RCI Questions

[pigget74]

We have never used our points for anything other than disney. We are celebrating our 20th this Feb. and had great plans to get away. Well, a youth event gong on at church and some other things came up...we are now going to Disney with the youth group in March and that is eating our money for our trip. Now we are looking at Vero or Hilton Head, but really do not want to drive 13 hours. Looking at RCI and possibly getting a place in the Florida Panhandle. How does this work...how do the $$ compare--is it worth the exchange? Do you have to exchange for a week or can you do several days? If this is not the right place to ask can someone please point me in the right direction. Thanks

 

[com_op_2000]

I have done two RCI exchanges.
One to Ft Myers that was not worth it.
One to Ft Lauderdale that I would do again.
You have to do your research, which I did not do on my first exchange.
There are some that are week long exchanges and some that are nightly.
Follow the link on the member web-site to get to the RCI web-siteand see which resorts are in the exchange group for DVC.

 

[Dean]

We have never used our points for anything other than disney. We are celebrating our 20th this Feb. and had great plans to get away. Well, a youth event gong on at church and some other things came up...we are now going to Disney with the youth group in March and that is eating our money for our trip. Now we are looking at Vero or Hilton Head, but really do not want to drive 13 hours. Looking at RCI and possibly getting a place in the Florida Panhandle. How does this work...how do the $$ compare--is it worth the exchange? Do you have to exchange for a week or can you do several days? If this is not the right place to ask can someone please point me in the right direction. Thanks

From where you are, RCI doesn't have a lot on the beach for good places. The nicer options include Club Intrawest for Destin and the better Wyndham properties in Destin and PCB. We've stayed at Ocean Towers and will not stay there again. The others on the list are just so so IMO and most some not on the beach. There simply isn't much available right now for that time. You might also consider New Orleans if available. You might also try Club Intrawest using BVTC in San Destin. From a value standpoint, you'd be trading down for Feb. Basically you should look at the list and decide what's OK with you then you can book it online if available. Or you could call DVC and do a wait list for what you want.

 

[pigget74]

From where you are, RCI doesn't have a lot on the beach for good places. The nicer options include Club Intrawest for Destin and the better Wyndham properties in Destin and PCB. We've stayed at Ocean Towers and will not stay there again. The others on the list are just so so IMO and most some not on the beach. There simply isn't much available right now for that time. You might also consider New Orleans if available. You might also try Club Intrawest using BVTC in San Destin. From a value standpoint, you'd be trading down for Feb. Basically you should look at the list and decide what's OK with you then you can book it online if available. Or you could call DVC and do a wait list for what you want.

Due to me teaching and just a lot going on in general anything from end of May to first of August would work. We thought about New Orleans as well. How do you know if you are trading down? I know that time frame for a beach place will be hard, but just looking. More like trying to understand how it all works. Thanks

 

[Dean]

Due to me teaching and just a lot going on in general anything from end of May to first of August would work. We thought about New Orleans as well. How do you know if you are trading down? I know that time frame for a beach place will be hard, but just looking. More like trying to understand how it all works. Thanks

That would be the busiest time though the fringe in late May to early June. The rest is prime season there. You should put in an ongoing request for that time. MOST things in RCI are trading down but you'll have to decide what that means for you. Personally I look at the qualify and demand of the resort and the demand of the area. For the time you've described for the top resorts (Wyndham PCB, Destin Beach street cottages & Majestic Sun), it should be a fair exchange. For the others, maybe a notch below and for Ocean Towers, several notches IMO. I'm surprised they have it on the list at all. Another way to look at the exchange, is what you could rent it for privately (not from the company website). Of those I'd chose PCB due to being directly on the beach and a very nice resort. The other 2 I listed in the top group at right across the beach in Destin right near the outlets.

 

[abdgeek]

Due to me teaching and just a lot going on in general anything from end of May to first of August would work. We thought about New Orleans as well. How do you know if you are trading down? I know that time frame for a beach place will be hard, but just looking. More like trying to understand how it all works. Thanks

As OPs have said, do your homework. You are going during a busy time of year. So far, I've done RCI exchanges in Las Vegas(HGVC@ the Flamingo) and have two RCI exchanges in Hawaii for this summer. I always check the Tripadvisor reviews on whichever RCI resorts I'm looking for because they give more info. I also check the DVC RCI website daily to see if the property I want is available. A lot of properties are booking now for 2014 and 2015, so don't delay.

I know it's easy to place a waitlist with DVC, but I like to have more control. Booking on the DVC RCI website is easy. If you see the resort you want for the week you want BOOK IT ON THE WEBSITE IMMEDIATEDLY! Don't try to call DVC and have them book it because you will lose the reservation(I did and I learned from my mistake--thankfully, another reservation came up for the same resort and I took that one). RCI will pull the points from the use year you are traveling in if they are available. If they aren't, DVC should call you to see which points you want to use. You will pay the $95 fee when you book the reservation. Good luck with your search!