RCI points

[mythreeboys]

My aunt has a lot of RCI points that are available, so we are considering changing our plans for our trip. She has enough points to rent 2-3BR units, but we were told that these are very hard to come by. So we are considering trying for 3-2BR units. She was told that she can't book anything until March 18th. I have a couple of questions though. 1.) When I search on RCI for what I could get now (november dates) I come up with a few open units, but it only shows 1 unit on each check in date. Could there be more available for that date, but it's only showing me one or is there only just one unit? 2.) Is this going to be extremely difficult and I'm going to end up being out the $$ she wants me to pay now for her yearly fees? Our trip is Jan 15-22, 2011, week after Marathon week from what I've seen online. I just keep going back and forth on whether to just stick with our original plans, or to at least make an attempt at this.

 

[littlestar]

The first thing I'd do is weigh out how much your aunt's maintenance fees are going to run you vs. renting points from a DVC member. I don't know how many people are going on your trip, but Saratoga's treehouse villas are 3 bedroom and sleep 9 and the points are the same as a 2 bedroom. Of course, you'd need to rent from a SSR owner for that 11 month booking window.

Something we frequently do with big family trips is have some of our family onsite and some off site. The DVC two bedroom units have really small living rooms (except OKW). It might be better to have a large 3 bedroom unit offsite (like with Hilton Grand Vacation Club or Houses at Summer Bay) with a big living room in case you want to do a big family meal and then maybe a DVC 2 bedroom or a DVC 1 and 2 bedroom.

Good luck.

 

[mythreeboys]

Ok, I think I have this worked out! The Aunt is charging me $1500 to use these points and then she said that there is another $95/unit fee. So if it ends up that I can just get one 2-BR unit, I could always then rent points from a DVC member. I've seen them typically for about $10/pt. So if I look at a 2-BR at AKL (probably won't be there b/c I've heard it's very difficult to get in through RCI, but this is our first choice!) value that would be 189 points for each, 378 for 2 units or $3780. So the total for the 3 units would be $5375 and we were planning on $4800 (no discounts for 7 nights) to stay at POP, so by my estimates this would be worth the little bit of extra $. Correct? What is the difference between a 2BR value and a 2BR standard, just the view? I guess I'm just worried about giving her the $1500 that we have saved for the trip and then not being able to use it at all. It wouldn't put our trip out of reach, but I just wouldn't feel good (as I'm sure most wouldn't) about totally losing the money.

 

[ldo]

I have both RCI Weeks and RCI points and it is a roll of the dice as to whether you can get a 2 BR with points for your Jan week. There probably would be availability--but she would have to be monitoring RCi right at the 10 month mark to grab something--plus, what if there is nothing for the week you want--DVC might not deposit any of those weeks--it's totally in their control--no one knows what they will put in RCI. $1500 is a lot to pay for such a gamble. What is your Aunt planning to do with the points anyway? She cannot make any RCI points reservations until the 10 month mark herself, why can't she just pay the fee and then if she finds something at 10 months out, you reimburse her the $1500? At the very least, I would only do it if the Aunt allowed me to get my money back if there was nothing by the 9 month mark--this gives you plenty of time to rent from a DVC owner at that time. good luck. Elaine

 

[HannaBelle]

Hey Ido,

My IL's are going to try to convert their RCI weeks for a stay at WDW. They would prefer to stay onsite. Have you been successful converting your RCI weeks to a DVC stay?

Is there some kind of conversion rate of X RCI points equal Y DVC points?

I would love to hear about your experience and tips or helpful hints if you are willing to share!

 

[ldo]

There are 2 types of inventory at RCI---RCI weeks and RCI points--they are not interchangeable. IF they have an RCI week--they can search on the weeks side for DVC weeks. DVCs are loaded into RCI at about 9-10 months out and then some more are put in over the next few months (ex. you could see up to Nov weeks now, but more should be loaded in the next few months). DVC points can only be booked up to 10 months out--which is about the time DVC puts them into RCI. The DVCs "Cost" a set number of RCI points. You can see the points value for a certain week at the RCI directory on the points side. For ex., a 1 BR in Feb or March, summer or Christmas costs about 71,000 RCI points. For both weeks and points, most units are at OKW or SSR. It is not "converting" your RCI points--it is just a trade, which has a fee of about $150, plus $95 fee at check-in.
With RCI weeks, you need a high demand week with a good rating--such as a good quality resort at Hilton Head in the summer. Many weeks will not trade into DVC--they can't even "see" them when they search.
As for "converting," many timeshares are trying to get their "Weeks" owners to pay a fee to convert to a points system. In most cases, it is not a good thing to do--if that is what your ILs are considering, they should look at the boards over on tug2.net--this is a timeshare users BB with lots of vfolks who are very experieinced with timeshares. Good luck. Elaine (VWL DVC owner)

 

[Dean]

Ok, I think I have this worked out! The Aunt is charging me $1500 to use these points and then she said that there is another $95/unit fee. So if it ends up that I can just get one 2-BR unit, I could always then rent points from a DVC member. I've seen them typically for about $10/pt. So if I look at a 2-BR at AKL (probably won't be there b/c I've heard it's very difficult to get in through RCI, but this is our first choice!) value that would be 189 points for each, 378 for 2 units or $3780. So the total for the 3 units would be $5375 and we were planning on $4800 (no discounts for 7 nights) to stay at POP, so by my estimates this would be worth the little bit of extra $. Correct? What is the difference between a 2BR value and a 2BR standard, just the view? I guess I'm just worried about giving her the $1500 that we have saved for the trip and then not being able to use it at all. It wouldn't put our trip out of reach, but I just wouldn't feel good (as I'm sure most wouldn't) about totally losing the money.

It's unlikley you will get one unit, much less 2. To my knowledge, DVC hasn't allowed stays of less than 7 days do far but even if they did, that makes it even less likely you could get anything. IMO, your best option is to take anything you can get for that time that fits your needs of a 1 BR or larger for a full week. Also, while you're likely safe renting form a relative, this is technically against RCI's rules. IF RCI finds out it will put your vacation and your Aunts RCI points account at risk.

 

[Brian Noble]

she would have to be monitoring RCi right at the 10 month mark to grab something

Unlike many Points resorts, DVC does not load all of its inventory at/prior to the 10 month mark. It continues to dribble in over time.

DVC hasn't allowed stays of less than 7 days do far

I believe this is correct.

 

[ldo]

although DVC does dribble units into RCI, sometimes there are a few DVC units already available at the 10 month mark--and if it is a peak time, they might be gone by the end of the day. Since there is no way to put in an ongoing search, if you don't get one at 10 months out instantly, then you have to continue to manually search to see if anything has been added. It's a pain and I would not want to rely on how someone else's diligence to keep checking over weeks and months.