General RCI Question

[rcosta]

Hi, we are thinking of buying some more points and using them for some RCI trips. Does anyone have any experiences with availability with RCI? Will a resort only allow a certain amount of RCI reservations? Are these reservations very hard to get?
Any experience you have would be helpful.
Thanks so much.

 

[majortom1981]

The one time my fiances parents used rci was for Polo Towers in Las Vegas (was awesome with awesome location and would stay there again and yes it was a villa). They had no problems getting the reservation.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you really want to use them specifically for RCI, why not just buy an RCI resort at a much cheaper price? Then, as long as DVC still trades with RCI, you could use those RCI points to trade into DVC if you wanted to.

Hopefully Dean will post on this thread since he is the expert on all other timeshares.

 

[been2marceline]

Hi, we are thinking of buying some more points and using them for some RCI trips. Does anyone have any experiences with availability with RCI? Will a resort only allow a certain amount of RCI reservations? Are these reservations very hard to get?
Any experience you have would be helpful.
Thanks so much.

From our experience - impossible, most RCI members say the same thing.

I could be wrong, but the only time you can do an RCI exchange is if someone has traded their RCI time for DVC time.

Disney only does "business" with certain resorts in the RCI system - this is due to the fact that the greatest majority of RCI affiliated resorts don't match up with the level of quality that DVC members deserve, expect and are used to.

To see the difference, use the DVC member site to look at RCI resorts that you can book with points.

Then go out to the RCI site by itself at www dot rci dot com.

I wouldn't stay in most of those places if you paid me - DVC felt the same way and thats why the list of RCI resorts through DVC member is much,much smaller.

Also, to see what kind of organization RCI is, click on the class action lawsuit link at the bottom of the RCI site.

How Disney could go into partnership with a company like that is just beyond me.

Bring back II !!!!

 

[RobDoc]

DVC offers about 500 RCI resorts. Availability will depend on when you want to travel and what resort you want- but DVC does have reasonable trading strength within the RCI system.

For the DVC/RCI options, DVC members have access to any resort banked into the DVC/RCI system (not just those requesting DVC trades). The more in advance you start looking, the higher your chances will be - I'd suggest making requests for specific weeks/resorts at least a year in advance for best results.

If you are wanting to exchange on a regular basis, it might be wise to consider buying fewer DVC points and also buying at a RCI member resort since you can do that for much lower cost both for the initial purchase and also for the annual fees. If you just plan to trade outside of the DVC options once in awhile, DVC can still work for you.

We have been members of both DVC and RCI for over 16 years now and have used RCI for many, many great trades and have used DVC almost exclusively at DVC resorts. We've never had a problem making trades via RCI.

You can get some good information and advice about other timeshares at www.tug2.net and a www.tstoday.com (Timeshare Users Group and Timesharing Today). It would be worthwhile researching other timeshares before purchasing. Many great resorts can be purchased for pennies on the dollar at this time. Most do not old their value nearly as well as DVC and can purchased for very little.

 

[rentayenta]

for the links Doc! I am dying to own at Club Intrawest in Zihua, Mexico but have been having a hard time finding info. To find out more, it looks like I have to take a "Discovery" mini vacation. I know where I would buy so taking a mini trip to another CI destination seems pointless.

 

[Dean]

IF one is looking at exchanging routinely, buying something else is by far cheaper and better if you investigate. Top alternatives would include a Marriott for the internal trading preference through II, an RCI points account and a minisystem that trades externally as well such as Bluegreen, Wyndham or Worldmark. The best alternative is variable based on where you want to go, expectations, how well one can plan and the budget.

Rentayenta, I'm pretty sure that CI does not have a home resort priority (I know they didn't 2-3 years ago) and thus you could buy CI points anywhere and still have as good a chance of getting that resort as anyone who "owns there".