Help me Understand Trading outside DVC

[Belle & Ariel]

We have cruised alot the last couple years and have about 150 banked points expiring Aug 2013. We also have this year's points which we will bank.
We have booked a trip to Vero and AKV in May but want to go elsewhere.
Our daughter and son in law are working in SE Asia and would like us to meet them there. Looking through the RCI site there are several condos there but all are booked May through July.
I remember when we did the sales presentation we got a big book that showed where all you can go. Is this obsolete since RCI is now the trade company?
I see I can deposit points into RCI for a future stay. We would love to spend a week in Bermuda but the one location there is not available May, June, or July of 2014. Not a misprint, 2014.
If we deposit points for future use, how long do we have to use them before the deposit expires? Is it always this hard to find a place available?
I do not want to rent out points--too many horror stories and not worth the hassle.
We love DVC but our last child at 18 has had enough of Disney so for a while we will be doing other things to keep him happy while we still have him vacationing with us.

 

[RobDoc]

We have cruised alot the last couple years and have about 150 banked points expiring Aug 2013. We also have this year's points which we will bank.
We have booked a trip to Vero and AKV in May but want to go elsewhere.
Our daughter and son in law are working in SE Asia and would like us to meet them there. Looking through the RCI site there are several condos there but all are booked May through July.
I remember when we did the sales presentation we got a big book that showed where all you can go. Is this obsolete since RCI is now the trade company?
I see I can deposit points into RCI for a future stay. We would love to spend a week in Bermuda but the one location there is not available May, June, or July of 2014. Not a misprint, 2014.
If we deposit points for future use, how long do we have to use them before the deposit expires? Is it always this hard to find a place available?
I do not want to rent out points--too many horror stories and not worth the hassle.
We love DVC but our last child at 18 has had enough of Disney so for a while we will be doing other things to keep him happy while we still have him vacationing with us.

One big challenge with using the World Passport Collection (RCI) is that you often need to plan your travel a good 12+ months ahead (using an ongoing search if possible) as the better options disappear fairly quickly. In addition, inventory for many resorts is deposited about a year in advance and not much farther out than that - so lack of inventory in 2014 is not too surprising although that will likely change over the next few months as those owners start making their travel plans and deposit inventory into the RCI system.

If you deposit DVC points into the WP system, you will have 2 years to use the banked points for travel to an RCI destination. You need to be somewhat flexible with your resort and dates to have the best success for a match.

Good luck!