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[ 2013 ] United in Discounts - Renting RCI Extra Vacations to Service members

Smokatoke

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Got a call today from this company where they are telling me I can use my membership to rent service members (military and Gov officals) a maximum of 10 Extra vacation certificates. They stated I will received a minimum of $1100 for a rental. I just pay $149 to book the vacation through my RCI Membership.

Now of course anything that sounds too good to be true usually is, and I know we are not allow to resell or rent exchanges which I directly asked this person. She stated they have a cap of 10 because RCI just doesnt want people business on reselling exchanges and this is not a violation of RCI policy.

Website she provided is http://www.rewardsforheros.com/. I have her name and number as well.

Anyone heard of this scheme or could it be true? I am about to call RCI and ask them about this.
 

Smokatoke

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Some newer posts on RedWeek I found via Google about this same subject reflect my same thoughts. Too good to be true and RCI does not allow rentals of exchanged properties.
 

tschwa2

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It is a scam. RCI rents directly out of the extra vacation inventory to service members through afvclub.com (a branch of Endless Vacations) for a lot less than $1100 per week.
 

RX8

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The scammers are simply evolving. This is the same scam as "you have ten getaways that we can rent out to corporations for you". Many people have posted it is against RCL (or II) rules to rent out getaways, let alone the fact that people simply don't have getaways that they do not know about. Likely because people are getting wise to that scam they have now changed their tune to to a new scheme, one that sounds good renting to military members, to try to separate you from your money.

Another way to know it is a scam? They claim you have to pay the $149 RCI fee but they will always make you pay THEM, not RCI.
 

richardm

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One of my readers reported the same scam a few weeks ago.. He stated that they appeared to have all of his information from his RCI account, so they are likely using a black market list.. In his specific case- he was told he could donate the unused weeks to servicemen by paying the exchange fees in advance.

It was not a rental pitch where he was promised money...
 

starrinc

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rewards for heroes + United in Discounts + RCI

I received a sales pitch to buy a minimum of five getaways on my RCI and pay
$149 - total $745 and then once rented by Rewards for Heroes, I was to receive a check for $1100.
What has anyone else heard about this?
 

vacationhopeful

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Got called by Laura at (855) 747 2527 Ext 2007 about renting my Extra Vacations via my Wyndham RCI account.

Told Laura, RENTING RCI EXCHANGES is NOT ALLOWED and as a member of U.N.C.L.E. subgroup T.U.G., I was required to post this on the T.U.G. internet site along with their phone number.

:wave: :hysterical:
 

starrinc

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United in discounts + rewards for Heroes + RCI endless getaways

Regarding the call to use your endless getaways to
'Help' the military, buy buying
5 getaways minimum for $149 each $745.
From 'united in discounts'
- call Rci first
While it looks and sounds like you are doing something
Great for the Heroes, this is news to
RCI.

Maybe it's legitimate but you would think
RCI would know about it, and it was news to them
When I called.
Conversation is pleasant but quickly becomes
Aggressive when you question them about
The program.
Additionally, Rci recommends changing your
User name and password to prevent phishing
As they have you check out
Rci.com/insideRCI
I love my Ownerships and dislike being taken
Advantage of!
Beware out there
 

Weimaraner

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I just received a call from these scammers. Surprised me since they called on my unlisted number which I have not provided to RCI (I use to trade my SDO with). It's a number I rarely give out. He knew I own SDO and asked if I belong to RCI or Interval. Could they be pulling info from title tranfers? Or obtaining from Starwood?
 
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devmrs

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Just received this email

Just received a "rental agreement" from Aura Consulting Services:

AURA CONSULTING TIMESHARE CONTRACT
Skyline Towers, 10900 N.E. 4th St. Suite 2300
Phone: (888) 588-AURA (888) 588-2872
Aura Consulting Services
Bellevue, Washington 98004
Fax: (888) 506-2872

It appears to be a REGUS Virtual Office. They claim to be sending me $12,000 for a rental. I'm checking with RCI to see if they actually received any money for these Getaway Weeks.

The phone number they gave me for any questions was just a message and entering the EXT. just replayed the message. I'm wondering how they plan to extract more money from me?
 

RX8

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Just received a "rental agreement" from Aura Consulting Services:

AURA CONSULTING TIMESHARE CONTRACT
Skyline Towers, 10900 N.E. 4th St. Suite 2300
Phone: (888) 588-AURA (888) 588-2872
Aura Consulting Services
Bellevue, Washington 98004
Fax: (888) 506-2872

It appears to be a REGUS Virtual Office. They claim to be sending me $12,000 for a rental. I'm checking with RCI to see if they actually received any money for these Getaway Weeks.

The phone number they gave me for any questions was just a message and entering the EXT. just replayed the message. I'm wondering how they plan to extract more money from me?

How did they get your info in the first place? And $12,000 for a rental??? :eek:

Scam. Their website was registered October 2013. Their name is the same as many other legit companies which scammers love to do to confuse their victims. The website registrant ID is from Bermuda. For good measure here is another website that has the same "About Us" page as Aura Consulting:

http://timeshareprofessionals(dot)net/aboutus.php
[Link obfuscated to avoid adding a link back from a legitimate site, which can improve their search engine placement. - mg]

The above website is located outside the US and appears to have been around awhile (website since 2006). Likely that Aura stole their website verbiage.

By the way, the original website in the OP's post (http://www.rewardsforheros.com/) is no longer working. Not surprising because the shelf like of scammer websites lasts only a few months then they move onto a new website.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

billybilbo

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I "became a member" of Rewards for Heroes in May of 2013.
This outfit is a part of United in Uniform (UIU)/United in Discounts, and I don't know how many other names purporting to help people in uniform or veterans with discounted rentals of any kind--cars, cruises, vacations. It seemed legitimate and they sent me a very expensive portfolio and even provided me with a membership card. When I went along with their rental program of my extra holiday vacations I had with RCI, I sent them $250 for each rental--a minimum of 5 they told me, so I sent $1250.

I did not know RCI's rental program, as I have very little to do with them; my points are with Wyndham.

After calling periodically for an update, they would provide names and addresses of people they were working with on my account, so I was somewhat appeased. I forgot about it for a while and when I called they kept me hopeful. Until recently--when I called and the person answered "United in Discounts." She told me Rewards for Heroes was out of business.

It was an expensive lesson for me, but perhaps others will gain from my experience.
 

pacodemountainside

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Once the heat gets unbearable they just fold their tent and reincarnate.

It is a sad fact they use seemingly legitimate names/causes to facilitate their scams.
 
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