BargainTraveler
newbie
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2019
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 4
- Points
- 3
- Resorts Owned
- Diamond US Collection
Hi TUG!
I'm so lost and so confused, first and foremost.
Here is what we signed up for and associated cost:
- Diamond US Collection
- 5,000 pts per year each year for 10 years
- COST: $9,026 at 16.99% (**I'd pay it off within a year though)
- Maintenance Fees: Presented as $660/yr first two years, goes up to $900/yr after
- Access to Interval International
- Silver upgrades first 2 years
Gifts: 1 Tablet, 1 Vegas New Owner trip, 1 Hawaii Dream Vacation, $100 dinner gift card, and the two gifts simply for attending (two SW plane tickets and a 3-day/2-night stay in one of 18 spots)
So here are my points of confusion after reading the paperwork more at home and researching online, and I need help!!
1) Diamond US Collection - So are we limited to only Diamond US properties? I read that these may not even include California and Hawaii? (We live in AZ and Cali would be our #1 most used destination!)
2) I read that we can't use these points in Europe? ......... ???
3) Maintenance Fees - I had understood the rate is locked in. However, everything I'm reading says this is not so and by far the biggest complaint people have. Sooo it's NOT locked in?
4) What are the points really worth? - The sales person showed us a list of great rooms available for minimal points for 3 nights (200-400 points for 3 nights) in say Payson, AZ, which was just a nearby example we had discussed. However, now I'm reading that 5000 points really may not go far at all. My notion of 10 3-day weekend stays across the US is falling apart. (We usually pay $150 a night for hotel when we travel in the US and the Diamond properties would suit our level of comfortplus we actually prefer to go places off-peak times. 10 3-day stays cash-out would come out to $4500. Our Diamond rate with MFs comes out to about $2400/yr, buuuut I'm getting the distinct impression that we will simply NOT regularly actually find those 400 point 3-day stays to be able to maximize our benefits the way I expected..... That makes this a little less attractive, of course.
5) As an Intro Package, are there limitations I dont know about?
We loooove to travel and as my username suggests, I also loooove a bargain... Ultimately, I felt that $9000 over 10 years was actually not awful if it means we get to travel more and $55-75 a month in MFs is feasible... But hearing that MFs could and most likely WILL skyrocket AND that maybe we cannot go to Europe using the points both boil down to dealbreakers.
So even at the cost/rate we got which I feel is lower than many pay, is it time to walk away while we still can?
Thanks, TUG family, in advance.
I'm so lost and so confused, first and foremost.
Here is what we signed up for and associated cost:
- Diamond US Collection
- 5,000 pts per year each year for 10 years
- COST: $9,026 at 16.99% (**I'd pay it off within a year though)
- Maintenance Fees: Presented as $660/yr first two years, goes up to $900/yr after
- Access to Interval International
- Silver upgrades first 2 years
Gifts: 1 Tablet, 1 Vegas New Owner trip, 1 Hawaii Dream Vacation, $100 dinner gift card, and the two gifts simply for attending (two SW plane tickets and a 3-day/2-night stay in one of 18 spots)
So here are my points of confusion after reading the paperwork more at home and researching online, and I need help!!
1) Diamond US Collection - So are we limited to only Diamond US properties? I read that these may not even include California and Hawaii? (We live in AZ and Cali would be our #1 most used destination!)
2) I read that we can't use these points in Europe? ......... ???
3) Maintenance Fees - I had understood the rate is locked in. However, everything I'm reading says this is not so and by far the biggest complaint people have. Sooo it's NOT locked in?
4) What are the points really worth? - The sales person showed us a list of great rooms available for minimal points for 3 nights (200-400 points for 3 nights) in say Payson, AZ, which was just a nearby example we had discussed. However, now I'm reading that 5000 points really may not go far at all. My notion of 10 3-day weekend stays across the US is falling apart. (We usually pay $150 a night for hotel when we travel in the US and the Diamond properties would suit our level of comfortplus we actually prefer to go places off-peak times. 10 3-day stays cash-out would come out to $4500. Our Diamond rate with MFs comes out to about $2400/yr, buuuut I'm getting the distinct impression that we will simply NOT regularly actually find those 400 point 3-day stays to be able to maximize our benefits the way I expected..... That makes this a little less attractive, of course.
5) As an Intro Package, are there limitations I dont know about?
We loooove to travel and as my username suggests, I also loooove a bargain... Ultimately, I felt that $9000 over 10 years was actually not awful if it means we get to travel more and $55-75 a month in MFs is feasible... But hearing that MFs could and most likely WILL skyrocket AND that maybe we cannot go to Europe using the points both boil down to dealbreakers.
So even at the cost/rate we got which I feel is lower than many pay, is it time to walk away while we still can?
Thanks, TUG family, in advance.