Conversion to Points - Good Deal???

[Regina Panger Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Regina Panger]

My husband and I currently own 2 annual weeks of vacation - one at the Scottsdale Villa Mirage and one at the Ridge on Sedona Golf Resort. They are both in Arizona and were owned by Sunterra when we purchased them. Both are studio units that sleep four; however, when we exchange with RCI we often are able to get 2 bedroom units elsewhere. However, finding availability with RCI is challenging. We recently stayed at the Villa Mirage on bonus time, and they wanted us to learn about the new ownership because Sunterra was just bought out by Diamond Resorts. What we ended up in was a Timeshare Presentation.

They wanted us to convert our 2 weeks for 8500 points (4500 Ridge + 4000 Villa Mirage) and then have us buy another 6,500 points for $15,860, giving us a total of 15,000 points. Is this a good price???

They want to put us in the "trust" to keep us from paying special assessments that might be given out on those 2 resorts (such as the expensive pool remodel going on at the Ridge. However, we noticed that the annual maintenance fees are higher. Is is better to be in the trust?

Our week at the Villa Mirage was purchased on resale, and they are telling us that they ordinarily will NOT convert that "black market" week, but they will make "an exception" for us. Is that true or do that do that for everyone? It is certainly not our fault that Sunterra converted to a point system after we purchased our weeks. That seems like a way to just get more money out of people for something they already paid for. What do you think?

They tell us that we can use points at any Diamond Resort, which has very high point values and in peak season at some resorts (Hawaii) we would not even get one week out of these 15,000 points. However, they tell us that no one actually pays that high of points because everyone books within 59 days before checkout to get the vacation 50% off. Is this true?

They also say that we can book vacations with Interval International so that we can stay at fancy Mariott's, Hyatt's, and Westins for even less points than Diamond Resorts. Is that true? They also say there is no difficulty with availabilty in those fancy resorts. Is that true or does Interval International have the same difficulty with availabilty as does RCI?

Diamond Resorts also have their own exchange company, Club Select, and we can exchange there also but we were told there was no charge. Anyone know about that availability or anything about that program?

This point system is all new to us, and we want to ensure that we are getting a good price and a better exchange system that we have with RCI. Any help that anyone can give would be GREATLY appreciated.

We wanted the salesman to get us online with Interval International and Club Select and show us the program, but he says federal law prohibits it because we just cancelled our contract so that we could first investigate these issues. Why should anyone buy something blind? It seems to be a common sales tactic that people should hurry and buy on the spot without a chance to get all of the information. We don't want to make a poor choice here.

Should we convert to a point system (Diamond or some other) or should we keep our 2 studios that sleep 4 and keep trading them for 1 and 2 bedrooms with RCI despite the trouble with availabilty? We will appreciate any recommendations we can get.

Thank you,
Regina

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

My husband and I currently own 2 annual weeks of vacation - one at the Scottsdale Villa Mirage and one at the Ridge on Sedona Golf Resort. They are both in Arizona and were owned by Sunterra when we purchased them. Both are studio units that sleep four; however, when we exchange with RCI we often are able to get 2 bedroom units elsewhere. However, finding availability with RCI is challenging. We recently stayed at the Villa Mirage on bonus time, and they wanted us to learn about the new ownership because Sunterra was just bought out by Diamond Resorts. What we ended up in was a Timeshare Presentation.

They wanted us to convert our 2 weeks for 8500 points (4500 Ridge + 4000 Villa Mirage) and then have us buy another 6,500 points for $15,860, giving us a total of 15,000 points. Is this a good price???

IMO, no. DRI has been offering to convert points to THE Club for $2,995 without having to buy points.

They want to put us in the "trust" to keep us from paying special assessments that might be given out on those 2 resorts (such as the expensive pool remodel going on at the Ridge. However, we noticed that the annual maintenance fees are higher. Is is better to be in the trust?

IMO, no. I prefer to keep my title. MF's for our deeded ownership is actually lower than that of the trust. I believe this is pretty much universal throughout the trust vs deeded weeks. Did they tell you how much your MF's and trust fee's would be if you converted? If they didn't, they left out an important piece of information and they probably left it out for very good reason.

They're using a scare tacitc when they talk about SA's. DRI seems to be all about SA's right now. Trust member still pay for the SA's. It just that they're divided amoung all the trust owners at all the trust resorts.

Look at it this way. If there's an assessment at another resort that you don't own at, ALL trust members will pay for that special assessment. It's just that it's diluted throughout the trust. Go back to where I said it's my belief that fee's belonging to the Trust are higher than deeded weeks. This is part of the reason why things would be this way. You're still paying for assessments but your paying for ALL assessments in every resort in the trust. You're also paying an average of all MF's of the trust resorts. If you're particular resort is in the lower half of the MF's for trust resorts, you're screwing yourself IMO.

As a trust member you're also giving control of your voting rights to the trust administrator. In other words, you letting DRI do whatever it wants to because they have the greatest influence on the trust administrator. This is in DRI's favor as it will allow them to do whatever they wish if they have the control of voting things the way they want things to go. Not a good idea IMO.

[quote}Our week at the Villa Mirage was purchased on resale, and they are telling us that they ordinarily will NOT convert that "black market" week, but they will make "an exception" for us. Is that true or do that do that for everyone? It is certainly not our fault that Sunterra converted to a point system after we purchased our weeks. That seems like a way to just get more money out of people for something they already paid for. What do you think?[/quote]

This is nothing but a lie. They don't care where the money comes from so long as the money keeps coming in. Part of the advantage of THE Club is that when someone buys resale, they either have to pay a membership fee (last report was $2,995) or they must buy additional points. THE Club is a money maker for DRI even on units purchased resale. I've NEVER seen a developer turn down money and DRI is no exception.

They tell us that we can use points at any Diamond Resort, which has very high point values and in peak season at some resorts (Hawaii) we would not even get one week out of these 15,000 points. However, they tell us that no one actually pays that high of points because everyone books within 59 days before checkout to get the vacation 50% off. Is this true?

Partial lie but the part that is a lie is a whopper. Members DO NOT usually book less than 50 days out. If you REALLY want someplace, then you need to book as far out as you can.

There are excetions in lower demand areas. I would say that Williamsburg in the shoulder season of spring and fall, Orlando and Branson would fall into that catagory. We often go to Branson and availability is usually good at the 50 day window. BUT, selection isn't always that good and you can't be overly picky about days.

Hawaii is a very popular exchange. If you wait until 59 days you're likely to be out of luck and airfare would probably be cost prohibitive. My guess is your salesman doesn't even own his own product, thus he doesn't have a realistic clue as to how it actually works.

They also say that we can book vacations with Interval International so that we can stay at fancy Mariott's, Hyatt's, and Westins for even less points than Diamond Resorts. Is that true? They also say there is no difficulty with availabilty in those fancy resorts. Is that true or does Interval International have the same difficulty with availabilty as does RCI?

Partially true. Each system has it's own quirks. Pulling Marriott's and Westin resorts isn't a lot of problem. Hyatt seems to have an owner preference that makes it harder to pull an exchange.

DRI's point system used with I.I. trade is actually it's strong point and why we paid the $2,995 to join THE Club. It does make trading easier and you will be able to pull good resorts. The cost of any 2 bedroom unit through I.I. is 6,500 points. That is lower than most DRI internal exchanges. If you book less than 50 days out you get your exchange for half the cost of the points (3,250 points instead of 6,500 points). Since we take trips to Branson, are not overly picky about the resort we exchange into and can drive there on short notice, this works out great for us. If we wanted to go to Hawaii it might be a much tougher thing to do.

[quote]Diamond Resorts also have their own exchange company, Club Select, and we can exchange there also but we were told there was no charge. Anyone know about that availability or anything about that program?

This point system is all new to us, and we want to ensure that we are getting a good price and a better exchange system that we have with RCI. Any help that anyone can give would be GREATLY appreciated.

We wanted the salesman to get us online with Interval International and Club Select and show us the program, but he says federal law prohibits it because we just cancelled our contract so that we could first investigate these issues. Why should anyone buy something blind? It seems to be a common sales tactic that people should hurry and buy on the spot without a chance to get all of the information. We don't want to make a poor choice here.

Federal law prohibits it? HA HA HA HA! That's one of the bigger lies I've heard. He didn't want to show you because he didn't want to get caught in the lies he told you.

Should we convert to a point system (Diamond or some other) or should we keep our 2 studios that sleep 4 and keep trading them for 1 and 2 bedrooms with RCI despite the trouble with availabilty? We will appreciate any recommendations we can get.

My opinion is that it's better to keep your deeds and just join THE Club. I do not like the idea of giving up my deeds and my control of my resort to any management company. You can KEEP you deeds and just become a member of THE Club. It's just not in the financial best interest of the salesmen for you to only do this. It's better for the salesman to sell you on the trust and sell you more points. At least that's my opinion on the matter.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

finding availability with RCI is challenging.

No kidding!
Welcome to TS4Ms and specifically the DRI Forum, please read the whole forum to get an idea of what you're up against.

What we ended up in was a Timeshare Presentation.

No kidding?

6,500 points for $15,860, giving us a total of 15,000 points. Is this a good price???

$2.44/point is a good developer price, please read the whole forum to get an idea of what you're up against.

They want to put us in the "trust" to keep us from paying special assessments that might be given out on those 2 resorts (such as the expensive pool remodel going on at the Ridge. However, we noticed that the annual maintenance fees are higher. Is is better to be in the trust?

How does that work? Owners in the Trust pay all the fees that any other owner pays and more. The Trust has to pay all MFs and SAs and then divides and passes all costs to the owners PLUS Trust administrative fees.

they ordinarily will NOT convert that "black market" week, but they will make "an exception" for us. Is that true or do that do that for everyone?

Were the saleswoman's lips moving, that's how you can tell that they were lying.

seems like a way to just get more money out of people for something they already paid for. What do you think?

The point system is another way to get points from current traditional owners, you are exactly right, but it is also a product that provides additional benefits and flexibility. You pay for this.

no one actually pays that high of points because everyone books within 59 days before checkout to get the vacation 50% off. Is this true?

Were the saleswoman's lips moving, that's how you can tell that they were lying. If you can go off season, there is a hint of truth here.

They also say that we can book vacations with Interval International so that we can stay at fancy Mariott's, Hyatt's, and Westins for even less points than Diamond Resorts. Is that true?

You know what it was like booking in RCI, II is not a lot different. Yes, for example, you can stay in a lovely 2BR at Marriott Grand Chateau next door to Polo Towers for ~6500 points plus exchange fee if you can get the exchange you want while Polo costs 10,000 points.

They also say there is no difficulty with availabilty in those fancy resorts. Is that true or does Interval International have the same difficulty with availabilty as does RCI?

Yes. Were the saleswoman's lips moving, that's how you can tell that they were lying.

Diamond Resorts also have their own exchange company, Club Select, and we can exchange there also but we were told there was no charge. Anyone know about that availability or anything about that program?

You can go online to THE Club Select - Reservation Search and see everything that might be available in Club Select. The cash price you see is twice what the member pays, a member can also use points with no exchange fee but to deposit into the system if you had a non-DRI week that they would take. Deposit costs ~ $119.

This point system is all new to us, and we want to ensure that we are getting a good price and a better exchange system that we have with RCI. Any help that anyone can give would be GREATLY appreciated.

You will probably be happier with the points system and II.

We wanted the salesman to get us online with Interval International and Club Select and show us the program, but he says federal law prohibits it because we just cancelled our contract so that we could first investigate these issues. Why should anyone buy something blind? It seems to be a common sales tactic that people should hurry and buy on the spot without a chance to get all of the information. We don't want to make a poor choice here.

Were the saleswoman's lips moving, that's how you can tell that they were lying.

Should we convert to a point system (Diamond or some other) or should we keep our 2 studios that sleep 4 and keep trading them for 1 and 2 bedrooms with RCI despite the trouble with availabilty? We will appreciate any recommendations we can get.

Only you can answer that.