Has anyone traded into DVC from RCI and paid the increased resort fee of $190?

[DavidRoss]

So I am a DVC member but I have another timeshare as well. I have used my other timeshare to trade into DVC. They were chariging $95 when you would check into the resort. Now they have upped it to $190. This seems steep since membership dues of DVC members have already paid for amenities and transportation. Does anyone else think this is ridiculous?

 

[bwvBound]

I haven't traded into DVC for a few years ... but do realize that the resort fee charged by DVC to the inbound exchange guest relates directly to the RCI Exchange Fee NOT being paid by the outbound DVC owner.

As DVC owners are currently offered outbound RCI exchanges w/out paying any exchange fee, the entire exchange fee is carried by the inbound guest. Previously, the fee was split 50/50 between the outbound DVC owner and the inbound exchange guest. So ... I s'pose ... I prefer the current status: 100% paid by the inbound guest.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

^^ that.

Basically, by making the inbound RCI owner pay $190, a DVC member no longer pays the fee outbound. Since DVC exists for the benefit of its own members, this is a win for the DVC member. Sure, it stinks for the RCI member, but as I understand things there is more demand from RCI for DVC than vice versa. Supply and demand.

 

[WDBRDWLK]

We also own with Wyndham Daytona Beach and the only place we will use it is at Bonnett Creek outside of DTD at WDW.. Our Wyndham points were getting ready to expire and we transfered them into RCI and then used them to book at Saratoga Springs. It was an easy transaction and we did not mind spending the $190 for a week's stay at SS. Use it or lose it!

 

[Brian Noble]

This seems steep since membership dues of DVC members have already paid for amenities and transportation.

It's simply a "because we can" fee. My inbound exchange costs are still low enough that it is worth it, but it's not as attractive as it used to be. I'm paying the equivalent of about $5.15/point for my upcoming SSR week, all costs included. That was using RCI TPUs, and it would have been cheaper to use my Wyndham points instead. But, I have an excess of deposited weeks and have more uses for my Wyn points.

 

[Dean]

It's simply a "because we can" fee. My inbound exchange costs are still low enough that it is worth it, but it's not as attractive as it used to be. I'm paying the equivalent of about $5.15/point for my upcoming SSR week, all costs included. That was using RCI TPUs, and it would have been cheaper to use my Wyndham points instead. But, I have an excess of deposited weeks and have more uses for my Wyn points.

Exactly. There's nothing that the RCI member gets that the DVC member hasn't paid for already. However, it's still a better deal than renting though it may not be a better deal than renting and renting out one's ownership they would have used to trade in depending on what it is and it's value. That's especially true for studios and 2 BR.

 

[KornBred]

I bought two timeshares years ago but for a while the only one I owned was too close to WDW to use the RCI points to exchange into a DVC resort. After I sold that one and was left with one in Hilton Head I could then exchange into WDW. Our first on property stay was last year at OKW and the exchange fee for some reason was $169 instead of the usual $219 and the resort fee was $95. We sold the HHI timeshare & bought one in Montana off eBay for a grand total of $177 after all transfer and final price fees. The previous owner was looking to unload it cheaply so we got it and are responsible for the yearly tax & maintenance fees which is about $90 a month. I have enough points that if I book at WDW less than 30 days before check in, I can reserve about 5 or 6 weeks a year if I wanted to. The exchange fee is now $230 and the resort fee for DVC is up to $190 as stated. So if I add all I pay out and divide by 6 stays it averages about $85 a night. That is for a 1 bedroom at a DVC resort. I usually don't include the taxes in my calculations as I gotta pay that whether I stay somewhere or not so accounting for actual costs paid for a week at WDW the cost is more close to $60 a night. Either way, to stay at a WDW resort I am more than willing to pay that. You'll pay much more for way worse accommodations in that area. I would rather not pay the extra $100 but the price with it is still fair in my mind. Sorry for the long winded post. I am bored.

 

[Dean]

I bought two timeshares years ago but for a while the only one I owned was too close to WDW to use the RCI points to exchange into a DVC resort. After I sold that one and was left with one in Hilton Head I could then exchange into WDW. Our first on property stay was last year at OKW and the exchange fee for some reason was $169 instead of the usual $219 and the resort fee was $95. We sold the HHI timeshare & bought one in Montana off eBay for a grand total of $177 after all transfer and final price fees. The previous owner was looking to unload it cheaply so we got it and are responsible for the yearly tax & maintenance fees which is about $90 a month. I have enough points that if I book at WDW less than 30 days before check in, I can reserve about 5 or 6 weeks a year if I wanted to. The exchange fee is now $230 and the resort fee for DVC is up to $190 as stated. So if I add all I pay out and divide by 6 stays it averages about $85 a night. That is for a 1 bedroom at a DVC resort. I usually don't include the taxes in my calculations as I gotta pay that whether I stay somewhere or not so accounting for actual costs paid for a week at WDW the cost is more close to $60 a night. Either way, to stay at a WDW resort I am more than willing to pay that. You'll pay much more for way worse accommodations in that area. I would rather not pay the extra $100 but the price with it is still fair in my mind. Sorry for the long winded post. I am bored.

There are 2 separate exchange fee sets. It sounds like you have RCI points. If the deposit you exchange to through RCI comes in through the weeks side, the fee is used from the weeks side and is $230 currently. If it's a points deposit, a week is $189 currently. The fee varies on the point side based on the number of nights.

 

[KornBred]

I knew about the number of nights or prorated fee but didn't realize their was a lower fee for exchanging for a points vacation. In the old system they had, it would only show points exchanges for points members, or at least that was all I ever saw until they changed the website a few years ago and now it says if it is a points or weeks exchange. The weeks exchanges are usually less points in that 30 day window than the points from what I have seen though. There has been a lot of times when I saw points exchanges for resorts that were less than 30 days from check in & they didn't have any discount on the points. Last night I saw SSR exchanges available that were points and it was the first time I have seen that as they are usually weeks. They were all discounted as well but for dates 2 and 3 months out, although the discount was not as much as the weeks at less than 30 days but I was surprised to see dates available that far off being discounted at all. And for anyone who doesn't know about the discount on RCI points, you can get an exchange at most resorts for a lower amount of RCI points than they usually ask for if you book less than 30 days before check in. For Disney resorts that is usually 23500. For most others, they go down to 4000, 7500, or 9000. When we used to only get 28000 a year it made a big difference.
EDIT: Oh yes, I am points thank goodness. Weeks is way too confusing and I like the greater flexibility of points.

 

[Dean]

I knew about the number of nights or prorated fee but didn't realize their was a lower fee for exchanging for a points vacation. In the old system they had, it would only show points exchanges for points members, or at least that was all I ever saw until they changed the website a few years ago and now it says if it is a points or weeks exchange. The weeks exchanges are usually less points in that 30 day window than the points from what I have seen though. There has been a lot of times when I saw points exchanges for resorts that were less than 30 days from check in & they didn't have any discount on the points. Last night I saw SSR exchanges available that were points and it was the first time I have seen that as they are usually weeks. They were all discounted as well but for dates 2 and 3 months out, although the discount was not as much as the weeks at less than 30 days but I was surprised to see dates available that far off being discounted at all. And for anyone who doesn't know about the discount on RCI points, you can get an exchange at most resorts for a lower amount of RCI points than they usually ask for if you book less than 30 days before check in. For Disney resorts that is usually 23500. For most others, they go down to 4000, 7500, or 9000. When we used to only get 28000 a year it made a big difference.
EDIT: Oh yes, I am points thank goodness. Weeks is way too confusing and I like the greater flexibility of points.

RCI effectively runs two independent exchange companies, one points and one weeks. There is a crossover with the points members having an advantage on the crossover inventory. Sometimes you see a DVC weeks ONLY on the DVC weeks membership and sometimes only on the RCI points membership but usually they are seen on both. I'd say that points is better for just seeing total deposit numbers. Since I have both accounts independently I can evaluate both. It seems that RCI points has more ghost exchange units than the weeks side (weeks that show up but are not really there for some reason).

 

[culli]

So I am a DVC member but I have another timeshare as well. I have used my other timeshare to trade into DVC. They were chariging $95 when you would check into the resort. Now they have upped it to $190. This seems steep since membership dues of DVC members have already paid for amenities and transportation. Does anyone else think this is ridiculous?

To answer yes I have been there in January 2 weeks and both got charged at the $95 - however, I believe it was booked prior to the new "because we can" increase to $190. They were both 1 br as I have not seen a 2 br in I believe over 2 yrs for RCI - but still cheaper than using my DVC points and a ton cheaper than rack rates or rental.

 

[Dean]

To answer yes I have been there in January 2 weeks and both got charged at the $95 - however, I believe it was booked prior to the new "because we can" increase to $190. They were both 1 br as I have not seen a 2 br in I believe over 2 yrs for RCI - but still cheaper than using my DVC points and a ton cheaper than rack rates or rental.

Some have reported only being charged the fee one for consecutive weeks, did you ask?

 

[culli]

Some have reported only being charged the fee one for consecutive weeks, did you ask?

I exchange a lot into DVC and sometimes I get charged the $95 sometimes I don't. I figure I owe it so if they don't charge me, I'm not going to ask and bring light to it. Honestly for the large savings I get I don't sweat the "because we can" charge, I just accept it and don't stress much. We switched resorts, I did the charge of $95 for both weeks but like I said in the past I saw we occasionally didn't get charged. When I check if I get a chance in I let them know we are also DVC members and one lady removed the wifi charge (back when they charged) and also credited our room the $95 fee.

 

[supersnoop]

"because we can" increase

Just to be clear, it's not an "increase." It's a "because we can" re-allocation. In the past, they charged $95 to each; the member trading out and the person trading in, a total of $190. They shifted the members' cost to the person trading in, so they pay the total amount now, rather than splitting it with the member.

 

[culli]

Just to be clear, it's not an "increase." It's a "because we can" re-allocation. In the past, they charged $95 to each; the member trading out and the person trading in, a total of $190. They shifted the members' cost to the person trading in, so they pay the total amount now, rather than splitting it with the member.

This is a cost that would apply to any timeshare not just DVC and Disney is the only one I have ever been charged, Disney appears to have "fabricated" this cost. It is a charge but that doesn't mean it is legit.

 

[Dean]

This is a cost that would apply to any timeshare not just DVC and Disney is the only one I have ever been charged, Disney appears to have "fabricated" this cost. It is a charge but that doesn't mean it is legit.

IMO it's not. It's nothing more than paying for items that are already paid for by the membership or should be.

 

[Cyberc1978]

I exchange a lot into DVC and sometimes I get charged the $95 sometimes I don't. I figure I owe it so if they don't charge me, I'm not going to ask and bring light to it. Honestly for the large savings I get I don't sweat the "because we can" charge, I just accept it and don't stress much. We switched resorts, I did the charge of $95 for both weeks but like I said in the past I saw we occasionally didn't get charged. When I check if I get a chance in I let them know we are also DVC members and one lady removed the wifi charge (back when they charged) and also credited our room the $95 fee.

We Also trade into DVC from RCI. Last time we did, we where supposed to pay the new and higher fee but was only charged the old fee. Next time I'll make sure to let them know that I'll a DVC member, maybe it makes a difference.

For what we pay in early mf for the trader we use in RCI, we can actually get 2 weeks + RCI and DVC fees in a 1Br for 1220$ not bad imho. At the end of the day 610$ for 1 week at DVC is well worth it, even if RCI or DVC decides to increase the fee again.

I know we are currently limited to ssr, Okw and akv as that is what being deposited. We also have searches running, and if they match we might take an extra vacation.

Btw at the current level of the fees from both RCI and DVC they don't impact the amount of people wanting to exchange into DVC. Maybe if DVC increased the resort fee to 500-800$ for a 1Br and 1000$ for a 2br, for other resorts than ssr and Okw then it would matter. They would need to follow up with actual deposits from those resorts also.

 

[culli]

We Also trade into DVC from RCI. Last time we did, we where supposed to pay the new and higher fee but was only charged the old fee. Next time I'll make sure to let them know that I'll a DVC member, maybe it makes a difference.

For what we pay in early mf for the trader we use in RCI, we can actually get 2 weeks + RCI and DVC fees in a 1Br for 1220$ not bad imho. At the end of the day 610$ for 1 week at DVC is well worth it, even if RCI or DVC decides to increase the fee again.

I know we are currently limited to ssr, Okw and akv as that is what being deposited. We also have searches running, and if they match we might take an extra vacation.

Btw at the current level of the fees from both RCI and DVC they don't impact the amount of people wanting to exchange into DVC. Maybe if DVC increased the resort fee to 500-800$ for a 1Br and 1000$ for a 2br, for other resorts than ssr and Okw then it would matter. They would need to follow up with actual deposits from those resorts also.

WOW I thought I had a great deal getting into DVC through RCI your only paying $600 a week total, very impressive. My trade in cost is good but then we have $189-$210 for RCI then another $190 now for DVC is what drives my cost. Depending on what inventory I use and what demand time the DVC unit is my trader cost is usually between $360-$1100 (I know huge range) but I average around $700 a week then another $400 for the fees - still a much better deal than the alternatives to get in. I treat my DVC pts like gold and use to extend days and get exactly what and when I want when my dates are not flexible such as EPCOT resort during F&W. As long as I keep my trade in costs on par with what it would cost with my DVC MFs I'm very happy as the DVC pts are so flexible I horde them!

 

[Cyberc1978]

WOW I thought I had a great deal getting into DVC through RCI your only paying $600 a week total, very impressive. My trade in cost is good but then we have $189-$210 for RCI then another $190 now for DVC is what drives my cost. Depending on what inventory I use and what demand time the DVC unit is my trader cost is usually between $360-$1100 (I know huge range) but I average around $700 a week then another $400 for the fees - still a much better deal than the alternatives to get in. I treat my DVC pts like gold and use to extend days and get exactly what and when I want when my dates are not flexible such as EPCOT resort during F&W. As long as I keep my trade in costs on par with what it would cost with my DVC MFs I'm very happy as the DVC pts are so flexible I horde them!

I have to admit that when I trade in, I have been able to pick up inventory for around 30.000 RCI points. Some has been last call and some hasen't. I know a lot of those are more expensive at least the current ones in march and april for SSR and OKW.

My searches is running on my Hilton account with RCI and here you pay the same amount of points regardless of when you go. I only use my hilton points for Hilton stays except DVC in RCI but not any DVC. With my hilton I can almost get 2 DVC vacations in a 1BR for 580$ + rci + dvc fees. When I say almost its because I would have to borrow 10% of my points from the following year.

Over the years I have learned how to work the hilton and RCI system, as a new DVC member i'm still learning - The Disboards has been a great source for that.

Yes in flexibility DVC trump hilton - every system has its pros and cons.

 

[Dean]

WOW I thought I had a great deal getting into DVC through RCI your only paying $600 a week total, very impressive. My trade in cost is good but then we have $189-$210 for RCI then another $190 now for DVC is what drives my cost. Depending on what inventory I use and what demand time the DVC unit is my trader cost is usually between $360-$1100 (I know huge range) but I average around $700 a week then another $400 for the fees - still a much better deal than the alternatives to get in. I treat my DVC pts like gold and use to extend days and get exactly what and when I want when my dates are not flexible such as EPCOT resort during F&W. As long as I keep my trade in costs on par with what it would cost with my DVC MFs I'm very happy as the DVC pts are so flexible I horde them!

Historically mine have been $300-350 per exchange. Going forward about $600-650 is what I'm looking at.