I have been an RCI member since 1999, a tug member since 2002, and with the way the RCI searches were before "the Change" in mid Nov. I would do a search for the area I wanted, and my options came up. If there is never any availability for me at a resort, then I most likely would not have heard of it. Of the ones I had the option of exchanging into, I would go through the resort ratings and reviews on TUG, also on RCI, and decided if it was worth it to use my week there.
Previous to the option of an online search, when "the Call" would come offering me a resort that matched my ongoing request, I would do the same thing- Search THAT one resort through Tug ratings and reviews and RCI reviews. Only then I couldn't see if I had any other options and risked not getting any exchange for the place I wanted to go. If a place was never listed, or offered, then of course I'd never heard of it, and if it wasn't an option, why would I do any research on it??
Now, since the big change, I can do an online search, not just for what my deposit qualifies for, but by searching all units that fit the search, and find out what I need to get exactly what I want. Not just the place, but the unit size, and in some cases some resorts that were never an option to me. Not in a phone call, not in a search that my deposit matched in it's "band" if that's how it worked. My options have increased immensely. No more "hope and wait". And I can get change back if I trade down. To me, the pluses outweigh whatever minus' are out there (such as the fee to combine, but they are a business and their goal is to make money).
I now have the control to get exactly what I want from a timeshare exchange. That makes me happy that I didn't buy into Wyndham Points, or buy a timeshare in Hawaii (where I want to go most times) with huge maintenence fees. Which saved me LOTS of money. And if I can't get a place I want because it never comes up in RCI, then I have the choice to exchange with another company, rent my weeks, or buy where I want to stay.