Rate RCI

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

If you were to rate RCI on a scale of 1 to 100 how would you rate it? I have only exchanged via II with my Marriott and another worthless TS. Most trades have been made within a reasonable timeframe but I hear such horrible things about RCI.

Can anyone give RCI a rousing applause?

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

The only problem I have experienced with RCI was when I deposited a week earlier this year and it took about a week to appear in my account.
I have always managed to get exchanges to the areas I want at the times I want. I deposit early and try to book the exchange early as well. I have only been disappointed with one exchange and that was more due to the location of the resort than the quality.
My personal experience has therefore been mainly positive so I would rate them at around 75 out of 100.
Even when things go well I want better.

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

I'd rate them about 40. I think they're overpriced and have a few things go wrong with being overcharged in the past which took months and many phone calls to resolve. They haven't lived up to their promises with RCI pts for me.

Just wanted to add, any bonus weeks they have, I can always get cheaper through Dial An Exchange, Interchange or HC Direct.

[Icc5 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Icc5]

70-80 Rating to be Honest

We trade 3 of our timeshares through RCI and have been doing this for years.
They are all Gold Crown and trade well because of location and one of them usually falls on the week of 4th of July. I agree the costs have gone up with RCI and this lowers the ranking for me and also I'm upset with not getting a new directory yet even though I've been a member for 18 years. It started out 1 directory each year, then every 2 years and now whenever they feel like it if at all.
We have always got location and once or twice had to settle for not as good timeshares (our own fault for late decisions). We have had real good luck at Lawrence Welk dealing with the on-site Rep.
We are weeks with RCI.
Bart

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

I've always had good luck with VGs, but I also think that we are being overcharged and given less back every year. The rental program seems to be expanding at a greater rate than even the price increases and it's getting harder to get some exchanges that once were easy. I still don't have my directory, so I'm dealing with a three year old version. The only thing you can could on is a call to try to get you to buy more membership under the guise of getting you to deposit your week for their rental programs. 32.

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

I would rate them about a 70. They get dinged for some of their unfriendly practices, such as VEP restrictions, and for being less than up-front about a lot of issues. Also for having a lot of poorly trained people answering the phone and for constant fee increases.

I would rate II about an 80 (though you didn't ask), but if I had to choose only one or the other to belong to, RCI would win because it has more resorts in the places I want to go.

Since I'm about to leave for a Hawaiian vacation with 22 nights lodging secured through RCI, I can't say they don't get me what I want. The only BIG problem I've ever had with them is the super low VEP resort that I love and have struggled for a decade to get into. Most of that decade, I didn't even understand why I could never get it. I just thought it was never available. RCI could have just told me the problem to begin with and I could have started earlier working around it.

As for the directories, I have to confess that I seldom look at mine. I might drag it out on a cold winter's night to do a bit of daydreaming, but the only advantage I see of the hardcopy is the maps showing the resort locations. Other than that, I'd just as soon use the online version exclusively.

Sheila

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Every time I talk to a VG I need to check my account online to make sure it hasn't been screwed up. Earlier this year, I had an exchange cancelled without warning, was only able to fix it because I noticed right away. I hate that they double-punch us on cancellations, once by keeping the exchange fee, and again (worse) by hurting us in the trading power department (a punitive and unnecessary practice). Of course now, we can buy "protection" from this latter RCI-inflicted injury for $49. BTW, I just canceled an exchange, and RCI did NOT credit my account with the $49 credit toward a future exchange. I had to spend a lot more time than it was worth getting the credit. This is only the most recent of a series of annoying/aggravating transactions with them. And, while some of their Gold Crown properties are surely great, I think many are not worthy of such a high rating. And of course I don't appreciate all the high-priced rentals of weeks that are mysteriously missing from the exchange pool. So all this would cause me to give them about a 10.

OTOH, they have much more inventory where I like to go near home for long weekends/ski trips/leaf peeping/etc. And I just booked a terrific last minute Extra Vacation (though it should have been a Last Call). So I put up with them b/c it's still worth it despite the aggravation. I guess they're up to a 65, but I sure wouldn't advocate that a newbie join them first.

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

You might want to take a look at the current poll on RCI's services on www.timesharetalk.co.uk

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

up until relatively recently ( about a year ) I would have rated RCI quite high on that scale. Maybe at about 85.

We always got ecellent exchanges into areas we wanted at times we could go. Of course it took a lot of babysitting to do this over the years but the end product always seemed to make up for that.

I still have some really nice places to go in the next 18 months but I am very concerned with the fact that I am seeing very little quality for the areas that we have previously depended upon RCI for at the time of year we need.

I don't care for their rental policies and the one really nice thing that I took advantage of last summer, Last Call, has been severely watered down. This year the really nice quality places don't even make it to Last Call, they stay in Extra Vacations or they expire with no use.

I think that many people will say they are much less satisfied with RCI at this point. I'm taking a wait and see attitude about it now. I do have July06 Jersey shore, August06 Ocean City, MD, Late- June07 OBX and August07 England so the system still "works" but it not working as well as it used to.

I currently give them a 65 out of 100.

[Icc5 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Icc5]

Why the Directory is important to me

Just thought I'd throw this in so nobody thinks I'm crazy for making a big stink about the book. We use it to let family look at it before they go to places we give them as gifts. We have done this several times now to relatives that got married to help them save on the honeymoon. Eagle Crest has been the favorite but it does help to see and read about it.
Bart

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

up until relatively recently ( about a year ) I would have rated RCI quite high on that scale. Maybe at about 85.

We always got ecellent exchanges into areas we wanted at times we could go. Of course it took a lot of babysitting to do this over the years but the end product always seemed to make up for that.

I still have some really nice places to go in the next 18 months but I am very concerned with the fact that I am seeing very little quality for the areas that we have previously depended upon RCI for at the time of year we need.

I don't care for their rental policies and the one really nice thing that I took advantage of last summer, Last Call, has been severely watered down. This year the really nice quality places don't even make it to Last Call, they stay in Extra Vacations or they expire with no use.

I think that many people will say they are much less satisfied with RCI at this point. I'm taking a wait and see attitude about it now. I do have July06 Jersey shore, August06 Ocean City, MD, Late- June07 OBX and August07 England so the system still "works" but it not working as well as it used to.

I currently give them a 65 out of 100.

Ditto to what Lawren said

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

I agree with Lawren too.

I have been with RCI for over 5 years and began to see the changes (lack of quality) recently. Since I have school age kids, we are always looking for holiday and summer timeshare, which become harder and harder to get.

JoyC

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

We haven't been at this game for long and have had some great trips. I haven't been done wrong but I think that's only a matter of time.

We travel offseason and have really just seen what's available and picked something. In that regard, we aren't veterans and we aren't as hard to please as many customers they have.

I am really angered by their rental practices as it's a huge conflict of interest and a major double-standard (they can rent what they get from us but we can't rent what we get from them). Their constant price increases also annoy me greatly. The rash of last-minute cancellations that I've read about really gets me hot.

For variety and availability: 75
For service (to others, we do everything online) and customer care (ie, price increases, messing with Last Call, outage every Sat night, etc.): 30
For business ethics: 10

[urple2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close urple2]

I've only been exchanging into RCI for 2 years. I've gotten some pretty good vacations considering the low points deposits I have made. Last year I got a lot of choices for 28 k( blue studio ) deposits, providing not too strong of traders ( mexico, williamsburg) but a lot of searching to get. This year,using 70k deposits ( red studio week deposits), I noticed it to be even harder.

Now, if I owned a desirable fixed week or had a Marriott, HGVC deposit, etc. I would know if RCI is really putting the screws to me. I would expect a lot more inventory in a lot more locations for such a deposit.

Yes, I see the last call inventory is lousy. Yes, the prices are going up for exchanges, last call,extra vacations and guest cert's etc.

So... I would rate RCI at about 50 out of 100.


____

Bill

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

I don't care for their rental policies and the one really nice thing that I took advantage of last summer, Last Call, has been severely watered down. This year the really nice quality places don't even make it to Last Call, they stay in Extra Vacations or they expire with no use.

It was for the opposite reason as lawren2 that I was very unhappy with RCI last summer. I was looking for a summer exchange in the 45 day window with a not very strong trader. RCI was shoveling everything including last minute cancellations of some very nice exchanges into Last Call giving no opportunity for exchangers. Nice LC weeks were taken in nanoseconds. You snooze you lose.

Short