While I don't like the price hikes in the exchange fees over the past several years, especially since they have made very few improvements to the Web site and it's buggy as hell, I'm still getting a great value out of my RCI membership. My resort has high trading power, both in the weeks and points systems (I own an annual in points and an EOY odd week at the same resort) with a low MF. I can get 2-3 vacations out of each deposit, sometimes more with last-minute or off-season deals.
I hadn't originally planned to be a points owner, but when I bought my first TS, the previous owners had converted it into points and the reseller didn't even know until the previous year's usage was transferred to me (they gave us a free year, which got me a 2BR in Bavaria during Oktoberfest, a 2 BR in Sedona in June, and more than half the points needed for a studio in Honolulu over spring break). I was going to switch it back until I saw how much I could get out of my points membership, so I kept it that way, and the friend who told me about this resort gave me her EOY week.
Some resorts are cheaper in the points system, and others are cheaper in the weeks system. And some are only available in points. My husband and I are going to NYC, staying at the West 57th Grand Hilton, for four nights this September during the second week of the US Open (which is why we're going)....our total cost for the booking fee and value of the points? $310!! This place goes for $500 a night.
I also snagged a hard-to-get-into TS on the eastern side of Paris for the first week of the French Open next May. Our cost is less than $650 for the week, and I used slightly more than half my TPUs.
Personally, I'd love to own a Marriott because the properties are consistently fantastic, but the MFs go up quite a bit every year. I know enough people who own with Marriott that I can rent theirs for a particular property if they're so inclined. We're planning to move to Europe and RCI has a wide selection there. A lot of crappy ones, but a lot of great ones too. We wouldn't be able to afford to travel like we do if we couldn't exchange, and we're still saving a lot of money despite RCI's fees. The value can't be beat if you get a high trading power for a low MF. Of 4 rentals through Airbnb and 1 through HomeAway, only one was really great. Another was ok, one was barely acceptable, and two were horrible (one we left after one night; the other we couldn't, despite a psycho owner, because we were at a tennis tourney all day every day and had no time to move) (Yes, we travel a lot for tennis! LOL).
I always want to go somewhere new, so for now, RCI is working really well for me. I hate it when the booking fee is lost if you've canceled; we've had to suck that up once so far. That's BS. They should give at least a 50% credit toward your next booking.
At some point, I might prefer to go stay at one place every year, and if so, I'll buy at that resort (resale, of course!) and stop exchanging. It would certainly make travel planning easier. But for now, I'm loving it.
