RCI Weeks to Points Conversion (Grandview Las Vegas)

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

So I've been getting calls from Vacatoin Village Resorts about my TS at the Grandview in Las Vegas regarding a conversion from my RCI weeks system to points system. Currently, I have 1bed/1bath, 1 week in a red season and they want to convert me to 61,000 points. However, to do this, I have to let them know by tomorrow in order to take advantage of the developer's deal. Here's the details they explained:

To convert from weeks to points, I would have to pay RCI $5,000 to convert but before I can convert, I need to do an upgrade (not sure what that's supposed to mean). To do the upgrade alone, it's $4,000 so supposedly, after tomorrow, I would have to pay $9,000 to convert to points. HOWEVER, if I take advantage of the developer's "deal", I just have to pay the $4,000 upgrade fee and not pay the RCI fee of $5,000.

I don't mind switching to points, it sounds like the better deal, but I don't want to pay that much money to convert especially when the TS only cost me something like $13,000. That's outrageous!

Has anyone else been stuck in this situation? What did you do? Does anyone know if by keeping the weeks will limit the availability of resorts?

I just find it really crappy that I paid so much for a new TS (now I know I should have bought a resale), paid for my RCI membership for the next like 5 years, paid all my yearly maintenance fees, and now I'm being black-balled for another $4,000+ to convert to this new system.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[fishingguy Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishingguy]

You don't need to convert anything, if you are happy with what you have now. Your week will be there, and based on what I've seen there has always been decent availability in RCI for a 1BR/1BA to exchange into at Grandview, as long as you plan ahead. The deal the developer is offering you is not going to end tomorrow, it is a sales tactic that is used to get you to 'bite'. Plain and simple; tell them you are not interested.

If you want the flexibility of RCI Points, you can buy a fairly large (80K-100K points), already converted by a previous owner. Price here lately on eBay have been for less than $1000 plus closing costs, but a couple recent packages have gone for $3000 because of the low maintenance fees. [Right now a Grandview points package has fairly low maintenance fees when compared to other resorts in the Daily Resort System, but that may not always be the case when/if the developer finally finishes and stops subsidizing the fees.]

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

Thanks for the reply. I'm happy with what I have now but I don't know if I would be happier with points. Plus, this sales person is claiming that it may be harder to use weeks rather than points. I don't want to get myself in a position where I keep my weeks and then the number of resort opportunities decrease significantly by using weeks vs. points and then I'm stuck having to convert later, pay all the fees and not get this developer's "deal".

I'm still not sure why they're telling me I have to "upgrade" too before converting. Maybe that's the only way to get the deal?

My biggest question though is why does it cost so much to convert the same unit that I own from one system to another? Either way, I still own a unit that week. Why would it be worth so much more using points?

[fishingguy Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishingguy]

Again, a lot of what they are telling you is a sales ploy to get you to pay big $$$ like you did before, for something you could actually get at less on resale. Sales staff have been using the old "don't know if there will be weeks in the future" track for several years now; and guess what, they haven't gone away. They are playing on your fear of being left out, not knowing what's in the future, exageratting the current conditions, etc. to get you to bite --> FISHING!!! [Hey, I own a TS with VV and Daily Mgmt, and it's the same old speil down at Florida as it is for Nevada!!!]


I suspect RCI weeks is as popular right now as it has ever been, with the latest changes to the RCI weeks system. [I just looked at the 1BR/1BA weeks at Grandview for the next 18-20 months and there are plenty to trade; except maybe a little less around the big holidays!]

RCI actually charges a couple hundred $ for a week-->points conversion; it is the sales staff that charges the rest. So the resort sales staff (Daily at VV?) is who pays the high $$$$ commisions, has to cover marketing costs, etc. in the rest of the amount.

I don't know why they say you need to upgrade before converting, other than it makes more money for them! IMO it isn't worth it doing an upgrade/conversion on a unit you own, when you can get exactly the same thing going resale for about 1/10 or less the cost!!!!!

IOM points are a bit more flexible; you can book stays at some resorts for less than a week; the exchange fees are generally a little less; I think there is access to a few more resorts with points that aren't available through weeks, and you'll know what the trading power is ahead of time because they are deposited on the anniversary date rather than the date the week gets deposited by the owner. Trading power is also taken out of the equation when it comes to making an actual points trade; the published value to make a specific trade is fixed and not based on actual supply and demand at the time of the trade.

However, if you are considering going with points (either the conversion/upgrade to your current unit or buying already converted point units on eBay), do your homework ahead of time since there are some limititations and you own specific circumstances will determine if they are worth it.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

Thanks for the reply. I'm happy with what I have now but I don't know if I would be happier with points. Plus, this sales person is claiming that it may be harder to use weeks rather than points. I don't want to get myself in a position where I keep my weeks and then the number of resort opportunities decrease significantly by using weeks vs. points and then I'm stuck having to convert later, pay all the fees and not get this developer's "deal".

I'm still not sure why they're telling me I have to "upgrade" too before converting. Maybe that's the only way to get the deal?

My biggest question though is why does it cost so much to convert the same unit that I own from one system to another? Either way, I still own a unit that week. Why would it be worth so much more using points?

It costs so much because they are trying to rip you off.

Listen to the fishingguy. If you want points, buy a points unit on the resale market for 10 percent of what they are trying to get you to pay. If the sales guy calls again ask him to remove your name from their call list.

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

Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll do just what you all suggested. I'll keep my RCI weeks with the TS I own and if by some chance the weeks program gets hurt by all these supposed conversions to points, I'll just find someone trying to resell their points TS and buy it for cheaper than this upgrade/conversion charge they're trying to hit me with.