Has anyone used RCI ?

[nyzat]

We are interested in the club but were curious if anyone has used RCI with their disney points and would like to share the experience.

Thanks

 

[DeeCee735]

Ditto

 

[JimMIA]

There are MUCH better options for exchanging than using DVC points for RCI exchanges -- for two reasons:

1. With DVC/RCI, your selection is limited to only about 600 of RCI's 6,500+ resorts. That's not to say you can't find an acceptable exchange, but your choices are obviously quite limited.
2. DVC is a relatively expensive timeshare, and you can buy other timeshares which offer the full 6,500+ RCI resorts for $1 on eBay.

In addition, some other timeshare systems exchange through both RCI and II, which gives you even better value.

[ETA: I think virtually all timeshares offer their best values when used within their own internal systems. There are undoubtedly exceptions to that, but the trading value of any timeshare is a constantly moving target and most of the real timeshare experts I've discussed exchanges with say to purchase any system for its own internal value...not for exchanges.]

 

[DeeCee735]

There are MUCH better options for exchanging than using DVC points for RCI exchanges -- for two reasons:

1. With DVC/RCI, your selection is limited to only about 600 of RCI's 6,500+ resorts. That's not to say you can't find an acceptable exchange, but your choices are obviously quite limited.
2. DVC is a relatively expensive timeshare, and you can buy other timeshares which offer the full 6,500+ RCI resorts for $1 on eBay.

In addition, some other timeshare systems exchange through both RCI and II, which gives you even better value.

[ETA: I think virtually all timeshares offer their best values when used within their own internal systems. There are undoubtedly exceptions to that, but the trading value of any timeshare is a constantly moving target and most of the real timeshare experts I've discussed exchanges with say to purchase any system for its own internal value...not for exchanges.]

Buying another timeshare for $1 on ebay sounds like a great deal, but don't forget the lifetime of maintenance fees.

For us, to trade out one or two times, it's just worth it to use our points. Besides that, some of the resorts are beautiful and for 160 for a full week in a one bedroom, we think its worth it. If we were trading every year, or every trip, not so much.

 

[JimMIA]

Buying another timeshare for $1 on ebay sounds like a great deal, but don't forget the lifetime of maintenance fees.

We have annual costs with any system, but here's the difference.

I recently purchased a Wyndham contract on eBay. It's very difficult to compare the point values from one system to another, but the closest I can approximate the Wyndham contract is roughly equivalent to a 500-point DVC contract. I paid a little less than $2,000 total, including closing costs, and the maintenance fees are about $2,100 per year...much less than a comparable DVC contract would be. Somewhere down the road, I'll sell that contract for $1 on eBay and eat the $2,000 loss. In the meantime, I'll have 120 Wyndham resorts to choose from and more than 6,500 RCI resorts if I want to exchange out.

To purchase that Wyndham contract, I sold an SSR 120-point contract that I'd owned since 2004. I took a $3,000 hit in six years of ownership, not counting the dues. I purchased that SSR contract direct from DVC for $83 per point; direct purchasers today are paying $120-130 and will be looking at much larger losses than I had when they sell.

For us, to trade out one or two times, it's just worth it to use our points. Besides that, some of the resorts are beautiful and for 160 for a full week in a one bedroom, we think its worth it. If we were trading every year, or every trip, not so much.

Sure, for an occasional exchange, I would never question any owner's decision. They're your points. If you're happy with the value you get, that's all that matters.

 

[rentayenta]

We traded into RCI for a week in Cabo and it was fabulous. I think it took about 3 weeks for our trade to come through. We had a few weeks we could take the trip so when one confirmed the rest just canceled. Our DVC is our vacation budget so for us, trading to go to Mexico, because that's where we wanted to go, was a great value.

 

[Td1290]

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

We traded into RCI for a week in Cabo and it was fabulous. I think it took about 3 weeks for our trade to come through. We had a few weeks we could take the trip so when one confirmed the rest just canceled. Our DVC is our vacation budget so for us, trading to go to Mexico, because that's where we wanted to go, was a great value.

Which resort did you visit in Cabo? I know some of the places you can trade for are great, but then I have also seen some negative reviews for a few of the resorts in the DVC exchange pool. That was true not just for RCI, but for the Intrawest trades as well.

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

[*]DVC is a relatively expensive timeshare, and you can buy other timeshares which offer the full 6,500+ RCI resorts for $1 on eBay. [/LIST]In addition, some other timeshare systems exchange through both RCI and II, which gives you even better value.
any[/B] system for its own internal value...not for exchanges.]

My cousin who is married with 3 adult children and one grandson does this. She owns 4 timeshares I believe and paid around $1 for each of them. She doesn't come to Orlando but once every 4 years and she trades into the Marriott Grande Vista and stays in a 3 bedroom. She has stayed their twice and once traded into Star Island 3 bedroom.

This system has worked well for her family.

Jason

 

[Dean]

Which resort did you visit in Cabo? I know some of the places you can trade for are great, but then I have also seen some negative reviews for a few of the resorts in the DVC exchange pool. That was true not just for RCI, but for the Intrawest trades as well.

We've stayed at the Grand Mayan in San Jose Del Cabo and it was wonderful. We did not trade DVC points as MX is an easy trade with most anything. We were there 2 weeks and a trade using DVC would have been 1500 points for the 2 weeks.

 

[jvincent16]

Keep in mind a lot of the MX resorts are all inclusive (AI) which requires you to pay a mandatory AI fee per day. I've looked at a few resorts and the AI fee is outrageous. I could get on bookit and book the same stay for cheaper and not have to "give away" my DVC points. Great deals on MX right now.

I just traded my DVC pts for a stay in Aruba via RCI. I never thought I would do this because it doesn't make sense. It never works out to be a good value. I can rent DVC pts for $8-$10/pt and use that money to stay at any resort during the time I really want and not just whats available through RCI. I think the particular resort I traded for was an acceptable deal.

The resort was 134pts for 7nights + $95 rci fee. If I rented 134pts for $8-10/pt that = $1072-1340. I can rent a week from an owner through a third party site at around 160/night ($1120 total). I went ahead and did it since it worked out to be pretty even. A week at my DVC home resort would have been 120pts. It was all pretty equal and I'm still surprised it worked out that way.

 

[akl-fan]

We traded our 2008 developer points for a week in an RCI property in England. It was the only 1 bed property we were able to get after trying to exchange for over a year.
We were very disappointed with the property, although the room was OK the swimming pool area was squalid and I refused to let my baby in the water.
The valuable lesson I learnt was that RCI property's are not necessarily up to the standard of a Disney resort. It was way way way below the standard of a Disney Value Hotel.

 

[MAO]

I used RCI last year to stay one week in a one-bedroom flat in London. I wrote up an overview of the property here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2591100

As mentioned in that thread, I was pretty pleased with the results. I would have liked to have been able to request and immediately get the specific week I wanted instead of being on the waitlist for a few weeks and giving them about a 3 month timeframe to choose from, but it worked out quite well for me. In my view, it saved me money and hassle -- I already have DVC, so why not use the points I've paid for. Nor did I have to deal with renting my points and having the potential problems that entails.

 

[dclfun]

Never. Ever. I've posted this before several times ( and mentioned it today in another thread) that the only time we stayed at an RCI property for which we did not use our DVC points it was no where near the quality of accommodations at DVC- in fact it was a dump. The furniture was old and mismatched, dirty kitchen area, and I could go on. I paid for DVC quality and as such, I'll stick with DVC properties where I'm getting my money's worth and will pay OOP for any other kind of vacation.---Kathy

 

[travelbug]

Yes, I did an RCI exchange for a week in Cabo just last year. We stayed at the Pueblo Bonito - Sunset Beach, and it was fabulous! The accommodations and service were stellar, the ocean views were unbelievable, and it was a great use of 160 points (we stayed in a 1BR). Our room had 2 balconies -- one that was accessed by both the living room and the bedroom, with a full ocean view. The other balcony was private and had a hot tub. Not many rooms have this, so we were very fortunate. Our room also had 2 full bathrooms, which was a nice surprise in a 1BR.

My DVC points are mostly used for WDW stays, but it's nice to have the choice to use them elsewhere for a "splurge" every now and then.

 

[wcjoey43]

great info thanks everyone

 

[rentayenta]

Which resort did you visit in Cabo? I know some of the places you can trade for are great, but then I have also seen some negative reviews for a few of the resorts in the DVC exchange pool. That was true not just for RCI, but for the Intrawest trades as well.

Playa Grande. It was fantastic. If you do a search, I posted a thread about it- went last March. Best dos por uno too.

 

[Dean]

Never. Ever. I've posted this before several times ( and mentioned it today in another thread) that the only time we stayed at an RCI property for which we did not use our DVC points it was no where near the quality of accommodations at DVC- in fact it was a dump. The furniture was old and mismatched, dirty kitchen area, and I could go on. I paid for DVC quality and as such, I'll stick with DVC properties where I'm getting my money's worth and will pay OOP for any other kind of vacation.---Kathy

Keep in mind a lot of the MX resorts are all inclusive (AI) which requires you to pay a mandatory AI fee per day. I've looked at a few resorts and the AI fee is outrageous. I could get on bookit and book the same stay for cheaper and not have to "give away" my DVC points. Great deals on MX right now.

I just traded my DVC pts for a stay in Aruba via RCI. I never thought I would do this because it doesn't make sense. It never works out to be a good value. I can rent DVC pts for $8-$10/pt and use that money to stay at any resort during the time I really want and not just whats available through RCI. I think the particular resort I traded for was an acceptable deal.

The resort was 134pts for 7nights + $95 rci fee. If I rented 134pts for $8-10/pt that = $1072-1340. I can rent a week from an owner through a third party site at around 160/night ($1120 total). I went ahead and did it since it worked out to be pretty even. A week at my DVC home resort would have been 120pts. It was all pretty equal and I'm still surprised it worked out that way.

There are really two issues here. One is buying to trade and the other owning and then deciding whether to trade. For many reasons, buying to trade is a horrible idea though RCI is likely the lessor of evils along with the BVTC. That said, most RCI options are a step down from DVC and the ones that aren't are either rarely available or easily available for something infinitely cheaper than DVC. As long as one does due diligence as to the options and qualify, it's possible to come up with RCI choices that are reasonable. Let me also point out that even a lateral trade is really a down trade when you consider the lost flexibility of a DVC reservation, risk associated with an RCI exchange and unit assignment norms related to exchangers. Just know what you're getting and not getting and what risks you're taking.

 

[Cee]

Exchanges can be hit or miss. Go for the Gold Crown resorts and read the reviews before committing.