How Does RCI Work?

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

Hi,

We've owned a Timeshare for 25 years but never looked into RCI or II... Now we are thinking of joining and using our week to go to other places.

How Does RCI work? Do you have to have a direct trade? How does it compare to II. When I contacted RCI, I didn't get the answers I needed.

Thank you,

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

On the contrary, we have been in RCI for about that long, and still ask the same question?

If you find out, let us know.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

You make a deposit. They assign a value to it. You are done with that week, you no longer have to think about the week you deposited. Then you look in their inventory to see what you can get for the value they assigned. If you tell us what you own, resort and week # or season, we can tell you what value you will be assigned on their 1 to 60 scale. Tell us where you want to go and what time of the year you want to go there and we can figure out of there is a good chance for you to get what you want.

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

Yeah, that's what I meant to say, but my fingers hit the wrong keys.

We have been on more than 120 exchanges and I have done tens of thousands of searches since 1997, when subscribers first could do their own online.

So, I do have a little bit of knowledge.

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

You might also want to consider the independent exchange companies, which usually have free membership, and have lower exchange fees. Some also have a request first system, where you do not have to commit your own deposit until they have an exchange ready to confirm for you.

Timeshares & Time Share Exchange Service-DAELive.com

SFX Preferred Resorts - Quality Timeshare Exchange Services

HTSE

www.platinuminterchange.com

Trading Places International - Home

Your resort does not have to affiliate with any of them for you to use them. With the independent exchange companies, it is the individual member who affiliates rather than the resort.

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

As has been said, if you tell us what you, we can tell you just about anything you need to know. That information will be accurate until RCI decides to change it.

Just about everything in the relationship between RCI and their subscribers is one way. They can, and do, change whatever they want, whenever they want to change it.

The system of TPUs (Trading Power Units) was introduced to their Weeks program last November, after Weeks traded 1-for-1 for almost 40 years. The idea behind the change (prompted by a classaction lawsuit because RCI rents out a significant number of deposits) was to give transparency, to let owners know what their deposits can get. Those who have looked at a number of TPU values have seen some glaring errors, and some changes already, and some instances where what it takes to get a week in exchange costs more than what the owners got for depositing it.

Oh yeah, in a survey here it was determined that around one half of the exchanges that used to be gotten with one deposit, now take more than one. In one example of ours, it raised the total price of an exchange from $800-ish to $2800-ish.

http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...ice-versa.html

OTOH, for some exchanges you can credit toward future exchanges, but in order to use those credits you have to pay a fee to combine them with deposits or other credits. In our more than 20 years, there have been numerous things RCI has placed a fee on in addition to subscription fees and exchange fees. No source of revenue goes untapped.

***Transferring Deposits to Another Subscriber
***Guest Certificates
***Combining Deposits
***Vacation Insurance
***Trading Power Insurance
***Cancellation Fees

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

As for how RCI works, RCI has a halfway-decent set of tutorials that explain the mechanics of it all.

RCI - Weeks Enhancements - Inside RCI

But, that's just the mechanics. It doesn't tell you whether or not RCI will be a good fit for what you own and what you want. For that, as others have said, you'll need to give us an idea of what you own, and what you want. For some people, RCI is a very good fit. For others, other exchange companies would be much better.

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

Week

Hi

Sorry for being so slow at getting back to the group -- We own at the Inns of Waterville Valley, in Waterville Valley, NH... Week 28, red week sleeps six.

Thanks for all the replies,

Nancy

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

We would like to go...

Addendum,
We would preferably like to go to Martha's Vineyard. Edgartown first choice Vineyard Haven second choice,

But would also consider Cape Cod, coastal Rhode Island, Connecticut, NH or Maine.

Thanks again

Nancy

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

Using the Deposit Calculator for your week:

Deposit Trading Power
Maximum Trading Power
17


Not very strong, just slightly less than average. Depends on what time of year you wanna go to where you wanna go.

Using the Exchange Planner and Cape Cod:

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

10 13 12 13 18 20 22 23 20 16 13 14

We who have played around with it have found that all is not as presented.

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

We who have played around with it have found that all is not as presented.

For example, here is the Exchange Planner for SW FL (Southern Gulf Coast). Jan-March, a one bedroom at the worst of 52 resorts will take 34/35 to get.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

19 19 19 19 18 19 18 18 18 18 18 19

So, when it comes to timesharing and RCI in particular, you cannot rely on what they say . . . and that has remained unchanged the last 15 years.

[Ridewithme38 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ridewithme38]

Not very strong, just slightly less than average. Depends on what time of year you wanna go to where you wanna go.
.

What would you say is average JLB?

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

To make it specific to your desires, the Exchange Planner above says Cape Cod in July should take 23. Here's one of the 16 that are available:

Briarwood (#0256) 1 available units
Falmouth MA, 02540
map resort Available Unit Size
2 Bedroom
Check-In Date
28-Jul-2012
Exchange Trading Power
38

The lowest is 28 for a studio.

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

Your deposit would garner 19 trade power units if deposited today, for either 2012 or 2013. If you are hoping for summer coastal New England, you probably do not have sufficient trade power to complete the exchange unless it is a last-minute exchange. For inland New England, or off-season coastal, your chances are probably better. Here are a few examples of general trade power requirements:

Cape Cod Area, July 2012: minimum of 28 (for a studio) to 38 (for a 2BR)
Cape Cod Area, April 2012: minimum of 10 (studios) to 29 (for a 3BR)
Inland Maine, July 2012: units that sleep six or more range from 13-21.

So, RCI might or might not be the way to go for you, depending on how this sounds. As for the independents: I don't think SFX will take your week. I don't know whether any of the others specialize in New England.

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

skimpy TPU

Rather than just walking away mumbling to yourself at how skimpy RCI is with TPU's at your resort - I would consider checking in with other exchange companies to see what they might offer.

You are already a member at Platinum Interchange - check them
and the others mentioned upthread - SFX, TP etc.

Some you may have to call as they don't show their inventory on line.

Good luck

Rick