Ongoing, Online & The 14-Day Window

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

When someone has an ongoing search - Aren`t you still able to go in and adjust the search whenever you are online and then select something else if it shows available (if nothing else
is available - you would then just keep original search in place) that way you do not have
to pay another fee. Saves time and a call to a vacation guide to request (search) refund.

You would think.

Just to repeat. . .

The exchange I took today is something the Ongoing Search should have matched to, but did not.

When I had to call in, because the Ongoing Search did not match, they shoulda used the Ongoing Search money for this exchange. In a perfect system, using the deposit committed to the Ongoing Search shoulda done that.

But it did not.

So, what is new?

I get to talk to my favorite feedback person again, and wish her Happy New Year, which I have already done.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Actually, for reasons unrelated to things we normally talk about, what we got is what I was hoping we would wind up with, something at one of the (only) two very small resorts in the area.

A two-bedroom is icing on the cake.

So, really, it is a needle-in-the-haystack sorta thing.

Inquiring minds want to know what you got.

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

Even if insurance reimburses an exchange fee, which I am doubtful it does for an intentional cancellation, I have never bought it.

FYI - It says you can cancel for any reason - no questions asked.

viii.RCI Vacation Protection offers the opportunity to protect the Trading Power of a Member's Deposit and provides a credit for the members full exchange fee if the exchange vacation is changed or cancelled for any reason. Upon changing or canceling the confirmed exchange vacation, the member receives an exchange fee credit that is valid for six (6) months after date of cancellation. RCI Vacation Protection may be purchased up to 30 days after confirmation occurs or up to 14 days before the start of the Member's Confirmed Exchange Travel Dates, whichever occurs first. Vacation Protection may be cancelled for a refund up to 14 days after purchase provided that such cancellation occurs more than 14 days prior to the Travel Dates.

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

Inquiring minds want to know what you got.

ENGLEWOOD BEACH & YACHT CLUB
1815 Gulf Blvd
941/474-7761
Confirmation Information
Transaction Date: 12/31/2009
Check-In: 01/09/2010 03:00 PM
Unit #: 321
Maximum Occupancy: 6
Private Occupancy: 4
Unit Size: 2
Kitchen: Full

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

FYI - It says you can cancel for any reason - no questions asked.

viii.RCI Vacation Protection offers the opportunity to protect the Trading Power of a Member's Deposit and provides a credit for the members full exchange fee if the exchange vacation is changed or cancelled for any reason. Upon changing or canceling the confirmed exchange vacation, the member receives an exchange fee credit that is valid for six (6) months after date of cancellation. RCI Vacation Protection may be purchased up to 30 days after confirmation occurs or up to 14 days before the start of the Member's Confirmed Exchange Travel Dates, whichever occurs first. Vacation Protection may be cancelled for a refund up to 14 days after purchase provided that such cancellation occurs more than 14 days prior to the Travel Dates.

Like using an Ongoing Search, which did not work, I am suspicious/leary of just about anything RCI, regardless of what it says in writing.

It appears to be in contradiction to the cancellation policy:

If a Member confirms an Exchange twenty (20) or less days prior to the check-in date, the Member shall not be entitled to any refund of the Exchange fee paid regardless of when the cancellation occurs. The Week used to make the Exchange shall be redeposited into the Member's RCI account and the Trading Power of the redeposited Week may be recalculated based on the date of the cancellation.

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

Even if insurance reimburses an exchange fee, which I am doubtful it does for an intentional cancellation

You can. I have done it. I use the insurance if I think there is a better-than-average chance that I will trade up. Then again, I have actually had ongoing searches match what they were searching for, so perhaps I just live in an alternate universe or something.

I do not know how the insurance terms interact with the <= 20-day rule. I have not done this since that rule was instituted.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

ENGLEWOOD BEACH & YACHT CLUB
1815 Gulf Blvd
941/474-7761
Confirmation Information
Transaction Date: 12/31/2009
Check-In: 01/09/2010 03:00 PM
Unit #: 321
Maximum Occupancy: 6
Private Occupancy: 4
Unit Size: 2
Kitchen: Full

Ah so you were the one that took that! I saw it this morning and wondered if it were your cup of tea. Congrats.

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

You can. I have done it. I use the insurance if I think there is a better-than-average chance that I will trade up. Then again, I have actually had ongoing searches match what they were searching for, so perhaps I just live in an alternate universe or something.

I do not know how the insurance terms interact with the <= 20-day rule. I have not done this since that rule was instituted.

Bnoble,

That is good to know.

I just bought the insurance for a week that I will probably be canceling. I figure I will save $100 by doing that. The reason I am doing it is because something else came along for Portugal via an ongoing search and we decided we could not afford to do both trips. I do not see any way to cancel a week online, so I assume you have to call RCI to do that.

I am curious about the "credit" though. Is it something you can use online or does it require a guide's intervention? With the fee increase, the $164 credit will become $179 or $194. Also, it has to be used within 6 months, but does that mean the exchange has to be within 6 months or the trip has to be within six months? I think it is the former.

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

I do not know about the 20 day restriction on exchanges-then-cancellations but I can tell you from personal experience (several times) that you can cancel an exchange using the purchased insurance with no hassle, no questions, The refund of the exchange fee shows up online and is applied to your next exchange. There is a restirction that the refund has to be used within 6 months - I've not ever gotten near that deadline so don't know if it would/could be extended.

I've used the insurance cancellation to "swap" for a better exchange (place or timeframe as plans do sometimes change). I've also used it to "swap" when I had to use a much better trader initially and subsequently deposited a lesser trader that could also snag the exchange. In those cases I felt the $69 was worth paying to get my better trader back and working on a tougher exchange that the lesser trader had no chance of ever snagging.

Right or wrong this is now part of my personal current strategy with RCI. If I see something that works, even if not perfect, I take it. I no longer trust that what I really want will eventually come along. I buy the insurance on the last available day and then make a keep it or cancel it decision at the last day for that. I factor in things like how likely am I to cancel this vacation, how likely is it that a better exchange will happen, can I get the exchange with a lesser trader in the future, etc. There are some vacations where I do not buy the cancellation policy at all and so far I've only bought and used it once per exchange as the 2nd time around I did get exactly what I wanted.

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

Yes, you do have to call in to cancel an exchange - there's no place online to do it. But you can use the credit online - it comes up automatically. I am not sure but also believe it's the exchange that has to be made within 6 months. Well, I certainlly hope so as the new exchanges I've made using the cancellation policy are indeed farther out than 6 months.

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

Bnoble,

That is good to know.

I just bought the insurance for a week that I will probably be canceling. I figure I will save $100 by doing that. The reason I am doing it is because something else came along for Portugal via an ongoing search and we decided we could not afford to do both trips. I do not see any way to cancel a week online, so I assume you have to call RCI to do that.

I am curious about the "credit" though. Is it something you can use online or does it require a guide's intervention? With the fee increase, the $164 credit will become $179 or $194. Also, it has to be used within 6 months, but does that mean the exchange has to be within 6 months or the trip has to be within six months? I think it is the former.

I never used to get the insurance but since they changed to the new insurance which gives you a credit for the full exchange fee, I have bought it on a few exchanges. Like Brian stated, you can cancel an exchange at any time for any reason and apply the credit on another exchange.

I'm pretty sure you cannot re-use the credit online as it shows up as a "coupon" and needs to be applied by a VG. I avoid paying the higher call centre exchange on the new exchange by pulling what I want online and put it on hold so I refer to it when I call in to cancel and rebook using the online rate. Most VGs I've encountered will honor the lower rate when you tell them (sometimes you have to remind them).

Regarding what the credit is when exchange fees go up, I'm not sure.

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

Regarding what the credit is when exchange fees go up, I'm not sure.

Thanks for the advice. It is good to know some things with RCI work out as advertised. I am sure I will only get a credit of $164 - but it will cost me another $15-$30 because of the increased fees. Regardless, it is a good strategy in this case.

I would not have thought of getting it except that I got an email from RCI telling me time was running out to insure my trip. This was one email that worked in my favor (I hope). I remembered the old insurance that did not refund your exchange fee and I never could figure out the value of that. I am not sure when they changed the policy, but this one can be useful.

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

***If, you get a refund if you have insurance, and then cancel, why does it not say that in the cancellation policy? How hard would it be to say " . . . unless you have purchased insurance, in which case . . . "?

***Have we not all learned that someone saying on the Internet that something works a certain way because it did for them, once, does not mean it does, and/or does not mean that things always work the way they are supposed to?

***If an Ongoing Search ends at 14 days out, why did John the Friendly Guide, et al, specifically say that is not the case, that stuff confirms inside 14 days?

***If an Ongoing Search ends at 14 days out, why did I not receive a notice of that, why was it still in place online, why did I receive a Weekly Update inside 14 days saying it was still searching, and when I searched online myself why did it say that deposit was still committed to an Ongoing Search?

***If I was just a typical subscriber, not someone who has studied this every day for more than ten years, how would I know the Ongoing Search ended at 14 Days out, if it did, since nothing shows it did? Same question if I did nothing online, like many subscribers.

***Since I paid to start the Ongoing Search, why did I have to pay again in order to confirm an exchange using the deposit committed to the Ongoing Search? Shouldn't the fact that I selected that deposit, thus ending the Ongoing Search, be sufficient to show that it was paid for?

***What happened to the money to start the Ongoing Search, since it seems to have disappeared?

***What happens when the sun blows up?

***Anyone else confused?

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

Ah so you were the one that took that! I saw it this morning and wondered if it were your cup of tea. Congrats.

Well, for years a certain someone has been directing me there, and away from all the glamorous resorts further south. I have finally succumbed to that. Both of our weeks in 2011 are there.

We have friends from the Country Club here who winter there, and there are 81 holes of golf, fairly nice golf, and at reasonable rates, nearby.

As I found out last year, I have acquaintances from very long ago, one of my former lives, who are there then.

I/we will still daytrip further south, for our annual Rapmarks/Conch Man reunion.

All-in-all, a decent compromise.

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

Talk about boiling the bullfrog . . . has anyone noticed how easy I have become?

We used to get wonderful Gold Crowns on the beach.

Now I search every day for two years and wind up taking crappy resorts at the last minute . . . and paying two fees . . . and I'm tickled to get them.