RCI-DVC Exchange ?s- sorry, long

[Goofygirl17]

I hope this is the right place to ask. I'm trying to exchange my RCI week for DVC. I realize that this is probably not going to work but I figure it's worth a try. I keep getting different answers from RCI. Today they called and told me that I probably won't be able to exchange because only DVC points people are depositing, not weeks so only RCI points people are getting exchanges. Aren't all DVC points not weeks?

Also, the guy said that the only upcoming deposits would be if people buy DVC and deposit it rather than stay there. Can't people deposit their time (points) on an ongoing basis? The woman I spoke to the other day said that there might be more inventory deposited in the upcoming months.

I can't decide if I should keep my search going or just take one of the really nice resorts they offered over the phone (nicer than what I see online).

Thanks for any thoughts!
Goofygirl

 

[Sandisw]

I can answer your first question. Yes, DVC is all points based so anyone trading in to RCI would be trading in points.

I am not sure about the 2nd question, as I am a fairly new member, but I believe that DVC members can exchange through RCI, but typically would not be putting points into RCI unless they were looking for a week. I don't believe we can just "deposit" them there for future use (of course, I could be wrong on this as I didn't buy in to DVC to do exchanges and haven't really worried about whether or not I understand the whole thing).

I do know that some of the recent incentives offered DVC members Developer Points that either had to be used at SSR, Disneyland, or deposited for a vacation into RCI so that may be what RCI was referrring to.

 

[Goofygirl17]

Thanks. I tried to explain to the RCI guy that DVC is all points but he didn't agree I realize that my red week on the east coast- Long Island Sound- doesn't really compare to DVC but figured it's worth a try. It's a nice timeshare but not Disney I told him that if we were going to stay offsite it didn't really matter if it was a gold crown with 5 pools because we won't spend much time there- we'll be at Disney

Thanks again,
Goofygirl

 

[Brian Noble]

RCI is really two different exchange systems in one. One is called "RCI Weeks". The other is called "RCI Points".

DVC resorts are all "RCI Points" resorts. However, DVC inventory can be deposited either to the "Weeks" side, or the "Points" side. Right now, more inventory seems to be going to Weeks, but that could change. So, in this case, the RCI VC was correct---it's not all in Points.

Goofygirl17: are you a Weeks member or a Points member?

 

[Goofygirl17]

Hi Brian- I think you answered some questions for me when I first started this search. I own at a weeks only resort. The RCI guy today told me he has only been able to find exchanges for points members- not weeks members. He said it's unfortunate that my resort is weeks only. I asked about trading power and he wasn't very informative. I realize that my week doesn't compare to DVC. He offered me some gold star resorts, sleeps 10, 5 pools etc. Interesting considering I don't have enough trade power. The places he offered aren't showing up online when I search.

Thanks!
Goofygirl

Also, he said that my most recent week might have more trading power (it hasn't showed up online yet) but I don't understand how- it's the same week, same resort, but it hasn't been used yet- the week I'm searching with right now has already been used.

 

[Brian Noble]

Today they called and told me that I probably won't be able to exchange because only DVC points people are depositing, not weeks so only RCI points people are getting exchanges. Aren't all DVC points not weeks?

Well, not all DVC deposits are in Weeks. But, I missed the bit about RCI calling you (and not the other way around). RCI is calling you because they believe your initial request won't be satisfied, so they are hoping to get you to take something else so that your exchange can be confirmed. This makes you happy (you get a vacation you'll enjoy) and it makes RCI happy (they get your exchange fee.)

In light of that, don't take the explanation too seriously. The "real reason" may be more complicated than the VC wants to get into. Most likely, s/he may not even know the real reason. You're just someone on their list of people to call today to try to get an exchange confirmed.

Interesting considering I don't have enough trade power. The places he offered aren't showing up online when I search.

The RCI VCs are sometimes able to give you a "little nudge" in trade power to confirm an exchange---you can't really ask for one, and they are increasingly rare. But, that might be what's going on here, especially considering they are calling you, and not the other way around.

he said that my most recent week might have more trading power (it hasn't showed up online yet) but I don't understand how- it's the same week, same resort, but it hasn't been used yet

That's probably because RCI gives a lot of weight to how early you are depositing. You don't get "full trade power" unless you deposit at least a year in advance of use. If you deposit even a "good week" too close to its use date, you won't get the full benefit.

My advice: if you aren't even seeing some of these "lesser" resorts online, you should seriously consider taking one of their offers. Right now, DVC requires another notch up from pretty much everything else in Orlando, and you're very unlikely to get an override "that far up".

 

[Goofygirl17]

Thanks Brian. I think I'll wait until my newest week shows up online (in the next few days) and see what it pulls up. Then I'll probably end up booking somewhere else.

I just searched again (take a peek) with my week and found the resorts he was offering- 5 stars, sleeps 8 so I guess I will wait and see.

Thanks again,
Goofygirl

 

[Brian Noble]

Ah, then you weren't getting a nudge after all. In that case, hold off.

When are you looking for, and for how many people?

 

[Goofygirl17]

We're looking for April 9th or 10th for a week- 4 people (not Easter week)

 

[Brian Noble]

Then see if your new deposit sees DVC. If it doesn't though, I think you're going to be out of luck---we're only a couple months away from seeing April deposits, and I don't think trade power requirements are going to be relaxed by then. I would take the next best thing.

 

[RobDoc]

We're looking for April 9th or 10th for a week- 4 people (not Easter week)

At the current time there are no DVC resorts deposited in the system for next April. 11 months ahead is about the earliest you will find. I can "see" DVC deposits for RCI Weeks members at BWV, BCV, VWL, OKW and SSR thru February 26, 2010 right now.

I'd keep your search as it is for at least another 6 weeks to see if something opens up at WDW.

Good luck!

 

[Dean]

See if you can see the other DVC resorts currently in the weeks side, some 120 or so this AM for the WDW resorts. If not, you have a trade power problem. Your new deposit might or might not have higher trade power. Try to get it and deposit as soon as possible with the best week you can then retry the above test to see what the trade power is. The reason they're calling is they get extra pay if they get you to take something else and as noted, it's likely they know you're current search will not match, at least not before 45 days out. I currently have a search in for 2010 for April and the first week of May for a 2 BR at AKV, BWV, BCV and WVL so we'll see how that goes. I expect to match in about 2-3 months.

 

[mward73]

Keep trying, too. I checked and there were over 155 units available through RCI weeks (the timeshare I was trading against is a "red" Myrtle Beach week). Nothing really struck me, so I tried back about 30 minutes later and there was a 2br AKV available. Different week than we were looking at, but I put it on hold and ended up confirming that and canceling our other week through Disney. It looked like the inventory was changing rapidly though - I left our dates open and just browsed everything they had available.

Good luck!