Club Select

[RuralEngineer]

just deposited a studio for 5,500. fee is $59. This is a great benefit if you can use it. Split a 2 BR unit stay in the 1 BR and use the studio for additional points.

 

[TEA CIE]

How did you do it?

Newbie here first post.

Did you have to first get a week somewhere and then deposit? Is it a DRI week?

 

[kalima]

Club Combinations

I believe this is called Club Combinations....you buy half the points from DRI that your 'other' unit is worth...(this other unit can be from another TS operation)...then they will allow you to deposit your week into Club Combo for a certain number of points....It sounds good BUT I don't like the idea of buying any more points from DRI directly so probably won't do this myself...time will tell though I am still learning and fairly new to this TS game

 

[kalima]

Also

Rural Engineer: how do I know (without asking DRI) how many points they may give me for my 'other' week? I have a traditional TS week owned at a DRI resort....the higher point weeks are around 17,000 and the lower point weeks are around 6500.....I assume they will only give the lower amount of points if you deposit the week? My week is floating......also don't you end up pay 2x MF when you do this? I may be totally confused and have had this explained to me in the past but I don't think I have ever TRULY totally undersood it....if you deposit your week with CC aren't you then paying more MF for those points as well as the MF for your original week? This is the part I have never understood as it seems a rip off to me....but then again I am probably not understanding it correctly. Do you feel that it is better to go the Club Combo route rather than just taking on (for free) some resale points? What are your thoughts on pros and cons and why someone may do this rather than get resale points....sorry for all the questions, hopefully I will finally 'get it' after hopefully receiving your reply

 

[TEA CIE]

I believe this is called Club Combinations....you buy half the points from DRI that your 'other' unit is worth...(this other unit can be from another TS operation)...then they will allow you to deposit your week into Club Combo for a certain number of points....It sounds good BUT I don't like the idea of buying any more points from DRI directly so probably won't do this myself...time will tell though I am still learning and fairly new to this TS game

Hi, Kalima, it's Theresa from DRI Friends WW. I should be a TuggBBS member here too but somehow they still have me listed as a guest. I was here first in January this year and that's how I saw your post announcing the FaceBook group. Good to "see" you again here. Thanks again for all your helpful posts.

 

[kalima]

HI!!!

TUG is great isn't it! I do like our FB page as it has a higher concentration of DRI members with regular postings...but there are also some very experienced seasoned DRI members on TUG There is always something to learn! I joined DRI in Nov 2013 and was so freaked out by what I had done! I am on a mission of knowledge now to use this the best way possible....a couple months ago I took on a resale week that I found here on TUG! I feel very happy with what I now have (at the moment)....

 

[kalima]

membership

Theresa I paid the $15 fee to be a member of TUG to get the full value. Actually I paid less than that and bought a 3 year membership....maybe that is why it shows you as a guest...when you buy the membership you get to view the resort reviews and advertise in the Marketplace....I figure I am in TSing for the long haul so may as well pay my dues and get the most out of this that I can...

 

[TEA CIE]

Theresa I paid the $15 fee to be a member of TUG to get the full value. Actually I paid less than that and bought a 3 year membership....maybe that is why it shows you as a guest...when you buy the membership you get to view the resort reviews and advertise in the Marketplace....I figure I am in TSing for the long haul so may as well pay my dues and get the most out of this that I can...

I paid the $15 membership fee too although just for a year. Right now it doesn't matter what I'm listed as long as I can read and post. But not sure if it will affect my ability to do some of the other things here....

 

[TEA CIE]

TUG is great isn't it! I do like our FB page as it has a higher concentration of DRI members with regular postings...but there are also some very experienced seasoned DRI members on TUG There is always something to learn! I joined DRI in Nov 2013 and was so freaked out by what I had done! I am on a mission of knowledge now to use this the best way possible....a couple months ago I took on a resale week that I found here on TUG! I feel very happy with what I now have (at the moment)....

Congrats on getting the resale. Which is it? Did you get a good deal?

 

[kalima]

KBC

Congrats on getting the resale. Which is it? Did you get a good deal?

I picked up a deeded floating week every other even year at KBC (I believe that is where you also bought in Maui)...it is a Deluxe Ocean View....1 bedroom....I got it for free and the seller paid all transfer costs...

 

[RuralEngineer]

clarification

I believe this is called Club Combinations.

no i did this with my Club Select benefits. I also have Club Combinations. Today, they may only offer Club Combinations as it is an improved version of Club Select. I have both.

 

[RuralEngineer]

Rural Engineer: how do I know (without asking DRI) how many points they may give me for my 'other' week? Do you feel that it is better to go the Club Combo route rather than just taking on (for free) some resale points? What are your thoughts on pros and cons and why someone may do this rather than get resale points....sorry for all the questions, hopefully I will finally 'get it' after hopefully receiving your reply

so for a RED week a studio is 5500 pts, a 1 BR is 6500 pts, and I believe a 2 BR is 8500 but you should ask. in my case, since my 2 BR is a lockout i could get 11,500 pts total if i wanted.

you should ALWAYS add club combinations when you are doing a deal. the main benefit is getting you to the next tier level (Silver, GOLD, Platinum) at a lower cost. you should ALWAYS bring resale points into your club account if you are doing any new deal. both result in a lower overall cost per points.

 

[TEA CIE]

I picked up a deeded floating week every other even year at KBC (I believe that is where you also bought in Maui)...it is a Deluxe Ocean View....1 bedroom....I got it for free and the seller paid all transfer costs...

Woohoo! That's awesome, Kalima. It's a much better deal than mine. I had to pay for mine in Kauai. That's one thing I really don't get: why it is a zero sum or even negative game when it comes time to selling most if not all Diamond weeks, while for some other resort brands especially like Disney and Marriott the seller would at least recoup part of their initial purchase cost and not give away completely. Any reason why such differences? Is it done on purpose by the Diamond system or something organic grown between sellers and buyers?

 

[artringwald]

Woohoo! That's awesome, Kalima. It's a much better deal than mine. I had to pay for mine in Kauai. That's one thing I really don't get: why it is a zero sum or even negative game when it comes time to selling most if not all Diamond weeks, while for some other resort brands especially like Disney and Marriott the seller would at least recoup part of their initial purchase cost and not give away completely. Any reason why such differences? Is it done on purpose by the Diamond system or something organic grown between sellers and buyers?

Before Diamond Resorts took over, Sunterra under-priced the MF's, and neglected maintenance. After DRI bought Sunterra, they improved maintenance of the properties, but also had to increase MF's. They got control of the HOA's and authorized higher payments to themselves for management which increased MF's again. When we bought at the Point at Poipu from Sunterra in 2004 the MF's were about $600/week. Now they're over $1600/week (not counting the special assessment). That's why many owners are ready to sell for low prices or even give them away. In spite of the high MF's, I think a deeded week at KBC or P@P is still a good deal. They are both very nice resorts in wonderful locations.

By the way, I wouldn't even consider buying DRI points, even though many, many owners are trying to give them away.

 

[TEA CIE]

By the way, I wouldn't even consider buying DRI points, even though many, many owners are trying to give them away.

Art, you would or wouldn't consider buying DRI points?

 

[Baldwin]

I believe the goal is to maximize benefits while minimizing ownership of DRI points. Club Select and now Club Combinations are ways to do that. The problem that I see with DRI points is the MF are very high. That is why people give them away or pay you to take them.

 

[Baldwin]

PS, I am a happy DRI and TS owner.

 

[Baldwin]

Hi, Kalima, it's Theresa from DRI Friends WW. I should be a TuggBBS member here too but somehow they still have me listed as a guest. I was here first in January this year and that's how I saw your post announcing the FaceBook group. Good to "see" you again here. Thanks again for all your helpful posts.

Theresa, you need to register on the TUG BBS as a member. Hopefully this link will work and show you how to do it.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53

 

[kalima]

membership

It's weird as Theresa said she already has signed up as a member but it keeps showing her as guest....not sure why that would be....also Theresa I believe that sometimes people do not investigate enough their options...they just want 'out' and when you look at the TUG boards there are lots to be just given away...some people, if patient, do have luck actually selling their weeks...When we first bought, from DRI, we didn't have a clue about any of this...I would never have thought of taking one for free online etc....that thought sounds scary and opening myself up for problems....BUT since then I have read these boards many times per week and also our FB site of course many times daily. I have educated myself and feel confident that I could buy or take one from someone online that I have never met!............I have a very small DRI points allocation (2500) that are full club points bought from DRI...then I have my traditional TS week that I recently picked up....My ownership with DRI gives me access to II, DRI Getaways and of course access to all DRI resorts but my points holding is very low so wouldn't get me a lot right now....In the future I know I will likely want more flexibility so not sure whether to just take on free resale points or whether to join the Club Combinations and get points that way by using my owned week...(maybe someone on here can give me a simple breakdown of pros and cons-club combo or resale & convert etc) .Also as my owned week is in a high demand area I am thinking I might be better off just renting it out and then using the $ from the rental to book something elsewhere, maybe Mexico, and getting more for my money that way....There are some awesome deals on TUG Marketplace for renting as well....Still very early days for us though and right now we are super happy with Maui

 

[kalima]

hahaha

the more I think about this the more I think that I am right about renting out my week, if need be, and paying for a rental via another tugger...my small points can be saved to the next year to give me 5000 which is enough to book either a cheaper week in Maui at another resort or to just go somewhere else for a week or so....I am really enjoying learning about all of this and it seems to have become a bit of a hobby Art (his post above) is saying that he would never buy points....I believe he is very happy with his Hawaii ownership and probably mainly just goes there The points value to get the same accommodation and time etc is much higher in fees so no point for him switching...

 

[TEA CIE]

Finally

I am listed as TUG member, yippee!

Thank you, TUG Brian, for the link to find out my membership code. I put it in my bbs profile and wallah, a member is born!

 

[artringwald]

the more I think about this the more I think that I am right about renting out my week, if need be, and paying for a rental via another tugger...my small points can be saved to the next year to give me 5000 which is enough to book either a cheaper week in Maui at another resort or to just go somewhere else for a week or so....I am really enjoying learning about all of this and it seems to have become a bit of a hobby Art (his post above) is saying that he would never buy points....I believe he is very happy with his Hawaii ownership and probably mainly just goes there The points value to get the same accommodation and time etc is much higher in fees so no point for him switching...

I have the best of both worlds. I bought from the developer at a time when they were selling deeded weeks with membership in the Club. The one week we bought gives us plenty of points to use at any DRI resort world wide. Later we bough 2 more float/float deeded weeks that let us book ocean front at Poipu.

 

[GrumpyDude]

Club Combinations Details

Hey Stephen,

Good to see you still TUG'n along here! You helped out on a thread I started last September re: Club Select; now Club Combinations. What I didn't know then was that my in-laws had bought into DRI with a long-time friend. Well, on a trip with them to Vegas I came into the fold when they upgraded to 15K and my 15K Worldmark ownership was factored in to make us Gold @ an equivalent 30K. And that's for life, whether I ever make a deposit or not as we were told!

It seemed like a pretty good option to breathe new life into my Worldmark ownership since they also factored in the value of an expiring Sampler package that it was looking like I was going to lose out on. I will basically never use the 15k DRI base points leaving those for the in-laws and friend and use the system as an alternative utilization for my Worldmark ownership.

So... Looking at your post above, it looks like you have used the Club Combinations system. Can you give any pointers or details on what or how to deposit? I have found the online form and the PDF version of it as well to fax in but haven't been able to find any real "instructions", if you will. If you wouldn't mind a little brain picking... If you have any thoughts or experience on some questions I'd appreciate it! A few questions I have are...

When I book the WM time I presume it should be a full 7 day week booked.

Do they prefer any particular check-in days? Being WM I can do any day of the week based on availability. I have logically concluded that I should probably match one of the days that RCI shows for the particular resorts check-in days.

Do I need to then put it into RCI before filling out the form?

Any particular name to be put on the reservation?

Do they seem to prefer or reject resorts that you know of? For example, I can pretty readily do red season Studio, 1 Bd and 2 Bd at Rancho Vistoso in the foothills of Tucson. Whenever I did an RCI or II WM exchange, this was the resort I saw that got booked just about every time as well, but... Tucson?!

I know some of this I should probably get from DRI direct, but they were having system issues and said they'd have to call me back. No such call yet. Can just any ol' reservation rep help with this or is there a special department that handles these details that you know of.

Anyway, any help or experience with the system you could pass on would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[RuralEngineer]

Use

. And that's for life, whether I ever make a deposit or not as we were told!

Can you give any pointers or details on what or how to deposit?

When I book the WM time I presume it should be a full 7 day week booked.

Do they prefer any particular check-in days?

Do I need to then put it into RCI before filling out the form?

Any particular name to be put on the reservation?

Yes you discovered the amazing benefits of Club Combinations and Club Select for that matter. There is a point chart that will answer many of your questions. Bottom line beach resorts have higher point values. So, for me depositing a Studio at a beach gives me that best return. The unit must already be confirmed and you list the guest as Club Select - DRI.

The online form is easy to use. Takes a few weeks to process. This is really an amazing benefit that few probably use properly.

Stephen

 

[GrumpyDude]

There is a point chart that will answer many of your questions. Bottom line beach resorts have higher point values. So, for me depositing a Studio at a beach gives me that best return.

Is this point chart available anywhere in the DRI logins? I've looked everywhere and can't seem to find it or anything else Club Combinations related for that matter other than the forms.

Thanks