By Karen in Maryland and Fact Checkers
There has been an abundance of information and misinformation concerning Hilton Grand Vacations acquisition of Diamond Resorts. The acquisition was finalized in August of 2021. Hilton’s product before the acquisition was a deeded product. The new product, called HGV Max, is a non-deeded, trust-based product, mimicking Diamond’s non-deeded, trust-based product.
The official HGV Max page:
Trust-based means properties are owned by a Trust, so those who purchase HGV Max points will be members, not owners. Buyers of non-deeded points purchase a right-to-use product. Buying HGV Max points is more like joining a country club or gym club. Gym or country club members have no beneficial interest in their club’s brick and mortar buildings.
The introduction of a trust product allows for lower barriers to ownership, reduced inventory delivery volatility and inventory recycling, enabling smoother sales and upgrades while providing buyers and owners network and pricing flexibility.
Inventory recycling means foreclosing or taking back points. It is less hassle for a developer to take back non-deeded points than it is to foreclose on a deed.
Integrates Diamond’s innovative Events of a Lifetime® experiential sales and marketing platform that drives strong engagement and Volume Per Guest (VPG) premiums with HGV’s owner base.
Volume per Guest is a metric that is often used to show efficiency in sales. Total sales volume divided by the number of tours “guests” that each site has. For example, a site sells 200,000 on a day with 25 guests = 8,000 VPG – This is the expectation for existing owners (figures provided by an industry insider).
DRI 7,000-12,000 VPG
Wyndham 3,000-4,000
Bluegreen 3,000-4,000
Marriott 3,000-5,000
Hilton 4,000-5,500
Two key FAQ answers in an official Diamond Resorts communication:
Will my Diamond “The Club” benefits go away if I don’t join HGV Max?
Your current Club membership will continue to exist, and you’ll continue to access the benefits associated with your membership, as noted in The Club documents.
Will HGV Max impact inventory availability for existing Club members?
Your Home Collection and Home Resort Advantage reservation windows remain unchanged. HGV Max reservations may only be made six months or less prior to the check-out date. We always recommend booking as early as possible.
The biggest question on the minds of many Diamond members is – Will Diamond points finally have a resale value? Rules change, but at last check, if you buy Diamond points on the secondary market, you must buy 50% of the number of points you bought on the secondary market directly from Diamond to be eligible for The Club. Will HGV Max be so restrictive?
From the HGV website:
HGV Max is a new membership program that brings together the best of Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Diamond’s The Club, giving Members the opportunity to vacation in more properties and more destinations, as well as access to special events and discounts across the Hilton portfolio of 6,800+ hotels and resorts.
A member’s comment: The fact that The Club is not changing is a positive but rules can be changed anytime. I would anticipate a gradual diminish of benefits, not fast enough to trigger a class action, but making it slightly less valuable year over year.
By Karen in Maryland, a Diamond Platinum member
On April 27, 2022, I attended an Owners Update at Kaanapali Beach Club on Maui to learn about the new Hilton Grand Vacations Max (HGV Max) program, a way for Diamond Resort members to feel they are part of the Hilton family-like paying to be adopted. If you buy into Hilton’s new Max program, you are buying benefits and access, not ownership. HGV’s deeded product represents ownership.
According to our sales agent (quotes in bold), Max’s benefits include:
1) “Diamond members can convert unused points to the Hilton Honors program and those points won’t expire as long as the Hilton Honors account is active.” You can keep your account active, and earn points and discounts, by using the Hilton AMEX card. My salesman was not prepared to discuss the conversion rate for changing DRI points to Hilton Honors.
FACT CHECK: Get the conversion rate in writing. Do your timeshare math.
Another member reported: Back when we signed and then rescinded an HGV (deeded) purchase, your week could only be converted to Hilton Honors points at the start of the year. I believe that has changed now, but the exchange rate is variable depending on when you exchange. The later in the year the fewer points.
2) “By purchasing Max, you have access to 154 Hilton resorts, many of them in better shape than Diamond properties.” This is both good news and bad. The Hilton philosophy is, to provide a great experience, the environment needs to be controlled. Hilton designs and BUILDS properties. Hilton resorts are very, very nice. But remember, Max membership is not Hilton ownership; you will not have as much advance access to the Hilton properties as Hilton owners.
3) “The purchase of DRI by Hilton will lower maintenance fees.” That would be VERY exciting for Diamond members, but it was probably a misleading statement. The salesman didn’t provide any specifics. Our maintenance fees are set by perceived value as well as direct and indirect costs. I expect maintenance fees must rise as Hilton builds new properties. After a new property is transitioned to a fully-sold property, costs are transferred from the developer to owners. Remember Diamond Resorts founder Stephen Cloobeck? His philosophy was: buy and renovate. He felt members were best served if Diamond bought a building and improved it, feeling money could never be recovered if resorts were built from the ground up. During the recent past, renovation of Diamond resorts has been minimal or delayed. Apollo management restricted that budget line. I’m guessing that since two Apollo directors are on the Hilton Grand Vacations Board of Directors, it will be hard to maintain Hilton Quality with Apollo Financial Services members in the room.
Our salesperson said that Hilton was buying and refurbishing other hotels and resorts instead of building new ones. He might have been referring to Diamond’s acquisition.
Fact Check: Get the maintenance fees in writing.
A Member’s comment: Developers intentionally keep maintenance fees low in the early years, especially at self-built resorts, since they are paying the fees on all the unsold units. Eventually major renovation is required and fees jump significantly, by that time the developer is gone.
4) “Being able to convert Diamond points to the Hilton program provides access to the huge world of Hilton branded hotels.” We all need hotel rooms from time to time, but, if you don’t need them very often, use your Hilton points with the Hilton PERKS program. PERKS allows a Hilton owner to cruise; do adventure vacations; and join guided tours, all on points. PERKS don’t use points plus cash like the Diamond program. If you don’t have a lot of Diamond points to convert to Hilton points, it isn’t an advantage.
5) When a Diamond Platinum owner converts to HGV Max, they are automatically promoted to the Hilton Elite Premier Plus (HEPP) level.” That is amazing because owning property in Hilton Grand Vacation Club membership is a LOT more expensive than owning Diamond points. The salesman stated HEPP members would have access to all the best Hilton discounts and upgrades. I would like to see a discount schedule that includes my senior or military discount compared to a Hilton owner’s discount and a HEPP member discount.
6) DRUM ROLL: This is BIG!! At least for someone my age (72) – Hilton is a publicly traded company, accountable to stock holders, so it has created a formal Release of Liability contract to protect your family should something happen to you.” According to my salesman, Diamond has a very ambiguous TRANSITIONS program. He said that a Diamond owner he knows applied for TRANSITIONS four times and was turned down four times. The owner paid his fees for an additional two years in order to work things out. OUCH!
FACT CHECK: TRANSITION is not ambiguous.
All a Diamond member needs to do to apply for Transitions is go to their account online, click Transitions, and it will display a list of contracts. The member checks which contract or contracts they wish to exit, then in the next day or two Transitions will respond in the affirmative, if eligible. The process takes about 60 days. To be eligible there can be no outstanding reservations and:
- The Diamond member must have purchased directly from Diamond,
- There can be no loan outstanding. The member must be in good standing (current on maintenance fees),
- The member cannot have retained a third party.
7) My salesman also warned me that I could not just make a phone call and walk away because some Diamond contracts CANNOT be legally SELF-SURRENDERED.
FACT CHECK: Only points purchased from a third party are ineligible for Transitions.
8) Following through on that idea, the salesman said, “NEVER surrender points, ALWAYS use a good brokerage firm.”
FACT CHECK: This is utter nonsense due to the secondary market restrictions described above, that a RedWeek correspondent described as “draconian.” There is an organization called the Licensed Timeshare Resale Broker Association. To our knowledge, not one of the over 50 timeshare resale brokers will accept a listing for Diamond points due to due to Diamond’s secondary market restrictions. As one licensed broker explained, “What you sell turns into a different product.” Yes, you can sell if you find a buyer who will accept the restrictions, but how many buyers buy, knowing of the restrictions? Also, if you bought secondary market points, your only choice if you no longer want the points, is to default, because you will not be eligible for Transitions.
The sales agent said a Diamond client of his had success with Fidelity. If that is true, that information might have been worth the price of admission.
FACT CHECK: Fidelity completes the transfer if the member finds a buyer.
9) Did you know that Diamond salesmen sometimes have side businesses? Two different salesmen I met during the last 8 years had timeshare booking agencies on the side; “If you really need a special unit in a special place, call me. Buy from me and then book all your reservations through me. When you want out of Diamond, call me and I will sell your portfolio to other owners.”
FACT CHECK: Diamond sales agents are not allowed side businesses to sell or rent Diamond points. Diamond’s rules prohibit renting via a website or renting to anyone you don’t know.
10) In today’s meeting, I was warned several times: “Hilton will dump Diamond properties that don’t meet Hilton standards,” and, if I don’t own Hilton Max, “You will be left with fewer choices and more competition for those choices.” Since Hilton owners will be able to use Diamond properties, that could be true. But it might also be true that a Hilton owner with more than 150 deluxe or upscale properties in their reservation system might not EVER bother with a Diamond property.
FACT CHECK: See the FAQ above: “Your current Club membership will continue to exist, and you’ll continue to access the benefits associated with your membership, as noted in The Club documents.” In correspondence to current HGV owners, HGV owners can only access Diamond properties through RCI.
11) What I learned from the second salesman, the CLOSER FOR DIFFICULT PEOPLE, is that the written Hilton policy is: A DRI member can become a Max owner no matter how small the purchase. The first Hilton Max proposal presented to me was for 3000 points for $14,250 ($4.75 /per point, 10% down, >15% interest). Perhaps I could have teased along the process and purchased just 1000 points. The final CLOSER wanted me to buy a 20,000-point vacation package (must be used within 2 years) for $3995.
FACT CHECK: This $3,995 product is a Sampler, a trial product. We doubt Diamond members will be eligible for HGV Max with a Sampler purchase. The minimum purchase for annual points is 2,500 points.
12) The salesman tried to incentivize me to BUY NOW because, “As soon as the HGV DRI rollout is complete, the cost will be $9.25 per point.”
FACT CHECK: This is a broken record complaint. Your super proposed price point – is compared to the retail chart of $9 going towards $11! The consumer is led to believe the VALUE of the point is $9 per point, when in reality there is little to no resale value.
Well, one thing I like about the Hilton acquisition is, since January, I have been invited to TWO Events of a Lifetime. I am married but a sole owner. I have been offered events and tickets, then had the offers rescinded because my husband wasn’t with me. My husband doesn’t like resorts. He likes sleeping bags. That’s fine. Some folks blend families, we blend time away. I like that Hilton has acknowledged me with event invitations. I AM the buyer. Being a married but sole owner got me out of a LOT of owner updates – keep your spouse in the car and check-in alone if you don’t want an Owners’ Update!
One final observation: The Hilton logo didn’t appear on any form or information sheet. The sales offer sheet had no company name. Some of the explanatory paperwork had HILTON at the top. How do we know who we are dealing with?
Should you buy into HGV Max or buy an HGV deeded product?
The best person to answer this question is Judi Kozlowski, a REMAX timeshare resale broker with decades of experience. Some timeshare brokers have an expertise in a particular product. Judi is our go-to for anyone interested in learning about the benefits of buying a Hilton timeshare on resale.
https://www.remax.com/real-estate-agents/judith-kozlowski-orlando-fl/100006008
Timeshare is a buyer beware industry. Don’t succumb to high-pressure demands to buy the same day. Trust us. The deal offered today will be there tomorrow. Take time to research and review what’s available and learn the differences in buying resale vs direct. Timeshare can be of great benefit for quality family time, or can financially ruin a purchaser who buys for reasons that don’t exist.
The Diamond Resorts Backstory:
Diamond Resorts sold to Apollo Global Management APO.N in 2016 for about $2.2 billion.
Apollo attempted to take Diamond public in 2018 seeking a valuation of $4 billion:
Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC is preparing to take Diamond Resorts public …. Apollo could seek a valuation for Diamond Resorts of around $4 billion and aim to raise in excess of $500 million in the offering.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/apollo-plans-to-take-diamond-resorts-public-1524222000
Hilton Grand Vacation purchased Diamond in 2021 for $1.4 billion:
HGV, spun out of Hilton Worldwide in 2017, will buy the Las Vegas-based Diamond Resorts from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management Inc., Reverence Capital Partners and others in an all-stock deal.
Thank you Karen for your first contribution, and also a very big thank you to Irene Parker for editing all of our US stories along with all the other work you are involved in. Unknown to Irene, the first article this week was all about the “twisting of the truth”, a warning to consumers regarding the news of Barclay Partner Finance finally caving in. This news quickly started the “cold call” campaigns and adverts by the dubious elements on the periphery of timeshare and was a very last-minute replacement. Strange how things can come together.
That is all for this week, we hope you have a great weekend, Baby Dog is once again sleeping and dreaming of being in the country.
Carl Staps
My story is not about Diamond Resorts, but it is about the lies that go on during sales presentations.
My wife, along with 3 of our friends, were taken advantage of when making a timeshare purchase. On December 11, 2020 we purchased a 4-Bedroom Grand Lockoff Westgate timeshare for a total sale price $46,164.15. The sale price was supposed to be $41,900, including closing costs, but they changed everything at closing.
Below is a list of what occurred during and after we purchased. In addition to this list, we were told to make three payments and then the loan would become interest free for three years.
1- Prior to purchasing we ask numerous times if we were able to stay Wednesday to Wednesday because those are the days that we travel for the Orlando Speed World Race every year. Ana Johnston, our sales person, told us numerous times that this would not be a problem and that there would be NO additional charges to book these days. At settlement Lizette Lorenzana also told us we were able to stay these days with no problem and no charge. We now find that we will be charged $89 to book Wednesday to Wednesday every year.
2- Also prior to purchasing my husband was looking on the internet and he saw the same timeshare for sale for $1.00. (4-Bedroom Grand Lockoff at Westgate Lakes) We asked our Ana Johnston why we should buy a Westgate timeshare for $42,000 from her when there was one offered on the internet for $1.00. Ana Johnston said we would not get the same amenities if we purchased off the internet instead of purchasing direct from Westgate Lakes Resorts. Since we purchased direct from Westgate Lakes
Resorts I have done a lot of research and have learned the differences don’t justify a $45,000 purchase. This is part of their high-pressure and deceptive sales techniques and they pressured us into buying telling us we were getting such a great deal. We could have purchased the exact timeshare for $1.00.
3- Buyback, Ana Johnston told us we were getting such a great deal we could sell back our units in the future if we wanted to and get what we paid because the units now and, in the future, will be selling for a much higher amount. Ana said Westgate has a buyback department and they could help us with this in the future if we wanted. Lizette Lorenzana confirmed this statement by Ana Johnston. We now know there is no Buyback department in Westgate. We were told by Owner Services that Westgate Resorts does not get involved in reselling the timeshares they sell. I have done a lot of research and now see there is no market for this timeshare that we paid over $42,000 for.
4- After finding out January 2021 we would be liable to pay the $89 to book Wednesday to Wednesday because we would have to split up the week every year.
5- Bonus Week- Ana Johnston told us that as part of our purchase we would get a Free Bonus Week for a 4-bedroom lockoff so we could travel to any of the Westgate Resorts within 16 months of our purchase. This bonus week is NOT free; it is only good for up to a 2-bedroom and it would cost us $599.for a 2-bedroom.
6- When we booked our week for December 8, 2021 to December 15. 2021 we booked months ahead and made sure we booked for a 4-Bedroom Grand Lockoff so we all could stay in adjoining rooms which is what we paid for. We travel as a group; we purchased this timeshare as a group and we want to stay as a group. When we arrived, they tried to switch us up to a much smaller/dirty unit and separate us into two different sections of the building. We did not accept this. They did find us two two-bedroom grand lockoff rooms on the same floor but not together like we had booked and paid for.
The explanation we were given as to why our 4-Bedroom Grand Lockoff was not available was because we booked a Wednesday to a Wednesday and normal booking is from Friday-to-Friday or Saturday-to-Saturday. That the 4-Bedroom Grand Lockoff’s are always given out first to those who stay during the normal booking days. We were told that this is always going to be a problem for us and we should change our dates of travel, but as mentioned above the whole purpose to buy the timeshare was the assurance that we could stay Wednesday to Wednesday. We have always traveled to the races in Orlando together as a group for over 20 years. The races are Thursday to Sunday.
My attorney and I asked for the recording that was made during the settlement. They made everyone sign a paper that it was ok to record the closing but when asked for a copy/transcript of the recording Westgate Resorts stated the recording was no longer available. It magically disappeared, probably because the truth was on the recording.
Jolette Waterfield-Wegner
THIS COMMENT WAS EDITED REMOVING THE NAME OF THE RESORT BECAUSE THE RESORT DID REACH OUT TO THE MEMBER. I was told by our sales agent Bill at our Resort in Orlando, that we could rent our weeks out to make money and that he does this all the time through Craigs List, vrbo, and he mentioned a few other sites. He specifically said, “You have a loan, but you can rent out your timeshare any time. I make money at this. I do this all the time.” Bill said he puts a picture of his timeshare on Craigs List. He also said we could sell our timeshare at any time, never mentioning that, unlike a personal residence, it is impossible to sell a timeshare with a loan outstanding.We were forced to stop making our loan payments. I was diagnosed with Lupus and with multiple “types” of breast cancer and had to have five emergency surgeries. I was laid off from work. I only have insurance through Cobra. We had to pay $20,000 to $30,000 a year out of pocket before insurance would pay. I can’t even continue treatments due to the expense, so I have not had a doctor’s appointment since November. Our loan balance is $10,000. We have never been able to use the timeshare we purchased in May of2018.
In 2017 making travel arrangements for my supervisor, I was told I won a trip. In 2018 we went and said no. We kept walking away, but they kept us for hours.
Jude
Our situation is embarrassing, but we put it out there as it is our hope to help others avoid going down this path with DRI/HGV. Three separate sales instances with heavy pressure in addition to similar experiences with their executive staff in response to our complaints. Constantly put on the defensive being blamed for poor decisions and buyer’s remorse.
2021: LAS VEGAS
While in Las Vegas, we met with a different agent to confirm what ownership meant. Our maintenance fees had skyrocketed. We wanted to reduce them, so we became more specific about our maintenance fee concerns. Our accountant still wanted assurance that he could write-off maintenance fees as a travel expense.
We still did not know how others like us use points as owned property having a deed. What is membership vs. ownership? We attended a meeting to find out. It was at this time that knowledge of the transition to HGV reared its ugly head. Hilton’s acquisition was used as a scare tactic and a form of manipulation – we had to buy more points because “we don’t know what Hilton will do after the transition.” We were told that we needed to have our account “set up” for the Hilton merger. Again, a written diagram was used by our sales agent as now he was the right person to fix our problem. This agent said this new contract would result in no maintenance fees after ten years. In the end we were required to buy 35,000 points to make the required change.
2021: ORLANDO
The agent in Orlando introduced himself as a professor of finance and actively spent time teaching at a local university. He said this often. He went on to say that he was specifically brought in to help with “special situations” such as ours. Again, he spent considerable time illustrating in a diagram how we could combine loans to reduce our overall payments. Amidst our same questions as the previous two times, we wanted answers about ownership, how to reduce our maintenance fees, yet not pay for more points. Again, the HGV transition was leveraged to manipulate the conversation. He had to quickly finish up because he had to teach a class (conveniently unavailable at the time of closing). My wife was shown a document on his phone that she wrote down as instructed to know what to say to the closing agent. Again, we were required to buy 15,000 points to make a necessary change, which was not necessary. At the closing, we answered the closing questions as we had been instructed.
2022: ORLANDO
In February of 2022 we were again on property in Florida. We had to appear at yet another update because the HGV transition was now in full swing. The previous three meetings each lasted 4-5 hours. At the time of this meeting, we told the agent we had one hour. She talked about herself for 30-45 minutes. We kept reminding her we had to leave on the hour. We learned we were required to yet again purchase points due to the HGV transition – 15,000. We left, trying not to make a scene as the situation grew contentious. The remainder of our stay was sickening. My wife received more texts offering different buying options. One at 15,000 again, and the third at 10,000. We were told by NOT upgrading, our maintenance fees would be going UP. We have received a number of calls since this time to discuss our situation because once we get on property “the conversation will be very different.”
During our most recent executive meeting, in response to our complaint, we were told that we were not set up for the merger when purchasing three times before because the “bottom line” amount of points needed for the conversion to HGV was actually 10,000 points. Why were the two initial offers 15,000 points??? As a byproduct of this explanation, the executive was essentially trying to sell us MORE points! He just couldn’t help himself. The training of “making the sale no matter what” is engrained from the top down. He is blind to his own behavior.
We are utterly frustrated by this entire experience and shocked that Diamond/Hilton cares so little about their highest loyalty level members and the harm that was done to us. It is our sincere hope and prayer that Hilton executives Mr. Wang, Mr. Saroka and Mr. Hernandez understands that honest people are no match for timeshare sales agents skilled in such manipulative techniques.
Sherida Nett
“It is our sincere hope and prayer that Hilton executives Mr. Wang, Mr. Saroka and Mr. Hernandez understands that honest people are no match for timeshare sales agents skilled in such manipulative techniques.”
That’s right!
I have written my self a prayer that I say each day asking God to change executives and sales agents hearts. These sales people GROOM us. We are only cattle heading to the slaughter house to them. We are no match for them because honest people have the habit of thinking others are honest. Keep persevering!
CRG
Thank you for sharing your story. We have been Diamond Platinum Owners for years now and we a few Diamond Resort presentations that have gone on and found out after buying more points, they lied to us. One specific one was in Maui, years ago, actually two but I will further this one, we were told if we bought more points we could use the points to pay our maintenance fees. The sad part for anyone buying more points comes the maintenance fees with them. We have never gotten an apology or an exit plan from them. We were also told buying all Hawaii and not all US properties was way better, come to find out a year later we were told the exact opposite, another lie. So for me to sit in another presentation is in fact ridiculous. I would like an update every once in awhile, the problem is, it is always a sales pitch, could last for hours. Always come away feeling stressed and annoyed.
D. Hopkins
Thanks for sharing this. We purchased in 1997 a four-bedroom lockout. We were told we could rent it out (lie). Our yearly maintenance fee was $489.00. Every visit you are offered a owner’s update (sales pitch) that will only take 40 minutes to an hour. The owner’s update maybe 40 minutes but the sales pitch 4-5 hours. You have to fight to get out of there without signing up for credit card more time share that is now a Vacation Club. The maintenance fee is now over $6,000.
Theresa Weller
Our situation is similar. What did you do to get out? How much did it cost?
Irene Parker
Theresa, I can’t answer for Jude, but Diamond Resorts offered me a refund in 2016. I refused because they required an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) which didn’t seem right considering I would have had to spend about $10,000 in equivalent maintenance fees to stay in NYC, when the same week could be booked online for about $3,000. There was nothing in the contract about “affiliate” properties and that was the only reason we bought. I filed complaints with three attorneys general in AZ, FL and NY. That said, sometimes the only option is to default. Following is the link to our dispute resolution process that over 2,500 members have followed since 2016. It takes dedication, persistence, and time (that not everyone has). The author of this article resolved her dispute after we wrote an article about her experience and submitted it for comment. You never know what will work, but not giving up is a key. https://tarda.org/f/timeshare-dispute-resolution-strategy
Irene Parker
Theresa, Rarely should anyone have to pay anyone to be released from a timeshare if you have the time, temperament and perseverance to stay the course. No one can guarantee a release, so sometimes the only choice is to default. This is our self-advocacy process. Reach us through our contact us tab if you have questions: https://tarda.org/f/timeshare-dispute-resolution-strategy
Sherida Nett
I and my husband, a service connected Disabled Vietnam Vet, have an every other year package with HGV and also “worked with” Bill England. My complaint is not with HGV but with Vacation Village/Colonies at Williamsburg, VA where our sales agent told us we could sell our other timeshare to pay for the Colonies purchase through a realtor friend of hers. We believed her and purchased a 4 BR lock off, listed the other timeshare with upfront fees. I have the contracts as proof and have submitted them to every agency I have complained to, including Colonies. Today we still own both timeshares, and have no savings. We paid it off to avoid high interest rates. I feel we have been robbed, and Jackie the saleswoman, Brandon, Scarlett, and Lili, (Berkley Group employees) do not care. Well, time is on my side, and I will keep exposing them until they see the light.
Bernadette A Krueger
My husband and I were deeded owners with Diamond in Vegas. We enjoyed our every other year of use. Our loan was paid off and our maintenance fees were always paid. My husband became ill, so it lead us wanting to sell back our deed (when we bought we were told we could sell back) The sales agent told us our kids would be stuck with it because no one wants to buy back, we needed to transferred our deed into points, then after 10 years we could get out of the contract. So we decided to transfer into points, only to find out at the end of the year that we had 2 maintained fees, one for the deed and the other for the points. When we went to Hawaii for vacation, we went to a mandatory update.
They told us Vegas lied to us and to have our US points transitioned into Hawaii points. We did because we knew at this time we were lied to by Vegas. Got home and a couple of months later, Diamond was having an update in my home town. They told us that Hawaii maintenance fees were going to have a special adjustment of a $3,000 increase. We couldn’t afford that so they offered us to switch back to US points. Each time they increased the points and my payments. The Branson reps that came to my home town even told me I could get a bank loan with lower interest rates (nope by this time I was a financial risk). No one told me anything about transitions. I found out through a website on Facebook of its existence. But it was too late, I had already got into purchasing points and into a loan. Irene was referred to me, she helped me self advocate for myself, and with her help and months of patience I got the courage to defaulted on my loan and was transitioned out of my deed. I lost a lot financially, and emotionally. I hope articles like this one will help others become aware.