Original Message:
Re: Diamond Resorts reduces owner benefits again! (by Charles S.):
Elizabeth,
With 11,000 points you can get a couple of vacations in a year depending on when you go and the amount of flexibility you have. Also, depending on where you are making your reservations. It also depends if you are want a one or two bedroom. Remember, being in the Club you get to make reservations 13 months in advance only on properties in your collection which is probably the US collection. You will have to wait for 10 months for the others. These are 13 and 10 months before your check in date. Having some flexibility on your check in dates is important in making a successful reservation. I have done a few examples below to help you understand better. I only use Hawaii because it is usually the toughest place to go and has a very high demand. The other places in the US are not as hard to get into depending on when you are trying to go.
If you were to try to book 59 days or less, you will use only half the number of points. For example, I just searched under Hawaii for May 7 for 7 nights. Three resorts came up with The Pointat Poipu and the Alii Kai had 2 bdrms available and the Kananpaali Beach Club had various one bedrooms. These were all available at less than your 11,000 points.
The most important piece is planning early. I have reservations to places already for December 2009. I put in Hawaii in and around December at the busiest time which is Christmas. I used Dec. 18 and a big number of resorts came up with various dates. I put up Dec 25th and only KBC came up starting on January 1. Planning in advance isKey. The good part was that your points were enough to get you a one bedroom in some parts of Hawaii with advance notice.
I have 30,000 points now which does afford me a lot of flexibility. However, I used to have only 8500. What I did do was save them one year and then I had 17000 which offered me more flexibility on vacation choices. You could do the same and have 22000 and have greater flexibility. You can save up to 11000 points each year. You can save less too.
Another way you can use your points is by using the Interval International (II) exchange. I use II sometimes because it allows me to get into really nice resorts like Marriott's. You can go online from Diamond's book online page to II. II allows you to use points to stay anywhere. This week I have booked a room at the Marriott's Grande Vista for August. This is an extremely nice resort. I have a one bedroom villa. It cost me 4500 points and $139.00 for the exchange fee. The exchange fee is usually $149 but if you do it online you save $10. It is $154 if you book online for an international location instead of $164.
I tried Hawaii in December and quite a few places came up in early December. However, Christmas to New Year's was booked solid. I did look outside of the US for that time and did notice that Paris was available. It was a Marriott that came up too. Christmas in Paris would be lovely, wouldn't it?
I hope this helps a little. If you have more questions please feel free to ask. If you are coming up with blanks for specific choices let me know and I will look at it on this end. I would also suggest you look at Timeshare Users Group (TUG) at http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/. There is a forum there that will really help you a lot. They have sections for newbies that really, really help. People who are much more knowledgeable than me and own DRI can help you a great deal. Also, the main DRI spot on a forum is timeshareforums.com. That may be even better for DRI. However, DRI people are on both. You can get the maximum so you can be happy. Your sister and you can have a great time.
Also, DRI on its website has a booklet on Diamond Selections. You should have received it in the mail. It is brown. Review that book for other benefits of the Club. Although you get the most bang for your buck with room accommodations sometimes you may want to use left over points for other stuff so you don't lose points. I am going on a cruise using my points. Although it is not always the best way to use points. I had some left over and I figured I would splurge for her birthday and we are taking a Carribean cruise for 5 days. Oh yeah, I will be using 2500 points for that $139 for a weeks stay at a Marriott's Beach Place towers. That gives me a place to stay before we go and a couple of days after we return and leave out on a flight to return home.
This is good stuff. Read on those forums and learn how to use it.