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Diamond US Trust Timeshare - Should I rescind?? Please advise

komccarthy

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Hi,

I am new here and would love some advice about Diamond International Timeshares.

A little bit of history....

My husband and I went on a tour in January 2012 at their Lake Tahoe resort. I always thought timeshares were a rip off so I refused to buy anything. Then they gave me an option to purchase a Sampler. I liked the idea because there was no commitment. We paid $2295 for 15,000 points and were able to get 1 week @ the Villa Mirage (2bd), 1 week in Maui (1bd) and 1 week Tahoe (2br) during ski season. Honestly I think that is a good deal and are very pleased with what we purchased.

While we were in AZ we were required to go on a tour (otherwise they would charge us full rate). We took the tour and were offered the following:

5,000 points in the US collection trust for $17,000. They applied $2295 (our sampler cost) to the purchase so our actually cost with closing etc. was around $15,000. They also threw in 3,750 extra points. Our MF will be $1,087.

I really do like the Diamond Program. We are very flexible travelers and don't need to go anywhere in peak season. I really think I can work the system with a low amount of points. We also don't mind exchanging them in II or buying The Club Select vacations with money vs. points. We usually travel Tuesday to Tuesday etc.

Before we bought a time share.... I would simply go on ebay and pay to rent a week from other owners. The sales rep told me that be accessing Club Select I would get rates cheaper than I even see on ebay. Is that true? Has anyone purchased Club Select vacations with real money? Are there plenty available?

I really don't want to pay $15,000 for points. I see all kinds of auctions on Ebay for 18,000 points etc for next to nothing. Grated you have to pay the MF, but the initial cost is pretty much free. Unfortunately you won't have access to "The Club" if you buy these points.

Does anyone know how to gain access to "The Club" if you buy these types of deals on Ebay.

So bottom line....

What is the cheapest way of jointing the Diamond program with full access to "The Club" ? Also did I screw up by buying the 5,000 points? If so please let me know so I can rescind.

Thanks for your help!

Please let me know if you need additional information.

Best,

Karen
 

Quadmaniac

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Hi,

I am new here and would love some advice about Diamond International Timeshares.

A little bit of history....

My husband and I went on a tour in January 2012 at their Lake Tahoe resort. I always thought timeshares were a rip off so I refused to buy anything. Then they gave me an option to purchase a Sampler. I liked the idea because there was no commitment. We paid $2295 for 15,000 points and were able to get 1 week @ the Villa Mirage (2bd), 1 week in Maui (1bd) and 1 week Tahoe (2br) during ski season. Honestly I think that is a good deal and are very pleased with what we purchased.

While we were in AZ we were required to go on a tour (otherwise they would charge us full rate). We took the tour and were offered the following:

5,000 points in the US collection trust for $17,000. They applied $2295 (our sampler cost) to the purchase so our actually cost with closing etc. was around $15,000. They also threw in 3,750 extra points. Our MF will be $1,087.

I really do like the Diamond Program. We are very flexible travelers and don't need to go anywhere in peak season. I really think I can work the system with a low amount of points. We also don't mind exchanging them in II or buying The Club Select vacations with money vs. points. We usually travel Tuesday to Tuesday etc.

Before we bought a time share.... I would simply go on ebay and pay to rent a week from other owners. The sales rep told me that be accessing Club Select I would get rates cheaper than I even see on ebay. Is that true? Has anyone purchased Club Select vacations with real money? Are there plenty available?

I really don't want to pay $15,000 for points. I see all kinds of auctions on Ebay for 18,000 points etc for next to nothing. Grated you have to pay the MF, but the initial cost is pretty much free. Unfortunately you won't have access to "The Club" if you buy these points.

Does anyone know how to gain access to "The Club" if you buy these types of deals on Ebay.

So bottom line....

What is the cheapest way of jointing the Diamond program with full access to "The Club" ? Also did I screw up by buying the 5,000 points? If so please let me know so I can rescind.

Thanks for your help!

Please let me know if you need additional information.

Best,

Karen

Absolutely rescind ASAP! No "benefits" are worth the money they ask for from the developer when you can buy it for 0-5% of their selling price.
 

timeos2

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Speaking in general terms no purchase from any developer makes sense today. The value in timeshares is in resale. You are way overpaying for that package. If you can I would advise rescinding on ANY retail/developer purchase. They just don't make financial sense nor do they represent a value to the buyer.

If you wish to be a timeshare owner then study the best way to buy resale. You will save thousands in purchase price and the fees (the REAL cost of any timeshare) will be the same in either case. Why waste money n upfront costs you'd never recover?
 

Bill4728

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Hi

You can not buy into the "club" by buying a resale unit. So if you really have to have the "club" then the only way is to buy it full price from DRI.

BUT, there are several collections of DRI resorts which can be purchased for next to nothing that will give you access to many of the DRI resorts.

Here is a link to the DRI FAQ that is posted here on TUG

Good Luck

Edited to add, There was (and still may be) a time when you could buy a resale DRI ownership and then buy a few more pts direct from DRI and get DRI to allow all your DRI ownerships to be included in "the club". If this is still available it would/could cut the retail price of DRI points by a large amount.
 
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artringwald

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DRI: The Point at Poipu, 3 deeded weeks, 1 of which is in The Club.
As many on TUG will tell you, RESCIND, RESCIND, RESCIND! Did the developer tell you that you also have to pay the Club fee of $277/year. That on top of the MF makes the annual fees rather expensive for 5000 points. Check other threads on TUG for ways to buy resale points and join the Club after the purchase. You'd need 15,500 points to get one oceanfront week at our favorite property, the Point at Poipu.

If you do decide to rescind, do it quickly and follow the exact instructions on your contract. Don't call them. They'll tell you whatever they can to delay or invalidate rescinding.

We do like being in the Club and I did buy from the developer, but we bought back in 2004 when they were still offering deeded weeks with Club membership. They started doing Trusts which take the HOA votes away from the owners.
 
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With the "Discovery" program (which is what Wyndham calls it), it's not a matter of rescinding. Simply refuse the offer to buy. One thing no one mentioned that you could do... buy (resale) DRI, do an exchange with whichever program you can (II, SFX, RCI, etc) into one of the resorts you can't get into. Or, use the exchange program to get into another resort company.

So, buying resale and using the exchange company might get you into a BETTER resort than over-spending on a developer purchase, and for a LOT less!

TS
 

komccarthy

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OK...

I think I get it now.....Please let me know if my new plan of action is the right way to go....

1. I am going to rescind
2. I just looked at ebay and found a 2 Bedroom Lock off RED Float weeks 1-52 for one of their properties in the US Trust for only 1 dollar and MF of 1015
3. I called the timeshare reseller and asked them if I could convert this week to points based program if I won the auction. She told me to call Diamond Resorts.
4. I called Diamond and they told me that I could convert to their points system (including the club) for $2500.00 the number of points I would get are TBD. I would assume this type of week and size of unit would be way more than 5000 points???

Has anyone does this? How did it work out?

Also does anyone know what would happen if I bought another week at a later date? Would I have to pay $2500.00 again? Would they add the new week/points to the existing account or create a new one.

If that is the case maybe it would be best to buy up 3 weeks now and convert them all at once.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks again!

Karen
 

Rent_Share

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Does the US Trust give you access to Hawaii ?
 

timeos2

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Your resale plan should work perfectly. But buy all the properties you plan to THEN pay the $2500 to get them all in the Club. That way you keep your deeds & voting rights but still have points to use in the Club. Best way to get into the DRI system (which we like & did NOT join a trust or give up our deed).
 
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komccarthy

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Based upon what Diamond told me..... I will have access to Hawaii because I will have Club access. Meaning I will be able to use points to access all of the Diamond properties without having an exchange fee. If I do an exchange through II then I will have to pay the $154 per exchange.
 

carl2591

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Joined TUG '96, Wyndham Grand Palms AKA, Presidential Villas at Plantation Resort, 3 bed lockout.
Diamond DRI Club Resort info

another soul saved.. hallelujah... :D

after you do everything properly to rescind came back here and read,, read ,, read ...



it never fails to amaze how many people wait till after they buy to try and figure out if they got screwed or not.. some get here in time to rewind/rescind the deal some do not and are forever mad at getting the shaft..


any who welcome to tug.. :hi: I like what john said about how to get in DRI the smart way.. he's the man on dri stuff.
 

svwoude

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If you choose to buy... watch your maintennance fee!

You should be able to find a Diamond Property with lower MF
$1000 is fairly high
 

Quadmaniac

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If Hawaii is your goal, you may want to consider Marriott of Starwood instead as they have the top resorts. Lots of info in the individual systems area here on TUG.
 

d2r4s

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Time sharing is best when flexible. I have owned timeshares with Jockey, then Polo Towers and now Diamond resorts, all with the same developer. We have 51,000 points and are Plantinum owners.

Diamond has and continues to develope lots of options. This sumer we did a 7 day Mediteranean Cruise and will be doing one in the Western Caribean for New Years with there NCL progam which is one of the best cruise programs available with the direct week points. We just booked the Baltic Capitals.

You have all the Diamond Properties as well as II to choose from so there are many ways to maximize the use of your points with nighly stays as well as a weekly stay. We have combined use of Diamond and II as with our Hawaii trip to Diamond Maui and II Kiwia, and next year 4 nights in Tucson and a week in Arizon at the same resort you stayed out. We actually bought our first Diamond points there. We have stayed in Tahoe adjacent to the lake also.

Good luck and hope you enjoy your diamond points. By the way in the 25 years we have time shared its hard to beat even if it isn't cheaper than other options and its nice to have a kitchen, quieter resort, and many other things.:clap:
 

jeepster

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It is probably too late now, but there is No Way you will get a resale in for $2,500. Let alone buying a couple and trying to do it all at once. Diamond's policy strictly prohibits this. You have to purchase half the point amount directly from Diamond. Example, If you buy a resale worth 10,000 points, you must buy 5,000 at Diamond prices to get it in to the Club. An owner can only bring in up to 20,000 resale points in their lifetime.
 
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Robert D

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Time sharing is best when flexible. I have owned timeshares with Jockey, then Polo Towers and now Diamond resorts, all with the same developer. We have 51,000 points and are Plantinum owners.

Diamond has and continues to develope lots of options. This sumer we did a 7 day Mediteranean Cruise and will be doing one in the Western Caribean for New Years with there NCL progam which is one of the best cruise programs available with the direct week points. We just booked the Baltic Capitals.

You have all the Diamond Properties as well as II to choose from so there are many ways to maximize the use of your points with nighly stays as well as a weekly stay. We have combined use of Diamond and II as with our Hawaii trip to Diamond Maui and II Kiwia, and next year 4 nights in Tucson and a week in Arizon at the same resort you stayed out. We actually bought our first Diamond points there. We have stayed in Tahoe adjacent to the lake also.

Good luck and hope you enjoy your diamond points. By the way in the 25 years we have time shared its hard to beat even if it isn't cheaper than other options and its nice to have a kitchen, quieter resort, and many other things.:clap:

How much is your maintenance fee for the 51K points membership?
 

ronparise

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How much is your maintenance fee for the 51K points membership?

not my 51000 points,

but Im looking at two, US collection, estopels , one for 15500 points and the other 6500 points. The maintenance fees are $2356 and $1267
 

karibkeith

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Diamon Regrets and Problems

We bought Diamond points because belonging to the Club allowed us to deposit other timeshares owned for more Diamond points. This is where the Club Select vacations come from. To date, we have not done this exchange for points. In retrospect, we feel we overpaid for what we got. The sales people always show you t the renovated suite but you end up with the one desperately in need of renovation. We were never told about the operational fee at the presentation, it came as a surprise with the first invoice for maintenance fees. So with all the fees included, the maintenance fee is out of line with what we pay at other timeshares. It is $ 0.1209 per point plus the basic fee of $277 and the operational fee of $205. Also, the salesman misinformed us on the number of points required for a decent place for a week so we had to buy more points to get us to a level that allowed a reasonable week vacation from the catalogue we eventually received. The original poster may find that 5,000 points is insufficient and it looks like the extra points were a one time deal. I base this on the expected fee of $1,087 (5,000 X $0.1209 plus $277 plus $205 = $1,086.50)
If I could go back in time, I would not make this purchase but as can be seen on the internet, the points have only a negligible value for resale.
We do not like the points system. You can rarely use up your allotment unless you find a resort with the exact number of points. This year, we could only use up points that would expire at the end of the year by staying at a resort for an extra two days but there were a few points wasted still. This is the result of the ridiculous rules over rolling points forward a year. To roll over 100% of the points, it must be done by June 30; otherwise you have until August 31 to roll over 50% and until October 31 to roll over 25%. The inability to roll over all points up to the end of the calendar year is the reason why we got stuck with expiring points. All though we could roll over some points, we now have a number that must be used by the end of next calendar year and this may provide a problem. We like to roll over the full amount to have a two week vacation every second year. A medical problem caused a delay leading to the aforementioned expiry problem.

We have looked at buying more points on the resale market. It is our understanding that since we are already in the Club that all purchase resale points we accrue to our account. It appears from other posts that there is a fee involved or a need to buy additional points with a lifetime restriction. This is all new to me and nowhere can I find this information on their website. We are members of the U.S. Collection and I am not sure if the resale points would have the 13 months advance reservation attached to them or if those points would only be eligible for 12 months advance reservation. All the developers with multiple properties try to make buying resale points by restricting the attached privileges. This is to protect their original sale market which pales in comparison to the resale market. I also believe that the average cost per point in maintenance fee would go down because either or both the basic fee and/or operational fee would stay the same. Trying to confirm any of this with Diamond is like trying to pull teeth from a hen’s mouth although I do recall talking to someone on the phone a few years ago and there was no mention of fees or more points to roll in resale points.

Another problem I have with Diamond is trying to confirm the resort in the U.S. Collection. There is a separate website and it lists several more properties than the list provided at the time of purchase but several of those properties (London Bridge Resort, Sedona Springs, Villas of Poco Diablo and Villas of Sedona) are listed in the points directory as “Affiliated”. Also there is conflicting information about whether Marquis Villas is in the collection or not. Again, just try and get an answer from Diamond. I guess if I try for a 13 months advance reservation for certain properties, I will find out their true status. If anyone can enlighten me on the status of the U.S. Collection, I would be thankful.
 
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WISE66

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US Collection Points and the club

I purchased 86500 by both buying resale then transfering them into the club. What I had to do is purchuse minimal points from the developer to transfer them in, the points from the developer still cost a bit bit overall I think it was not to bad when you blend the costs. Each time though the the deal was different bringing them into the club.

I purchased the points for the benefit of being able to have the freedom in going anywhere without the hassle of trading or transfering to some other company and paying extra to trade.

I purchased the points to help friends and family travel cheaper and also allow me to travel when I want. With all the benefits of the amount of points I did not realize that it can be alot of weeks to some of the destinations to use them up, I am still happy with purchasing them.

I still have to rent some out to other people, so if anyone is looking to buy points, I would recommend saving your money and renting the places instead. You will save all your initial cost plus the rental may even be lower than if you paid the maintenance fees yourself. I only add about 10% of my cost to the rentals and having that many points it is sometimes cheaper to rent the places as a platinum member.

If you are going to purchase the points yourself I would recomend doing your homework on purchasing resale first then bringing them into the club.

:hi::cheer::whoopie:
 

WISE66

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This is not true, I brought in 60,000 plus points into diamond and only had to purchase 3000 points per contract. It all depends on how much they want you to become a member. The more you haggle the better deal you get.

The want people paying maintence fees more than the initial cost, the initial cost goes to pay for the dumb presentations


This was the response to the cost of transfering points in and how many points was needed to pay the developers.
 
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T_R_Oglodyte

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I purchased 86500 by both buying resale then transfering them into the club. What I had to do is purchuse minimal points from the developer to transfer them in, the points from the developer still cost a bit bit overall I think it was not to bad when you blend the costs. Each time though the the deal was different bringing them into the club.

I purchased the points for the benefit of being able to have the freedom in going anywhere without the hassle of trading or transfering to some other company and paying extra to trade.

I purchased the points to help friends and family travel cheaper and also allow me to travel when I want. With all the benefits of the amount of points I did not realize that it can be alot of weeks to some of the destinations to use them up, I am still happy with purchasing them.

I still have to rent some out to other people, so if anyone is looking to buy points, I would recommend saving your money and renting the places instead. You will save all your initial cost plus the rental may even be lower than if you paid the maintenance fees yourself. I only add about 10% of my cost to the rentals and having that many points it is sometimes cheaper to rent the places as a platinum member.

If you are going to purchase the points yourself I would recomend doing your homework on purchasing resale first then bringing them into the club.

:hi::cheer::whoopie:
You need to tread cautiously when renting, or posting about renting. Commercial use of points is prohibited by Club rules and engaging in any kind of a quasi-regular rental activity runs the risk of the activity being deemed commercial. Further any public posting of availability of Club reservation for rent is considered commercial activity.

I know of one person who had a large DRI Club account who was regularly renting units. DRI shut him down, and he wound up losing his entire DRI ownership when he couldn't pay annual fees after losing his ability to rent.
 

WISE66

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You need to tread cautiously when renting, or posting about renting. Commercial use of points is prohibited by Club rules and engaging in any kind of a quasi-regular rental activity runs the risk of the activity being deemed commercial. Further any public posting of availability of Club reservation for rent is considered commercial activity.

I know of one person who had a large DRI Club account who was regularly renting units. DRI shut him down, and he wound up losing his entire DRI ownership when he couldn't pay annual fees after losing his ability to rent.

I am not renting as a commercial use, my main purpose for these points are family and friends, I am only renting them at cost plus 10% for the points I don't use or family does not use. I am hoping to get a small group of people that can use them yearly or every other year. I find looking for people to cover the points I don't use is very time consuming.

I did talk to DRI before and told them exactly what my intentions are and they were ok with it at the time. As for advertising I don't really advertise other than try to put the word out that I have some available, small time advertising or word of mouth.

Your right I do have to watch out on the extent I look for people to help cover the points I don't use, that are outside my friends and family. It's easy to become friends with people that have the same interest in you as well. Good to meet and have a diverse set of people to talk to or travel with when traveling to places for the first time or same place every year.

Thanks for the information
 

csalter2

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DRI Salesman?

I am not renting as a commercial use, my main purpose for these points are family and friends, I am only renting them at cost plus 10% for the points I don't use or family does not use. I am hoping to get a small group of people that can use them yearly or every other year. I find looking for people to cover the points I don't use is very time consuming.

I did talk to DRI before and told them exactly what my intentions are and they were ok with it at the time. As for advertising I don't really advertise other than try to put the word out that I have some available, small time advertising or word of mouth.

Your right I do have to watch out on the extent I look for people to help cover the points I don't use, that are outside my friends and family. It's easy to become friends with people that have the same interest in you as well. Good to meet and have a diverse set of people to talk to or travel with when traveling to places for the first time or same place every year.

Thanks for the information

Frankly, I think you are a salesman.
 
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