rule against owners renting for profit and left a few owners holding the bag on hundreds of thousands of points, along with the MF to go with those points.

Then there was the idea one could buy more points and use those points to pay MF's. The problem with that idea was that you ALWAYS received less than what you paid.

I had a salesman try to sell me the idea of reserving last minute and having his "secretary" rent those weeks for profit. Once you owned you'd find out he didn't really have a secretary and you were left holding the bag. 

All the benefits they sell you own cost MORE than the benefit they're giving you. Our last update they tried to convince us to go from Silver to Gold Elite and use some benefit to "make a profit" and pay for the upgrade. When I told him to leave the table and let me put pen to paper, it came out as a loss of several hundred dollars/year. 

In the end you MUST remember that the rules can/will change whenever DRI wants them to change. ANYTHING that benefits the owners at a cost to DRI can and will be changed. Loopholes can be closed as soon as they're found at DRI's discretion. 

NEVER buy a timeshare for the benefits promised today when those very same benefits can be changed or taken away tomorrow and, ALL benefits can be changed or taken away tomorrow. 

Here's big for instance. We purchased our very first timeshare at Polo Towers. Two things helped cement the purchase. 1. The owners lounge on top of the resort that had a great view of the Las Vegas strip and 2. The easement that "guaranteed" no construction could be done in front of the resort over 4 stories, "guaranteeing" the view forever.

WELL, after the resort sold out they closed the owners lounge and turned it into an office. Then a few years later a developer with big bucks and big plans offered to buy out the easement in front of Polo Towers. The only thing that saved the view was the real estate bubble burst and the plans went down the drain. So the two big reasons to buy weren't good reasons to buy. There's no more owners lounge and the easement can be bought out. I have a copy of the original contract and, there was a provision buried that they could sell the easement and give owners what I'd call a minor payment for the loss. 

Only buy a timeshare based on your desire to use it. There are no such things as permanent benefits that make the purchase worth it in any other form.


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## tperez (Jul 11, 2016)

*I've been to a number of these presentations*

Yep, my wife and I have been to a number of these "get rid of your maintenance fees" presentations.  At this point is it really hard not to laugh.  At my last presentation, we actually cut them off early on by casually telling them that at the previous presentation we were at, they had some dumb sales pitch about never paying maintenance fees.  I think our sales person was a bit puzzled as to what to do next.  But they quickly shifted into their backup sales pitch of saying there was some mysterious error in our file and that if we exercised an option that day, we could get a whole lot of points for barely anything.

Anyway, after the first "get rid of maintenance fees" presentation, I recall I did go back to my room and do some analysis of what I thought I understood them saying.  But, I couldn't make the numbers work.  The dollar per point conversions were too low, there were assumptions about reserving a week and selling/renting it out at above market rates, etc.

We really like our DRI ownership and properties, we just hate these presentations!


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## mbinpa (Jul 11, 2016)

I have been to several of these owner update meetings in which they try and get folks to buy more points for added value.  My DW and I sat for over 4 hours with multiple salespeople trying to explain how it all works and it took a long time to sink in.  Their sales pitch was that you can use your points and never pay MF or travel expenses again.

The sales pitch went like this - buy enough points and your MF as well as all your travel expenses can be covered using points.  For example - you buy an airline ticket for $500 through the DRI travel agency, pay for it with cash, and then submit the bill for reimbursement - hey will send you a check for the $500 after your points "clear".  And yes, they said you can pay your MF with points.  

As I remember it (and I might be remembering it wrong) the catch was that you can only use up to 25% of your point balance for such payments and reimbursements.  And a point does not equal $1.00.  You would have to use a hugh number of points to cover a $1,500 MF.  

So yes, I believe it is possible to pay but you have to buy an incredible number of points to begin with.  At anywhere from $4 to $10 a point - they start high and then "discover" that you 'qualify' for an earlier lower price.  You would need to spend well north of $100,000 to have enough points to totally pay MF.  And remember, the MF increases with the number of points owned.

I got the impression DRI is going for the very well heeled (and stupid?) market.  For Gold members and up they are offering single home mansion rentals and services such as they will prestock your unit with groceries.  But you still have to pay for the food.

They are in the "you have to buy more points to stay in the game" mode.  I have Silver and they are telling me that for only 15,000 more points - at about $4 a point - I can upgrade to Gold.  Still not enough to pay MF or such but I will be looked upon by DRI as a valued owner. Oh, and I will access to some secret portal that will open up all the units I could want to trade to that are now unaccessable to me.

Oh, and when I asked if I can use resale points to go from Silver to Gold they said of course not.  Resale points cannot be combined with my existing points and could only be used to get weeks within the DRI family of resorts.  I told them that that was what I was looking for and was probably my best option - I could buy my own groceries.

It was all very confusing and all designed to sell tens of thousand of more points.  The salesman didn't lie (as far as we can tell) when asked direct questions but there were many omissions that would lead to a regretful purchase if I had not asked.


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## rhonda (Jul 11, 2016)

clifffaith said:


> Not like they were busy in Ramona, CA yesterday


Oh, howdy!  You are in my near neighborhood!  (I'm just a bit farther up in the hills ...)


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## JSDirago (Dec 22, 2018)

tperez said:


> *I've been to a number of these presentations*
> 
> Yep, my wife and I have been to a number of these "get rid of your maintenance fees" presentations.  At this point is it really hard not to laugh.  At my last presentation, we actually cut them off early on by casually telling them that at the previous presentation we were at, they had some dumb sales pitch about never paying maintenance fees.  I think our sales person was a bit puzzled as to what to do next.  But they quickly shifted into their backup sales pitch of saying there was some mysterious error in our file and that if we exercised an option that day, we could get a whole lot of points for barely anything.
> 
> ...



This was similar to what we experienced at DR Polo Towers Vegas a few days ago.  I recognized something didn't sound right and did not pursue, but wasted 2 plus hours.  Upon return, I researched on TUG and some folks shared posts with me. I like my DR ownership and properties too, but HATE the presentations. Is there any value in going at all?


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