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DAE: Two changes

Judy

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Found this morning on www.daelive.com

First change:

DAE’s free membership has always been a great feature for our members. One of the reasons our member base keeps expanding is that we are always adding greater value for vacation owners. And we’re always looking for ways to make sure our membership benefits and customer service remains top notch. Which is why we’re delighted to offer you the chance to upgrade to a Gold Advantage Membership.

For a nominal membership fee, you will have access to some fantastic global and regional benefits.
In fact, the fee is so low chances are you’ll get it back in benefits before you know it!

Exchange your way to…

more global benefits than ever before

Priority Request
If you’ve ever decided upon your next holiday only to discover there’s no availability, you’ll love this feature of Gold Advantage. Although you go onto a waitlist just like other DAE members … your Gold Advantage membership means you are placed at the top of the list. Even if regular members have put in a request before you. In other words, if a resort week comes up, you’ll be informed first. This benefit, on its own, is worth its weight in gold!

Pricing Advantage
Gold Advantage membership will bring real discounts on transaction fees. Just book a couple of last minute getaways and your membership is paid for!

Advance Notice of Availability
A frequently asked for benefit is getting advance notice of availability! So now, Gold Advantage Members will get an opportunity to book new exchange weeks before they are made available to regular members! It truly pays to have the Gold Advantage.

Exchange your way to additional

regional benefits and promotions...

Each DAE regional office will offer a variety of products and discounts which bring even more value to your Gold Advantage membership. These regional benefits will continue to expand to ensure Gold Advantage members are getting the very best deal available in the market.

We can also offer benefits to Gold Advantage members once they reach their destination of choice. You can be sure there’ll be something you’ll want to take advantage of. These include discounts on a range of products and activities designed to make your vacation even more memorable. Many of these benefits can be used right at home too!

If you’re interested in upgrading to a premium membership package that has true value and benefits that fit your vacation ownership lifestyle join now.


Second change:
When you do a search for exchange availability, some of the weeks that come up are marked "Gold Advantage", others are marked "Sold".
 

regatta333

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Found this morning on www.daelive.com

Priority Request
If you’ve ever decided upon your next holiday only to discover there’s no availability, you’ll love this feature of Gold Advantage. Although you go onto a waitlist just like other DAE members … your Gold Advantage membership means you are placed at the top of the list. Even if regular members have put in a request before you. In other words, if a resort week comes up, you’ll be informed first. This benefit, on its own, is worth its weight in gold!

Wow! This will definitely impact my willingness to deposit weeks in the future. I wouldn't mind if Gold members were allowed to request farther out than regular members (the way it works with SFX), but I don't think a request that was placed first should get preempted by a later request, simply because that request was made by a different class of member. That does not seem fair to me.

I have 5 weeks on deposit with DAE. I would never have made these deposits had I known they were going to change the rules of exchanging midstream.
 

Timeshare Von

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I would never have made these deposits had I known they were going to change the rules of exchanging midstream.

Common theme in T/S as it turns out. I think we all need to be aware of the nature of the beast and the potential for this type of "changing of the rules" to happen regardless of who we're dealing with. Sad but true :(
 

Judy

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more

http://www.daelive.com/ga/step1.aspx

To get to this information, you have to log in and then click on "upgrade now" or possibly go through the new member link.

Among other "benefits" of the Gold Advantage membership is

Advance Notice of Inventory Availability - Gold Advantage Members will have the ability to book new inventory postings for 14 days before it is posted to the general member base. Advance Notice ensures Gold Advantage members get an opportunity to book the newest inventory before it is released to general availability!

All of these benefits are now available to you for $89. BUT sign up in February, 2009 and join for an introductory price of only $39 per year.

:mad:

It looks like pay up for a Gold Advantage membership or have all the good deposits grabbed up by those who do. I'm afraid I've just seen my deposit become worthless :bawl:
 

regatta333

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Found this morning on www.daelive.com

Advance Notice of Availability
A frequently asked for benefit is getting advance notice of availability! So now, Gold Advantage Members will get an opportunity to book new exchange weeks before they are made available to regular members! It truly pays to have the Gold Advantage.

Does this mean Gold members get advance notice of availability at a particular resort, even if a regular member has a pending request for that resort and the Gold member does not?

In other words, if a regular member has the only request pending for a specific resort, and the inventory becomes available, will he/she have to wait until Gold members have been notified of it and decide whether or not they want it?
 

london

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Changing Rules with Various Exchange Companies

I don't like this turn of events at all.

Dori

Timeshare rules are constanting changing. Could be points needed for certain units or seasons. Or pricing cost of exchanges by various exchange companies.

Could be bonus time, or seasons. Timesharing is a vacation concept that continually changes with the times.

We are staying with our weeks program, as points are not in our plan for.

Since we are retired the weeks program works for. Also, we plan to exchange less and use our weeks for the most part.

Dori, where are you now. We are still in Cocoa Beach
 

Judy

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I don't like this turn of events at all.

Dori
I don't think it's unreasonable that DAE wants to charge an annual membership fee, although I suspect that not many people will want to pay it when it goes up to $89 per year.

What I find infuriating is that they have created two classes of members, promoting a new class over the heads of their original members, and in the process devaluing their deposits. I already have a deposit in the DAE system, that I gave them under their old rules. Overnight I've seen that deposit become worthless. :mad: Now I have the "opportunity" to pay more money to regain what I had in the first place, but I no longer want to do business with this company.
 

Dori

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Judy I totally agree with your comments! Already I too feel like a second-class citizen! I will certainly be rethinking making any depostis with them. :mad:

London, we are at Calini Beach Club, in Siesta Key. It is a very small, quiet resort, but very nice. Next week, we are off to Vistana's Beach Club, in Jensen Beach.

Dori
 

funtime

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I have no idea how the financial end is at the DAE exchange company. but "free services" may not be a model that will take them into the future. At some point, they probably took a hard look at their books and decided that they needed more money coming in, expecially in a downturn in the economy. Funtime
 

carl2591

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I agree the FREE model has limits.. however it would be better to have a same class membership of $35.00 per yr.. not a free and $89.00 gold membership.. I see a sinking ship trying to bail water with new money..

to bad, it seemed like a lot of people fed up with RCI had started depositing more stuff with DAE only to have this happen... "RUDE" as my teenager would say..
 

falmouth3

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FWIW, over on timeshareforums.com there is a similar thread and a representative has answered some of the questions that have been asked here.

Sue
 
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