RCI Points Fixed Week- long story

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

I believe that I have a fixed week, points biennial Grand Pacific Seapointe. Here's the summary of what I have learned along the way.

Ebay ad was for a floating week with RCI points, biennial even. I got it for a very low price, thinking that I would trade it in GPexchange for Villa L'auberge every other year.

I got my Seapointe membership cards in the mail and my MF bill, which I paid right away. Thinking I had a float week, I tried to reserve a week for 2012.

The Seapointe owner services person emailed me back and said I had a fixed week, 17. So, I emailed her back asking her to verify that I owned fixed week 17 biennial even and I would never need to reserve that week - it was always held for me. She emailed me back that that was correct.

I deposited week 17 into GPXchange and it was confirmed at my home resort and now I have a week coming to me via gpx.

This past week, I got RCI email saying that I have point accounts. I set up my account and it shows points for this year for that resort. Well, I already committed that week to gpx and they accepted, so the points really shouldn't be there.

To top it off, it looks like I would have to book my fixed week through RCI points and that my resort would never hold that week for me. I did a recent RCI webinar with my resort and they didn't say anything like that.

I guess I can email gpx and tell them what has happened and see if they really have my week. Very confusing.

Also, the RCI points looks like a rip off. If I want to book a different week, they want me to pay for cleaning and some other stuff that comes to $222.00 to book a different week at my home resort. Are they kidding me?

Anyone know what I need to do in the future years? Would I book my regular fixed week through the RCI points portal and then deposit it to gpx? Or, is this just a major fail?

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

This is info from the RCI Points Terms and and Conditions document, there is a link to it at the bottom of most pages on the RCI site. I included Home Group but I am not sure that applies to what you own.

If you book a full week, cleaning fees should not apply. If you book your Home Week or any other week at your Home Resort, no daily fees would apply since you are an owner. Partial week stays are always charged a cleaning fee whether you are an owner or not, at least that is how it works at Carlsbad Inn.

How this all ties in with depositing into GPX, I don't know for sure. If this is a new RCI points account you may be able to get them to remove this year's points since you were not an owner during the Home Week Priority Period.

i. Home Week Priority Period. The Home
Week Priority Period is designed to support a
Member’s use of the Member’s Fixed Vacation Time.
During the Home Week Priority Period, a Member
who Deposited Fixed Vacation Time has the exclusive
right to reserve the use of that Vacation Time, subject
to the Network Documents. The Home Week Priority
Period begins 396 days and ends 366 days
(approximately 13 to 12 months) prior to the first day
of occupancy of the Fixed Vacation Time. If a
Member makes a Home Week Priority Reservation, it
must be made for the full week, and the Member will
use the entire allocation of RCI Points® arising out of
that Vacation Time to make the Reservation.

ii. Home Resort Priority Period. The Home
Resort Priority Period is designed to support a
Member’s use of Vacation Time at his/her Home
Resort. During this period, Reservations of Vacation
Time in the Home Resort are available on a firstcome,
first-served basis exclusively to Members who
Deposited Vacation Time at that Home Resort. The
Home Resort Priority Period begins 365 days and
ends 335 days (approximately 12 to 11 months) in
advance of the start date of the relevant Vacation
Time. If the Member makes a Home Resort Priority
Period Reservation at the location where the Member
Deposited Floating Time during the Member’s floating
use period, the reservation must be made for a full
week, and the Member will use the entire allocation of
RCI Points arising out of that Vacation Time to make
the Reservation.

iii. Home Group Priority Period. The Home
Group Priority Period is designed to support a
Member’s use of Vacation Time at resorts in his/her
Home Group (or the continued use of his/her Home
Resort if his/her Home Resort is not part of a Home
Group). During this period, Reservations of Vacation
Time in the Home Group are available on a firstcome,
first-served basis exclusively for Members who
Deposited Vacation Time in that Home Group. The
Home Group Priority Period begins 334 days and
ends 304 days (approximately 11 to 10 months) prior
to the start date of the relevant Vacation Time.

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

Thanks, Len. I actually just got home in time for a phone call from Seapointe. I sent a detailed email to GPX this morning and they contacted Seapointe.

So, I have the points and no week deposited to GPX. She did explain how to deposit to GPX in the future. I guess if my points can bank ahead 2 years, I will have double the points at that point and can probably use them for something expensive, but I really like the small exchange companies better.

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

Jodi,
You can undo the RCI points account if you don't want it to be confused by RCI in the future. There are some weeks that are more valuable without RCI points and apparently this one may be one of those since Grand Pacific is a difficult trade for some of their resorts without the internal preference. This might not be a total fail afterall once you unwind the RCI points attached to it.

I've never undone a week but it can be done. Search here and OY and you'll see some threads on people who have done it.

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

Did you complete AND sign an RCI Points Membership Transfer Agreement? That is the only way your ownership would have been set up as points. If you did not, you should have your fixed week usage as a week. Did your closing company do this? If somehow one got completed, I would go back to GPR owner services to see if they can reverse that change as a new owner, you have the option of maintaining the points ownership of letting it lapse and not leaving it in points.

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

Did you complete AND sign an RCI Points Membership Transfer Agreement? That is the only way your ownership would have been set up as points. If you did not, you should have your fixed week usage as a week. Did your closing company do this? If somehow one got completed, I would go back to GPR owner services to see if they can reverse that change as a new owner, you have the option of maintaining the points ownership of letting it lapse and not leaving it in points.

Nope. I've never filled out anything regarding RCI points, other than filling out the website info after they gave me my RCI #.

I guess since the Home Resort has to be booked 13 months out, I would lose my 2012 week/points if I changed anything now. My RCI account shows paid to January 2013, so at that point, maybe I will just not renew it and let the week revert back to normal. I'm not sure how to deal with the 46,500 points for now, but I will try to figure it out.

After doing the searches that Chriske suggested last night, I see that the previous owner probably paid a lot of money to switch to points. It must have made sense at the time.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

On a cost per point basis, there are much better deals for RCI points out there. Historically, people have said that you should try to be at or under 1 cent per point in maintenance fees. You can find resorts at that rate pretty easily and there are some that are better than that. If you cancelled your points contract and later regretted it, there are plenty of options to pick from.

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

I was just playing around with it again. On my account screen, it says that I am paid until 1/2013. When I try to book a reservation, it says that I have a balance of $222.00, like I owe that much before I can even tally up the cost of my exchange. I am not sure what that is for.

I'm still trying to decide how to handle this. If I have to pay more money just to book my current points, I may end up deciding to just give the points to someone else and closing that account. I might ask Seapointe for their opinion. I do buy where I want to stay, so the added fees/work for RCI points on this account isn't really in my interest. Also, after figuring out the cost per point, my MFs are paying about .02 per point - double the recommended rate.

I don't know the break down for what I paid for this. I paid $750. I know the resort transfer fee is about $400. So, that leaves $350. for closing and RCI transfer, I guess. Not a bad deal at all, once I figure out how I am going to utilize it. So, tossing out this years points might not be a bad plan. I do plan on using my day use and bonus time at the home resort.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

Yearly fees for RCI points are $124 in the US. Maybe GPR has a deal that gives you a discount on that to $111? Is Seapointe billing you for your RCI account as part of your mf's? RCI or Seapointe should be able to tell you what that balance is all about.

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

I was just playing around with it again. On my account screen, it says that I am paid until 1/2013. When I try to book a reservation, it says that I have a balance of $222.00, like I owe that much before I can even tally up the cost of my exchange. I am not sure what that is for.

It sounds like someone set you up on the points and didn't pay any of the set up fees. For a the setup of a new RCI points account, it is around $224 ($100 MTA fee and $124 points membership fee). If that is an outstanding amount, then I would for sure try and cancel if that's what you want to do and get your week back.

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

It sounds like someone set you up on the points and didn't pay any of the set up fees. For a the setup of a new RCI points account, it is around $224 ($100 MTA fee and $124 points membership fee). If that is an outstanding amount, then I would for sure try and cancel if that's what you want to do and get your week back.

Ahh, I will give them a call and see if they will let me bow out.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

It sounds like someone set you up on the points and didn't pay any of the set up fees. For a the setup of a new RCI points account, it is around $224 ($100 MTA fee and $124 points membership fee). If that is an outstanding amount, then I would for sure try and cancel if that's what you want to do and get your week back.

That's it exactly, the MTA is $98 so that would make it $222.

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

That's it exactly, the MTA is $98 so that would make it $222.

What is MTA? I've been looking up all the little fees here and there in RCI points, but haven't run across that one.

I haven't cancelled it yet. I am feeling like I should learn the system to make sure that I don't want it before I cancel it. If those points will go forward for 2 years and I can book them further out another 2 years, I'll end up paying several years for RCI just to try it out. I'm having a hard time deciding.

Does anyone like their RCI points? When I first noticed that I could book shorter weeks, I was pleased. However, after looking at the math, I couldn't tell that it was really as good as looked.

My other problem with looking at what they have in inventory is that I don't really know what is points and what is weeks until I get to the cash out screen. Having the 7 night point exchange for a lower rate than a week is a bit of a nuisance because I want to pay the lower rate. If I didn't know there was a lower rate, I could be blissed out in my ignorance.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

MTA=Membership Transfer Application

I liked my RCI points, I just had too many of them for our current vacation needs.

There are resorts that are better to reserve in points and there are resorts that are a better deal in weeks.

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

I've been happy with my points for years. I've gotten great stuff IMO thru points. Probably not what you guys would consider great but for me it was great.

I think it pays to own both points and TPU's and see which is cheaper. Surprisingly many things are cheaper in points than in TPU's, especially the high ticket stuff like Manhattan Club, Disney etc.