Is Timeshare right for us?

[shorts Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shorts]

Another thing you might take into consideration when trying to decide between buying or renting timeshares is your committment to taking vacations. When you own the timeshare and have already paid the maitenance fees, you feel obligated to take that vacation.

When it comes to renting a vacation it might be easier to just stay at home and use the money for something else you need at the time more than you think you need the trip.

Many people have said they never took regular vacations until they became timeshare owners. JMHO

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Valience:

Back to your OP, and questions about RCI Points, I don't see from your wording that you understand that there is a fee for everything you do in RCI that they are not points that are simply interchangeable or useable throughout 4000 resorts.

RCI Points is, in essence, just another way to exchange, or do other business, for which there is a fee. Here are some of the fees:

SUBSCRIBING MEMBERSHIP AND
TRANSACTION FEES. Network Dues and
Subscription Fees (“Network Dues”) are payable to
the Network each Use Year. The Network Dues
effective as of July 1, 2011 are:
1 year: $124 USD
2 years: $229 USD
3 years: $319.02 USD
4 years: $409 USD
5 years: $499 USD

Each time a Member makes a transaction, a
transaction fee is charged. Transactions include but
are not limited to making a Reservation, canceling a
Reservation, saving RCI Points, or making an
External Exchange Reservation.

Effective as of July 1, 2011 the ranges of transaction fees are as follows:
Reserving Member’s own Vacation Time for 7 nights only: No Charge

Home Resort Priority Reservation for 7 nights only:
Online: $40 USD
Call Center: $50 USD

Reserving Vacation Time other than Member’s own Vacation Time or Home Resort Priority
Reservation:
Call Center/ Online
For 7 nights or more $149 USD $139 USD
6 nights $129 USD $119 USD
5 nights $119 USD $109 USD
4 nights $109 USD $99 USD
3 nights $89 USD $79 USD

Here are all the details of the program (212 pages of easy reading ):

http://www.rci.com/CDA/Common/Docume...uidePoints.pdf

So, for a one week vacation other than the week you own where you own, first, it would have to be available through RCI. Then, it would cost:

***What you pay your resort in annual fees. (here's a thread on fees: http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...es-2012-a.html) Also, you will be legally obligated to pay Special Assessments. There currently is a thread discussing a $6000 per week per owner special assessment at a resort).

***RCI Subscription, $124

***$139 or $149, depending on whether you book it online or by phone.

[pnappleprincess Member Find all posts View Profile Close pnappleprincess]

When you decide...

@valience

Don't forget to come back and let us know what decision you made!