RCI Owner, Have Questions

[Joe Garfield Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Garfield]

Hi,
Very new to the site. My girlfriend bought an RCI unit in Arizona a couple of years ago, and we're trying to figure out how this all works.

1) Paid Through Date is early next year - do we have to actually use the points by then, or can we book by then and go later in the year?

2) Where is the conversion for using points toward airfare?

3) Since she owns a unit, do we need to pay maintenance AND membership fees yearly to use her place?

4) If we book her place far enough in advance, does it cost points?

5) I don't know anything about this week deposit, trading power, etc. All I know is we have a place in Arizona that we'd like to use sometimes, but right now would like to explore somewhere else. If a place is available, is there a chance we still can't get it due to 'trading power'? Where is the best place to go learn about this stuff?

Thanks for reading and helping, the website isn't that user friendly.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

Which resort did she buy? If it is a points resort you do not have to think about trading power. If it is a points resort you may have to pay mfs and RCI membership fees, it really depends on what resort it is. As a points resort there is a timeframe where she can book her own unit without any further charges. There is more information in the RCI points Disclosure Guide that can help. Go to the RCI site and scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the disclosure guide link. you can use this year's points to book a unit in the future as long as you plan to keep paying RCI membership fees until the check-in date arrives.

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

Hi Joe,
Welcome to the forum.
If you're confused it's probably because RCI has recently gone to two different points systems recent, so depending on what you own, will depend on which system pertains to this ownership and how to use it.

Stick around and we'll help you decipher how to use your new unit once you have with more info on what you bought.

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

3) Since she owns a unit, do we need to pay maintenance AND membership fees yearly to use her place?

Welcome.

Yes, you need to pay the Maintenance even if you don't use them at all every year.

If she bought with developer and within rescind day, she need to rescind it now.

We can figure the rest later. Does not matter if you bought a point or week, you can exchange out, you may or may not get whatever you want back, RCI may list few thousands resorts, it usually has inventories with less than few hudrend of them and for holiday season, it usually down to tenth of them.

Jya-Ning

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

Welcome.


If she bought with developer and within rescind day, she need to rescind it now.

.

Jya-Ning

Looks like it is a couple of years past that point. Too bad, because a resale purchase gives all the enjoyment of timesharing at a very reduced purchase price from what a developer charges.

He also should look into whether he might be able to exchange through an independent exchange company like SFX, DAE, HTSE, etc.

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

It is not unusual for it to take awhile for timeshare owners to figure out, or begin to figure out, what they own.

We used ours every year, but I did not really get with it the first ten years.

Yeah, it was too late to rescind. Still is.

Oh, yeah, ya'll know that.

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

Looks like it is a couple of years past that point. Too bad, because a resale purchase gives all the enjoyment of timesharing at a very reduced purchase price from what a developer charges.

He also should look into whether he might be able to exchange through an independent exchange company like SFX, DAE, HTSE, etc.

Miss the couple years ago part

Jya-Ning

[Joe Garfield Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Garfield]

Hi Everyone,
Thanks so much for the responses. Iris always seems to get frustrated when she goes on the RCI site, so your help is really appreciated (probably even more by me, lol).

So she has a unit outside of Sodona. She was there a few years ago with her ex, was approached on the street and given a few nights free for attending the seminar. They gave her something like 8 free vacations in addition to her purchase.

She has never used any of it.

It sounds like a points system - she has something like 45k points that expire in February, then another 45K points to use the following year. She can stay at her place in Sodona but has to give 9mos or so advanced notice. I think she pays a few hundred bucks a year for maintenance fees, and her membership is up for renewal in 2015.

We are in our early 30's and the timeshare is paid for, so we are excited to start using it. It's almost hard to believe that we basically have lodging at any place in the world we care to visit. Of course, vacation time is limited - which is why I am hoping to find out about trading points for airfare - as days of travelling add up fast.

I will try to get more info about her unit and will check out the disclosure link on the RCI page. Again, I really appreciate your feedback and look forward to learning more and hearing about some of your experiences.

Best,
Joe

[Joe Garfield Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Joe Garfield]

So, right now she has points that have already been saved. They expire in February. Can't see in the disclosure if we can use them to reserve something now for sometime next year though.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

So, right now she has points that have already been saved. They expire in February. Can't see in the disclosure if we can use them to reserve something now for sometime next year though.

Section 10 on page 10 is where they try to lay out the terms for using her points.

10. SAVING and EXTENDING RCI POINTS.

A. Eligible RCI Points will be automatically saved and the Member will be charged a transaction fee if the Member has not used any of its Points by the end of a Use Year.

B. RCI Points that have been previously saved cannot be saved into a subsequent Use Year. Rented RCI Points cannot be saved into another Use Year.

C. RCI Points that have been saved must be used in the Use Year into which they were saved, unless extended. If RCI Points are not used in the Use Year to which they have been saved, they will expire unless the Member chooses to extend previously saved but expiring Points for one (1) additional Use Year. A transaction fee shall apply.

D. Saved RCI Points may be transferred to another Member, but those RCI Points are usable only within the transferee Member’s current Use Year and may not be saved again.

You can pay $99 to extend any saved points for one extra year.

To investigate airfare have her login and click on Travel Choices at the top. Then click on points partners. There is a limit to how many points can be used for points partners. I think it is 30 percent of each year's allocation. I think you will find that buying your own airfare is a much better deal if you plan ahead.

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

2) Where is the conversion for using points toward airfare?

You can follow philsfan's instruction, log in and try to find the comparable price, you can also go this site and take a look at the simple conversion table
RCI Points Partners charts and fees for Airfare, Cruises, Car Rentals, Hotels

It took too much work to do that but if you have very good MF to point ratio, it may worth, With annual 45K chances are, you only get avg. or a bit above avg ratio, which will not make it worth.

4) If we book her place far enough in advance, does it cost points?

Yes, you will not get the point if you use the same week/unit it was assigned. If you pick other unit, it is based on the RCI point chart.

5) I don't know anything about this week deposit, trading power, etc. All I know is we have a place in Arizona that we'd like to use sometimes, but right now would like to explore somewhere else. If a place is available, is there a chance we still can't get it due to 'trading power'?

With point, you don't have the week deposit, trading power. If there is a place available, you may not get it if you don't have enough point but you can always try to rent more.

Log into RCI and try to picture some vacation than see if you can get it piece together.

Jya-Ning