# Dri Resale Points



## smelly1 (Jan 22, 2010)

Ok, so, I think I want to buy DRI Points.  Three questions - 

1. Does just having DRI points without being a member of THE Club allow me to trade with in their system of 20 or so resorts?

2. What is the lowest price I can hope to join THE Club for and how do I get that price?

3. Between HGVC and DRI, which has the least drama, most value for the points and is easiest to work with?

Your experiences please.

Thanks
Daniel


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## AwayWeGo (Jan 22, 2010)

*We Have No Ownership Experience With DRI & Are Apt To Keep It That Way.*




smelly1 said:


> What is the lowest price I can hope to join THE Club for and how do I get that price?


Any time we have subjected ourselves to the DRI sales pitch (e.g., 2 weeks ago, most recently), the bottom line to get into their "club" has been buying _something_ from them at full freight -- i.e., $11,000 or so for a minimal purchase, which would include adding the DRI-affiliated timeshares we already own to our points total. 

By us, nothing the timeshare companies sell at full freight is worth the money, period.  And that goes for DRI just as much as all the others. 

Shux, just a plain-vanilla DRI club initiation fee of $3,000 or so (assuming they offer that) is about $1*,*000 more than we paid for the most expensive timeshare we own. 

By timeshares resale.  Save thousands of dollars. 

If you absolutely must buy into a proprietary points-based timeshare system, consider resale Wyndham points.  (Key word = resale.)   Wyndham has more timeshares in more locations than DRI, plus there are no restrictions on buying resale (& selling resale, when it comes to that). 

_Full Disclosure*:*_  All our timeshares are resale.  We wouldn't touch DRI with a 10-foot pole.  But that's just us. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## csalter2 (Jan 23, 2010)

*A Different Perspective from an Owner*



smelly1 said:


> Ok, so, I think I want to buy DRI Points.  Three questions -
> 
> 1. Does just having DRI points without being a member of THE Club allow me to trade with in their system of 20 or so resorts?
> 
> ...



I have a different perspective of DRI and I am a member of The Club. All timeshare systems have some sort of drama. I belong to Marriott and although many of us are happy with our timeshare, we have drama over things that happen. Most DRI owners are happy with their points system. However, like timeshare owners everywhere, we are not happy with the increases in maitenance fees. DRI has increased the number of resorts and has been steadily improving the quality of the resorts since they took over from Sunterra about 3 years ago. 

If you do buy resale, and into the US Collection which does have about 20 resorts, you can have access into only those resorts. However, if you want to be able to access all of DRI's resorts and affiliates, you need to belong to the Club. The advantage to the Club is that you can exchange into all of the DRI timeshare locations and pay no exchange fee. They have about 130 resorts all over the world and they keep adding more. Just today I received information that they now have an affiliate in Ireland. I love the size of many of the resorts' units. They are usually very big, even bigger than Marriott unit sometimes. They don't have all of the amenities that a Marriott will have, but they usually do have fully stocked rooms at most locations with refrigerators, washer and dryers and fully stocked kitchens.

The cost of bringing in resale units is of question at this time. It used to be you could bring in a unit to join the Club for about $3000. Now people are saying that DRI wants you to buy a package of points when you bring in your resale units. Thus, it is difficult to know unless someone on this forum or better yet Timeshare Forums (another site that has more DRI information and owners who subscribe) has had recent experience. You may need to just call DRI a couple of times or go to one of their sales presentations to see if you can negotiate a deal to find out what the price is. There is a tendency for things to change particularly in the current market.

On DRI's members forums, there are not a lot of complaints from owners. There used to be a lot of concerns about availability and making reservations. However, there don't seem to be many complaints about that any more. The new website seems to have helped that immensely. I personally have been able to make reservations at any resort in their system. It just takes a little planning and a little not a lot of flexibility. 

I would suggest going to http://www.timeshareforums.com/ to find out more information on DRI from other members. Yu will have others who are very knowledgeable about the system. 

I love the points system and its flexibility. It is costly from the developer so if you can do resale cheaper I would do so. You do need about 12,000 to 15,000 points to have some flexibility and get the type of accommodations you may need for a 2 bdrm during peak and high season.


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## dwmantz (Jan 23, 2010)

1)  Owning points allows you full access to that collections resorts.  The US Collection has the most.  There is also a California and a Hawaii Collection, each with much fewer resorts.

2)  Latest news is that you must buy a min of 2000 additional points at $3000 per contract you want to bring into Club.

3)  I know nothing of HGVC.

4)  TUG marketplace has a number of listings of DRI points for resale.


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## Bill4728 (Jan 23, 2010)

smelly1 said:


> 3. Between HGVC and DRI, which has the least drama, most value for the points and is easiest to work with?


With HGVC, you can buy resale and still be treated like every other owner including being able to trade in your TS for hotel points (if you want)  BUT HGVC does not have that many resort locations. PLUS your purchase price will be close to your selling price. 

With DRI you get only the 19 US collection resort when you buy US collection points  To get the full ~100 club locations you must upgrade into the Club. The extra $3000 you pay to join the club will never be recovered when you sell.

Since I see you live on the west coast, have you looked into Worldmark?  They treat resale owners almost as well as HGVC and have many more resort locations.


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## pgnewarkboy (Jan 25, 2010)

*DRI has been good for me*

Going this year to St. Maarten and Paris.  All DRI resorts - no exchange fees.  I am very happy with DRI.  Can you re-sell your points?  Don't know.  You cannot re-sell your Club membership and I find using the Club to be very good and the way to get the most out of DRI.  In the past it cost 2500$ to join the club.  For that you get great flexibility.  You can use your points at any DRI owned resort, affiliate resort, or Hotels that accept DRI points programs.  You can use your points for airline tickets, cruises, and package vacations.

Who has more resorts is less important to me then can you get into them although DRI has an excellent selection.

Would DRI be a good deal for you?  Couldn't say.  It all depends on what you are looking for.  If you want an investment don't buy any timeshare from any company. If you want to buy vacations and flexibility is important  DRI deserves serious consideration - specifically the Club.


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## pgnewarkboy (Jan 25, 2010)

Bill4728 said:


> (with HGVC) PLUS your purchase price will be close to your selling price.
> 
> .



In this economy, I have serious doubt about the above statement.  OP should do serious research on HGVC resales to check accuracy of this statement.


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## Bill4728 (Jan 25, 2010)

Bill4728 said:
			
		

> With DRI you get only the 19 US collection resort when you buy US collection points  To get the full ~100 club locations you must upgrade into the Club. The extra $3000 you pay to join the club will never be recovered when you sell.



I was mainly was trying to say that with DRI any extra money you spent to get into the club will never be recovered with your sale. 



Bill4728 said:


> With HGVC, ===== PLUS your purchase price will be close to your selling price.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I believe that you could buy a HGVC TS now and if in a year or two, sell it without taking a huge beating in the price difference.  BUT who could have guessed that the price for HGVC would drop so low and you're right, who knows what they will do in the future.


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## Dori (Feb 7, 2010)

We attended a presentation at Cypress Pointe last week. Just for interest's sake, any idea of the number of points required to reserve a 3-bedroom Florida unit in February?

Just curious. Thanks!

Dori


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## csalter2 (Feb 7, 2010)

*Florida Points in February*



Dori said:


> We attended a presentation at Cypress Pointe last week. Just for interest's sake, any idea of the number of points required to reserve a 3-bedroom Florida unit in February?
> 
> Just curious. Thanks!
> 
> Dori



In Florida in February for a 3 bedrooms

Cypress Point Phase I - 7000 points
Cypress Point Phase II - 9000 points
Grand Beach - 10,500 points
Coconut Palms - 7000 points

You may be able to reduce those by half if you are looking at doing it this year since it's under the 60 day flex time.


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## timeos2 (Feb 8, 2010)

*Points assignments are over 10 years old*



csalter2 said:


> In Florida in February for a 3 bedrooms
> 
> Cypress Point Phase I - 7000 points
> Cypress Point Phase II - 9000 points
> ...



Those numbers are correct but they raise a question or two.  What a bargain Cypress Pointe Resort (Phase 1) is as it has undergone not one but two major renovations and unit upgrades since the point levels were established in 1999. At that time the resort was nearly 10 years old and had NEVER had any serious work done on the units except for items "disappearing" as they wore out. The management of that period seemed focused on sales of the then newer Cypress Pointe Grande Villas (Phase 2) and didn't pay much of any attention to their original, "flagship" resort CPR.  It made sense that the point value to utilize CPR would be lower than the 5 year newer CPGV was at that time. 

After the change to a new management in 2001 the CPR units got, among other work, completely new decor including all new appliances, furnishings, soft goods, etc. The resort led the way with Internet access in the units starting in late 2001 and upgrades in 2005 and 2008 to full wireless. HDTV in 2006, continuous site improvements and much more over the intervening years. 

Now in 2010 the units are getting yet another round of big time renovations with all new floor tile, new kitchen and bath cabinets, granite counter tops and bath surrounds, redesigned 2nd (small) bedrooms for natural light, better utilization of space along with a new queen sized bed and (finally) doors on the toilet/bath areas in the two master bath areas (a major change to the original, open design).  Meanwhile CPGV has had few changes although they are currently renovating the 1 bedroom side and have plans for renovation/upgrades to the 2 bedroom side soon.  Thus the lower points required for CPR represent a true bargain and may explain why it fills up much quicker than CPGV or Grand Beach. 

I have no idea if DRI plans to review the point assignments but until or unless they do CPR stands out as a DRI points bargain. But that also means that the points required for CPGV, Poly and Grand Beach may be inflated vs the value of the units. How that gets addressed or if it even does remains an unknown.  It is a common question with all points based systems (my Wyndham points charts haven't changed in over a decade while the resorts have changed considerably both for better and worse. It would seem a change in the assigned values is needed there as well).  

Naturally if the day came when point values are changed the owners of the resorts that get bumped up will be happy and those reduced would be hollering. Yet the old values also leave an imbalance that should be addressed. I've heard nothing about any adjustments so I have to assume things will stay as is and we'll have to base our use on current values going forward. But like everything they are subject to change and we could be surprised when they get changed at some point in time.


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## csalter2 (Feb 9, 2010)

*Oveloaded Market?*



timeos2 said:


> Those numbers are correct but they raise a question or two.  What a bargain Cypress Pointe Resort (Phase 1) is as it has undergone not one but two major renovations and unit upgrades since the point levels were established in 1999. At that time the resort was nearly 10 years old and had NEVER had any serious work done on the units except for items "disappearing" as they wore out. The management of that period seemed focused on sales of the then newer Cypress Pointe Grande Villas (Phase 2) and didn't pay much of any attention to their original, "flagship" resort CPR.  It made sense that the point value to utilize CPR would be lower than the 5 year newer CPGV was at that time.
> 
> After the change to a new management in 2001 the CPR units got, among other work, completely new decor including all new appliances, furnishings, soft goods, etc. The resort led the way with Internet access in the units starting in late 2001 and upgrades in 2005 and 2008 to full wireless. HDTV in 2006, continuous site improvements and much more over the intervening years.
> 
> ...



John, I have noticed this too. DRI immediately made distinctions in its points requirements for properties that it gave upgrades to. It calls the various rooms in a property a specific kind of suite or something. They basically increase the points for the new granite countertops and appliances, whirlpools, etc. When I was at CPR two years ago, I was told that there would be renovations and CPR would be a great resort. I was even told to buy now, but don't come back until 2011 when everything should be done. It seems like it's ready now. 

Maybe because there are so many resorts in the Orlando area that the points have not gone up. I must say that I really liked the Grand Beach. The 3 bedrooms are very, spacious and they are being upgraded too. They don't have the big resort feel that CPR does, but their rooms are nicely equipped and they offer fishing and boating at the lake. For kids, the pools are not as nice as CPR. I think the two properties are both fine, but offer different things. 

Both properties usually have lots of availability for a long time. I went last summer to Orlando and if I did not need two 3 bedrooms could have waited out for flex time and had reduced points. I truly believe it is that Orlando is saturated with timeshare resorts and that's why availability is high and the points are not adjusted as of now.


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## winger (Feb 9, 2010)

pgnewarkboy said:


> Going this year to St. Maarten and Paris.  All DRI resorts - no exchange fees....


which one is in Paris?  thanks


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