Least Expensive Way To Utilize RCI or II

[jbobwms Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jbobwms]

I am totally new to timeshare scene. We have used vacation certificates to stay in certain units off season. What would be the best way to be able to join RCI to take advantage of extra weeks, sales, specials etc ? We will be traveling extensively and would like to have extended stays. Would I buy a cheap resale with low maint fee and deposit the unit? How long would we have to wait, before buying extra weeks? Please tell me where to get this info and opinions on what I would like to do. Thanks

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

The cheapest way would be to be referred by an RCI subscriber for their "long term guest certificate" whatever they call it now, for Extra Vacations and Last Calls.

No need to own anything.

I see it is called a 5 Year Guest Pass and it is $149.

http://pgs.rci.com/landing/guestcertificates/index.html

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

I am totally new to timeshare scene. We have used vacation certificates to stay in certain units off season. What would be the best way to be able to join RCI to take advantage of extra weeks, sales, specials etc ? We will be traveling extensively and would like to have extended stays. Would I buy a cheap resale with low maint fee and deposit the unit? How long would we have to wait, before buying extra weeks? Please tell me where to get this info and opinions on what I would like to do. Thanks

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I'd say that if you were interested in using both RCI and II that you could purchase a biennial lock off unit or triennial lock off unit which you could split and deposit to both clubs might work out for you. There are units that affiliate with either one or the other or both of the big exchange companies.

Since you have already been using vacation certificates then you know how nice timeshare travel can be and how addicting the space is.

As soon as you own something that is verified with the exchange companies then you can begin renting units from the exchange companies at a discount.
Very similar to the vacation certificates you are using is "last call" units in RCI and "getaways" in II. These are some great deals where you can rent
extra weeks for roughly $300 as an exchange club member.

There are also other lesser known exchange companies that you could join once you owned a unit.
Those include VRI exchange, DAElive.com, Platinum Interchange, Trading PLaces International and SFX resorts.
All of these exchange companies are free to join, you just pay as you use and you can browse their inventory for free.

Hope this helps you get started.
If you tell us more about where you live we can maybe point you in the direction as to what unit you might want to
consider for your first ownership. Gotta warn you though, hanging around here can be addicting and you might
get bit with the timeshare bug.

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

Gotta warn you though, hanging around here can be addicting and you might
get bit with the timeshare bug.

Which appears to be terminal, with no cure.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Which appears to be terminal, with no cure.

Well it hasn't killed you yet.

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

The cheapest way would be to be referred by an RCI subscriber for their "long term guest certificate" whatever they call it now, for Extra Vacations and Last Calls.

No need to own anything.

I see it is called a 5 Year Guest Pass and it is $149.

http://pgs.rci.com/landing/guestcertificates/index.html

Interesting . . .

Right now there 13763 units available for exchange in Florida in my "window" . . .

But, here's what's available for those with a 5 year Guest Certificate, stuff that does not require a deposit:

242 (25482 available units)

Hmmmmmm!

[jbobwms Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jbobwms]

Thanks for the information. It appears that I have a choice of finding an RCI member who would be willing to buy a certificate for me, or finding a cheap unit that would be used for exchange and give me more choice of units. I live in VA where there are many resorts, but I will not be using instate units. It appears that the certificate would be a better deal, without knowing the cost of a unit. Could anyone estimate what the minimum cost would be? Any recommendations will be appreciated.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

RCI has rental programs to the general public which sometimes are cheaper than their rental rates to members. If you have ever been in the military or worked in government, they have specific programs for those groups, where there is no membership fee. Yeah, that stinks for regular RCI members, but it is the way RCI does biz.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Thanks for the information. It appears that I have a choice of finding an RCI member who would be willing to buy a certificate for me, or finding a cheap unit that would be used for exchange and give me more choice of units. I live in VA where there are many resorts, but I will not be using instate units. It appears that the certificate would be a better deal, without knowing the cost of a unit. Could anyone estimate what the minimum cost would be? Any recommendations will be appreciated.

www.resortcerts.com
Also try www.skyauction.com

There are triennial ownerships in Grandview in Vegas that cost as low as $115 in MF's per year which can get you into RCI points with a free weeks account.
You could do rentals from RCI with this and still do an occasional trade with your points.

The resort certs used to be a good deal til RCI closed the loop on availability.
Now for me at least having a cheap RCI ownership is better in the long run for having access to full availability.

[jbobwms Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jbobwms]

www.resortcerts.com
Also try www.skyauction.com

There are triennial ownerships in Grandview in Vegas that cost as low as $115 in MF's per year which can get you into RCI points with a free weeks account.
You could do rentals from RCI with this and still do an occasional trade with your points.

The resort certs used to be a good deal til RCI closed the loop on availability.
Now for me at least having a cheap RCI ownership is better in the long run for having access to full availability.

Is the guest pass purchased from RCI the same as units showing by location on resortcerts.com? How often is this updated? Is there any special time that units show up? How far out can you reserve a unit with a guest pass? WOW a lot of questions. Thanks again for your help.

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

Thanks for the information. It appears that I have a choice of finding an RCI member who would be willing to buy a certificate for me, or finding a cheap unit that would be used for exchange and give me more choice of units. I live in VA where there are many resorts, but I will not be using instate units. It appears that the certificate would be a better deal, without knowing the cost of a unit. Could anyone estimate what the minimum cost would be? Any recommendations will be appreciated.

How about an RCI Weeks one for free, one we've owned since 1992, with an annual fee around $375?

PM me.

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

I see it is called a 5 Year Guest Pass and it is $149.

http://pgs.rci.com/landing/guestcertificates/index.html

When we used regular RCI guest certificate (not a 5 year one), the bigest problem was that RCI won't give you a separate login/password. So we had to bother our RCI member friend every time we needed to search. Another option being to ask him his password. After a while he temporarily changed his regular password and gave it to us. I don't know how this works for others, but this lack of login/password issue was/is the major issue why we won't deal with RCI in this way.

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

When we used regular RCI guest certificate (not a 5 year one), the bigest problem was that RCI won't give you a separate login/password. So we had to bother our RCI member friend every time we needed to search. Another option being to ask him his password. After a while he temporarily changed his regular password and gave it to us. I don't know how this works for others, but this lack of login/password issue was/is the major issue why we won't deal with RCI in this way.

Was that searching for exchanges, using their deposits, or is that the case when searching for stuff that does not require a deposit?

November 2, 2006, 01:03 PM #3
JLB
Guest


BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05
Location: Table Rock Lake, Branson, Missouri
Posts: 6,891

Resorts: Posts: 7503, Add another 2500 posts!!! Registered Dec. 2000 Registered: Mar 2002 Here's The Deal

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The RCI Guest Pass* is a great idea if you have purchased multiple Guest Certificates for the same person in the past, or if you know someone who might enjoy the benefits of timeshare resorts.

The Guest Pass allows you to add someone to your account and they will have the ability to confirm Last CallSM and Extra Vacations on their own! You no longer need to call on their behalf, nor do you have to buy a Guest Certificate each time.

As an added bonus, your Guests can access your exchange week too. All you need to do is give permission with a simple call to an RCI Guide. Best of all, no Guest Certificate fee will be charged. **

The RCI Guest Pass is simple. Your guests help themselves and you save time and money!

5-year Guest Pass: $149.00 USD
10-year Guest Pass: $249.00 USD

Share the joy of timeshare vacationing. Call an RCI Guide to learn more about the RCI Guest Pass.

RCI Weeks Subscribing Members: 1-800-338-7777

* Added Guests must be 21 years or older

** Guest can access Member's exchange vacations only with specific phone authorization from the Member to an RCI Guide.


http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30382

I would not have posted that if I had not confirmed it. From the wording, it appears I copied and pasted it from RCI, or from a response from feedback.

[jerrry94087 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jerrry94087]

Was that searching for exchanges, using their deposits, or is that the case when searching for stuff that does not require a deposit?

Searching for exchange using a deposit of our friend. We called RCI and they said that they won't give us a separate password, and we have to sit and search with the member, which is very inconvenient.