RCI rules question

[DVC SSR Owner]

I read the planner and the website and need a clarification on RCI.

1. It says that you can deposit points into RCI as an alternative to banking points. Does that mean that banked points can not be transferred into RCI or used for RCI?

2. If I want to take an RCI trip in 2013? I use 2010 points for that if I book it or deposit points before they expire? I can bank them. My use year is October. Not sure I will be able to take a 2012 trip and want to use the points myself.

 

[Dean]

I read the planner and the website and need a clarification on RCI.

1. It says that you can deposit points into RCI as an alternative to banking points. Does that mean that banked points can not be transferred into RCI or used for RCI?

2. If I want to take an RCI trip in 2013? I use 2010 points for that if I book it or deposit points before they expire? I can bank them. My use year is October. Not sure I will be able to take a 2012 trip and want to use the points myself.

Banked and borrowed points can be deposited. Generally the points used must be all in one UY and in the UY that the travel occurs. The exception is if you're too far out where you couldn't use the points.

As an example, I have an August and Dec UY. Here's my understanding of how it would work for those 2 for an exchange, DCL reservation, etc.

Exchange time Use Aug DVC UY Use Dec DVC UY

June, 2011 Yes, 2010 Yes, 2010
Sept, 2011 Yes, 2011 Yes, 2010
Dec, 2011 Yes, 2011 Yes, 2011

June, 2012 Yes, 2011 Yes, 2011
Sept, 2012 Yes, choice 10/11 Yes, 2011
Dec, 2012 Yes, choice 10/11 Yes, choice of 2010 or 2011 pts.

Ultimately DVC & DVD are in control so they could change it at any time, might have already do so. It is my experience is that they will make it work if you have the points. Normally the points have to be in one UY and one master account however, I've seen them transferred banked/borrowed points and make many exceptions to meet the other criteria in place. YMMV.

Hence my recommendation to not wait on an exchange from a banking standpoint. Assume the exchange is NOT going to happen and act accordingly with other reservations and banking. Let them work it out when the time comes if necessary.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

Thanks. Guess I might do something else! Thanks

 

[Dean]

Thanks. Guess I might do something else! Thanks

I edited my post as I had a typo, a big one. I was thinking correctly but my fingers had a mind of their own. Banked and borrowed points can be deposited assuming that there is enough lead time to do any deposit. Basically you'd deposit X # of points, usually either 160 or 270 and preferably as far out as possible. There still must be some love to the UY and home resort, esp if trying to combine points from different UY or home resorts.

 

[dmancuso]

I love RCI. Huge list of options.

 

[Dean]

I love RCI. Huge list of options.

Not to me. By the time you boil down the list to areas and resorts that interest me, you're down around 50-100 resorts or so, even less if you include getting a fair value in return for DVC and rule out the ones that are realistically not going to be available. That's not to say it has no value, just that the value is limited and the things that I do see as a value are not available that often.

 

[4Pluto]

Sorry for the late response, but I understood from Membership Services that if you deposit points (not waitlist them) at least 4 months before the end of your use year, you have until the end of the second calendar year following the deposit to make and travel on the exchange. So if I deposit my Oct 2010 UY points before June 2011, then I have until December 2013 to make and travel on the exchange. In a sense, that is an alternative to banking the points.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

Thank you. That makes more sense to me. So using the Rci deposit can extend your use of points by 2 years vs 1 year with banking, right?

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

Ultimately DVC & DVD are in control so they could change it at any time, might have already do so. It is my experience is that they will make it work if you have the points. Normally the points have to be in one UY and one master account however, I've seen them transferred banked/borrowed points and make many exceptions to meet the other criteria in place.

This has been my experience as well. The reservation that we had to cancel last week due to weather issues was made with a combination of banked 2009 points and current 2010 points. Those points were placed in holding when I canceled because of the late date. My UY for that contract is June and we had no more vacation days to add between now and when the points would expire (May 31). Also, let's face it... getting a plum reservation for a "break time" like Mardi Gras or Easter with holding point restrictions is difficult. The CM who canceled my reservation suggested that I check with the RCI desk to see if the points could be banked with RCI instead, so I agreed to be transferred. The RCI/DVC CM said I could still bank June points with RCI, but that the number of points I could bank would be based on the RCI equivalency chart for weeks (for instance, 160 points is the equivalent of a week in a 1-bedroom per the RCI guidelines). I was allowed to bank a combination of the 2009 banked points and 2010 current points that had been placed in holding. The RCI expiration date was in 2013. I've already used some of those points to book a fall weekend getaway!

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

Good information!

 

[Dean]

Thank you. That makes more sense to me. So using the Rci deposit can extend your use of points by 2 years vs 1 year with banking, right?

As I read the rules, it would be 31 Dec of the second year following the DATE the deposit is made, not the date of the deposit as is traditional. Here's the actual wording.

...The exchange request may be place at the same time that the Vacation Time is deposited or at any time thereafter, but no later than the end of the second calendar year after the date of the deposited Vacation Time.

It certainly opens up for some choices with how and when to do deposit first.

Sorry for the late response, but I understood from Membership Services that if you deposit points (not waitlist them) at least 4 months before the end of your use year, you have until the end of the second calendar year following the deposit to make and travel on the exchange. So if I deposit my Oct 2010 UY points before June 2011, then I have until December 2013 to make and travel on the exchange. In a sense, that is an alternative to banking the points.

I don't believe there is any 4 month requirement for deposits or exchanges, only the 14-44 day restriction on what makes a regular vs short notice deposit. It appears that regular reservation rules apply to secure a week to deposit but that is not clearly spelled out.

 

[4Pluto]

That information came from the CM who was helping me make an RCI exchange for this year. I still have some points that will expire and he advised depositing them for a future exchange in RCI. He said it would have to be deposited 4 months before the points expire, but maybe he mispoke or misunderstood. Since I wasn't making the deposit at the time, we didn't go any further into it, but in any event it is a nice way to extend the life of our points.

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

Nice to know there is an option to save points!

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

That information came from the CM who was helping me make an RCI exchange for this year. I still have some points that will expire and he advised depositing them for a future exchange in RCI. He said it would have to be deposited 4 months before the points expire, but maybe he mispoke or misunderstood. Since I wasn't making the deposit at the time, we didn't go any further into it, but in any event it is a nice way to extend the life of our points.

When I deposited my points last month with RCI, the CM gave me the same information. She had to check the chart and make sure I could "still deposit JUNE points" at the time I deposited them. It didn't seem to matter which UY the points came from, as long as they were currently residing in this year's account (whether current, banked or borrowed). But, the month of my UY did matter.

 

[mickeysgal]

I just got off the phone with member services. We have points that are going to expire at the end of May (June UY). She suggested we bank them with RCI and that I had until early APRIL to make that decision to deposit them. Apparently the 4 month rule doesn't apply to depositing into RCI...perhaps a 44 day rule?

Having never stepped into this world of DVC/RCI before, how realistic to assume that these points can be exchanged for someplace decent? What are some examples of the type of good resort exchanges that can be made - in reality?

 

[Dean]

I just got off the phone with member services. We have points that are going to expire at the end of May (June UY). She suggested we bank them with RCI and that I had until early APRIL to make that decision to deposit them. Apparently the 4 month rule doesn't apply to depositing into RCI...perhaps a 44 day rule?

Having never stepped into this world of DVC/RCI before, how realistic to assume that these points can be exchanged for someplace decent? What are some examples of the type of good resort exchanges that can be made - in reality?

The 14-44 day rules is essentially an RCI rule slightly modified. As for the chances of being successful, it depends on your expectations and how you approach it. If I were going to deposit first, I'd try to only deposit 160 or 270 points which match HIGH season for a 1 & 2 BR. I'd start a search immediately and be as broad as I was comfortable. The other issue and reason to not wait too long is that they must be able to secure a week to give to RCI using the normal reservation rules and that matches the season in question. I'd say this is a last resort but a nice option to have.

That information came from the CM who was helping me make an RCI exchange for this year. I still have some points that will expire and he advised depositing them for a future exchange in RCI. He said it would have to be deposited 4 months before the points expire, but maybe he mispoke or misunderstood. Since I wasn't making the deposit at the time, we didn't go any further into it, but in any event it is a nice way to extend the life of our points.

My understanding is they were wrong. I am not aware of the 4 month rule extending to anything that doesn't require the conversion of DVC points to cash. I have reviewed the legal documentation in the DVC RCI audit and the info on the website which says up to 2 weeks out.

 

[4Pluto]

Sounds like either his mispoke or I misheard. I will definitely check before I "rush" to deposit points. Thanks.

 

[Dean]

Sounds like either his mispoke or I misheard. I will definitely check before I "rush" to deposit points. Thanks.

Given the setup of the system it's certainly understandable for the CM to think this. Make sure you talk to the exchange dept when asking questions about this area.

 

[mickeysgal]

The 14-44 day rules is essentially an RCI rule slightly modified. As for the chances of being successful, it depends on your expectations and how you approach it. If I were going to deposit first, I'd try to only deposit 160 or 270 points which match HIGH season for a 1 & 2 BR. I'd start a search immediately and be as broad as I was comfortable. The other issue and reason to not wait too long is that they must be able to secure a week to give to RCI using the normal reservation rules and that matches the season in question. I'd say this is a last resort but a nice option to have.

Thanks Dean. I have enough to bank for a 2 bedroom high season and a 1 bedroom high season. Wish our trip plans worked out this year, but they didn't, and I don't want these points to go to waste. If I were to rent out some, it would most likely leave me with an odd amount of points. Right now they fit perfectly into the RCI 2 bedroom and 1 bedroom high season criteria (for lack of a better term). Now I'm just left wondering if we can snag an EXCELLENT resort option with them through RCI.

 

[CarolMN]

........(snip)....My understanding is they were wrong. I am not aware of the 4 month rule extending to anything that doesn't require the conversion of DVC points to cash. I have reviewed the legal documentation in the DVC RCI audit and the info on the website which says up to 2 weeks out.

I agree with you, but there does have to be availability for MS to deposit an actual week into RCI so maybe the CM just didn't see a week anywhere in the time remaining in the use year of the member's points being deposited. (Sorry for awkward sentence, there, LOL). CM should have said that, though rather than quote a rule that doesn't apply.