Please walk me through an RCI Vacation ... Step by Step

[brial05]

Hello Everyone,

The title is dramatic, yes.

We own what I feel is the perfect unit for our family of three ....
Yearly: 4800 Platinum HGVC Las Vegas BLVD.

The yearly points for us are normally way more than enough with us staying in Vegas or Orlando many times over the past years.

What we have not yet done is successfully book and stay at anything RCI related.
I have an ongoing search, has been going on for more than a year for Disney on property at Magic Kingdom, it is never going to happen ... heck I think I've been there twice while this search was placed.
I'm not worried that this search has never 'hit' but it certainly proves that not every RCI Resort is attainable.
If I go search the Top RCI Resorts as a way to plan that seems to do me no good if I can never book them.

Right now I have 4800 points sitting in RCI ... they have been there forever.

What I would love is for recommendations as to exactly which RCI resorts are attainable for Hilton owners.

Orlando, FL
California - San Diego / Disney Area (Anaheim)

Timing is very flexible ... we do of course like the Summer and we do like the week of Thanksgiving.

 

[Panina]

Hello Everyone,

The title is dramatic, yes.

We own what I feel is the perfect unit for our family of three ....
Yearly: 4800 Platinum HGVC Las Vegas BLVD.

The yearly points for us are normally way more than enough with us staying in Vegas or Orlando many times over the past years.

What we have not yet done is successfully book and stay at anything RCI related.
I have an ongoing search, has been going on for more than a year for Disney on property at Magic Kingdom, it is never going to happen ... heck I think I've been there twice while this search was placed.
I'm not worried that this search has never 'hit' but it certainly proves that not every RCI Resort is attainable.
If I go search the Top RCI Resorts as a way to plan that seems to do me no good if I can never book them.

Right now I have 4800 points sitting in RCI ... they have been there forever.

What I would love is for recommendations as to exactly which RCI resorts are attainable for Hilton owners.

Orlando, FL
California - San Diego / Disney Area (Anaheim)

Timing is very flexible ... we do of course like the Summer and we do like the week of Thanksgiving.

If you would go to Disney’s Saratoga Resort, a bedroom, you should get a match. The ongoing search match only occurs for RCI weeks but many of the Disney weeks offered to hgvc members are RCI points. To get an RCI Point unit you must manually match, the ongoing search does not work. In order to get these weeks you need to log in and check often, at least daily to catch the inventory.

 

[hurnik]

You may be better off calling the #800 and having a club counselor assist you.
You didn't mention which resort your OGS is on, nor what date restrictions you put in place. For Disney resorts, it seems that you're only likely to get Disney's Saratoga, and a 1 BR at that. But it also depends on what dates you put in. If you put in the exact week of Thanksgiving I'd think it would be less likely than say if you put the 3 month range for summer. (Although even then it seems you'll need at LEAST 12 months in advance, and usually you'll need your OGS 24 months in advance to snag something at Disney). Also I think Disney recently instituted additional resort fees if you park and aren't a Disney owner.

As Panina pointed out, when you do a "search" in RCI it's only going to show the "leftovers"/excess inventory (although I'd think in Summer, you'd be able to find something). Basically anyone who has put an OGS in, and "hits" a match, that is taken out of inventory and doesn't show up.

I just went on an did a search for Orlando, for "summer" (May 1- August 31) and came up with a list of 15 resorts and 867 units currently available.

Are you searching with different criteria (ie, specific dates, specific unit sizes, etc.)?
Also note that for some reason the RCI portal through HGV does NOT work properly with:
Firefox
MS Edge (the default browser on Windows 10)
IE
I've only had it work reliably with Chrome.
I don't know about Safari.

For "step by step":
1) Login to HVC at https://club.hiltongrandvacations.com
2) Click the "Club Ownership" at the top and select the RCI and Resort Exchange from the pulldown.
3) scroll down and on the left is an item that says: RCI Exchange Reservations. Click it.
4) Then click the "Access your RCI Account"
5) It'll launch a new tab, click the checkbox to agree and continue
6) On the RCI page, select the RCI Exchange Reservations on the right-hand side at the top and it'll show a drop-down. Select the Exchange Vacations.
7) On the left-hand side, select Florida - Orlando Area and whatever other restrictions you want.

 

[Talent312]

You prolly already know this, but for the uninitiated..
Once you're in RCI, if you click the "RCI Exchange Reservation" tab, and then "Exchange Vacations," you'll land at a search engine with multiple parameters and permutations. Try not to be too specific, so as to work up a list of possibilities, and you can narrow it down by available dates and units at that point.

It may not turn up eggsactly what you want, but usually you can find something that'll work.
.

 

[brial05]

Everyone,

Thanks for the replies:
Here is what I did in RCI, it has been almost two years, based on your feedback it was truly never going to hit.

To be clear, I am not stuck on Disney, I was just under the impression that if you wanted an RCI resort that was not readily available, that this was the approach.

Search requested: 07/27/2017

Resorts:
Disney's Beach Club Villas
First Check in Date: 11/17/2018

Disney's Boardwalk Villas
First Check in Date: 11/17/2018

Boulder Ridge Villas At Disney's Wilderness Lodge
First Check in Date: 11/17/2018

Disney's Old Key West Resort
First Check in Date: 11/17/2018


Unit Request Details
Minimum Unit Size: Hotel
Sleeps: 03 Maximum Occupancy:/02 Private
Kitchen: Any

 

[alwysonvac]

These days Disney is only depositing one bedrooms at Saratoga Springs @wdw and occasionally at Old Key West. It’s best to be as flexible as possible with your travel dates.

See these threads
https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...-success-trading-you-hgvc-into-disney.269621/

https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/disney-world-hgvc-tuscany-or-disney-saratoga.281811/

 

[alwysonvac]

For Anaheim, you’ll have to select from the other non-Disney RCI resorts.
Definitely read the various reviews on TUG, TripAdvisor, Oyster, Yelp, etc.

Take a look at this thread - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...-suites-or-worldmark-or-dolphins-cove.268381/

Here’s the list (none of them are Gold Crown).

Dolphin's Cove Resort #4907
Anaheim, CA 92802, USA

Peacock Suites #4029
Anaheim, CA 92805, USA

Shell Vacations Club @ Peacock Suites Resort #DS21
Anaheim, CA 92805, USA

WorldMark Anaheim #A872
Anaheim, CA 92802, USA

WorldMark Dolphin's Cove #7602
Anaheim, CA 92802, USA

Wyndham Anaheim #C910
Anaheim, CA 92802, USA

​

 

[alwysonvac]

As a TUG Member you have access to the Sightings forum - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?forums/sightings-distressed.3/

You can search by using search terms such as “Saratoga” and “Anaheim” to see what has been previously sighted online in RCI.

Old RCI tips thread: https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/how-to-best-use-rci.259737/

Good Luck

 

[brial05]

Thanks again to everyone.

What I now know was wrong as I had tried in a 'pattern' of mine several times then ultimately just leaving it set Disney:

• Identify the resort I wanted ( by searching for the highest rated RCI resort )
• Placed an OGS
• 2 Bedroom
• Ridged Check In days ( even though I was flexible )

Based on your responses, the above was never going to 'hit' via an OGS.

Questions for all:
a.) If you were to stay in any random state would how far 'out of the way' would you go for a Gold Crown resort?
Would you stay an hour away from your target area of interest?

b.) Gold Crown vs. Trip Adviser; who wins?

 

[hurnik]

Thanks again to everyone.

What I now know was wrong as I had tried in a 'pattern' of mine several times then ultimately just leaving it set Disney:

• Identify the resort I wanted ( by searching for the highest rated RCI resort )
• Placed an OGS
• 2 Bedroom
• Ridged Check In days ( even though I was flexible )

Based on your responses, the above was never going to 'hit' via an OGS.

Questions for all:
a.) If you were to stay in any random state would how far 'out of the way' would you go for a Gold Crown resort?
Would you stay an hour away from your target area of interest?

b.) Gold Crown vs. Trip Adviser; who wins?

This is just me, obviously, but:
#1: I would not stay more than 20-30 minutes away. I don't want to spend all my time driving back and forth, and in some cases, don't want the extra expense of a rental car. I HAVE done it once, but that was for Hawaii, and we needed a rental anyway (Big Island) and our friends lived about 20 minutes away (but we had more people than their house would hold).

#2: I always check the TA reviews anyway. I think RCI now uses those instead of their own internal. I'm sure there are some decent silver crowns, but I don't think I've stayed in any of them. I've only done I think 3 or 4 RCI exchanges and all were Gold crown. I use the TA reviews more to decide which Gold Crown or whatever I would "really" like. But I also filter out anything "old" and screen out any reviewers with just one review as well.


If you're really having difficulty for your 4800 points ( assuming you deposited them into RCI, and they're going to expire soon), you could always use them to exchange back into Hilton I believe. There's a few restrictions/considerations (I can't remember what all they were).

Good luck!

 

[Tazzik]

Yeah, as others have said, any Disney resort outside of SSR is very unlikely to hit. However, there's several good resorts in RCI that you can set up ongoing searches for. The sightings board gives some good ideas of places that may be more desired, as do many other threads on Tug. Personally, I set up a different search for each area we are looking to vacation at. So, I'll have an ongoing Disney one, on the off chance something other than SSR hits (I can dream...), one with several Caribbean resorts I am interested in, and another for ski trips. I've also traded into Cancun through RCI before, and it was great. I usually start a search with very broad dates, just to get an idea of how often that resort shows up, and then get more specific as I get some hits.

 

[dougp26364]

Sorry, I know this isn't helpful but, with the title this is one came to mind:

Step 1: Deposit your valuable HGVC week with RCI
Step 2: Get a crappy exchange in return for your deposit
Step 3: Make a vow to never make that mistake again.

 

[hurnik]

Sorry, I know this isn't helpful but, with the title this is one came to mind:

Step 1: Deposit your valuable HGVC week with RCI
Step 2: Get a crappy exchange in return for your deposit
Step 3: Make a vow to never make that mistake again.

LOL!

It depends on what you're looking for. I've gotten the Grand Bliss in Nuevo Vallarta 2 BR for 4800 HGV points. I've also gotten a week at the Galleon in Key West for a 1BR at 3400 points. And you don't actually "deposit" your week with RCI. It just pulls the points from your HGV account when you book/confirm. Unless you've deposited (in order to extend the expiration) your HGV points.

Both are very nice resorts (Grand Bliss is way better than anything I've stayed at with Hilton).

Although your mileage may vary.

 

[kschafer81]

LOL!

It depends on what you're looking for. I've gotten the Grand Bliss in Nuevo Vallarta 2 BR for 4800 HGV points. I've also gotten a week at the Galleon in Key West for a 1BR at 3400 points. And you don't actually "deposit" your week with RCI. It just pulls the points from your HGV account when you book/confirm. Unless you've deposited (in order to extend the expiration) your HGV points.

Both are very nice resorts (Grand Bliss is way better than anything I've stayed at with Hilton).

Although your mileage may vary.

what time of year were you able to book at Galleon?

 

[hurnik]

what time of year were you able to book at Galleon?

I put the request in 18 months in advance and had a time frame of May - July (3 months) for acceptable check-in dates.
Unfortunately in November or thereabouts, I had to purchase the plane tickets, which significantly narrowed down my check-in to a specific week, July 4th of all things, and I got several hits though that weren't July 4th (one in May, one in June that was a 2BR I think) before finally getting lucky and getting the exact week I needed. I put down for a 1 BR or larger.

Sometimes there's a sighting for the Galleon as well, but it may be through II, I think, the last time I heard/saw.

Unfortunately I've got like 2 more years before I can book again due to the 1/4 (or is it 1/5 rule for RCI)?

Nice resort, just make sure to get a 1 BR or larger. Not the studios.

 

[brial05]

Everyone,

Thanks again, the responses have been great and as I noted before, re-adjusted my approach.

We are locked in this summer, California using our HGVC Points, and I now want to lock in my first RCI Vacation. I am very close thanks to everyone here!

RCI :
RCI Exchange Reservations / Exchange Vacations
Florida - Orlando Area
Check-In Date - November 24
Other - RCI Gold Crown

Easy and simple, 15 resorts returned .... here are the ones that meet our specific date requirements, I am doing my own homework, the reviews are certainly wild and vary drastically within the same resort.

Any suggestions/input would be greatly appreciated!!

The Berkley, Orlando (#DJ50)
Kissimmee, FL 34747, USA

The Fountains (#7605)
Orlando, FL 32821, USA

Holiday Inn Club Vacations At Orange Lake Resort - West Village (#0670)
Kissimmee, FL 34747, USA

Magic Tree Resort (#8461)
Kissimmee, FL 34747, USA

Silver Lake Resort (#2610)
Kissimmee, FL 34747, USA

Silver Lake Resort-Silver Points (#6815)
Kissimmee, FL 34747, USA

Summer Bay Orlando By Exploria Resorts (#3175)
Clermont, FL 34714, USA

Vacation Village at Parkway (#4940)
Kissimmee, FL 34747, USA