I went to a Sapphire presentation two weeks ago. I was stunned at the way it was described. It is a 45-year "membership," but it does involve getting points. They said, "23,000 points would be deposited in your account on January 1." They showed how much a member can travel using the "Extra" and "Last-minute" options on the RCI website. They did not point out that these vacations are usually only available at low demand and/or off-season weeks, or how some of the Extra vacations can be $1,700 or more for a week. They then bragged about how their "maintenance" fee is the lowest of all - at only $420 (or so) per year. It wasn't until AFTER the presentation when I was told that the points are only deposited every three years. Oops. So now - the low maintenance fee is up to $1,260, for one years' worth of points. I was then told, "By getting points every three years, it stretches out the payments." Didn't mention this in the presentation. They offered a free trip to Hawaii to the first people to sign up for the membership, so somebody signed up immediately. I suspect they had not been told yet about the "three year" thing.
btw - I bought my timeshare in 1988, long before the whole "points" system. I have been very happy with it. I have been following the industry ever since. I own one week, and usually travel 2-3 weeks/year. I have been shocked at the high cost of the point systems. I found the Sapphire presentation to be one of the worst I have attended. If I were to buy a timeshare now, I'd go into the aftermarket, where people are selling their weeks cheap, or almost for free. My maintenance fee is only $714/year, and I get a week every year. I own a red floating week in Sedona, AZ. My property is deeded as REAL estate, not as "points."