is trading in to RCI a bad value? Please Explain!

[MISSINWDW]

We are soooo on the verge of buying into DVC. We do go to Disney a lot, but we travel other places too. Our kids are 6 and 4 and part of the allure of DVC is using RCI to trade to various World Wide locations and stay in a one bedroom instead of a hotel room. We have been on waay too many trips recently where we sit in the dark after 8:30 looking at our Kindle for iphone apps because the kids are trying to go to sleep. I want some space back!
Everytime I read about RCI trades, I hear/read Somthing to the effect that DVC is only a good value if you stay at Disney locations and that trading into RCI is difficult. Discuss amoungst yourselves. Go!

 

[Brandis]

First, for all Non-DVC resorts, there is the $95 trading fee. Then, the main reason it is not seen as a good value is I think that you would need more points than for a comparable accommodation in DVC.

Also, it might be harder to get really what you want in the RCI system.

 

[chalee94]

buying a timeshare that trades comparably to DVC in RCI can be done for less than 10% of the upfront cost of DVC and about half the cost of annual dues.

you're paying a premium price for DVC to stay onsite at wdw...and then trading down to stay at mostly cheaper resorts. it's like paying the price to rent and gas up a cadillac for a week but deciding to trade out for a nissan versa (for the same cost).

there are a handful of comparable resorts in RCI (hiltons and resorts in high cost areas like hawaii) for trades, but for the most part, you are trading down.

while it's nice to have the option if you want it, it's just not a good idea to buy into DVC planning to trade out on a regular basis. do some research on TUG and buy a cheaper timeshare for trading. while DVC stays in RCI, you might be able to use it to trade into DVC more cheaply than owning DVC (although you would lose the flexibility of owning.)

 

[MISSINWDW]

Is this still true even if you are trading into a one or 2 bedroom unit? Has anyone out there had a good experience trading into RCI?

 

[Dean]

Is this still true even if you are trading into a one or 2 bedroom unit? Has anyone out there had a good experience trading into RCI?

Yes it is. DVC is a poor vehicle for trading to other options including DVC and RCI. The options aren't guaranteed and there are always better AND cheaper options for RCI (or II) trades than using DVC. You should buy just the number of points you'll use with DVC and look at other options for non DVC trips, possibly a different timeshare. One can sometimes even trade into DVC with those non DVC options.

 

[Chuck S]

Personally, I don't think trading into RCI on an occasional basis is necessarily a bad thing. But, if you wish to trade into RCI with regularity, I would consider purchasing a second, less expensive timeshare, to use for trading.

The best value of DVC is in the use of the points at a DVC resort. And if trading out of the DVC system, whether to RCI or the Disney collection, would be primary focus of your membership, then DVC is likely not the best choice for you. IMO

But if you think you would want to take a break from the Parks every few years, then the RCI or Concierge Collection may be a nice option, but again, don't buy DVC if you think your points would be used primarily for trading.

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

I HATE RCI! There's no nice way to put that. We've had two other timeshares that bank with RCI... and there are currently four weeks plus many points on deposit with RCI that have gone unused and will in all likelihood expire before I can find a desirable exchange. RCI has a great catalog of properties with lots of beautiful photos and promises, but they won't let you see what exchanges you can actually make until you've deposited your weeks or points. Then the story changes... DRASTICALLY. You'll try to exchange and see some great large number of exchanges you can make, only to discover that it covers the lodging portion only of an overpriced all-inclusive stay. Or, you will be offered availability at endless numbers of properties in po-dunk USA that you would never even consider visiting. Or, even better, you will be told that they can get what you want if you get on a wait list TWO YEARS (no kidding) in advance...

I wish we had never deposited with them, because once you do, you can never get those points or weeks back. Kiss them goodbye.

The only positive thing I can say about RCI is regarding their "last call" opportunities. You can pick up some steals that way. I've seen great last minute lodging come available for as little as $150/week for a two-bedroom unit. It shoots down any hope of planning ahead for a vacation, and certainly doesn't warrant banking your points with them... but the membership does not require you to have anything banked in order to utilize the last call opportunities. Just don't get curious enough about what exchanges you can make to actually deposit anything, because you'll never get them back and it's unlikely you will be able to trade for something as good or better.

(At this point, hubby is reading over my shoulder and saying, "So, Evey, tell them how you REALLY feel!" LOL!)

 

[Dean]

I HATE RCI! There's no nice way to put that. We've had two other timeshares that bank with RCI... and there are currently four weeks plus many points on deposit with RCI that have gone unused and will in all likelihood expire before I can find a desirable exchange. RCI has a great catalog of properties with lots of beautiful photos and promises, but they won't let you see what exchanges you can actually make until you've deposited your weeks or points. Then the story changes... DRASTICALLY. You'll try to exchange and see some great large number of exchanges you can make, only to discover that it covers the lodging portion only of an overpriced all-inclusive stay. Or, you will be offered availability at endless numbers of properties in po-dunk USA that you would never even consider visiting. Or, even better, you will be told that they can get what you want if you get on a wait list TWO YEARS (no kidding) in advance...

I wish we had never deposited with them, because once you do, you can never get those points or weeks back. Kiss them goodbye.

The only positive thing I can say about RCI is regarding their "last call" opportunities. You can pick up some steals that way. I've seen great last minute lodging come available for as little as $150/week for a two-bedroom unit. It shoots down any hope of planning ahead for a vacation, and certainly doesn't warrant banking your points with them... but the membership does not require you to have anything banked in order to utilize the last call opportunities. Just don't get curious enough about what exchanges you can make to actually deposit anything, because you'll never get them back and it's unlikely you will be able to trade for something as good or better.

(At this point, hubby is reading over my shoulder and saying, "So, Evey, tell them how you REALLY feel!" LOL!)

Planning and trade power are important with both II and RCI. I've gotten great trades with both but then I've positioned myself to do so depositing cheap stuff for easy trades to stretch the dollars and higher demand weeks for more difficult trades like HI. I've also used points a fair amount, mostly for DVC.

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

Planning and trade power are important with both II and RCI. I've gotten great trades with both but then I've positioned myself to do so depositing cheap stuff for easy trades to stretch the dollars and higher demand weeks for more difficult trades like HI. I've also used points a fair amount, mostly for DVC.

So, you are depositing points for less-desirable locations and using them to get something better, right? The thing is, my experience has been that it's hard to find something that is comparable in quality to the DVC properties that is available unless you plan WAY in advance. How are you getting your bookings by just trading the cheap stuff?

 

[Dean]

So, you are depositing points for less-desirable locations and using them to get something better, right? The thing is, my experience has been that it's hard to find something that is comparable in quality to the DVC properties that is available unless you plan WAY in advance. How are you getting your bookings by just trading the cheap stuff?

No, here's how I approach RCI. I have an RCI weeks account through Bluegreen and two RCI points accounts, one through BG and one by nature of owning at a points resort. The BG RCI points account is a new option and I have not actually used it. I do not own any fixed weeks or floating full week resorts that work with RCI.

With BG I can reserve any property or unit size as much as 11 months out (no home resort priority) using my BG points. For RCI weeks, I generally deposit a week that costs me 3000-5000 BG points if I think what I want is easy to get (like Orlando or MX) or a week that costs me 9000-12000 BG points for something I think is more difficult (like HI). Roughly 12000 BG points equates to an average 2 BR unit. It's a little more complicated than that in that I must make a judgement as to what is the best resort, week # and unit size when I make the BG reservation to deposit as trade power of that exact week/resort is key. 3000 pt deposits have gotten me top rated 1 & 2 BR units including the Hilton's and The Fountains in Orlando, Crown Park in Gatliburg and the Grand Mayan in Cabo. The higher cost deposits have gotten me HI and DVC on the RCI weeks side.

RCI points is different. I get 49K points a year which cost me about $2K going in and $300 a year plus the yearly RCI fee of just over $100 and then exchange fees. However, RCI has a program called "Points for Deposit" where you can deposit full weeks and get points for a small fee. With BG I get 3 free weeks a year by basis of being a Platinum VIP member. So I get those free weeks and deposit them and end up with another 150-200K RCI points a year. RCI points has gotten me maybe 12-14 DVC units, HH resorts in summer, Orlando for 9 days for one exchange fee and a 3 BR in Cabo. Of those DVC units, 7 are at BWV/BCV this Sept. We actually have 9 units (1 & 2 BR) but a couple were from the weeks side.

Having said all that I do most of my exchanging with II because they have more of what I want otherwise and most of my ownerships are Marriott's and II does the internal exchanging through II.

I'm wondering if your deposit weeks that RCI sees as low value. Email me directly if you want to discuss that issue further and figure out if your problem might be what you own and/or the decisions you're making and not necessarily just the RCI exchange system.

 

[Dean]

Personally, I don't think trading into RCI on an occasional basis is necessarily a bad thing. But, if you wish to trade into RCI with regularity, I would consider purchasing a second, less expensive timeshare, to use for trading.

The best value of DVC is in the use of the points at a DVC resort. And if trading out of the DVC system, whether to RCI or the Disney collection, would be primary focus of your membership, then DVC is likely not the best choice for you. IMO

But if you think you would want to take a break from the Parks every few years, then the RCI or Concierge Collection may be a nice option, but again, don't buy DVC if you think your points would be used primarily for trading.

I would agree up to a point for one who owns already. As you may have seen me say before, I do think there are RCI exchange options that are a good value, not many, but they are there. The problem is they are not guaranteed and in most cases, you can get them far more cheaply through other means that trading DVC. Other than points that are limited (expiring, etc), I don't think that's true for ANY cash equivalent exchange option. I guess it comes down to what's "occasional". My feeling for those looking to buy in for "occasional" use is that their looking at 20-50% exchange, not once every 10 years. Basically my interpretation is if they mention exchange in their inquiry about buying in, they are looking to exchange more than is reasonable using DVC and more than MY definition of occasional. YMMV.

Someone buying in is in the unique situation of making that judgement up front and have the advantage of being able to make more informed decisions than many of us made on our first purchase. I think one of the main problems is that for many people DVC is as much an emotional purchase as a rational one. Unfortunately, that means those people are going to make decisions that are not as optimal as they could have and often in spite of having the information to make better decisions.

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

I'm wondering if your deposit weeks that RCI sees as low value. Email me directly if you want to discuss that issue further and figure out if your problem might be what you own and/or the decisions you're making and not necessarily just the RCI exchange system.

You may have hit the nail on the head. I own a platinum floating week for two units at a Westgate property in Branson Woods. We deposited Christmas season weeks, but since I didn't own at a Points Resort at the time they were deposited, we couldn't exchange for points then. I had subsequently been told about the Points for Deposit program and called to ask about it once our RCI Points membership was set up via DVC. RCI told me to call Westgate to convert the weeks to points, and Westgate told me it was handled by RCI. I got stuck in the endless loop and in the meantime I haven't been able to find any good exchanges with the weeks. When you get a chance, I would very much appreciate a PM with strategies on how to work around this!

 

[ccgirl]

If you do not plan on going to DVC every year, I would say to purchase a timeshare outside of DVC and "trade in". Keep in mind, there is no guarantee that you can get something but you will always be able to find something in the Orlando area. For comparison, I have 1 wk of timeshare in Maui,Hawaii. It is a studio and I paid 1/2 of what DVC costs. It is deeded which means there is no expiration date (i.e. it is not a lease). I was able to trade that studio for a 2BR BWV May 1 - May 8th. Obviously, it matters where you own the timeshare you are trading. I also own weeks rather than points so I don't need to figure out how many points are needed. I have never had a problem trading with RCI for anything/anywhere but I also tend to plan my vacations at least 6 mths out. I'm not sure how much investigation you have done but you also pay a maintenance fee on your timeshare. My maintenance for HI is only $550 a year. I think DVC is at least double that. Just something else I would think about. A lot of people are trying to sell timeshare dirt cheap so they can get out paying maintenance fees. I love having the extra room with the kids so we can stay up after they go to bed and not disturb them. Good luck with your decision. BTW, there is also an exclusion area. You cannot trade into DVC if the timeshare you are trading is within x # of miles from Disney (I believe it is 50).

 

[ccgirl]

You may have hit the nail on the head. I own a platinum floating week for two units at a Westgate property in Branson Woods. We deposited Christmas season weeks, but since I didn't own at a Points Resort at the time they were deposited, we couldn't exchange for points then. I had subsequently been told about the Points for Deposit program and called to ask about it once our RCI Points membership was set up via DVC. RCI told me to call Westgate to convert the weeks to points, and Westgate told me it was handled by RCI. I got stuck in the endless loop and in the meantime I haven't been able to find any good exchanges with the weeks. When you get a chance, I would very much appreciate a PM with strategies on how to work around this!

I also own at a Westgate resort and HATE them!!! It is not so much RCI but Westgate. Actually, my Westgate is thru Interval International and not RCI. I used to own Westgate Vacation Villas and just recently switched to Westgate Smokey Mountains due to the exclusion area to trade. I also own a week in Hawaii that trades thru RCI and have no problems with them. YOu shouldn't need to exchange points into weeks to trade in to DVC. My HI timeshare is 1 week and it traded for 1 week into DVC. Confused as to why you are trying to convert weeks into points???

 

[bwvBound]

I have an RCI weeks account through Bluegreen and two RCI points accounts, one through BG and one by nature of owning at a points resort. The BG RCI points account is a new option and I have not actually used it. I do not own any fixed weeks or floating full week resorts that work with RCI.

With BG I get 3 free weeks a year by basis of being a Platinum VIP member. So I get those free weeks and deposit them and end up with another 150-200K RCI points a year.

Dean,

I wonder if your ability to PDF BG Weeks will disappear with the new BG RCI Points relationship? (I hope not, but I thought one could not PDF from RCI Points resorts?)

 

[Dean]

You may have hit the nail on the head. I own a platinum floating week for two units at a Westgate property in Branson Woods. We deposited Christmas season weeks, but since I didn't own at a Points Resort at the time they were deposited, we couldn't exchange for points then. I had subsequently been told about the Points for Deposit program and called to ask about it once our RCI Points membership was set up via DVC. RCI told me to call Westgate to convert the weeks to points, and Westgate told me it was handled by RCI. I got stuck in the endless loop and in the meantime I haven't been able to find any good exchanges with the weeks. When you get a chance, I would very much appreciate a PM with strategies on how to work around this!

Email me directly at deandal@pobox.com and I'll see if I can help you understand the process better. I'm not a westgate expert, normally try to stay as far away from David Siegal as possible. To me the main saving grace for their system is the option of having pets at many of their resorts. For the sake of others interested I'll give you a simple explanation for Branson. Dec - Feb is the lowest demand time for there so if you're depositing those weeks you will likely get nothing but the bottom dwellers. In addition, that resort is a standard rated resort further hurting your trade power. I do have some other suggestions that others wouldn't be interested in.

Dean,

I wonder if your ability to PDF BG Weeks will disappear with the new BG RCI Points relationship? (I hope not, but I thought one could not PDF from RCI Points resorts?)

I don't know but it's possible. Worst case scenario appears that some resorts would be counted as points resorts and not able to do PFD but others would be able to. But like everything timeshares, things change and some of the changes will be for the worse. If I lost PFD but have picked up the ability to trade BG directly with RCI points, I could still deposit those 3 free weeks into the RCI weeks system or into II. That's actually how I used my 3 free weeks last year, got free weeks for each of my staff members. Those plus a bonus week and I sent 2 to Harbour Lakes, 1 to Grande Vista (3 BR) and 1 to Westgate Gatlinburg so she could take her dog.

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

I also own at a Westgate resort and HATE them!!! It is not so much RCI but Westgate. Actually, my Westgate is thru Interval International and not RCI. I used to own Westgate Vacation Villas and just recently switched to Westgate Smokey Mountains due to the exclusion area to trade. I also own a week in Hawaii that trades thru RCI and have no problems with them. YOu shouldn't need to exchange points into weeks to trade in to DVC. My HI timeshare is 1 week and it traded for 1 week into DVC. Confused as to why you are trying to convert weeks into points???

I'm sure your Hawaii timeshare has a much higher trading value than Westgate Branson Woods (which is ridiculously low in trading power). Literally no DVC properties come up as a possibility for trade with the weeks I have deposited. My choices are limited to ROTTENSPOT USA #1 and ROTTENSPOT USA #2. If I converted to points, at least I could use them to partially pay for plane tickets or something... instead of just letting them sit there and expire since I can't find a decent trade. And yes, I HATE Westgate too.

P.S. - What's really infuriating is that the property was purchased when it was not owned by Westgate. It had Gold Crown status and very low maintenance fees. It was run beautifully. Westgate bought it and the status changed to the lowest possible for RCI in a very short time, while our maintenance fees doubled.

 

[dgbg100106]

Every time I have tried to get information from RCI about trading in my DVC points for a week with them, they give me the run around, from one person to the next, with no information handed out at all.

I finally came here to look around and see if anyone else had trouble working with them, well I think my mind has been made up.... Don't deal with RCI...

 

[chalee94]

Every time I have tried to get information from RCI about trading in my DVC points for a week with them, they give me the run around, from one person to the next, with no information handed out at all.

I finally came here to look around and see if anyone else had trouble working with them, well I think my mind has been made up.... Don't deal with RCI...

that's correct.

DVC members are NOT members of RCI...DVC corporately has a membership, you don't.

so you would have to call DVC to get information about trading through RCI...RCI will not deal with you directly. DVC will decide what nights at what resort get deposited - which determines your trade power with RCI. but unless you have an individual membership with RCI, don't bother calling them...call MS.

 

[bytheblood]

I find that booking your hotel stay directly is much more cost effectiva than using points for it.

I would rather spend that at WDW.