DRI -- using points for hotels, etc

Lord knows we've sat through plenty of DRI updates,and heard lots of "tips" on making our points work to offset maintenance fees. But today was the very first time we heard that we could call Diàmond Travel Services and ask them to "please make a note on our account, I will reserve such and such on my own and I want to be reimbursed".

We have made several hotel stays through Diamond Travel where they make the reservation, we pay the charge with our credit card and then they take a certain number of points and send us a check for a full reimbursement. Now they are saying that for hotels that are not on their Expedia-type system, such as The View in Monument Valley, we can "register" our intent and ultimately be reimbursed.

I've seen Brits in the Euopean Collection mention that this is allowed in their collection, but this is the first time we've had it mentioned to us. Anyone else in US/Hawaii aware of this?

DRI has been pitching this for a while now. I have sat through several "member info" sessions and as best I can tell:

You purchase airline tickets, cruises, hotels, etc. through Diamond Travel and pay as normal (cash or CC)

Tell Diamond about the expense and they take a number of points from your account and issue you a check equal to the number of points.

Problem is - IIRC - they only give you a small amount for each point (maybe 3 cents a point?), so you need an awful lot of points to get reimbersed. Plus you need to be an upper level member - Gold or Platimum - to even take advantage of this.

I own 15.5K points and it would have cost me a lot (I seem to recall it being about $80,000)to buy into the Gold level and it just didn't seem worth it to me.

It took many pitches and a lot of time for me to even grasp the concept - no where is the program written out or clearly explained.

Bottom line is that even the salesman had to agree it is for rich people who travel a lot.

It is a pitch to sell points.

What was news to us today was that we didn't have to book through Diamond, just had to register our intent to buy elsewhere and ask them for reimbursement. Of course as soon as we get home from Santa Fe the give back paperwork for approx 23,000 US points gets mailed, so we'll drop down to a lowly silver level.

May I ask what the cost was for the 23,000 points?

Beats the heck out of me! They are on two contacts, I'm guessing between $32K and $38K.

The last time I investigated the options for monetizing DRI points - i.e., for using them for travel services, paying maintenance fees, etc. - you had to designate them for that purpose the year before the points accrued. So if you wanted to use DRI points for a car rental in 2016, you couldn't use 2016 points for that purpose unless you have notified DRI in 2015 that you wanted to use those points for something other than a reservation.

That factor, combined with the fact that the value of the points was only a fraction of what you paid in maintenance fees for those points, led me to believe that the program was worthless.

If something has changed, I might be interested in knowing.

At the presentation I went to last week in Hawaii, the sales person tried to convince me that I would get 30 cents for each point to use for any travel booked with DRi travel. I didn't believe him. I know you can use points to compensate 30% of luxury cruises or luxury hotels at $.30 per point - but the salesperson said any travel would be compensated at that rate. I didn't believe him because the written documents only mention those listed above...

Why the heck do they come up with these schemes that don't appear to be in writing anywhere? This was our fourth US sit down in six months, and we had a presentation in Hawaii in March (I do love my $100 Amex cards), and yesterday was the first time this non-Diamond reimbursement program popped up.

T_R_Oglodyte said:

If something has changed, I might be interested in knowing.

Click to expand...

a) Reimbursement for car rentals is no longer available.

b) My understanding is that a Club member must book the travel using Diamond's website. But this thread is suggesting otherwise.

c) The following is from the Benefits Directory:

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR POINTS
Redeem your points toward reimbursement of travel booked through THE Club® at Diamond Resorts International® including flights, hotel stays outside of our network and more.

• To book your travel and speak to a travel counselor call 1.877.DRI.CLUB ....

• Your travel counselor will book your travel and confirm the number of points available to you.

• You will pay for your travel service in cash and receive reimbursement dependent on the number of points you choose to redeem and your membership level.

So you can use your points, cash, or a combination of both to secure the travel booking you choose. Reimbursement will be provided approximately 30 days from travel completion. Member benefits fee is payable at time of exchange.


POINTS REDEMPTION RATES/PERIODS
Members who choose to redeem their points for reimbursement for flights and other travel services, have the option to book travel and to request redemption during their designated redemption period starting January 1 of the current year.

• Standard members can enjoy points redemptions through March 31 at $0.07 per point.

• Silver members can enjoy points redemptions through to May 31-60 days of additional time at $0.08 per point

• Gold members can enjoy points redemptions through to July 31-120 days of additional time $0.09 point

• Platinum members can enjoy points redemptions through to September 30-180 days of additional time $0.10 per point

* As of July 1, points can only be redeemed from the following year's allocation. This benefit cannot be combined with your Diamond Luxury offers for cruises or hotels.


If you are requesting reimbursement for travel or cruise booked in the current year using points from a future year's allotment, a pre-payment toward the future year's maintenance fees may be required. Current year's points are utilized for Member Benefits until June 30; next year's points are utilized beginning July 1. Booking must be made within the eligible booking window for your membership level in order to request reimbursement, and reimbursement may be received when travel is completed.

diamond sampler etc questions

I have some questions if someone can help me I appreciate it....I own a even year two bedroom at sheraton orlando and 75000 points per year with Holiday Inn gold which i dump in Thier hotel program to use for air etc ...I purchased a diamond sampler and got about three weeks vacation so I was happy...so happy that I purchased another sampler with lifetime club select membership to think on things some more...I dumped my sheraton week in interval until 2018...my question is....if I was a diamond owner through resale etc or new points program...do diamond points ever expire...thank you

lovesexy said:

my question is....if I was a diamond owner through resale etc or new points program...do diamond points ever expire...thank you

Click to expand...

Your ownership of the points membership, whether resale or retail, does not expire. Your annual points are valid for their use year (Jan 1 - Dec 31). Annual points can be saved or banked for one additional year.

lovesexy said:

I have some questions if someone can help me I appreciate it....I own a even year two bedroom at sheraton orlando and 75000 points per year with Holiday Inn gold which i dump in Thier hotel program to use for air etc ...I purchased a diamond sampler and got about three weeks vacation so I was happy...so happy that I purchased another sampler with lifetime club select membership to think on things some more...I dumped my sheraton week in interval until 2018...my question is....if I was a diamond owner through resale etc or new points program...do diamond points ever expire...thank you

Click to expand...

Be aware, if you buy points from the developer, you'll be paying absurd prices, but it will get you CLUB membership, which means you'll be able to use the points at any DRI resort worldwide. If you buy points resale, you can get them for next to nothing, but you can only use the points to book resorts that belong to the matching collection/trust. The U.S. Collection is rather large, but some collections like the Hawaii Collection are much smaller. If you buy resale, do the research to find out which resorts you'll be able to book. CLUB membership is not transferable with resales.