Exchanging points left at the end of the year

[stasik Member Find all posts View Profile Close stasik]

If you have unused points at the end of the year, how is the best way to exchange them with RCI? Do you try and get as many 28K weeks as possible or would you see if you can cobble together 42K desposits in hopes of a better exchange?

I don't know if an ongoing search would work for me since I don't have any trips planned so there isn't anything to search for. The only thing I think I could plan in that far in advance is NYE 2010, but I doubt I could score New Orleans or Vegas for that date with a small deposit.

If you do an ongoing search can you still call from time to time to check availability of other resorts or are you stuck with the search you chose?

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

I would think you would use the size of deposit or deposits you anticipate to be able to use.

Not sure what is NYE, New Years Eve perhaps ? . New York something ?

You can set up an ongoing search and add and subtract resorts from it, checking with a VC to see how it is doing will often result in them finding something you may like, that the search would not have found.

There is likely some commission or latitude allowed there.

[stasik Member Find all posts View Profile Close stasik]

I would think you would use the size of deposit or deposits you anticipate to be able to use.

Not sure what is NYE, New Years Eve perhaps ? . New York something ?

You can set up an ongoing search and add and subtract resorts from it, checking with a VC to see how it is doing will often result in them finding something you may like, that the search would not have found.

There is likely some commission or latitude allowed there.

New Year's Eve. Sorry.

I am not entirely certain how the RCI thing works yet. I know about all of the various options for depositing. What I don't know is what will ultimately work best for me. I have read that some folks can grab all kinds of great destinations with 28K weeks and that you shouldn't bother with a larger deposit. But I am also getting the impression that folks are getting those about 18 months ahead of time. If that's the case, it probably wouldn't help me since I doubt I could book anything that far in advance. Other than next New Years Eve. And I am actually trying to use my regular allotment of points to book something for that week.

I am not sure if its possible to use RCI deposits to find something more in the range of six months or less in advance of my travel date. I thought that putting in an ongoing search, it might be possible to have something I want pop up in that time frame. Or I might be able to get what I want with a generic deposit.

I would like to use my remaining 2008 points for two weeks but if all that comes up is Orlando, then it would be a waste. I am hoping for Vegas, New Orleans, San Diego or Newport.

So I could deposit two 28K weeks, one 42K deposit or rent enough points to top off at a 63K deposit. Not sure which option to pursue. The only thing that is certain is that I am really confused.

[brucecz Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close brucecz]

Are you talking about 28,000 Whydham points or RCI Points?

Bruce

[stasik Member Find all posts View Profile Close stasik]

Are you talking about 28,000 Whydham points or RCI Points?

Bruce

Wyndham points.

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

Can not expect 2 BD. The best is stdio and 1 BD on this day.

San Dieago will be hard even for regular days.

Las Vagas will depends on the RCI mood. If it does not pull those new year to rental, than you will have decent chance if you deposit now and put on going search. But I usually see the next week after new year days, and not on New Year Day. I never try the last min short term on that area so, don't know if you insit on on-going search, if you can get it or not. At this moment, I will put it as impossibleto get, I don't believe RCI or the resort will put them into exchange pool. I know I would not if I already make up my mind to go to renting.

New Orlean is not sure, since it is recovering from a big nature disaster, so don't know if demand going to be like this year or before disaster. Given it is future 2 years down th road, I will guess it is more like before disaster.

If you can travel 2009 NYE on New Orlean, call VC and doing a search first now.

Paradise Isle Resort (#0998)
Gulf Shores, AL 36542, USA

Available Unit Size: 1 - 1
Check-in Date: 12/27/2008


Marina Bay Resort (#5047)
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548, USA

Available Unit Size: 1 - 1
Check-in Date Range: 12/26/2008 - 01/03/2009

Casa Blanca Resort (#5001)
Panama City Beach, FL 32407, USA

Available Unit Size: S - 1
Check-in Date: 12/27/2008


Panama City Resort & Club (#5056)
Panama City Beach, FL 32413, USA

Available Unit Size: S - S
Check-in Date: 12/26/2008



Hillcrest Lake Villas (#3287)
Abita Springs, LA 70420, USA

Available Unit Size: 1 - 2
Check-in Date: 12/26/2008



Wyndham Avenue Plaza (#1450)
New Orleans, LA 70130, USA

Available Unit Size: S - 1
Check-in Date: 12/26/2008


New Port is Rhode Island New Port right? and at 2010 New Year Eve? That you may have chances.

Samething, if you can travel 2009, call VC and do a search first now.

Wyndham Inn on the Harbor (#0770)
Newport, RI 02840, USA

Available Unit Size: 1 - 1
Check-in Date: 12/27/2008

On the other hand, who knows what kind of effect the airline ticket price will be on the TS.

Personal feeling, I will not waste on 63K.

As to 1 42k or 2 28k, it depends on your vaction time, sounds like you only have limited time slot want to travel. Even in Orlando, the New Year Eve inventories becomes very hard to get. If you can only spend one extra week, and has to be on new year eve 2010, with 2 deposit, you will still let go one week at the end. In that case, 42 k is better.

If you believe you can find time for 2 week, than why not 2 28k.

Jya-Ning

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

42K will out-draw 28K, but realistically both will be relatively poor traders---good mostly for over-deposited areas, last-minute availability, or perhaps internal-Wyndham preferences. And, it seems to me that even the internal stuff doesn't pull as well as it once did.

I think using your regular points allotment for NYE is wise.

If you can go during low-demand times, and can be flexible, then some of your destinations might be possible.

I would deposit what I thought I might reasonably use---if you think you'll have the ability to get away on short notice twice in the next two years, and your regular points allotment or non-timeshare vacations won't cover that time, deposit 28Ks. If you don't imagine having that much "unplanned" vacation coming, may as well just deposit a 42K and be done with it.

Conventional wisdom is that a blue 1BR is not as good as a white studio, but I've never verified it. I did have a helpful VC advise me to deposit a 70K red studio rather than a 77K white 1BR once, so take that for what it is worth.

[stratusnj75 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close stratusnj75]

The other thing you can do is rent our the excess points you have and then when you actually need points in a year or two, rent the needed amounts. If your points are expiring soon, you may only get $4 per K but rental of points expiring in 08 and 09 have only been going for a $5.50-$6.00, so you wouldn't loose much and you would get points that you could use for booking a stay you actually want rather than whatever RCI might have available.

Devin

[stasik Member Find all posts View Profile Close stasik]

Thanks for the input. I guess since this is my first shot at this, I will drop in the 28K weeks and see what I get. If I wind up with something that meets my needs, then life is good. If not, then I guess I have to choose a different strategy. Hopefully since last minute isn't an issue, I might score something I want.

In that case, do I call Wyndham and ask for a generic deposit with an ongoing search or just drop them in and keep checking to see what is available?

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

If you have unused points at the end of the year, how is the best way to exchange them with RCI? Do you try and get as many 28K weeks as possible or would you see if you can cobble together 42K desposits in hopes of a better exchange?

I don't know if an ongoing search would work for me since I don't have any trips planned so there isn't anything to search for. The only thing I think I could plan in that far in advance is NYE 2010, but I doubt I could score New Orleans or Vegas for that date with a small deposit.

If you do an ongoing search can you still call from time to time to check availability of other resorts or are you stuck with the search you chose?

Just to make sure you understand the process, you deposit points into RCI for certain week size and season, like 28k is a blue studio. RCI puts those into your RCI account as weeks that you can exchange with in the future. You do not have to make an exchange before the end of the year, only make the deposits into RCI. You have 2 years from the date of deposit to use the weeks in an exchange.