Hope to help with RCI.

[Shellandscott]

First I have owned DVC since the early 2000's and I own another timeshare that is an RCI resort in the “weeks system” so I pay $89.00 a year to belong directly to RCI. I don't know if anyone has put this information out there, if they did then I am about to waste my time researching the info. If they have not, I hope it helps people use the RCI exchanges better and help them avoid disappointment with their trade. My RCI resort works like this... I pay my maintenance fee to my RCI resort and pick a week that I want to stay at the resort, get my confirmation info and call RCI and deposit my week with them. They then assign my week a Exchange Trading Point Value (TPV). In my case I own an ok/good resort and I got assigned 20 points for Memorial Day week starting on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. I then can search the database for available vacations. In this case I picked Bonnet Creek resort for early October 2011 to finish out my annual pass. It takes 9 TPV. So I have 11 left over and I have 2 years to use them toward another vacation that costs 11 points or less.

Now on to DVC resorts at WDW. Currently there are 3 units available all are at SSR. They are one bedroom units with an available check in dates of Sept 7, 23 or 30th - all for one week and all have a TPV of 41 points!!!!

So when you decide to trade your unit keep in mind you are giving up a lot and you should request resorts that have the same high value. I have seem people may trade their unit for places that are 3 star. There was a post about Wisconsin Dells, to give you a glimpse there are 256 units available in Wisconsin Dells over the next 2 years here are how the units break down. 1-10 TPV 144 units, 11-14 TPV 60 units, 15-18 TPV 36 units, 19-23 TPV 10 units, 24-32 TPV 6 units and those are in June- August. So if you booked one of those 6 you may be getting an OK deal. Those RCI customers would have to deposit 2 years worth of vacations to get into a WDW DVC resort. Another item I have seen is All Inclusive resorts, yes you can trade there with RCI but they have a TPV of about 7 points and you still have to pay the all-inclusive fee. For Moon Palace in Cancun the AI off the website is “Mandatory 7-Day All-Inclusive Program. Fees are per room, per week in double or single occupancy. 2012 Fees: Jan01-Apr14 US$2,530; Apr15-Aug18 US$2,068; Aug19-Dec20 US$1,982; Dec21-31 US$3,395. Additional Adult in the same unit US$688 & Children in the same room, 4-17 yrs US$351.”

Anyone can look at reviews and member ratings on the RCI website to see what they are getting into with each resort. http://www.rci.com/RCI/prelogin/rdMain.do

So in the end, realize that most resorts are not as nice as your DVC resort & look into what you are renting to make an informed choice.

For general info Vero is worth about 17 RCI trading points for a 1 bedroom in May and VGC is worth about 24 points for a one bedroom in Sept. ( which on a side note is completely weird because as DVC members anyone who has tried to get into VGC knows it is extremely harder then getting into SSR)

 

[Brian Noble]

That's a nice summary. I would add that anyone interested in learning more about timesharing in general (as opposed to DVC specifically) should consider joining TUG (www.tug2.net) or Timeshare Forums (www.timeshareforums.com) to learn (much) more about them!

 

[bltpoppins]

I joined TUG to find out about other timeshare systems. We have a son on the west coast and, altho we love VGC, I would love to find another location on the west coast to vacation. We love our DVC and the ability to book 3 night stays. So far I haven't been able to figure out which systems would be beneficial to us. Would only buy resale of course!

Any helpful hints?
TIA

 

[Dean]

I joined TUG to find out about other timeshare systems. We have a son on the west coast and, altho we love VGC, I would love to find another location on the west coast to vacation. We love our DVC and the ability to book 3 night stays. So far I haven't been able to figure out which systems would be beneficial to us. Would only buy resale of course!

Any helpful hints?
TIA

It really depends on where yo want to stay, how flexible you are and how well you plan ahead. Wyndham, Worldmark and Shell come to mind as does Marriott for a few places considering the west coast and similar areas. I'd suggest you look at where you want to go over the next few years and see if you can find a single system (or more than one) that matches pretty well. Then investigate that system(s) and their resorts in detail. Where is your son on the west coast and where are the places you have penciled in you'd like to visit?

 

[bltpoppins]

Our son is in Bakersfield currently. We would love to find a place in San Diego or even Arizona. We aren't into just sitting around but also not interested in snow skiing or beach sitting!

We also need to be able to go for a few days to a single place!

So how's that for a wish list! LOL...

Thanks again for any ideas!

 

[oktracy]

Thanks for all of the valuable advice. I am an RCI Weeks member. Can I ever trade in to DVC resorts like VGC or Aulani?

 

[slum808]

There have been reports of Tug members getting trades into VGC in both weeks and points, but they are rare. You have to be super flexible. No one has reported a match to Aulani yet, but may have ongoing searches. Most believe it will only be a matter of time. Maybe once Phase III is complete, DVC will have too much inventory to hold on to.

 

[slum808]

Our son is in Bakersfield currently. We would love to find a place in San Diego or even Arizona. We aren't into just sitting around but also not interested in snow skiing or beach sitting!

We also need to be able to go for a few days to a single place!

So how's that for a wish list! LOL...

Thanks again for any ideas!

I'm a worldmark owner and there are a couple WM properties in San Diego. There's about 10 properties in CA you could visit. The problem with WM in california is that its red season most of the year, which means you must book at least 7 days at a time. 90 days from the check in date can book any amount of days, but most resorts will be booked up by then. Still WM is a good system and a weeks worth of points will only cost about $600 in mf. WMowners.com is an excellent resource to learn about worldmark.

One of the great things about WM is that it can trade in both II and RCI which opens up travel flexibility. I've already confirmed exchanges to Marriott Ko Olina and Westin Maui in II and HGVC Kingsland in RCI.

 

[Dean]

Thanks for all of the valuable advice. I am an RCI Weeks member. Can I ever trade in to DVC resorts like VGC or Aulani?

DVC tends to wait until a couple of years after a resort is finished to deposit so I'm sure it'll be a while for HI but long term it's likely to be fairly available. CA is a different matter, unlikely to be many deposits there.

For Southern CA one might consider Worldmark as noted but also Marriott which has Newport coast, CA dessert, Park city Utah and Arizona. Look at the Welks resorts and Wyndham. Personally I'd go on TUG (Timeshare Users Group) and ask this question as there are those that have a much better working knowledge of that area and situation than I.

 

[bwvBound]

I'm a worldmark owner and there are a couple WM properties in San Diego. There's about 10 properties in CA you could visit. The problem with WM in california is that its red season most of the year, which means you must book at least 7 days at a time. 90 days from the check in date can book any amount of days, but most resorts will be booked up by then. Still WM is a good system and a weeks worth of points will only cost about $600 in mf.

Don't forget you can book OSA ("only space available") anytime. I peruse the Worldmark inventory regularly looking for short getaways and have little trouble filling our travel calendar with plenty of drive-to destinations (SoCal).

bltpoppins : please do check the Worldmark Resort Gallery at http://www.worldmarktheclub.com/resorts
Worldmark has been a great system for us!

Edited to add: bltpoppins, here is a link to our prior conversation about short stays and Worldmark:
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43997752&postcount=17

 

[Brian Noble]

For West Coast folks looking into a mini-system, it might be hard to beat WorldMark. Marriott's Club product might also be an option, and will have nicer resorts, but it will be more expensive.

 

[Shellandscott]

oktracy- I do not know how to "quote" but to answer your question there was one 1 bdr unit at VGC available for Sept 2012. That is where I got the point value from in my post. It was available for about 2 days last Nov and then someone snatched it up. If you are a weeks member and have a deposit in the RCI system you can "search for vacations" select Show all available RCI vacations . Pick California and it will give you everything from 1 point to 50 points.

 

[bltpoppins]

Thanks to all who have answered our "dilemna". I will continue to research and appreciate your insights!

 

[Dean]

Thanks to all who have answered our "dilemna". I will continue to research and appreciate your insights!

Knowledge is power with timeshares. Don't forget to look at all places you want to vacation, not just that one area.