RCI costs continue to astound...

[skimble]

Membership: 124
Exchange: 219
Extend trade value: 69
Platinum: 69
Vacation protection: 99

$570 to exchange.

I'm sure I missed some other costs.

 

[klpca]

I agree that RCI is expensive, especially compared to Interval. For starters, I never bother with the last three items on your list. (I did buy platinum this year to check it out - it's really no use to me so I won't be doing that again). Probably about every 5 trades, I cancel for one reason or another. $219 down the drain. On the other hand, we have the ability to stay in some pretty nice properties in Hawaii for under $1000 per week. That's the only reason that I keep my membership with them. That and I can get about two trades for every week that I deposit with them because they give our units a lot of TPU's. If I was only able to do straight across exchanges I would definitely use another exchange company.

 

[Passepartout]

This is exactly my point when I see the famous questionnaire for newbies that asks 'Do you want to stay more at a Home Resort, or trade around.' They invariably say that they want to travel all over. That one item is what makes timesharing most attractive. It's what developers stress, and have the big RCI or II wishbooks and models of resorts that people can exchange into. They just don't tell 'm that it can cost nearly as much as their MF to do it.

Jim

 

[bogey21]

Back when I got disillusioned with the "Big Boys" and sold out I did two things. First I bought 6 Fixed Week, Fixed Units at Independent HOA controlled Resorts I planned to visit each year and second, I bailed on RCI and II because of the ever increasing cost.

George

 

[DAman]

Plus the resort fees at certain resorts......

 

[missyrcrews]

Also consider....

The membership fee is the same no matter how many weeks you have enrolled with RCI. You pay per membership...not per week. I have 4 weeks, so the "per week" cost isn't too bad.

The platinum fee gets me 10% off extra vacations and last calls. For our household, we make the fee up in discounts...we tend to purchase several of those two kinds of vacations/year.

I've never needed to extend my TPU's...we plan to use them up before they expire.

I actually love my RCI membership. As with most other things, it isn't for everyone. But it's worked great for us for 15 years!

 

[Timeshare Von]

RCI is OK . . . but not as good as it used to be . . . but is anything?

Back when I bought my very first TS in the early 1980's, if you deposited into RCI and they didn't have anyone exchange for your deposited week, you got it back to use yourself. I think that was at about 10-14 days out from your scheduled week.

For me, living in NoVA and the resort being in the Poconos, it was feasible to do . . . and I did get a week back once to use in addition to the exchange already taken/used.

As a Wyndham points contract owner today, the price of RCI membership is bundled into my MF and I really don't see it since we pay Wyndham monthly. I don't use RCI much but when I have, it's been a nice convenience.

Unfortunately, Wyndham doesn't give you an option to have or not have RCI . . . go figure. LOL That probably bothers me more than the cost itself.

 

[VegasBella]

Membership: 124
Exchange: 219
Extend trade value: 69
Platinum: 69
Vacation protection: 99

$570 to exchange.

I'm sure I missed some other costs.

I don't pay those last three fees.

One you missed is the guest certificate if it's not going to be you to check-in.

For now, I think I get a pretty good value from RCI. I am using it mostly for extra vacations. I book something for myself or my family often enough that it seems worth it. Of course, I can't compare to II or other exchange systems because I haven't really used those much.

 

[Egret1986]

Yep, that was a feature I remember from the 80's. I've been a member since 1984.

RCI is OK . . . but not as good as it used to be . . . but is anything?

Back when I bought my very first TS in the early 1980's, if you deposited into RCI and they didn't have anyone exchange for your deposited week, you got it back to use yourself. I think that was at about 10-14 days out from your scheduled week.

I don't use RCI much but when I have, it's been a nice convenience.

I use it when I can't rent my weeks. RCI has made it convenient with their newest feature for $69. If you deposit as little as 15 days from check-in, you can get your full trade power back. I wouldn't use that for a low TPU week, but it does provide value for high TPU weeks that can't be used or rented.

As missycrews stated if you have several weeks, it defrays the annual costs. My Mom only had one timeshare and kept an ongoing RCI account. She sold the timeshare last year, but still had two banked weeks. I told her to forget about those weeks. She can't really travel and trying to find exchanges that can accommodate her aren't happening. So she's continuing the annual membership and will pay the high exchange fee attempting to use weeks that will probably not work out. The costs far outweigh what she can even hope to get. I've offered to let her use my weeks at great rates, which are where she would like to go. However, she has banked weeks with RCI and wants to use those.

To the OP; yes, the costs have gotten ridiculous.

As Jim said, the fees can be as much as some maintenance fees. It's just not cost effective for the casual exchanger for sure.

I work the system to the best of my ability as the system changes. I've gotten fantastic exchanges over the years.

However, my timesharing is taking a new direction and one day in the future I hope to be like bogey21.

 

[LynnW]

I remember that Platinum members used to get a discount on guest certificates but I don't see that as a benefit anymore. Does anyone know? Also has anyone tried to call the resort and ask if a guest certificate is required for family members checking in?

Lynn

 

[dougp26364]

We dropped RCI a long time ago because of the costs associated with exchanging. I.I. has kept it reasonable but, we've used them a lot less than in the past. We're down to 1 or 2 external exchanges per year. As it stands now it looks as if one year it will be one exchange and the next year two exchanges. The ONLY reason for using I.I. at this moment is there are a few resorts within driving distance that allow us to bring our dogs. Brining out dogs is less expensive than boarding them, even with the I.I. exchange fee and resort pet fee's. If/when that benefit disappears, so will our interest in I.I.

I will say that as new owners way back in 1998, exchanging was a huge part of our travel plans. As the years have gone on and we've seen many of the places we wanted to see, our needs have changed. I believe there's still a strong need for both RCI and I.I., it's just they don't fit our needs the same way for travel anymore.

 

[ronparise]

So back to the old tried and true advice

Buy what you intend on using yourself. I find with the over one hundred resorts in club Wyndham and Worldmark that I own, I don't need RCI

 

[presley]

Skimble, look into SFX for future trading. I have heard that even GPX will accept some of their owners other weeks for trading, too.

 

[bellesgirl]

I remember that Platinum members used to get a discount on guest certificates but I don't see that as a benefit anymore. Does anyone know? Also has anyone tried to call the resort and ask if a guest certificate is required for family members checking in?

Lynn

Platinum no longer gets a rebate on GC, but you get savings dollars instead, which are pretty useless, IMO. I do call the resort to see if I need a GC and in many cases I do not. A few times, the resort has just changed the name on the reservation, especially if it is family member. Sometimes a letter will suffice.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

We pretty much dropped out of RCI quite a few years ago. A good part of it was the cost of exchanging. When we first got involved we got RCI membership for $59 per year, and domestic exchanges were $79. A few years later costs had nearly doubled.

We decided it was much easier to give the join a mini-system that had resorts in places we wanted to visit, essentially swapping the RCI membership fee for the added cost of membership in the mini. But with the mini it's far easier to get what we want and make travel plans, instead of hoping for an exchange. Plus, being a member of the mini gets us a free membership in an exchange company, and with greater trade power than we had as individual members.

We occasionally use an exchange company, when we need to fill out a vacation of when we have expiring mini-points that we need to burn.

 

[bnoble]

I must be one of the few who still sees good value in RCI. Granted, I've got a couple of different currencies to spend---both TPU and Wyndham points---and my membership is already paid for through my Wyndham MFs whether I like it or not. But, we've had some lovely stays through RCI that have been very cost-effective over the years, and those continue to this day. Just next month we'll spend a week in a 3BR Penthouse at HGVC's Lagoon Tower and the week after at HGVC's Kings Land in a 2BR.

 

[Steve]

Like many others, I have dropped RCI completely. It just got too expensive for what I got out of it. I also use II much less than I used to, and I may not renew when my membership expires next year.

I have decided...after having owned, exchanged, and stayed in dozens of timeshares...that it now makes sense to own only where I consistently like to vacation or in a mini system. When I want to go other places, I'll either rent a timeshare or stay in a hotel. Cash is the ultimate points system.

Also, as Doug mentioned, I like to take my dog on vacation with me. The fact that so few timeshares allow pets has tipped the scales away from timeshare exchanges for me. I'd rather stay in a hotel with my dog than in a timeshare without her.

Steve

 

[WinniWoman]

This is exactly my point when I see the famous questionnaire for newbies that asks 'Do you want to stay more at a Home Resort, or trade around.' They invariably say that they want to travel all over. That one item is what makes timesharing most attractive. It's what developers stress, and have the big RCI or II wishbooks and models of resorts that people can exchange into. They just don't tell 'm that it can cost nearly as much as their MF to do it.

Jim

Agree. To me, it just doesn't make sense (financially) to buy a timeshare to just exchange, although I realize there are exceptions. Having a home resort you can drive to and use each year is the best bet. Also so not to be beholden to airfare. Just rent. We always use our home resorts and rent when we want to go elsewhere. We eventually ended our RCI membership. For the rare occasions that we want to exchange, we utilize the free memberships in the independent exchange companies.

 

[WinniWoman]

The membership fee is the same no matter how many weeks you have enrolled with RCI. You pay per membership...not per week. I have 4 weeks, so the "per week" cost isn't too bad.

The platinum fee gets me 10% off extra vacations and last calls. For our household, we make the fee up in discounts...we tend to purchase several of those two kinds of vacations/year.

I've never needed to extend my TPU's...we plan to use them up before they expire.

I actually love my RCI membership. As with most other things, it isn't for everyone. But it's worked great for us for 15 years!

I agree the membership fee could be worth it just for those extra vacations for sure. And then there is this:


https://www.resortcerts.com/about_us

 

[WinniWoman]

We dropped RCI a long time ago because of the costs associated with exchanging. I.I. has kept it reasonable but, we've used them a lot less than in the past. We're down to 1 or 2 external exchanges per year. As it stands now it looks as if one year it will be one exchange and the next year two exchanges. The ONLY reason for using I.I. at this moment is there are a few resorts within driving distance that allow us to bring our dogs. Brining out dogs is less expensive than boarding them, even with the I.I. exchange fee and resort pet fee's. If/when that benefit disappears, so will our interest in I.I.

I will say that as new owners way back in 1998, exchanging was a huge part of our travel plans. As the years have gone on and we've seen many of the places we wanted to see, our needs have changed. I believe there's still a strong need for both RCI and I.I., it's just they don't fit our needs the same way for travel anymore.

I can relate. RCI was great for us back in the day when our son was in school and we had a floating week ("attached" to our prime summer fixed week) that always fell during school time. The fees were low then so we were lucky and it was with that off-season week that we traveled around the country. We still used our fixed week at our home resort then. Now we use both the fixed and floating week at our home resort except in rare occasions.

Now, it isn't worth it for us to exchange between the fees, cost of flying, etc. We just rent occasionally when we want to go somewhere else and make the decision whether or not we want to fly, but at least aren't forced to.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

Wow, So Happy I'm with II.

Membership: 124
Exchange: 219
Extend trade value: 69
Platinum: 69
Vacation protection: 99

$570 to exchange.

I'm sure I missed some other costs.

 

[dougp26364]

So back to the old tried and true advice

Buy what you intend on using yourself. I find with the over one hundred resorts in club Wyndham and Worldmark that I own, I don't need RCI

There was one week associated with I.I. we bought that we really weren't going to use for personal use. In the 7 years we owned it we stayed there exactly once, and that was just to see what we owned (curiosity got the best of me). It was the first week we got rid of when we decided to downsize.

It was still a good value when we got rid of it with a MF of $360, and it would trade into more expensive resorts easily. So even paying $90/year in I.I. membership fee's and $179 in exchange fee's was a bargain. We often exchanged into resorts where the MF's would have been $700 to $1,200.

Now if this resort had been associated with RCI we'd never have purchased. With RCI's membership fee's and exchange fee's, I don't think I could have validated owning it just to exchange.

 

[bellesgirl]

I agree the membership fee could be worth it just for those extra vacations for sure. And then there is this:


https://www.resortcerts.com/about_us

I have never seen these before, but I am not sure how it differs from Extra Vacations. Seems to be a subset of EV. What am I missing?

 

[dougp26364]

We pretty much dropped out of RCI quite a few years ago. A good part of it was the cost of exchanging. When we first got involved we got RCI membership for $59 per year, and domestic exchanges were $79. A few years later costs had nearly doubled.

We decided it was much easier to give the join a mini-system that had resorts in places we wanted to visit, essentially swapping the RCI membership fee for the added cost of membership in the mini. But with the mini it's far easier to get what we want and make travel plans, instead of hoping for an exchange. Plus, being a member of the mini gets us a free membership in an exchange company, and with greater trade power than we had as individual members.

We occasionally use an exchange company, when we need to fill out a vacation of when we have expiring mini-points that we need to burn.

The modern version of own-where-you-want-to-go but, modified to own within the system that gets you to the destinations you desire most. Three of our 5 remaining timeshares are in systems we like the best. The two that aren't are EOY usage in resorts we enjoy staying at and have never exchanged, unless you count exchanging back into the same resort for a larger unit.

 

[krj9999]

Not sure where you are seeing $124 for membership.

I currently see $99 for renewal for 1 year; and a 3-year renewal is $83/year.

Don't forget the "combine" fee, which in and of itself is a positive but as that cost goes higher becomes less of a value as well.

Yes fees are going higher; but the bigger challenge for me is TPU adjustments. Some are likely justified, but others I don't think are.

And in some (many?) cases, it's now less costly to book an extra vacation than to deposit and exchange.