RCI Information is posted on DVC's Website

[fsmith2845]

I'm sure i'm about to get flamed or at least charred a little but has anyone seen any informaiton about booking DVC going the other way. We own an RCI resort in NC under the RCI points plan. I see that the DVC Points to an RCI resort is out there. .I haven't seen anything about going the other direction..

Anyone????

 

[phyllisnnj]

I only see 459 RCI resorts listed, not 485, plus the Registry resorts.

I added up the resort count provided for each location to get 485 resorts.
Did you use the count provided under RCI Awards? The website show 459 resorts associated with "Any Award".

NOTE: There are resorts on the DVC list without any RCI award such as:
Royale Beach & Tennis Club (#4304)
Catalina Beach Club (#2060)
Celebrity Resorts Palm Coast (#1114)
Fishermen's Village Resort Club (#4851)
Hurricane House Resort (#3041)
Ocean Towers Beach Club (#1619)
Sanibel Cottages Resort (#3042)

 

[phyllisnnj]

I have back to back weeks at the Grand Mayan in Cabo for Jan 2010. I used two cheap Bluegreen studios plus I paid two Intl RCI exchange fees total cost somewhere around $600 for the two weeks (1 BR one week, 2 BR the other). GM is very easy to get in RCI. I do wonder if they'll enforce the 1 in 5 rule but would assume so. For the GM this means you can only visit once every 5 years to any resort in their system, not just a given resort.

Wow that was a fantastic deal for two weeks

It's also cheaper to rent from an owner than to exchange - see http://tug2.com/timesharemarketplace/

 

[jerseygal]

Who in their right mind would use something like 600 points? Did I read that correctly?

So far, so unimpressed with RCI!

Very dissapointed to say the least!!!!!!!!!!! At least with II, a member had the assurance that if you wanted to, a high quality resort was available.
I think this will have a negative impact on future sales..People want the assurance and comfort of knowing there is an option for high quality vacations outside Disney.

 

[anonymousegirl]

After reading this thread and checking out the RCI options, all I can say is I'm glad I didn't buy into DVC with the idea of doign ANY trade-outs.

It looks like for us, DVC will stay DVC and RCI can go you-know-where.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

The Manhattan club is a good but not great choice but it's location is very good as I understand it.

As for the other areas, it's mostly what you'd expect if you assumed DVC wanted to get as good a resorts as possible and as broad a coverage as possible outside Orlando. Some areas will be better than II, others not as good. As we noted previously, the big losses are Hyatt's, Marriott's and Westin and given then were a large portion of the truly worthy resorts in II, it really makes the program less viable for many people. However, the area you want may be better covered in RCI. Gatlinburg is pretty equal OVERALL. The Wyndham is a nice resort but not as great a location. Crown Park is a great option if you want to be in town. Interesting they had chosen to leave off Mountain loft in II and included the newer portion for RCI. HH is worse off but you still have one of the older Marriott's, Monarch, though it's not listed as Marriott. MB is better covered but none of the resorts can touch the Marriott there. You pick up the Hilton's and many of the top Wyndham and Bluegreen resorts. It's good they retained the search first option and gained access to many RCI points resorts for shorter stays. It's disappointing they didn't arrange for cheaper exchanges inside flexchange (45 days with RCI).

Thanks Dean.

I looked at Tree Tops in Gatlinburg for March. I noticed that we could stay in a 2bdrm for a week for about $500 in cash.

Why would anyone give up 160 points that they paid $800 in MFs [much less the cost of the contract] to stay somewhere that they could get for $500 in cash??? I guess that is why I never trade out.


ON A SIDE NOTE: THIS IS MY 1500TH POST!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Not to worry- You will have a nice way to travel to HI before too long

Yeah, I could stay at Ko'Olina for a week, but frankly, Oahu is NOT my destination of choice when it comes to Hawaii. We usually spend one night there at the begining of a trip and a couple at the end to kind re-aclimate to real life, but our favorites are Kauai and the big island of Hawaii.

 

[tomandrobin]

I browsed the list of potential RCI resorts and was also disappointed, as I expected. The registry collection wants 1050 or 1400 points for a three bedroom unit, prime time. Are they nuts? I had posted trade request with my three bedroom Westin St John for 420 points and got flamed. Do they really think they are getting those points for those exchanges. The only registry resort I have seen is the Pete Dye in Myrtle Beach. Those units are not even on the ocean, in fact they are on the otherside of the waterway, 1/2 to 1 mile from the beach.

There are 21 Carribbean Resorts, some are sail boats, some are resorts in the same location, way too many AI fees ($650-$850 per person).

 

[littlestar]

There are 21 Carribbean Resorts, some are sail boats, some are resorts in the same location, way too many AI fees ($650-$850 per person).

Wow. The all inclusive fees are that high?

 

[Brian Noble]

has anyone seen any informaiton about booking DVC going the other way.

I was on the phone with the Wyn/FF RCI center yesterday getting a ski week for MLK weekend. I asked if the Disneys had IDs yet---she said she just got an email on those resorts, and that she espected we'd see the resorts in the online directory as of the first.

 

[Starr W.]

But only for Oahu. The loss of those Marriotts and Westins on Kauai and Maui is unfortunate. I still cannot believe they didn't dual affiliate with RCI and II, both, and let the members pick which one to exchange through.

Dean, how would SFX work for Hawaii if a DVC member chose to go that route? I found their website and they have some good stuff listed for Hawaii, but I'm wondering how often it is available? I don't know too much about the independent exchange companies. Or even if Orlando would be something they would desire (even though it is Disney property).

http://www.sfx-resorts.com/directory.html

I also found this press release concerning SFX and Hilton Vacation Club. I don't know how long ago it was or if it means anything important (laughter):

http://www.sfx-resorts.com/press.html

I talked to SFX about HI, if you want to go to Kauai or the Big Island .

I've used them in the past and I don't like the fact you make a request and then just sit and wait. Can't look at inventory on line like RCI/II.

I think SFX for a points system might be okay because they can book the week they want and deposit(instead of getting potluck from their company depositing who knows what week in II/RCI).

As for DVC, I listed SSR when I signed up with SFX. They email me every so often wanting reminding me about depositing my DVC week. So I don't know if you can or not.

SFX is slow confirming your deposit. I think it took them 10-14 business days to update on line that my Lakeside Terrace ski week was into their system. I don't think it's a very big organization and they are not the best responding to phone calls or emails all the time.

 

[dclfun]

Having the RCI exchanges available won't really affect my family as I'd never do one- I'm assuming DVC will approve only comparable resorts but we've stayed with cash twice and received a timeshare week from a friend who owns at RCI once and all three places were dumps compared with DVC. There was mismatched furniture, poor service, etc. Considering that you can find a resale of many RCI properties for $3500, that tells me something about the quality. If I want to stay anywhere but a Disney owned and operated property I'll pay cash vs. using my points. I just don't see the value in using my points for RCI. I'm sure there are premium places but the ones we stayed at, which were listed as "red" properties we got for around $200 a week for a one bedroom villa. I'll be hoping to read good reviews from members who do use their points for an exchange vs. hearing that members were disappointed.---Kathy-

 

[tomandrobin]

Wow. The all inclusive fees are that high?

Those are some of the low fees. Go check-out the palace resorts AI fees.

 

[islandtimect]

We're familiar with some of the Caribbean and Florida resorts and with a few exceptions, DVC has really reduced the quality of resorts available in these locations. Let's just hope they make it up to us by actually being able to a get a ressie for the places we want!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Well to all of those who were hesitant about the change to RCI as not being that bad, well now you see just what a down grade this move is from II. I haven't had time to research alot of the sites, but the ones I have do not come close to the quality of II.

 

[Anal Annie]

Not to worry- You will have a nice way to travel to HI before too long

Ko'Olina will be nice if you want to go to Oahu for a few days...but there's like NOTHING good available for Maui. The new DVC resort is not going to be on our favorite island. We will use it but normally only spend 2-3 nights on Oahu. Looks like we will still have to book thru Costco Travel or something if we want something decent on Maui.

 

[Anal Annie]

I have back to back weeks at the Grand Mayan in Cabo for Jan 2010. I used two cheap Bluegreen studios plus I paid two Intl RCI exchange fees total cost somewhere around $600 for the two weeks (1 BR one week, 2 BR the other). GM is very easy to get in RCI. I do wonder if they'll enforce the 1 in 5 rule but would assume so. For the GM this means you can only visit once every 5 years to any resort in their system, not just a given resort.

I only see 459 RCI resorts listed, not 485, plus the Registry resorts. I do not see the Grand Mayan resorts listed on the weeks or short notice exchange outside the Registry Collection.

DVC always picks the resorts and quality/comparability is one of the main criteria as it was with II. Note while RCI has more resorts, there are currently less resorts on the RCI exchange list than were on the II list. The one big difference seems to be the short stay options are more mainstream and potentially available. My impression so far is the same as when this was first announced given there were not real surprise benefits, at least so far. That is that this is a step down for the members but not a big deal overall. One issue to note is that it is far more important to plan ahead with RCI than II and that means more like 2 years being the norm instead of 12 months.

Why is this? (Or did you already explain that somewhere?)

 

[Starr W.]

Why is this? (Or did you already explain that somewhere?)

It's just how RCI works compared to II. I have a silver crown RCI rated 2br in Northern MI week 32. With my 2008 deposit, in November I was able to get a 7/16/2010 week at the 2br Wyndham Kona Hawaiian(they did a huge deposit of weeks) and it's a gold crown.

That week was also seeing the Grand Mayan in Cancun for Easter 2010.

When you deposit/exchange seems to be the main factor in trading power in RCI, not the quality of your resort.

 

[Brian Noble]

Well to all of those who were hesitant about the change to RCI as not being that bad, well now you see just what a down grade this move is from II.

But, realistically, it's still a non-event. With a few exceptions, it has always been better to rent out your points and pay for the lodging you prefer than to exchange---even in II.

RCI will have its handful of exceptions, just as II did.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

But, realistically, it's still a non-event. With a few exceptions, it has always been better to rent out your points and pay for the lodging you prefer than to exchange---even in II.

RCI will have its handful of exceptions, just as II did.

Well, I really have my heart set on the Royal's and Harborside II-Atlantis. Won't be possible thru RCI.....