How to Spend TPUs Fast

[dvansoye]

Hi Everyone,
My mom and dad have two weeks at a timeshare near San Diego. Their weeks are 31 and 34. These are solid weeks worth 41 TPUs (Trading Power Units) each. My mom and dad have 236 TPUs with an additional 2 weeks available to deposit (in 2019). They also have $1437 Savings Dollars Balance.

My mom and dad are getting up in years and have hinted that they need to get rid of their weeks. They aren't able to travel much anymore and the fees are too expensive for them.

We have reviewed the resorts available on RCI. So far, we haven't seen much to convince us that a timeshare is for us. What we are really looking for is a way to help my folks get out from under these payments but in a smart way. I hope that makes sense.

Questions:
1. We have a confirmed week (already have performed the exchange have a confirmation for Hawaii). If we sell our weeks at Winner's Circle, will we lose our confirmed RCI week in Hawaii?
2. As I mentioned, my mom and dad have 236 TPUs (banked weeks). If we sell our weeks at Winner's Circle, will we lose these RCI TPUs in the bank?
3. Is there anyway we can convert the 236 TPUs into airfare or car rental or cash? I have taken a look at it, but, I thinking I need points not TPUs. What are my options for trading TPU for something other than weeks at another resort? Of course, cash would go to my folks.
4. Is there a way to hack this somehow? I mean, does anyone have advice on how they maximize the value of their banked weeks? Said another way, if you were challenged to spend 236 TPUs fast, how would you go about it?

Thanks everyone!
Darren

 

[jlp879]

Hi there,

Your 236 TPUs is a lot to use, but if you want to use up your TPUs, try these suggestions.

Try to reserve high demand weeks with those TPUs and then rent them. RCI TPUs can pull Disney and Hilton timeshares. Note that this is not within RCI exchange rules, but if you were doing this for friends or family, it might not get noticed.

Did you ever want a big family reunion somewhere? Now may be your chance to book 5 timeshares for your family to get together.

There is no way to convert TPUs to car rentals, airfare or cash.

I don't know about the rules about having banked TPUs and selling but I think RCI may allow you to transfer TPUs to the new owner's account should you sell Winner's Circle and that new owner opens a RCI account. It looks like Winner's Circle is a dually affiliated resort. They trade in both RCI and II.

 

[VacationForever]

Note that renting of RCI exchanges is a serious violation of their rules. It is not something to advise others to do. Your parents' account can get locked, exchanges get cancelled and "guests" who show up will be without a reservation. The consequence can be dire.

As long as the RCI account is not a corporate account, i.e., something that does not come with the timeshare, everything that is in the RCI account remains even after the timeshare is sold. If it is a corporate account, then everything will be gone.

 

[jlp879]

Here is an old thread that may be helpful:

https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/how-to-gift-rci-tpus.238371/

 

[crashemt]

Note that renting of RCI exchanges is a serious violation of their rules.

Funny, because this is EXACTLY what the sales people at my resorts sold to me. Time share sales people are sure lucky the laws in teh several states makes it legal to rip off their customers, and illegal to shoot them.

 

[VacationForever]

Funny, because this is EXACTLY what the sales people at my resorts sold to me. Time share sales people are sure lucky the laws in teh several states makes it legal to rip off their customers, and illegal to shoot them.

.... and your point? Renting exchanges is prohibited by the exchange companies. Selling and buying timeshare is a legal activity in all states. The contracts are mostly iron clad, with a short recission period. Once in a while there is a whistle blower within the sales organization that gets the company in trouble. Buyers rarely can make a case against the developer and win in court.

 

[crashemt]

.... and your point? Renting exchanges is prohibited by the exchange companies. Selling and buying timeshare is a legal activity in all states. The contracts are mostly iron clad, with a short recission period. Once in a while there is a whistle blower within the sales organization that gets the company in trouble. Buyers rarely can make a case against the developer and win in court.

My point is that it is funny that timeshare sales people are allowed to lie in sales. If I did that in my job, I would be fired and face some very severe legal problems, including potential criminal charges for false claims.

My point is that sales people are selling people on points of sale which by contract would cause those who purchase to be in breech if they did the actions the sales people said were ok, and the sales people face no legal or financial repercussions.

My point is that just because something is not covered by law, it's not legal. It's just not yet illegal. But it is unethical, immoral, and bad form. And it should be illegal. Defrauding customers, telling them they are allowed to do things they can't, promising value where no value exists, and entrapping people in the only remaining binding perpetual contracts still in existence should all force timeshares sales people and managers in to countless years of prison. Taking $25,000 from someone for no return in a business transaction would cause every other business person in America to face felony Grand Theft or Fraud charges. Why not time share companies?

 

[rhonda]

Did you ever want a big family reunion somewhere? Now may be your chance to book 5 timeshares for your family to get together.

I love this idea!

 

[klpca]

Hi Everyone,
My mom and dad have two weeks at a timeshare near San Diego. Their weeks are 31 and 34. These are solid weeks worth 41 TPUs (Trading Power Units) each.
Thanks everyone!
Darren

I snipped to make the answers easier to read. See my replies in blue. Good luck to you.

My mom and dad have 236 TPUs with an additional 2 weeks available to deposit (in 2019). They also have $1437 Savings Dollars Balance. I would try to sell now to avoid paying the 2018 maintenance fees (although it may already be a bit late for 2018). Then the 2019 TPu's won't be in play.

My mom and dad are getting up in years and have hinted that they need to get rid of their weeks. They aren't able to travel much anymore and the fees are too expensive for them.

We have reviewed the resorts available on RCI. So far, we haven't seen much to convince us that a timeshare is for us. What we are really looking for is a way to help my folks get out from under these payments but in a smart way. I hope that makes sense. I assume that they own the weeks free and clear and that there aren't any loans outstanding?

Questions:
1. We have a confirmed week (already have performed the exchange have a confirmation for Hawaii). If we sell our weeks at Winner's Circle, will we lose our confirmed RCI week in Hawaii? Don't tell RCI that you sold. They don't/won't know unless you tell them. You will need to pay annual membership fees as long as the TPU's have not expired.

2. As I mentioned, my mom and dad have 236 TPUs (banked weeks). If we sell our weeks at Winner's Circle, will we lose these RCI TPUs in the bank? Don't tell RCI that you sold. They don't/won't know unless you tell them. You will need to pay annual membership fees as long as the TPU's have not expired.

3. Is there anyway we can convert the 236 TPUs into airfare or car rental or cash? I have taken a look at it, but, I thinking I need points not TPUs. What are my options for trading TPU for something other than weeks at another resort? Of course, cash would go to my folks. No idea about converting, other than that most people say it isn't worth it.

4. Is there a way to hack this somehow? I mean, does anyone have advice on how they maximize the value of their banked weeks? Said another way, if you were challenged to spend 236 TPUs fast, how would you go about it? You need to put in exchange requests instead of looking at what is available online. The nicer resorts don't ever show up in searchable inventory. To use up your TPU's, I personally (ymmv) would request any of the New York City resorts. The TPU requirements will use those up in a hurry. Other ideas would be the Hawaii Hilton resorts, especially the Honolulu ones, or the Hilton on Hilton Head Island. Hilton and Disney are the nicest US resorts. Where would you like to go and what time of year? With that many TPU's, you have a lot of options.

You also need to keep in mind that those TPU's will have expiration dates. Log into their account and see when these expire. You can extend that by two years by combining TPU's into one big bunch (currently this is offered through November. Usually it is only a 12 month extension). Of course it costs $$, but in your case, it's probably money well spent.

Time to get those timeshares sold if no one wants to use them. Here is the website for a local broker who may be able to help you: http://www.calresorts.com/SDTimeshare.html You can also check with the resort. They may just take them back as they are summer weeks, but they probably have some value so depending on your timeline, I would probably try to sell them for real $$. You can list them for free on TUG, or use Redweek.

 

[JudiZ]

We were in a similar situation a few years ago and the advice I got on TUG was to go to a nice resort near Disney at Christmastime. Inasmuch as it was beautiful and warm (we live in NH), the parks were insanely crowded. While we were going to an attraction on Disney property that required we go through the main gate and then exit - my husband was going to drive a Ferrari on a closed track - we sat in line for an hour. As we were sitting there, the company called and said the track was too wet for driving that day. We still had to stay in line and when we pulled up to the booth we were told that the parking lots were closed. It was about 9:30 a.m. and when we turned around to leave, we saw a line of people still waiting that was likely another hour long. Disney at Christmas is not for the faint of heart but it sure did burn through the TPUs.

Good luck with using/getting rid of your TPUs.

Best,
Judi Z

 

[VegasBella]

I disagree with klpca is the recommendation to use calresorts. I had a horrible experience with them where they did a bait and switch on me. You may want to simply contact the resort or VRI because I believe Winners Circle has an in-house resales department.

The other thing is about 'not telling RCI.' I sold a timeshare and kept the TPUs deposited from it in my account. However, I did tell RCI I had sold the resort and I added a different resort as my main resort on the account. I'm not sure if I had to have an ownership on the account or not but I suspect you don't. In the RCI help section on their website it explains that if you sell or transfer your ownership you can keep your account and unused deposits. https://www.rci.com/pre-rci-en_US/h...ens-to-my-unused-deposits.page?promo=Help51S1
You can confirm by asking an RCI representative. If you choose to keep quiet about selling the ownership that could create issues down the road for the new owner.

Ongoing requests will be the best way to get the most value from the TPUs and/or get the best/most desirable exchanges, but it's not going to be the fastest way to get rid of them. I think the fastest way is to simply transfer the account to someone else, most likely whoever buys the timeshare. Failing that, you can give them away by scheduling vacations for friends and family. You can even donate vacations for charity auctions. Those options would help you get rid of the TPUs quickly but won't get much physical/monetary value.

 

[vacationhopeful]

I did several weeks in Hawaii with TPUs and RCI exchanges. Worked great ... just setup several ongoing searches and try for Saturday checkin days at first. And decide HOW many weeks you will be staying during ANY one trip. 2 weeks were good; 3 weeks for me, was a BIT TOO MUCH. And it was my 2nd trip to the islands ... my first trip was not a timeshare trip but during the respite between being attack and the US/Allied response during the original Gulf War.

 

[ronparise]

i don’t understand why you have to do this fast

Unless you tell them, RCI doesn't know whether you own the weeks or not

Sell the weeks. (No more maintenance fees) And take your time using the TPU (be aware however the TPU have an expiration date)

 

[silentg]

We bought a timeshare from an owner, he had already rented the week that year, we bought it after the renter. Not a problem. We didn’t get any TPU left don’t think he used exchange.
Silentg

 

[melissy123]

Winner's Circle also trades in Interval International and does really well as a trader, especially the summer weeks. Just something to think about...

 

[HudsHut]

Hi Darren:
Welcome to TUG. Thank you for helping your parents with this problem.
Tell us about your family. Do you have children? Does your family want to go to Disneyworld or Hawaii? If so, that would be the fastest way to spend the 200+ TPUs. The Hiltons in Honolulu all cost in the 50s. Many of the Disney Vacation Club resorts cost in the 50s during holiday weeks.
Log in and begin an ongoing search. It costs $239, but is refundable if you don't get/confirm a match. Note that every exchange will cost $239. A few resorts have added fees. Therefore, you need to get the most bang for the buck, and select the highest end resorts.
I'll come back later and with the the resort codes for the Hiltons in Hawaii.
For Disneyworld, enter DV06, Saratoga Springs.
For Manhattan Club, New York City, enter 4064.
Select check-in dates that any of these might work for your family (or your siblings' family).

 

[MuranoJo]

I second the idea of a family reunion to burn off TPUs. I've done this twice, once booking 5 2 BD units, and another time booked 6 2 BD units. It's kind of tricky to pull off as you need to find the availability of course, but I've had good luck with ski resort areas in the summer.

 

[HudsHut]

Hi Darren:
RCI uses these codes for the Hilton resorts in Honolulu :
7977 Grand Waikikian
D401 Hokulani
7499 Kalia Tower
5996 Lagoon Tower
DB98 Grand Islander

 

[krj9999]

Also adding my comments below. Note, much of your post is more related to exchanging, than actually selling (focus of this forum). But either way, you need to come back and provide further insights into the situation.

Hi Everyone,
My mom and dad have two weeks at a timeshare near San Diego. Their weeks are 31 and 34. These are solid weeks worth 41 TPUs (Trading Power Units) each. My mom and dad have 236 TPUs with an additional 2 weeks available to deposit (in 2019). They also have $1437 Savings Dollars Balance. [I'M ASSUMING THAT 2018 USE IS ALREADY SPOKEN FOR, AND WERE DEPOSITED IN RCI ALREADY. BUT WOULD SUGGEST NOT DOING ANYTHING WITH THE 2019 WEEKS AT PRESENT. SO, EVEN IF YOU LOOK TO SELL THESE IMMEDIATELY, YOU'LL LIKELY END UP PAYING FOR 2018 MFs SINCE THE NEW OWNER WON'T HAVE USE IN 2018 (OR MAY NEED TO REDUCE SELLING PRICE). BUT FORTUNATELY, THESE ARE HIGHER DEMAND WEEKS AND SHOULD BE EASIER TO SELL THAN SOME OTHER WEEKS WOULD. NOT INDICATED WAS THE SIZE OF THE WEEKS OWNED.]

My mom and dad are getting up in years and have hinted that they need to get rid of their weeks. They aren't able to travel much anymore and the fees are too expensive for them. [ARE THE WEEKS OWNED FREE AND CLEAR?]

We have reviewed the resorts available on RCI. So far, we haven't seen much to convince us that a timeshare is for us. What we are really looking for is a way to help my folks get out from under these payments but in a smart way. I hope that makes sense. [I ASSUME YOU ARE INDICATING YOU ARE NOT CONVINCED YOU WOULD WANT TO TRANSFER OWNERSHIP FROM YOUR PARENTS TO YOURSELF (AND USE TO TRADE IN RCI). AS OTHERS INDICATED, WINNER'S CIRCLE ALSO TRADES IN INTERVAL INTERNATIONAL, AND YOU CAN REVIEW THE RESORT DIRECTORY AT THEIR WEBSITE.]

Questions:
1. We have a confirmed week (already have performed the exchange have a confirmation for Hawaii). If we sell our weeks at Winner's Circle, will we lose our confirmed RCI week in Hawaii?
2. As I mentioned, my mom and dad have 236 TPUs (banked weeks). If we sell our weeks at Winner's Circle, will we lose these RCI TPUs in the bank?
3. Is there anyway we can convert the 236 TPUs into airfare or car rental or cash? I have taken a look at it, but, I thinking I need points not TPUs. What are my options for trading TPU for something other than weeks at another resort? Of course, cash would go to my folks.
4. Is there a way to hack this somehow? I mean, does anyone have advice on how they maximize the value of their banked weeks? Said another way, if you were challenged to spend 236 TPUs fast, how would you go about it? [SEVERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT WHEN DOES YOUR PARENT'S RCI ACCOUNT NEED TO BE RENEWED, WHEN DO THE CURRENT DEPOSITS EXPIRE (AND/OR WHETHER SOME MAY HAVE ALREADY BEEN COMBINED), HOW MANY WEEKS YOU AND YOUR PARENTS CAN TRAVEL, WHERE YOU HAVE INTEREST IN TRAVELLING TO, HOW MUCH YOU EXPECT TO PAY TO TRAVEL, ETC. I WOULD VIEW EVERYTHING PREVIOUSLY SPENT AS A SUNK COST; IT'S JUST A QUESTION OF HOW MUCH RETURN/VALUE YOU CAN GET FROM WHAT YOU HAVE BANKED VERSUS ADDITIONAL MEMBERSHIP, EXCHANGE, AND COMBINE/EXTEND FEES - BUT WE HAVE INSUFFICIENT INSIGHT ON HOW TO OPTIMIZE FOR YOU - AND OVER WHAT TIMEFRAME.]

Thanks everyone!
Darren