I was able to get two of my weeks back from RCI. Happened sometime in the night!

I am so excited to get our two prime summer Foxrun weeks back from RCI, so I can deposit them into II, where I can actually get a 2 bedroom Marriott week in Orlando. Sure, I could see Gold Crowns in RCI, lots of 2 bedrooms, but the 1-in-4 rules will keep me from those exchanges for a LONG time. We go to Orlando six-eight weeks per year. We use up our 1-in-4 very quickly, and I couldn't pull 2 bedrooms in Disney anymore, even though my weeks could now see 1 bedrooms at Saratoga Springs (big deal!!! ).

Great News!

Congradulations Cindy,

Will you still be hosting the RCI Trade test on Friday or are you now done with RCI?

That is great. We are going the week of Thanksgiving and the week after. Do you have any suggestions on things just my wife and I should do? The second week it will be just us, the kids and grandkids will have gone home after the first week.

Goofyhobbie said:

Congradulations Cindy,

Will you still be hosting the RCI Trade test on Friday or are you now done with RCI?

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I still have three weeks to use for the trade test. I will be there on Friday, posting my results.

On the correct path. Own to use. System or week - but use it don't trade it

rickandcindy23 said:

I am so excited to get our two prime summer Foxrun weeks back from RCI, so I can deposit them into II, where I can actually get a 2 bedroom Marriott week in Orlando. Sure, I could see Gold Crowns in RCI, lots of 2 bedrooms, but the 1-in-4 rules will keep me from those exchanges for a LONG time. We go to Orlando six-eight weeks per year. We use up our 1-in-4 very quickly, and I couldn't pull 2 bedrooms in Disney anymore, even though my weeks could now see 1 bedrooms at Saratoga Springs (big deal!!! ).

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Cindy - I think your stated plan to convert to "own to use" is the best bet in the long run. I've found that, and just the occasional non-pressured use of a trade, to be the very best type of timeshare ownership. You already have the source for multiple locations/quick trades from Wyndham so if you clean up your other weeks for use rather than trade you can say goodbye to the uncertainties and hassles of exchange once and for all.

rickandcindy23 said:

I am so excited to get our two prime summer Foxrun weeks back from RCI, so I can deposit them into II, where I can actually get a 2 bedroom Marriott week in Orlando. Sure, I could see Gold Crowns in RCI, lots of 2 bedrooms, but the 1-in-4 rules will keep me from those exchanges for a LONG time. We go to Orlando six-eight weeks per year. We use up our 1-in-4 very quickly, and I couldn't pull 2 bedrooms in Disney anymore, even though my weeks could now see 1 bedrooms at Saratoga Springs (big deal!!! ).

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I am curious, why wouldn't you just buy 6 or 8 floating annual weeks in Orlando at resorts you like rather than try to trade into Orlando every year? They are selling really cheap on e-bay and that would solve all of your problems with exchanging and 1 in 4 rules. If you just bought one week at HGVC, one at Sheraton, one at Orange Lake, and one at DVC you would never have any more trouble when you did decide to exchange since the one in four rule doesn't apply to owners. Plus it is easier to book the specific week you want every year as an owner than it is to exchange for the exact week you want at the exact resort you want through RCI or II.

tombo said:

I am curious, why wouldn't you just buy 6 or 8 floating annual weeks in Orlando at resorts you like rather than try to trade into Orlando every year? They are selling really cheap on e-bay and that would solve all of your problems with exchanging and 1 in 4 rules. If you just bought one week at HGVC, one at Sheraton, one at Orange Lake, and one at DVC you would never have any more trouble when you did decide to exchange since the one in four rule doesn't apply to owners. Plus it is easier to book the specific week you want every year as an owner than it is to exchange for the exact week you want at the exact resort you want through RCI or II.

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We own Wyndham points and can go to Star Island, Cypress Palms or Bonnet Creek whenever we want. BUT I prefer exchanging my weeks for the guaranteed Marriotts in Orlando through II. I can get any week for now (until Marriott moves inventory from II for their own exchange co.), and it's been that way for the ten years I have been using the II website. I can get Sheraton Vistana Villages through II very easily through exchange, and no 1-in-4. It's still cheaper than owning Marriott or Vistana Villages. I cannot justify the price tag of buying either, with exchanges so easy.

There are too many nice resorts through II, so I see no reason to exchange through RCI anymore. Of course, RCI points are different. I am loving points more and more all the time. I wonder how RCI will ruin that? :rofl:

I cannot buy where we want to go for everything. I will need exchanges for some areas for sure. Hopefully, RCI points will fill in the gaps that II cannot.

rickandcindy23 said:

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There are too many nice resorts through II, so I see no reason to exchange through RCI anymore. Of course, RCI points are different. I am loving points more and more all the time. I wonder how RCI will ruin that? :rofl:

I cannot buy where we want to go for everything. I will need exchanges for some areas for sure. Hopefully, RCI points will fill in the gaps that II cannot.

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I have yet to take the RCI points plunge, but the more happy points owners I see here, the more I am considering buying a cheap points resort on e-bay to get my foot in the door. Is it really that much better than RCI weeks with regards to availability, ease of use, and flexibility?

tombo said:

I have yet to take the RCI points plunge, but the more happy points owners I see here, the more I am considering buying a cheap points resort on e-bay to get my foot in the door. Is it really that much better than RCI weeks with regards to availability, ease of use, and flexibility?

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You should contact bill_riney@yahoo.com about the 3-year points lease. That way, you can choose whether or not to stay with it after the 3 years. It's just $99 to sign up again. Of course that isn't the only cost, but it is much cheaper than buying, and the cost per point is less than most. The resort is in the desert of California.

We have a friend who bought RCI Points in Orlando and cannot get a DVC resort with the points. Don't limit yourself in that way. That regional block is really a rotten thing for RCI to do, in my opinion. RCI makes up the rules as they go along.

rickandcindy23 said:

RCI makes up the rules as they go along.

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The regional block is almost certainly DVC's doing. Yes, RCI went a long with it, but still.

bnoble said:

The regional block is almost certainly DVC's doing. Yes, RCI went a long with it, but still.

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You know, Brian, I wonder about that all the time. For example, and this is a good example, why is it that when you exchange through another company into the RCI 1-in-4 resorts, like Hilton, do those rules not apply?

If Hilton truly wants new meat in the sales center, then they should tell other exchange companies to please honor their 1-in-4.

This is the same with the Mayans, which have kept our daughter's in-laws from going back for the last few years. They miss the Mayan and tried others, but they are sorely disappointed about RCI. I told them about SFX, and they are ready to buy a timeshare, just to trade into the Mayans. Even though I am not SFX's best fan, I think this is a good plan for them. They don't even travel to Mexico at Prime Time; they love Mexico in the fall, preferably November.

Remember that RCI's real customers are the resort developers. And, the developers are the ones who benefit from such rules, not RCI. RCI actually loses, because it reduces the set of possible successful exchanges. Manhattan Club doesn't have a 1-in-4 because RCI suddenly decided more people should have an opportunity to go there.

How does the 3 year point lease plan work? How much do the points cost?

itchyfeet said:

How does the 3 year point lease plan work? How much do the points cost?

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I don't know the specifics, but I looked into it a year ago, because I was hoping to sell some weeks to get more points. Unfortunately, selling timeshare weeks is much harder than it used to be, and I haven't seen my way clear to get more points.

If I remember right, the price was a little bit less than 1 cent per point. It seemed that the bigger packages were less $ per pt.

I like the option of trying it for 3 years. If you don't like it, easy breezy, all you have to do is let it go. The resort charges $99 for another three-year lease, and you just pay the MF's to get your points each year. Of course, RCI Points membership is slightly more than weeks, but it includes a weeks account. I had a weeks account already, so they tied my old account into my RCI Points account. Now I just pay for the points account for 3 years, and my weeks account is included.

My points are through Australia and used to be an excellent value, but not any more. They are right around .009 per point, compared to the .0068 they were a few short years ago. It's the value of the American dollar that affects our cost on those points. The U.S. dollar is very weak against foreign currencies right now.