RCI trade for DVC

[dewey4949]

Timeshare question..... Has anyone had success using RCI points to trade for a 2 bedroom at WDW?? We have gotten a 1 bedroom last minute before but trying to figure out how many points we may need for a 2 bedroom.... It won't tell us how many points until something becomes available but we aren't even sure if we have enough banked! The website tells us that our trading power is 53. Any help/insight would be appreciated!!

 

[Dean]

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Timeshare question..... Has anyone had success using RCI points to trade for a 2 bedroom at WDW?? We have gotten a 1 bedroom last minute before but trying to figure out how many points we may need for a 2 bedroom.... It won't tell us how many points until something becomes available but we aren't even sure if we have enough banked! The website tells us that our trading power is 53. Any help/insight would be appreciated!!

It appears DVC hasn't deposited 2 BR villas for almost a year and a half. Most have been 1 BR at SSR with a few at other places generally 4-6 months out. At 53, if a 2 BR were available, you'd likely only be locked out for Xmas and Easter weeks but it is a moving target on the TPU's needed.

 

[bwvBound]

Timeshare question..... Has anyone had success using RCI points to trade for a 2 bedroom at WDW?? We have gotten a 1 bedroom last minute before but trying to figure out how many points we may need for a 2 bedroom.... It won't tell us how many points until something becomes available but we aren't even sure if we have enough banked! The website tells us that our trading power is 53. Any help/insight would be appreciated!!

"Trading Power is 53" sounds more like RCI Weeks rather than RCI Points.

Assuming your question is framed by the context of RCI Weeks, yes -- I agree with Dean's points:

• We haven't seen 2BR units deposited in a long while.
• The most common unit reported in recent months is SSR 1BR.
• 53 Trade Power Units (TPU) is sufficient for the recent 1BR deposits and likely sufficient for a 2BR, outside holiday periods, should one be offered through RCI.

The big message here: Use RCI's Ongoing Search and, sadly, don't count on a 2BR unit.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I actually spoke with a timeshare rep today bc we are interested in buying a timeshare but DVC is SUPER expensive. Anyways the guy on the phone actually use to work for Disney as well and he told me that Disney as of lately have only been depositing into RCI SSR 1 bedrooms. I was on the phone with a point system person and they told me that a week at a 1 bedroom SSR during peak season would be 136,000 points. Timeshares are very confusing, lol...there are so many different companies how does 1 choose which company is best for them? I know I want a timeshare company that is affiliated with RCI so if I ever wanted to trade into DVC I could do that...we aren't looking to buy in until the end of the year possibly beginning of next year, but trying to gather all information to decide which company to go with is tough!

 

[Dean]

I actually spoke with a timeshare rep today bc we are interested in buying a timeshare but DVC is SUPER expensive. Anyways the guy on the phone actually use to work for Disney as well and he told me that Disney as of lately have only been depositing into RCI SSR 1 bedrooms. I was on the phone with a point system person and they told me that a week at a 1 bedroom SSR during peak season would be 136,000 points. Timeshares are very confusing, lol...there are so many different companies how does 1 choose which company is best for them? I know I want a timeshare company that is affiliated with RCI so if I ever wanted to trade into DVC I could do that...we aren't looking to buy in until the end of the year possibly beginning of next year, but trying to gather all information to decide which company to go with is tough!

Be careful, you can tell a timeshare salesman's lying if their lips are moving. "I used to work for Disney" is one of the lines they often use to get confidence when you mentioned DVC. A timeshare salesperson doesn't have any inside track to RCI deposit knowledge. It sounds like you were talking to Wyndham, they have a great system but a more than questionable sales staff, certainly near the bottom in ethics and near the top in sales pressure. You can buy Wyndham or BG for pennies on the dollar. All timeshares are confusing including DVC but once you learn the system, many can be great options. I would not buy to trade to DVC but if you're on the fence, the option might be the deciding factor.

As to deciding which ones to consider, I'd start by thinking how I wanted to use it and where I wanted to go with it. As a rule I'd suggest you need a minimum volume of at least an average or a 2 BR a year to justify the option to break even. If I wanted to go to a specific location, I'd generally buy there if it's a high demand area during peak times. If I wanted to go to different places, a points mini system like Wyndham, Hilton, Worldmark, Diamond, Marriott or Bluegreen may be best. I'd then look at my level of expectation, unit size, quality demands, ease of use/guarantee and the like. Also how far out one has to reserve, for Wyndham it's 10 months minimum, for Marriott 12-13 months and for Bluegreen 11 months. Look at Budget. Marriott (weeks) is often best for those who demand higher quality and can travel a week at a time. Marriott points is expensive even for resale. Wyndham and BG are often best to get different places, get in cheaply and want to do some exchanging (both include RCI) but some of their resorts are better than others. Just spend enough time to figure out which system is likely best, then to learn about that system including resale options. Most, like DVC, have limits on resale and none I know of are reasonable to buy retail due to the issue one needs to now where they stand going in. Overall I prefer BG, but for many, Wyndham is the best option as a single choice. Nothing is perfect and most have the areas where they are the best.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Be careful, you can tell a timeshare salesman's lying if their lips are moving. "I used to work for Disney" is one of the lines they often use to get confidence when you mentioned DVC. A timeshare salesperson doesn't have any inside track to RCI deposit knowledge. It sounds like you were talking to Wyndham, they have a great system but a more than questionable sales staff, certainly near the bottom in ethics and near the top in sales pressure. You can buy Wyndham or BG for pennies on the dollar. All timeshares are confusing including DVC but once you learn the system, many can be great options. I would not buy to trade to DVC but if you're on the fence, the option might be the deciding factor.

As to deciding which ones to consider, I'd start by thinking how I wanted to use it and where I wanted to go with it. As a rule I'd suggest you need a minimum volume of at least an average or a 2 BR a year to justify the option to break even. If I wanted to go to a specific location, I'd generally buy there if it's a high demand area during peak times. If I wanted to go to different places, a points mini system like Wyndham, Hilton, Worldmark, Diamond, Marriott or Bluegreen may be best. I'd then look at my level of expectation, unit size, quality demands, ease of use/guarantee and the like. Also how far out one has to reserve, for Wyndham it's 10 months minimum, for Marriott 12-13 months and for Bluegreen 11 months. Look at Budget. Marriott (weeks) is often best for those who demand higher quality and can travel a week at a time. Marriott points is expensive even for resale. Wyndham and BG are often best to get different places, get in cheaply and want to do some exchanging (both include RCI) but some of their resorts are better than others. Just spend enough time to figure out which system is likely best, then to learn about that system including resale options. Most, like DVC, have limits on resale and none I know of are reasonable to buy retail due to the issue one needs to now where they stand going in. Overall I prefer BG, but for many, Wyndham is the best option as a single choice. Nothing is perfect and most have the areas where they are the best.

Wow! Thanks for all this useful information! I was actually talking with Holiday Inn Vacation Club. They own the Orange Lake property close to Disney and I have heard a ton of good things about that particular property. They are 1 of the companies we are considering. We are also considering Wyndham and Bluegreen as well. I have yet to speak to anyone at Wyndham yet and Bluegreen won't talk to us unless we do a mini vacation to 1 of their resorts and sit through the 90 minute presentation, which is totally fine, but our schedule is crazy right now so we can't find the time to go to 1 of their resorts to do that. We were also considering Marriot but I believe they trade with Interval and I am not an interval fan. My mother in law has interval and I just don't think interval is for us. I would rather be with RCI. There is just so many things to consider when looking to buy into a timeshare. Its a little overwhelming...and my hubby can't understand why I am starting to look into this now, but I am a perpetual planner and I like to have all my facts about everything before we decide on something. With something like this it could take me 9 months to figure it out and figure out what I want and everything, LOL

 

[JimMIA]

SterlingSilver83:

Ditto what Dean said above.

I would not put much weight on one particular resort if you are considering a real system of timeshares like Wyndham, Bluegreen, HI, Hilton, etc -- and especially not one resort in the WDW area! All of those systems have great resorts in the WDW area, most of them more than one outstanding resort in the area. In addition, WDW is a very overbuilt area and there is always good availability at very nice resorts.

I would also not put much emphasis on the exchange capabilities. Sure, you can exchange, but with any system the best use will always be within that system. The key factor for me would be the various destinations you see yourself visiting over the next several years. Will system XYZ take you there? That's the key question for me.

Also, DON'T talk to timeshare salesmen! And don't even think about buying direct for Wyndham, Bluegreen, or HI! You can buy them literally for pennies on the dollar on the resale market. Those timeshares will be virtually worthless when you want to exit, so "pennies in, pennies out" is a viable exit strategy.

For research, the best place to start is TUG (Timeshare Users Group) at tugbbs.com . You will find a great deal of information there, and knowledgeable people to help you sort through the many options.

 

[JimMIA]

Also how far out one has to reserve, for Wyndham it's 10 months minimum, for Marriott 12-13 months and for Bluegreen 11 months.

I assume what Dean means here is how far in advance one can reserve, rather than must reserve. With Wyndham, you can reserve at your home resort at 13 months, at any resort at 10 months. Wyndham also has a program called Club Wyndham Access which allows booking at about 70 of their 100+ resorts at 13 months. CWA is also available on the resale market.

But, except for some resorts at super-peak times, you don't have to make reservations that far in advance. For example, I'm sitting here waiting for my daughter's BFF family to make up their minds whether they want to go to Disney in July or August The 3 BRs at Reunion would be perfect for the six of us and there is lots of availability only four months out.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Thanks for all this information. I truthfully wasn't planning on buying retail for any of these time shares but I thought I could get the most information about the time shares straight from the horses mouth sort of speak with chart points and what not to see what I would need before looking into the resale market. I have looked into the resale market and found timeshares that are for literally nothing! But I want to understand more about them before diving in, lol. I will check out that other board as well. Thanks again for the info!

 

[JimMIA]

Thanks for all this information. I truthfully wasn't planning on buying retail for any of these time shares but I thought I could get the most information about the time shares straight from the horses mouth sort of speak with chart points and what not to see what I would need before looking into the resale market. I have looked into the resale market and found timeshares that are for literally nothing! But I want to understand more about them before diving in, lol. I will check out that other board as well. Thanks again for the info!

Here's a link to a Wyndham member's directory: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/wyndham/plus_membersdirectory1415/index.php#/1 I believe this is the most current one available online and it has all the points charts, etc. This will give you much more accurate info than you'll ever get from a timeshare salesman -- especially Wyndham's!

In this directory, ignore Associate, Affiliate, and Club Pass resorts. The first two are just window dressing with very little real availability, for the most part. Club Pass can only be purchased direct and isn't worth considering, IMHO.

Sales weasels aside, the Wyndham resort system is very good -- over 100 resorts in about 60 different cities, and easy to use. All of the resorts we've visited have been very nice, and the Wyndham employees we've dealt with -- online, by phone, and in person in the resorts -- have all been excellent.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Here's a link to a Wyndham member's directory: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/wyndham/plus_membersdirectory1415/index.php#/1 I believe this is the most current one available online and it has all the points charts, etc. This will give you much more accurate info than you'll ever get from a timeshare salesman -- especially Wyndham's!

In this directory, ignore Associate, Affiliate, and Club Pass resorts. The first two are just window dressing with very little real availability, for the most part. Club Pass can only be purchased direct and isn't worth considering, IMHO.

Sales weasels aside, the Wyndham resort system is very good -- over 100 resorts in about 60 different cities, and easy to use. All of the resorts we've visited have been very nice, and the Wyndham employees we've dealt with -- online, by phone, and in person in the resorts -- have all been excellent.

Wow thanks! Yeah Wyndham is 1 of the resorts we are considering. The real issue is figuring out how many points we will need to buy into. The guy I talked to yesterday told me that if I wanted to exchange into DVC that I would need 136,000 HIVC Points...are point systems all different? Then I look on some resale sites and most people say "floating" weeks and 1 person was selling their HIVC resort that had 176,000 annual points on it but it was also week 28, so that was very confusing to me, lol...its going to take me until next year to figure this all out, LOL

 

[Brian Noble]

are point systems all different?

Yes. You should think of each of them as a completely separate currency. What's more, there is no single "currency exchange"---different ways of using the points provides different values, so there really isn't any simple way to say X points in HIVC == Y points in Wyndham.

My advice: join TUG. Start reading and learning. Spend AT LEAST six months doing that before you buy anything. Preferably, rent from an owner in a few systems you are considering before taking the plunge.

It's easy to buy a timeshare. It's relatively hard to sell one.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Yes. You should think of each of them as a completely separate currency. What's more, there is no single "currency exchange"---different ways of using the points provides different values, so there really isn't any simple way to say X points in HIVC == Y points in Wyndham.

My advice: join TUG. Start reading and learning. Spend AT LEAST six months doing that before you buy anything. Preferably, rent from an owner in a few systems you are considering before taking the plunge.

It's easy to buy a timeshare. It's relatively hard to sell one.

Thanks for all this info its been really helpful! Yeah I figured out points were different bc in Wyndham high season for a 2 bedroom was 300,000 points vs HIVC was only $115,000...I signed up for TUG and I am starting to read and trying to figure things out, lol

 

[JimMIA]

Wow thanks! Yeah Wyndham is 1 of the resorts we are considering. The real issue is figuring out how many points we will need to buy into. The guy I talked to yesterday told me that if I wanted to exchange into DVC that I would need 136,000 HIVC Points...are point systems all different? Then I look on some resale sites and most people say "floating" weeks and 1 person was selling their HIVC resort that had 176,000 annual points on it but it was also week 28, so that was very confusing to me, lol...its going to take me until next year to figure this all out, LOL

. Here's a link to the Wyndham RCI exchange points grid: https://b2b.rci.com/post-wvr-en_US/home/wvr-exchange-points-chart.page

But exchanging should be the least of your concerns right now. Start by figuring where you want to go and then see if one of the systems gives you good options. If a system isn't a good fit, no amount of exchanging will fix the problem.

Brian's suggestion of a six month research period may sound excessive, but it's not. You can't do too much research.

 

[tidefan]

One other thing to consider...

If you are purchasing with the hope of trading into DVC, do note that although DVC is affiliated with RCI for exchanges at the current time, that can always change. I believe that DVC has been on Interval International in the past as well. They will go to whomever gets them the best deal (from DVC's standpoint).

 

[Dean]

Wow! Thanks for all this useful information! I was actually talking with Holiday Inn Vacation Club. They own the Orange Lake property close to Disney and I have heard a ton of good things about that particular property. They are 1 of the companies we are considering. We are also considering Wyndham and Bluegreen as well. I have yet to speak to anyone at Wyndham yet and Bluegreen won't talk to us unless we do a mini vacation to 1 of their resorts and sit through the 90 minute presentation, which is totally fine, but our schedule is crazy right now so we can't find the time to go to 1 of their resorts to do that. We were also considering Marriot but I believe they trade with Interval and I am not an interval fan. My mother in law has interval and I just don't think interval is for us. I would rather be with RCI. There is just so many things to consider when looking to buy into a timeshare. Its a little overwhelming...and my hubby can't understand why I am starting to look into this now, but I am a perpetual planner and I like to have all my facts about everything before we decide on something. With something like this it could take me 9 months to figure it out and figure out what I want and everything, LOL

I'm not a big fan of the HI system or their resorts as a rule, IMO you can do better.

 

[CMNJ]

One other thing to consider...

If you are purchasing with the hope of trading into DVC, do note that although DVC is affiliated with RCI for exchanges at the current time, that can always change. I believe that DVC has been on Interval International in the past as well. They will go to whomever gets them the best deal (from DVC's standpoint).

I was thinking the same thing-years ago when we looked at DVC a long time ago they traded with II. We also considered a Marriott timeshare around the same time and one thing we thought would be great was the ability to trade into DVC-then they switched to RCI for trading. We hadn't bought the Marriott timeshare for other reasons but realized we should never buy with the specific intent to trade outside of the system purchased.