What are the reasons for joining or not if you own resale with diamond

[kimgerlach1]

I own 3 weeks at grande villas resort. I'm a new resale owner, I just bought them and deposited into RCI this year. Its my first and only timeshare. So bear with me and my ignorance. I'm pretty sure the tug user I bought them from are not a member with diamond. What I mean is that even though they own resale weeks, I've read on here things about going to an owner update and negotiating with your resale weeks to get status with diamond. Can anyone explain why people do that over depositing your weeks to go other places instead only? And how am i different as a resale owner of 3 weeks than this other kind of owner who negotiates their weeks in combination with buying points to get levels of status with diamond?

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Try reading these 2 threads

Hi Kimgerlach1 ,
Here are 2 threads to read that could help.
both include postings by T_R_Oglodyte /'aka Steve Nelson - a long time TUG member who owns DRI . I find Steve gives well written detailed information .

What is a UDI - thread started in 2007 - updated recently - found in the forum
" buying selling renting "

DRI Hawaii points discussion -thread started Aug 20 2015 by Steve

I do not own DRI or ( Wyndham ) however these and other background learning have helped me better understand how DRI's trust collections or Wyndham's CWA actually function when a specific resort has a combination of "legacy" fixed weeks , internal point conversion weeks , trading to RCI and II etc etc .

Because DRI has grown in part by buying other systems I believe it can be confusing to a new owner -- and their sales force feasts on this ,
DRI recently bought The Gold Key system in Virginia Beach and there is a long thread -that is still progressing weekly .
If you are looking for further vacation options - the TUG last minute rental area
45 days or less / max $ 100 a night could help as well as TUG marketplace rentals section.

Hope this helps start your TUG info sourcing .
and I am sure other DRI owners can help with further details

 

[kimgerlach1]

Thank you very much!

 

[pedro47]

What three (3) weeks did you purchased resell. Some weeks are better to trade / exchange wth RCI or II; example are Spring Break time, Easter Week and all major National Holidays. Good Luck.

 

[VegasBella]

I am a DRI legacy owner. I have no plans to buy into DRI. We use our ownership and don't exchange.

If you're planning to exchange then it might make sense to buy into DRI, just depends what they have to offer and what you want.

 

[tschwa2]

Buying into the points system lets you access a fair number of club resorts without having to go through an exchange company. On the other hand DRI has fairly high fees and for the most part won't let you simply convert. They will want you to buy $10,000-60,000 in additional points to allow you the privileged to join their points club. So if that isn't something you would be interested in, then you don't need to worry about it.

 

[friedshrimp]

Just remember, when you go to an Owner's Update (sales meeting), EVERYTHING is negotiable!!!! Don't be put off by their $8.20 per point sale price.....I just picked up 10,000 points last summer for $2.25 per point.

As for staying with your weeks or converting to points, a lot will depend on whether you prefer week long vacations or short weekend trips. If you prefer the week long type, then staying with your 3 weeks is probably the most economical. If you want to easily break it up into 2 night, 3 night, and some weeks as well or want to use other parts of the program, then the dollars spent to change to points (which is what DRI wants you to do) might be more beneficial to you. That though is a decision you will have to make.

BTW, congrats on picking up the 3 weeks at Grand Villas. One of my favorite resorts (for 2 bedroom units......not so much for 1 bedroom units). Beautiful resort and very close to Disney.

 

[dwojo]

Read what TR Oglodyte has written about DRI. His posts are well written and you will get quite a bit of helpful knowledge from them.
My advice is to do some research into DRI and their fee structure to see if the club would work for you. DRI works well for my wife and I for a few reasons:
1. Our level of membership
2. When we travel
3. Our preferred destinations

For better information the unit size, what weeks you own, how many people would be going, and their ages would help for giving any more accurate advice than research DRI before committing to join the club.

 

[johnrsrq]

I stay at grand villas several times a year based on the few points they need for a last minutes stay. (ie converted point costs me $20-38 night). That being said, I think DRI has plenty of inventory in this location and it rents units cheaper than what the mf's are. I also think since they have that much inventory, the fact that you own as a resale week will not be treated as if it were an old legacy owner. The legacy owner might not even see the benefit.

The same might go for Grand Beach resale weeks located just down the road and are much nicer. I thought of using some resale points and maybe a resale week and negotiate a combo to the higher loyalty level within the club however, I have better things to do to invest such larger sums into The Club.
For some, those aren't larger sums, for me, it is.

Good luck. I enjoy the club but my entry was much lower.

 

[dwojo]

I should also add that we do not have any children or grand children so travel when we want not when school is out.

 

[kalima]

Points

If you have points you can book 30 and 60 days in advance and get huge savings so you can take more trips if there is availability of course where you want to go. Hawaii for instance doesn't have much availability when booking this way, if any. I personally would keep hold of your weeks and learn as much as you can by asking other owners rather than the sales weasels at DRI. Then decide if you want to pay to convert/deposit your weeks in their points system. Also when you have points you can exchange in the DRI internal system with no fee. The MF for points are higher though than your weeks MF. Please consider joining the FB page https://www.facebook.com/groups/322787654592856/