Charleston -- same time 3 years in a row
About 8 months ago I found an early November week at Church Street Inn through VI’s Instant Exchange. The week was perfect as it precedes a conference I attend in the East Coast annually. When I arrived last week, I was so struck by the city’s charms that I wanted to return the next few years. So I needed to find a way to get a unit during that precise week without buying in – even though one was listed on eBay for $1.
At the suggestion of CSI’s reservations clerk, I joined RTX, an exchange company that primarily serves Festiva owners. But in order to do a request-first exchange, I needed to upgrade to a Premium Plus membership ($297) which I did. With the upgrade I was also able to preview their getaways, which come from the same inventory, only rented instead of exchanged. So I convinced them to allow me to rent a 2015 November getaway instead, and save my deposit (a summer 2015 Worldmark Vancouver week) for a trade back to CSI in 2016. My upgraded membership gave me a 4-year shelf life on my deposit, and since I’ve already deposited I will be able to let my premium upgrade expire and do a basic deposit-first exchange until 2019. Changes are strong that I would get in since the CSI clerk told me of their 31 units, 10 are usually fulfilled by RTX and 2-3 by II and RCI combined. I’m relieved that I could return to the same resort without buying in. And pay less than MF per weekly stay.
