RCI Success Thread

[melissac]

I have been looking at RCI exchanges and had a difficult time finding what I wanted BUT I was able to locate what I wanted on different rental timeshare sites and found it would be cheaper to sell my DVC points and then rent. Now, our plans fell thru and we never did this but I have sold points on this site and did not have a problem selling/transferring. This might be an options.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

We've only tried once, but probably got beginner's luck. We asked for a specific resort in June in Hawaii and got it!

 

[ltktmk]

Agreed.

I think if I were in your shoes, I'd rent out the number of DVC points you would have used for the exchange, and use the proceeds to rent the Spring Break option you are looking for. You might have to spend a little extra, but more likely you'll have a little extra left over.

Thanks for the renting my pts out idea, I have yet to try this, then I can book what I want in advance.

 

[ltktmk]

Tough requirement. High demand, limited options and can't plan far enough in advance. This makes exchanging very difficult to impossible,, esp for the good stuff. The other way to approach this type of issue is last minute (like under 45 days) buy I'm guessing that doesn't fit your needs either.


While all timeshares I know of use the exchange company as a marketing tool, there is no bait and switch. The paperwork clearly states that the exchange company, or even having one as an option, is not guaranteed. IMO DVC uses it honestly, however, the guides are generally not that knowledgeable about exchanges so I believe they overstate the options and availability out of ignorance rather than intent. IMO II and RCI are pretty equivalent overall when it comes to actual exchanges but you need to investigates the resorts a little more with RCI and you need to plan ahead better since many of the RCI resorts are truly in play 2 years out where with II it was a potential issue but not that common. The difference for II really is simply Marriott and it looks good but is rarely available.


There are 2 groups of exchange options. Those that are NOT RCI points (weeks) may be in play up to 2 years out but it varies with the system, for example, Hilton tends to deposit around 6 months out and Wyndham just under a year in bulk. RCI points resorts tend to not be available until 10 months out. Thus I'd say IF you are looking at RCI points resorts, you're not especially late until 10 months out. The other mistake that I think many DVC members make in exchanges is trying to schedule less than a full week. Even when looking at points resorts, many of them either do not allow exchanges of less than a week or do so only later in the game. They also tend to charge an extra housekeeping fee which can be reasonable or not, often not.

Still, no reason not to try as long as you understand the game and have a back up plan.

Thanks for the help Dean, sorry if I seemed frustrated.

 

[Dean]

Thanks for the help Dean, sorry if I seemed frustrated.

There's no problem on my end and your approach and situation seem common to DVC members in that they often don't investigate, are inflexible (even when they think they are flexible) and don't plan in advance well enough (even though they think they are) to be successful. I've tried to preach these issues over the years here and elsewhere. It's seemed helpful to some DVC members though I'm sure most just ignore he advice. The recipe is simple.

 

[aclov]

A few years ago into Maui, but that was with Interval International. Last year through RCI into Aruba, but had to cancel due to new job. So rebooked for August again into Aruba. They had a other places availiable when I called, St. Maarten, Bahamas, Dominican. I think the key is flexibility.

 

[paults]

Can I book an RCI nightly exchange with pts without exchanging for a DVC room?
How do you go about seacrhing for resort availability in RCI

 

[mom_rules]

We've used our for exchange in Vancouver, BC and inquired about Aruba (it was available but we decided to go elsewhere)

 

[Dean]

Can I book an RCI nightly exchange with pts without exchanging for a DVC room?
How do you go about seacrhing for resort availability in RCI

I'm assuming you're asking as a DVC member to access RCI inventory using cash without using DVC points. This is not possible with DVC but it potentially so for other RCI members. There is no way to check RCI inventory through DVC other than to call DVC and ask them to check. An alternative is to ask those of us who have RCI access to check for you to get an idea, I know several of us are willing to do so as long as the load isn't too great. RCI has the ability for a conduit so we could check and use points directly if we find anything. There are several companies that work with RCI in this way. It'd be a step up but allowing direct membership to RCI would be better for some. Remember that stays shorter than a week often entail an additional housekeeping fee.

 

[Lisa71]

We are RCI members and traded our RCI week (in Kauai) for a week at the Beach Club for June. It took stalking the RCI website to get a good trade..but worth it. I know DVC members who do the same. Check often.