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

[Q=debrab313] I'm not a timeshare owner, but got the sales pitch for the Club at Powhatan. I am interested in purchasing a points based system. I have two kids 6 and 9, so 2 bedrooms are best. We want to go to Disney, Williamsburg, etc. We are stuck traveling during the High Season because my kids are in traditional school. It seems like this point system (DRI) or RCI would be good for us. I want to buy on the resale market.[/Q] Be warned that many of the points systems do not honor the same usage that the selling owner had. You may be stuck with limited weeks or limited resorts that you have access to. You need to do some research into the methods and fees for banking weeks into either RCI or II at the resort you are considering buying into. Personally, I would never buy a Right of Use membership, as this is mearly a promise to allow you to use the resorts. Only as good as the resorts and the points system. I would always buy a deeded property at a resort that looks like it is well managed and well maintained. You likely can even book a stay at the resort you are considering, for a drastically low fee - in return for taking the tour and presentation from the developer. Just don't buy what THEY are selling, go instead to the secondary market for pennies on the dollar. I bought two 3Br units in the Club Navigo Points System, which were deeded at Liki Tiki Village, close to Disney in Orlando, Fl. I only paid $3000 with closings on the secondary market, and recieved 16,000 points annually with MF of $2500 annually. With this system, I can reserve a Studio Ocean Front unit in Ormond Beach, which is another of their resorts, for only 800 points for a week. Do the math, and you can reserve up to 20 weeks in an Ocean Front Studio. These I bank into the II system, to travel to almost any resort in the world. Yes it sometimes takes 2 or 3 reservations to trade into another resort in a larger room, but I have never had less than double the reservations that the deed allowed, and usually have upwards of a dozen reservations a year. I rent about half of these to friends, and usually recoup my entire MF for the year. You could try a similar method, and end up staying for free each year. I mearly front the fees so I can make the reservations, and then recoup the money when I rent the weeks. Good Luck.