Walk me through RCI booking...

[nzdisneymom]

We are interested in trying to get an RCI week for December 2011. I know it's still early, but I was trying to figure out what the process is for making the booking, when they take points, how far out you can call and hope you can get what you want, etc. etc. etc.

Could someone outline for me the steps in getting an RCI booking? What do I need to be sure to know before calling member services? We're interested in Hawaii and have picked out a couple of different resorts that would be fine with us from the DVC RCI listing... we would prefer one over the other, but either one are acceptable. We know what date(s) we could go. We also figure December is a busy time since we'd need to try to go over the winter holidays.

How far out can you book and how close in can you book? If you waitlist, at what point do they say 'give it up honey, it ain't gonna happen?'

Any info you could share would be especially appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[rentayenta]

The best thing to do is call MS and they will answer your questions. I am currently on a wait list for an RCI property in Mexico. From what I understood during my conversation with MS regarding RCI is that although the guide says you can book up to 24 months in advance, each property is like a separate entity under the RCI umbrella so availability depends on an RCI member releasing their points at the property you want in order for you to make a reservation. There are not a set number of rooms available. When you call, even if you are wait-listed you pay your $95. Good luck!

 

[Dean]

Look at the DVC RCI offerings, research the resorts. Once you decide what and when you want, call DVC and put in a request. You can do so as early as 2 years out from the date of travel and should do so as early as possible. Expect to have to wait list and pay the $95 fee up front. Then wait and see what happens. Give it up to 2-3 months before travel if possible but make a backup plan.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thanks for the info.

 

[nzdisneymom]

I called Member Services today and the CM very patiently walked me through the process for making an RCI exchange. We had picked out a resort for spring break 2010 in the Smoky Mountains and because we only have a specific week we can travel, then that helped us with making the arrangements. Unfortunately there were no openings for the week we can go (but several for the following week - go figure), so we've waitlisted and will hope something comes open. If not, we have a plan B (which had been our plan A til we decided to try the RCI exchange instead).

So wish us luck that it will come through!

 

[Dean]

I called Member Services today and the CM very patiently walked me through the process for making an RCI exchange. We had picked out a resort for spring break 2010 in the Smoky Mountains and because we only have a specific week we can travel, then that helped us with making the arrangements. Unfortunately there were no openings for the week we can go (but several for the following week - go figure), so we've waitlisted and will hope something comes open. If not, we have a plan B (which had been our plan A til we decided to try the RCI exchange instead).

So wish us luck that it will come through!

It's likely those weeks have come and gone. However, there a great possibility something will come up later. It's interesting that 5 of the 6 resorts on the DVC list in TN are in the RCI points program, I can't think of anywhere else where there is such a saturation as only about 12% of the RCI resorts are RCI points resorts though I'm sure the % is higher for newer resorts.

What resort and week are you looking at and I can peak online to see what things look like.

 

[nzdisneymom]

It's likely those weeks have come and gone. However, there a great possibility something will come up later. It's interesting that 5 of the 6 resorts on the DVC list in TN are in the RCI points program, I can't think of anywhere else where there is such a saturation as only about 12% of the RCI resorts are RCI points resorts though I'm sure the % is higher for newer resorts.

What resort and week are you looking at and I can peak online to see what things look like.

I saw the notation of RCI Points and wasn't sure what that was. We can only go the week before Easter -- the Saturday is March 27th and Sunday is the 28th. We put in for just the one resort (Holiday Inn Club... which the CM says they have listed with a different name but the address was the same). There was one other one in Seiverville (??) - a Wyndham - that we would also consider but prefer to try to stay in Gatlinburg rather than a little ways out. The CM said that if we could go Easter week, there was space for us. We're looking at a 2-BR.

 

[Dean]

I saw the notation of RCI Points and wasn't sure what that was. We can only go the week before Easter -- the Saturday is March 27th and Sunday is the 28th. We put in for just the one resort (Holiday Inn Club... which the CM says they have listed with a different name but the address was the same). There was one other one in Seiverville (??) - a Wyndham - that we would also consider but prefer to try to stay in Gatlinburg rather than a little ways out. The CM said that if we could go Easter week, there was space for us. We're looking at a 2-BR.

Crown Park is the former name, nice resort though it's actually in town behind the convention center. Walking to town is easy but not that much woods type scenery. I'm not currently showing anything for the week you want at the resorts on the DVC list. I looked on the weeks side and RCI points side both. There's a reasonable chance something will come through. You might consider adding some of the other resorts, esp Tree tops and Mountain loft. I can't speak to Sunrise Ridge. The Wyndham resort is not in a great location unless being close to the interstate is important to you or being by the outlets.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Crown Park is the former name, nice resort though it's actually in town behind the convention center. Walking to town is easy but not that much woods type scenery. I'm not currently showing anything for the week you want at the resorts on the DVC list. I looked on the weeks side and RCI points side both. There's a reasonable chance something will come through. You might consider adding some of the other resorts, esp Tree tops and Mountain loft. I can't speak to Sunrise Ridge. The Wyndham resort is not in a great location unless being close to the interstate is important to you or being by the outlets.

Dean -thank you so much for checking for me. Have you stayed at Tree Tops or Mountain Loft? We've not been to Gatlinburg before so we're purely selecting resort(s) based on reviews online either those posted via DVC/RCI that we can view or TripAdvisor. I'm thinking that adding other resorts would definitely help our chances. And we're ok with not being really in the woods

Thanks again for looking these up for me. I'm guessing you're an RCI member as well as DVC?

 

[Dean]

Dean -thank you so much for checking for me. Have you stayed at Tree Tops or Mountain Loft? We've not been to Gatlinburg before so we're purely selecting resort(s) based on reviews online either those posted via DVC/RCI that we can view or TripAdvisor. I'm thinking that adding other resorts would definitely help our chances. And we're ok with not being really in the woods

Thanks again for looking these up for me. I'm guessing you're an RCI member as well as DVC?

I have stayed at ML but not Tree Tops and have visited the Wyndham. I would be very happy with the ML II that Disney lists, not as much so with ML 1. Doc owns at Tree Tops and I believe he's stayed at Crown Park, you might ask him about it. Personally I think all the choices on the DVC list are acceptable. The location for the Wyndham is questionable and the in town location for Crown Park is personal preference. The Westgate location is likely the best one at present and they have a lot of II inventory if you know anyone that can get you in there. Some will warn you off Westgate due to their high pressure sales tactics but if you are forewarned, I don't think it's an issue. AND they allow pets for a fee. I got one of my staff a 1 BR there for Fall Colors with a week deposit and they're taking their dog. Gatlingurg is a pretty easy trade so it's always questionable to give up 160 to 270 points for something you can usually get very cheaply. Cabin rentals there can also be quite reasonable. Good luck.

 

[Newcastle]

Not to hijack Cindy's thread but what would happen to a member's DVC points if their RCI waitlist didn't come through? I guess I'm wondering what the options would be if you are approaching that 2 to 3-month window before your planned travel dates and the waitlist hasn't come through, especially if you've tried to book a good 2 years in advance.

 

[Dean]

Not to hijack Cindy's thread but what would happen to a member's DVC points if their RCI waitlist didn't come through? I guess I'm wondering what the options would be if you are approaching that 2 to 3-month window before your planned travel dates and the waitlist hasn't come through, especially if you've tried to book a good 2 years in advance.

If you do request first, the way you should do most exchanges, nothing happens until they match then they automatically take your points. If you cancel with no match of any type, your points are left alone and you get your $95 fee back, same if you don't match at all.

 

[Newcastle]

Thanks for the response Dean. So I think this is the part where I get confused - let's say hypothetically, that I had some banked points that were due to expire by October 2009...could I use those points to try to do an exchange in say, May 2010 (assuming that I submit the request now)? I think I've read about people taking banked points that are due to expire and committing them to an exchange (thereby essentially prolonging the life of the points) but I wasn't sure if this is actually possible. On a similar note, if I were to contemplate using October 2009 points for an exchange in say, May 2011 when I am clearly passed my banking window, what would happen to those points if the exhange didn't come through? Sorry for all of the questions which I'm sure must seem pretty basic to you Dean! I'm just not that familiar at all with exchanges (as you can tell!).

 

[Dean]

Thanks for the response Dean. So I think this is the part where I get confused - let's say hypothetically, that I had some banked points that were due to expire by October 2009...could I use those points to try to do an exchange in say, May 2010 (assuming that I submit the request now)? I think I've read about people taking banked points that are due to expire and committing them to an exchange (thereby essentially prolonging the life of the points) but I wasn't sure if this is actually possible. On a similar note, if I were to contemplate using October 2009 points for an exchange in say, May 2011 when I am clearly passed my banking window, what would happen to those points if the exhange didn't come through? Sorry for all of the questions which I'm sure must seem pretty basic to you Dean! I'm just not that familiar at all with exchanges (as you can tell!).

Exchanges are generally paid for with points in the UY in which the exchange occurs though DVC can be rather flexible when the need arises. That means you can't really use points expiring in a few months for an exchange 18 months from now in many cases. You can do deposit first which is they way to go for points that are expiring and you won't use otherwise. If the banking window passes for given points, you would not be able to bank those points an in many cases, not be able to use them for an exchange either. It's best to always assume the exchange will not come through but plan for if it does. Don't let points set thinking you might get an exchange and then use those points. Always maximize the usefulness of any points available to you by banking them when necessary and letting Disney sort it out later if you match.

 

[airman]

let me tell you our experience with an RCI exchange. In January right after the RCI changeover, DW called MS to book a week at the London property. MS said there isn't a London location, we were looking right at it on the computer at the same time. The next day DW called again and got someone different and started the booking process for the London property for a middle June to end of July this year time frame, paidthe $95. We knew we only had about 2 months before we needed to book plane tickets and start palnning the vacation, if we didn't get anything for the London place. Come March we didn't hear anything, so DW called MS to cancel the booking and were refunded our $95. We started getting plane tickets and booking the hoel for London and an apartment for Paris. Our plan was to spend 2 or 3 nights at Disneyland Paris during the trip and called MS to book the Disneyland Hotel on our points and were old we didn't have enough, (we had 192 available). I thought maybe we couldn't book a Disney property with borrowed points, so let it go, booked DLP for 2 nights. DW called later to bank the remaining 32 points remaining from this year and were told we didn't have any points to bank (what?). Come to find out we had the London property reserved a week after we had them start looking, nobody informed us, it didn't come up when DW cancelled and got our booking fee back. Online it had our points on hold for RCI, but no indication of the booking. The only good thing to come from this is we waited so long to get our plane tickets we saved $1000 over what we would have paid if we booked in January.
MS wasn't going o give our points back, just hold them for 2 years for another RCI reservation, but they new a goof happened and a couple back and forths with a manager, we were able to get our 160 back.
Hopefully any bugs like this have been eliminated for future booking, all I needed was an email telling me we got the booking.
We fly home tomorrow from Paris after 16 days and we have had a fantastic vacation inspite of the speedbump at the beginning.

 

[Dean]

Hopefully any bugs like this have been eliminated for future booking, all I needed was an email telling me we got the booking.
We fly home tomorrow from Paris after 16 days and we have had a fantastic vacation inspite of the speedbump at the beginning.

You're lucky you got your points back. The take home point in this to me is that if you have a pending request, check on the status of the request first then cancel if it hasn't matched. DVC does not email confirmations. It sounds like you matched around the time you canceled, basically the check crossed in the mail. Was this Allen House or Odessa Wharf? I'm glad you've had a good trip, I trust the trip home will be safe (but long) as well.

 

[airman]

we were trying for Allen House. It was 2 months from the time our requist was met and when we cancelled, that was why we got our points back. We asked if we would be notified if our requist was met and we were told we would.

 

[Dean]

we were trying for Allen House. It was 2 months from the time our requist was met and when we cancelled, that was why we got our points back. We asked if we would be notified if our requist was met and we were told we would.

So they just forget to cancel with RCI, thanks for the additional info.

 

[airman]

When we called in March to cancel the requist, there was a reservation for Allen House in the system and at that time MS could have told us, but they refund for the $95. I would have taken the reservation instead. I will try again in the future to try another exchange, we love Disney, but want to do other things everyonce in a while.

 

[Dean]

When we called in March to cancel the requist, there was a reservation for Allen House in the system and at that time MS could have told us, but they refund for the $95. I would have taken the reservation instead. I will try again in the future to try another exchange, we love Disney, but want to do other things everyonce in a while.

They likely thought you were canceling the RCI reservation then or more likely, they didn't actually look to see at all. You may want to look at other timeshare options or private rentals for non DVC trips.