Diamond Resorts International (DRI) "THE CLUB" Points Program & Converting your Week to Points

Hi all, I was finally contacted by DRI about my exciting opportunity to convert my week at Polo Towers, Las Vegas to the new "Club Points" program. Being in the Army and moving all the time, I guess they finally caught up with me, and I was called to make an appointment at my house in St Louis, MO. The rep showed up on time and gave his pitch. The only complaint I had was it took him so long to tell me exactly what he was selling and "get to the bottomline" with the cost disclosure. Since I have not been able to use my timeshare in Las Vegas in the past 4-years (wars, deployments, moving all the time, young children, etc) we grudgingly decided to make the switch and paid the $2990 to convert, and the annual fee would be like $250. They offered us 12,000 pts for our 2bed/2bath week 13 "floating" lock-out unit at Polo Towers, Las Vegas (one of the very few previously owned Diamond Resort properties...not aquired in the Sunterra Resorts buyout). We now look forward to being able to use our week where we want with no exchange fees and no point rollover or borrowing costs.

For the past 4-years we have rented it out thru Redweek ads but that was always a pain to post the ads, reply to inquiries, screen potential renters, book the week at Polo Towers, make arragements for the payment, and get a short contract back in the mail from the renter; plus we were not able to rent it to even cover our annual HOA fee (which have nearly doubled since we bought in 2004 from $722 to $1150). We were told they only offer "conversions" to points if you are the original deeded owner, and will not/do not offer "The CLUB" program to "resale owners".

With all that said, I wanted to hear from other "DRI Weeks to Points" converters or those who are on the fence about switching (although we were told this was a "one-time offer"). --What was your impressions of the program? --Why did you decided to do it? --Has it worked out to be as good as they said it would be? --Has anyone that is not an original deeded owner been offered a chance to switch to CLUB points? --Can DRI be trusted to administer this program equitably? (i.e. the recent RCI Weeks lawsuit) --I heard you can buy additional points but do not understand how and who sells them? and are the points only for a one-time-use thing or can you buy more pts that would be added annually to your annual allotment (like RCI Points with multiple properties)?

Any and all input on DRI's "The CLUB" points program is appreciated....hopefully we can all learn something from this forum posting. Thanks for your comments and input.

Hello,

I am a DRI owner. I am in The Club and have 30000 points per year. I have enjoyed the program a great deal. It offers lots of flexibility. The DRI resorts for the most part are ok. Some are very, very nice while others need some refurbishment. DRI's maintenance fees have increased significantly over the last couple of years. This has been cause of great concern for many members. There have been lots of complaints as the MF's have caused many to try and sell their memberships. On the other hand, DRI has been doing a lot to improve their resorts. I have been to several since they have taken over. I have been to Grand Beach, Palm Springs, Scottdale Links and Scottsdale Village Mirage and they have improved the rooms immensely. I have read a lot about the Ka'anapali Beach Club, which I will visit this summer and have heard they have improved that property as well. They have also added additional resorts throughout the world to their club program. Which is good so you don't have to pay exchange fees.

To fully take advantage the accommodations, it will be important to make your reservations in advance if at all possible. It just makes your chances of getting what you want a whole lot better.

I do know that most posters on other sites have said that those who convert to points have had to buy additional points to join the Club and that $2990 to convert seems to be about right.

One thing I would caution you about is being able to get the same 2 bdrm at the same times you were able to exchange when you were a deeded owner. Look at the Directory and make sure your 12,000 points can get you a 2 bedroom when you desire. I don't understand week 13 floating week. If you have week 13 sounds like that's a fixed week. A floating week means it will float during the year or a season. I am now concerned because you have a problem if they only gave you 12000 points. Did you know that a 2 bdroom at Polo Towers Suites needs 12,000 points in high season but 15,000 during peak season. If you could "float" your week you have lost the ability to use you 2 bdrm during other peak season unless you save a year's worth of points to do so.

You will need to review what your family needs are. If you need a 2bdrm most of the time because you have children, there are some places in which you won't be able to get a 2bdrm unless you save and have 2 years worth of points. An example of this is Maui where there is only one DRI resort with 2 bedrooms. The minimum for that 2 bedroom is 15,500. This should be considered since you will be paying 2 years of fees for one week. Of course you could use Interval International but that would cause you to pay exchange fees.

There are lots of things I can share. However, you need to really think about what you want. Where do you want to go? How many are traveling with you? How do you wish to use your memberships? What size of unit do you need? Can you afford rising MF's? Do you have ability in your vacations to make reservations a year to 10 months in advance?

I would also suggest you use timeshareforums.com There are more DRI owners there. They can also help you more and you will get more responses.

Diamond resorts were on my list to check out next. Thanks for all this great information.

You shouldn't have done it! I erased my first reply. It was from the heart, not the mind, and not pretty! I used to own with Sunterra, before Diamond Resorts International got their hands on it. My maintenance fees were under $2000.00. Now they are over $7500.00 and getting worse all the time!!!!!!!!!! The resorts I used to stay at with Sunterra were clean and very nice. The points were never supposed to increase. So guess what? They added different rooms!!!!!! The MESA ROOMS!!!!!!! The SUNSET SUITES!!!!!!!!!!!! Now previous point values don't apply!!!!!!!!! I traded a 2 bedroom lockout week, red week always, in Sedona, AZ, for points. Now, my week in points, is barely worth more than a studio! With Diamond, they are in upgrade status, and the ones available have mold in the bathroom, dirty walls, nasty carpets, etc!!!!!! They raise the fees all the time, but don't help you with anything else!!!!!!!! Sunterra sold out to them, so I'm stuck, but you don't have to be!!!!!!!! If you value your time and money, say NO to Diamond Resorts International!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm a Platinum Elite Member by the way, I foolishly own over 64,000 points. I wish I could go back to my 1 week lockout!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would be far more happier and richer!!!!!!!!!!! Also, you can only book a resort with Diamond Resorts, or club select. You are forced to pay for IIGold, even if you don't use it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you want to use something from RCI, YOU WILL PAY AN EXCHANGE FEE!!!! DON'T BE FOOLED!!!!!!!!!! And yes, they treat Platinum Elite members like $!@#!. I wonder what they treat members with lesser values like????????????????????

I am sorry for your problems. However, I believe you are mistaken. You do not have to pay for II Gold. That is included in your maintenance fees. It is not extra to belong. Yes, you do pay for the exchange with DRI.

I admit that the maintenance fees continue to rise. However, so does everyone else's. I own 30,000 points and I too have seen the MF's rise significantly. I can only imagine with 64,000 how you might feel. Please note that you do get unlimited upgrades so you can book at one level and use less points to upgrade to the next level. There are some advantages to your platinum membership. Have you tried to really take advantage of your membership. You can do a lot of vacationing especially if you have the ability to take vacations on short notice.

You sound very angry from your email. I hope all works well for you.

When Sunterra had the time share, Interval International Gold was an option. If you wanted it, you paid an additional $65 or $70 for it. It's been a long time ago, so I don't remember the exact fee. When DRI took over, they made Interval International Gold mandatory and added this fee into the maintenance fees. We don't use it, so we wanted to drop it. Can't do that. Have to pay for something we don't need or use. I gather from your comment you must be a newer owner. We owned with Sunterra for over 7 years before DRI took over, so we have something to compare it to. Once you have been with DRI for a while, you will find out it's not as good as it could be. We get calls to come to an Owner's Update, as I'm sure you do as well. When we go, and we have gone to many, sometimes just for the $300 mf credit, if we don't buy, the sales rep has told us we shouldn't come if we're not going to buy. We should call when we are ready to buy, so we don't waste their time. This really irritates me, as they invited us and basically bribed us to come, to an "Owner's Update". One time they actually called us and told us we were invited to come to Sedona for an "Owner's Complaint Session"! They offered us $300 off our maintenance fees if we drive from Mesa, AZ, to Sedona, AZ. It's at least a 2 hr drive, usually closer to 2 1/2 hrs, but we like Sedona. I love the Havalina Cantina Restaurant there! I would go for just that. Guess what? When we got there, the salesperson apologized profusely for the misinformation. It was just an "Owner's Update". My husband and I had stayed up and gone over complaints we had and questions we wanted answered since we were told it was basically "a ***** session, to see what our owners feel are wrong and not working". So of course we couldn't voice our complaints, because we needed to go over all the new information, because, alas, it is supposed to be an Owner's update to advise us of all the new changes in the past 6 months. If we decide not to spend $10,000 or more, we get told don't come unless you're buying! Eventually you also will be told to not come. This has happened to us about 3 times in the past 2 years. We usually do buy additional points because we intend to use it for retirement. At the rate the maintenance fees are rising, however, by the time we retire we will not be able to afford the maintenance fees. RCI had us come in for their point presentation. They tried to get us to buy their points. We could rent them out, pay off the mortgage for their points, their maintenance fees, and pay the maintenance fees for DRI as well. When I asked how we could pay the DRI mf by renting out their timeshares, he asked us what are you paying? When we told him $7,635.00, he almost fell off his chair!! He said it shouldn't be over $1000.00!!!!!!! I must also admit I have been told this by other timeshare sales companies as well. When Sunterra started the point system, we loved it because we could go away for a long weekend many times a year. With a week, that's it, and with both of us working, it's very hard to get a week off together. The point system was a godsend for us! DRI has managed to change that, though. Another lie you will find out about if you go for a short stay with a friend, instead of your spouse, is that your spouse doesn't really have to be with you for the Owner's Update. My sister-in-law and I went away for a girls only weekend last May. Guess what?!!!!! At the Sedona Summit, they tried to get us to commit to going to a sales pitch, even though our spouses weren't there! Imagine that! Yes, I am pissed off at DRI. Why? Because the last Owner's Update we went to in Sedona, AZ, I ASKED IS THE POINT VALUE FOR REDEEMING POINTS FOR MAINTENANCE FEES GOING TO CHANGE FOR 2011? THE ANSWER? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! , WE CAN'T CHANGE THE POINT VALUE!!!!!!!!!!! BUT THEY DID!!!!!!!!! Last year, we turned in 50,000 pts for $2,500.00 toward our maintenance fees, this year it was only worth about $2,200.00. And the higher amount of points for redemption wasn't even worth wasting the points for fees! I was so upset, I didn't redeem any of them for mf. DRI doesn't care about it's members!!!! They have you!!!!! You have to pay them no matter what!!!! I have seen it deteriorate since DRI took possession of it. If you only have 12,000 or 15,000 points, you might be able to get away for a week during red time in a 1 bedroom, but it depends where you go. Also, the free upgrades aren't what you expect. Just because you see that a one bedroom is available online doesn't mean customer service can find it! I went through trying to upgrade from a studio in Sedona to a 1 bedroom. This is one of the options they use to rope you in to buy more points! Both were available online, so no problem to upgrade right? But customer service couldn't see the 1 bedroom that was available! You still can't upgrade online, even though this has been promised for over 2 years! YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH CUSTOMER SERVICE STILL, AND IF THEY DON"T SEE IT, YOU CAN"T UPGRADE! YES, I AM PISSED, ANGRY, UPSET, MAD, WTF, WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just want to prevent anyone else from going thru this BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must say that I can feel your pain. You have a whole lot of points so those maintenance fees are killing you. Yes, DRI has increased them quite a bit over the last few years. I too have been hurting from them. I thought the 30,000 points were going to be reasonable, but when they started increasing them at crazy rates, it got to be very, very difficult. I have been trying to save each month so that I could have enough at the beginning of the year to pay the MF's. You will not really get the true value of your points if you use them for maintenance fees so I don't do that.

I really have not had problems making reservations for places when I want to go because I make them pretty far in advance especially for prime areas at prime time like Hawaii or California. I have seen a lot of the places improve under DRI. I am not new. I was with Sunterra too. However, I did notice that things were going down under Sunterra. DRI has added more resorts and I have been to quite a few of them and they have made improvements. I too was concerned about the points losing value. However, I have looked at the points needed for accommodations and they have not changed. I compare the books from Sunterra from back in 2002 to the current points needed for now and they are the same. However, they have added new types of rooms and that's how they get you. A good example of this is Sedona with their Mesa and Sunset rooms.

I have to admit that overall I have been happy with DRI. I love the flexibility within the system. I plan on using them even more when I retire. Hopefully, the cost won't get so expensive that I won't be able to afford to use them by the time I retire.

I am not an "original deeded owner" and get called by DRI all the time with their sales pitch to convert to points. They would sell anything to anyone and in my opinion would say anything to get your money. I have sat through two presentations during LV trips, I visit frequently, and found them to be very aggressive, high pressure sales people. One one occasion, the sales person told me he would lose his job if I did not sign and his boss then arrived to yell at him about his poor performance. (I almost started to laugh) I am very happy using my week and I have gotten good trades through II. Perhaps the point system works for some, but I personally have no reason to change my current situation. To all-be very skeptical and watch out!

How can every person that bought a timeshare be held this way with no way out of it EVER!!! There has to be someway to get out of your permanent programs. there must be a Law Firm that could do a Class action suit for all of us. I for one never signed a contract with Diamond. I was an Epic owner and that company went out of business and I have we have been passed around 3 times and ended up here at Diamond.

For those that are deeded weeks owners that trade on RCI you might consider becoming an RCI points member so you can trade your deeded DRI (former Sunterra weeks) for RCI Points. You'll then have the flexibility to do RCI points trades into all their points properties. I actually had to buy an RCI points trading timeshare (Vacation Village at Parkway in Orlando) on eBay to make me eligible to join RCI points (no additional fee over your RCI weeks membership). Now my 4bd/4ba lockoff units at Historic Powhatan Plantation in Williamsburg can either be deposited in RCI weeks (one 4bd/4ba or two 2bd/2ba units) or deposited as 40,000 RCI pts per 2bd/2ba. So my 4bd/4ba units equal 80,000 RCI points per year. Lots of choices for trading into all the RCI points properties so for me this is the ultimate in flexibility. One added data point, you can easily buy the Historic Powhatan or the Vacation Village for under $100 on eBay plus closing costs (approx $400). DRI may be over pricing the MFs, but they are improving the properties. My point would be if you want to avoid the very high DRI cost of converting your deeded units to points, enjoy the best of both worlds by buying deeded units cheap and when desired trade for RCI points vacations for flexibility.

Hope this helps.

EC

PS: If you just want out of your DRI points or deeded units and don't think they will sell for anything DRI will accept them as surrendered units for following fees: $250/points membership surrendered and $85/deeded unit surrendered. MFs must be current. Call the loss mitigation unit at DRI. BTW: They do this to have more resort inventory for their high cost point membership sales.

ermanc wrote:

PS: If you just want out of your DRI points or deeded units and don't think they will sell for anything DRI will accept them as surrendered units for following fees: $250/points membership surrendered and $85/deeded unit surrendered. MFs must be current. Call the loss mitigation unit at DRI. BTW: They do this to have more resort inventory for their high cost point membership sales.

How exactly does this work, can i surrender my unit, even though it is not paid off for $85? I am an original deeded owner for week 16, (I Believe) I have never used the unit at all and would actually like to be rid of it. How does the whole point conversion thing work, is there a fee to change into it? At this point, i am so frustrated with all timeshare companies and their snake oil products.

So was purchasing 10,000 DRI points to be used over two years at any of a dozen refurbished resorts for $1,500 and no mf's a good deal? I have very limited resort availibility, but there are one or two I'm considering going to. I will own nothing and be a member of nothing at the end of two years if I do not buy into DRI for $26,000 (10,000 points) as was the price quoted to me last week.

Suggestions? (Besides maintenance fee's, do members pay other fee's to belong to the "club" per year?)

I traded in using RCI and did NOT get a refurbished unit. Ugh. At Powhattan. I like the idea of no exchange fees, but not if mf's are so high!

How do you feel about the water incursion fees being levied? Would have been nice had a sales person told you about a program that has been in the works for 5 years prior to conversion or in our case giving up a deed.

Wow, I hate to hear all the bad stories about Diamond Resorts and their programs. In my humble opinion, they are converting the deeded owners into the points system and putting their deed into the trust where they control the votes. It gets ugly and its only going to get uglier. Expect those MF's to go up until you are priced out. Think about it, you pay the big bucks and they use some of that money to make the resort nicer and then when you can afford the MF's anymore, they sell it to the next person. The Hawaii resort owners are going crazy right now with all the assessments that they just found out about. $65 million dollar repair bill to be spread amongst the deeded owners and the Hawaiian Collection owners..... www.poipuowners.org and look up Point at Poipu Angry Owners on FaceBook

ATTN: All Poipu Deeded & Points owners

COPP is presenting some thoughts about the situation we all find ourselves in...

There is strong evidence of water damage at our resort. That is an unfortunate fact. DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL has stated definitively and repeatedly that anyone currently affiliated with our resort is responsible for their share of the "Water Intrusion Assessment," or approximately $5,800 per interval owned.

DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL has stated that failure to pay your assessment will result in foreclosure on your interval. HOWEVER, they have also indicated that they will pursue, through means including collections, your portion of the water intrusion assessment even after foreclosure. In other words, as it stands right now, only by paying your assessment can you avoid collections action.

Fast Answers: There have been internet postings where an owner at Poipu has been told by a company that if they paid them, they would take their interval and file a class action lawsuit to relieve them of their responsibility for the assessment. Our advice is to remain sceptical. They will have your deed and you are still responsible for the assessment. Remember, IF IT IS NOT IN WRITING, YOU HAVE NOTHING! Even then, it might only be worth the paper it is written on. Another owner posted that he was told by DIAMOND RESORTS INTERNATIONAL that if they were to walk away he would not be held responsible for his maintenance fees. Remember, your "MAINTENANCE FEE" is different from your "WATER INTRUSION ASSESSMENT." If you walk away now, you will lose your deed and yet you are still responsible for the water intrusion assessment. Pay attention to the details! We have seen emails forwarded to COPP by other owners, that if you pay $8,960.00 you can purchase points and GIVE THEM YOUR DEED! The down payment is $2,900.00 (more than your first installment on the assessment!) and a monthly payment of $227). Now you no longer OWN A DEEDED PROPERTY. BUT, you are now liable for almost half again as much as the assessment AND, they have your deed!

Suggestions: Monitor the internet for information regularly. Check out RedWeek.com and you will see that there are points owners being assessed just like the deeded owners. Make certain that you understand that there is no guarantee that you will not be hit with an assessment in the future AND you will also see lots of points owners being rocked by enormous increases in their annual fees. www.poipuowners.org is your website – make sure your register! This will put you on our mailing list and give you the most recent information on what is happening. Follow discussions regularly at the following: https://www.facebook.com/pointatpoipu https://blog.poipuowners.org

You need to watch this and share it with your friends on Facebook, twitter and your email group. http://youtu.be/JV9C9tE1qwM

check these items on Google Diamond Resorts International Problems Diamond Resorts International Lawsuit Diamond Resorts Problems Diamond Resorts Lawsuit Poipu Owners Group Poipu Owners Lawsuit

OMG same story looking to just unload this thing myself. seems to be very difficult to do so. researching now on how to go about it. i promise to post any new information i will find.

Weeks in inventory (supply) and points (demand) -- supply and demand. If the supply (weeks in inventory) is fixed and the demand increases, the price (points) increases. The more people to whom DRI can sell points, the greater the demand, therefore the more points DRI can charge for the inventory. And to try to keep buyers happier DRI needs more inventory. That's why you don't want to give up your deed for points. That's also why DRI would like to get your deed any way they can; including short term notices on outrageous assessments and threatening lawsuits for late or non payments. How much of an increase in points required to reserve have owners of the California Collection seen in the past few years? Apparently all are paying for the $67M "repair" at Poipu.

Overall, we like the DRI program. But we also havn't had a chance to use our points yet. However, we too got scammed into giving up our deed from PoiPu and put into the Hawaii collection just 15 days ago while we were in Maui. We purchased an additional 10,000 points for $28,000 and were told by our salesman, ( I won't mention his name ) that putting our deeded week into the collection trust was the best thing to do...for us. But, like many others have speculated, DRI is trying to take more control over voting powers and this deed transfer does help that cause. It's a shame that DRI can actually recruit so many, what I consider, dishonest real estate agents to do and say what they do just to get your money. And yes, we too got hit with the $3000 Poipu Water Intrusion fee in October and were told that we had two months to pay it. Rediculous. I've since written and heard back from the Hawaii Attorney General and RICO who investigates Timeshare activities. They say they are aware of the complaints and are investigating it. A lawsuit was to be filed by today's date. If Mr. Cloobeck or his assistant, Linda, were to call me right now and refund my full $33,000 that we've invested in his company, I'd gladly give them back my points. Stupid me...I should have just kept my deeded week the way it originally was back in 1998. We paid $13,000 back then and got plenty of good use out of it. I just hope Mr. Cloobeck can live up to his reputation that he presented the other night on Undercover Boss. So far, after reading so many complaints and hearing so much discord about DRI, I feel sometimes that my wife and I just may have made a poor decision in purchasing additional points and quick claiming our deed to the DRI trust. I guess the next few months will tell the true story. What would be good to see, is an undercover reporter from 60 minutes or another organization go to one of these sales presentations to confirm what's being said and done is on the up and up. I don't mind paying the money if it is in fact a good value. We as owners just demand honesty and BETTER, MUCH BETTER, CUSTOMER SERVICE. There have been way too many complaints that I've heard while on vacation that DRI doesn't do enough to assist their owners. I've sent several written complaints to Mr. Cloobeck, but he never returns my calls. His assistant Linda has, but nothing is ever taken seriously. I believe they are just courtesy calls to say that they received my letters. But like I said. We'll see what happens over the next year. DRI is still a young company. Hopefully they improve dramatically. As I write this, I noticed that for some unknown reason my saved points in my DRI account is 5,000 points shy than it was 10 days ago. I had 10,000 saved, but not now. I'm waiting the required 72 hours to hear back as to where my points went. Because really, good business is all word of mouth...right?