RCI weeks

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

I bought the RCI membership years ago (RCI weeks) and paid the annual cost but never used it. EVER.

Now, I want to take a vacation to Paris and found a very nice (per photos & description) of a place in Paris called Park and Suites Paris Grande Bibliothèque.

I call RCI and they say my membership is due and because I didn't have my CC in front of me I asked if they can give me a rate so I can call back with CC and book and pay dues all at once. THEY WOULDN'T EVEN GIVE ME A QUOTED RATE FOR MEMBERS!

Now, 4 days per the Park and Suites Paris Grande Bibliothèque website sites 518 euros for the public. Would I really save much money through RCI to justify maintaining my membership? I.E. Save more than the 100 bucks or whatever?

Can someone tell me how much 4 days at Park and Suites Paris Grande Bibliothèque would cost with my RCI membership for 20JUNE - 24JUNE ?

I should have used RCI long ago so I would know these things but I haven't had a vacation in YEARS and now I am getting married and going to Paris for the honeymoon.

Any help would be appreciated and considered a great Wedding Gift.

BTW: Why is RCI's system so complicated. Points, Exchanges, Tigers, Blah blah blah.. Is there a RCI course at a college I can take to begin understanding this system. Charge for RCI then confuse members into not actually using the membership? Is that the corporate revenue plan? I can't make heads or tails of this system at all.

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

When I go to Paris, I look for a deal through Booking.com: 66000+ hotels worldwide. Book your hotel now!

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

I just checked on the RCI website and it is available as an extra vacation only, the cost is per week and is $1,187. Unfortunately there is no availabity until 25th July.
Alternatively you say you are an Ex RCI member, does this mean you also own a timeshare? If you do and you join RCI, you then have to deposit your timeshare and see if there is an exchange unit available. I dont have any deposits in so I cant check for availability. Personnaly I dont think you would be that lucky with such a late request, if you did join but you never know.

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

Just checked online, and they are showing nothing for June. They have the 7night version for a variety of weeks between July and December. For 7 nights in July, they quote $1,097.99

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

There are no exchange weeks showing with my tiger trader in RCI.

if you have a timeshare week to give as an exchange, then Timeshares & Time Share Exchange Service-DAELive.com can sometimes get Paris weeks on request at a resort in Vincennes on the outskirts of Paris, at the end of one of the metro lines. The resort is called Royal Regency and also trades with RCI. DAE would probably be much more proactive in trying to get it for you.

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

[QUOTE=Carolinian;325270]There are no exchange weeks showing with my tiger trader in RCI.

Curiosity is getting the best of me, what is a "Tiger Trader" I've been with RCI for 4 years and on this website for the last year and all of a sudden it's the buzz word??

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

[QUOTE=Kentonmag;325273]

There are no exchange weeks showing with my tiger trader in RCI.

Curiosity is getting the best of me, what is a "Tiger Trader" I've been with RCI for 4 years and on this website for the last year and all of a sudden it's the buzz word??

Not sure it's a new buzz word, but we use it to describe a very strong trader - units in areas of low supply/high demand, in high demand season.

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

Back in the days of the early South Africa craze, there was use of the term "tiger trader", so it's really not new.

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

Thanks

I bought the membership in Cancun Mexico through World Vacation Travel. The more I think about it the more of a waste I think RCI is. Through the Hotel's website my 4 days come out to 518. If I pay RCI their dues PLUS hotel and all, it is not really much cheaper to just book with the hotel directly and avoid the headache. Yes, RCI is a bargain for my RARE trips to Mexico but... all in all, I think in the long run it is better to just forget the RCI route.

I did get an estimate from RCI for a cruise and it turned out the Internet prices I dug up for the same exact cruise was 40% less than the RCI price so why go through RCI?

I guess I was a sucker to buy?

It seems that there is a lot of confusion with RCI. Exchanging. Points. Tiger whatever. Is dealing with RCI really this confusing or is it only me?

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

There are several independent exchange companies with free membership that work out better for many such as:

DAE Timeshares & Time Share Exchange Service-DAELive.com

Trading Places Trading Places International - Timeshare Rentals, Exchange, Resales, and Travel Services

Platinum Interchange www.platinuminterchange.com

SFX SFX Preferred Resorts the San Francisco exchange company

And a low priced membership indepedent:

HTSE Untitled Document

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

''Cruise exchanges'' have always been a ripoff. A much better bet are the cruise discounters. There is a good list of them on the Links Directory on this site, with clickable links.

When a resort is part hotel and part timeshare, there are also times that a discount hotel booking service is also cheaper than RCI. One example that comes to mind is Solar Club Hotel in Sopron, Hungary. The price for a comparable unit on European discount hotel booking service Booking.com is about half of RCI's charge for an Extra Vacation Rental there, and with Booking.com, you can choose your check-in day and number of nights. I guess I noticed this one primarily because Sopron is where I go for serious dental work, good quality for a fraction on the US price.

I bought the membership in Cancun Mexico through World Vacation Travel. The more I think about it the more of a waste I think RCI is. Through the Hotel's website my 4 days come out to 518. If I pay RCI their dues PLUS hotel and all, it is not really much cheaper to just book with the hotel directly and avoid the headache. Yes, RCI is a bargain for my RARE trips to Mexico but... all in all, I think in the long run it is better to just forget the RCI route.

I did get an estimate from RCI for a cruise and it turned out the Internet prices I dug up for the same exact cruise was 40% less than the RCI price so why go through RCI?

I guess I was a sucker to buy?

It seems that there is a lot of confusion with RCI. Exchanging. Points. Tiger whatever. Is dealing with RCI really this confusing or is it only me?

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Take a deep breath and read about ts here. I find my weeks to be just fine, because I don't like to go fore 3 or 4 days. Of course, the ideal way is to bank way in advance and start looking . Part of the fun for me is to be flexible , keep an open mind of where I want to go and I look for much nicer than I own and then jump on it. I like playing the "game" . If you want just one place , one certain week unless you have a really really strong week , it doesn't usually work out. shaggy

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

Oh!!!

"Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end..."

Back in the days of the early South Africa craze, there was use of the term "tiger trader", so it's really not new.