RCI and II

[Campbell Vaughn]

So, what steps do you take to maximize your opportunity with each?

Let's assume for II we are dealing with an 81000 Star Option Vistana Villages float week(would it be better to get rid of this and buy a similar platinum week)?

RCI have 92000 Vacation Villages gold crown resort.

Should I join the platinum membership in each? What else?

 

[dioxide45]

Your best use of a Vistana StarOption week, is to use the StarOptions at another Westin or Sheraton property. Using them for many other non Vistana properties seems like a waste to me.

If you are not looking to stay in other Westin or Sheraton properties, you will do just as well with a lower MF week at a different resort. While Vistana weeks have high trade power, they have high MFs to go with them. You could buy another Vistana voluntary week that would give you a lower MF, think Sheraton Desert Oasis or Broadway Plantation. You can get these for free and they still have the Vistana international II trading preference, though that has been severely diminished over the past several years with the low number of actual VIstana deposits in to II. Though I think both also trade with RCI.

Another thing with II, most people maximize their trades with a unit that locks off. WIth an 81,000 unit, unless you own a Gold season LO unit, your would seem to only be a regular 2BR. That means that you have to deposit the whole 2BR unit to trade. We own two Marriott lock off units and have often deposited each side of the LO and traded up in unit size to a larger unit. Though II does now have the upgrade fees, but it is still a great way to maximize the MF from one week to get two. It just costs more now than it used to in the past.

 

[Campbell Vaughn]

Your best use of a Vistana StarOption week, is to use the StarOptions at another Westin or Sheraton property. Using them for many other non Vistana properties seems like a waste to me.

If you are not looking to stay in other Westin or Sheraton properties, you will do just as well with a lower MF week at a different resort. While Vistana weeks have high trade power, they have high MFs to go with them. You could buy another Vistana voluntary week that would give you a lower MF, think Sheraton Desert Oasis or Broadway Plantation. You can get these for free and they still have the Vistana international II trading preference, though that has been severely diminished over the past several years with the low number of actual VIstana deposits in to II. Though I think both also trade with RCI.

Another thing with II, most people maximize their trades with a unit that locks off. WIth an 81,000 unit, unless you own a Gold season LO unit, your would seem to only be a regular 2BR. That means that you have to deposit the whole 2BR unit to trade. We own two Marriott lock off units and have often deposited each side of the LO and traded up in unit size to a larger unit. Though II does now have the upgrade fees, but it is still a great way to maximize the MF from one week to get two. It just costs more now than it used to in the past.

So, right now I am in purchase mode. I bought some Wyndham CWA points, waiting on transfer. I own, through developer SVV St Augustine, and yes these mf's are high compared to other systems, I see your point. The SVN Network is small and spread out, we do like to visit Orlando for DW and Universal, all the parks really. I can get there cheaper with Wyndham than SVN. So, I think I will just bank my points and then trade internally with SVN, looking at points this is what to do with the SVV Staroptions. If I buy other weeks with Staroptions, if they are mandatory I can trade within the SVN network, right?

Also, if the mf's are low enough what would a resort be that is strong with II trading that I should look at in the resale market? I have one main suggestion for RCI trades, which resort to buy resale.

At the end of the day, every year we currently have 4 weeks to use with wyndham points, EOY 4 weeks with wyndham points, 1 week Staroptions... but I want to add a strong trader with II or RCI or maybe both. I've been looking at a resort, gold crown in RCI network with between 92,000 and 112,000 points mf's a little less than 1k per year. Are there resale resorts that you recommend buying resale for trading purposes... message me if you like. And THANK YOU!

 

[DeniseM]

I agree - I would not use a week with Staroptions for II or RCI - you get the most value out of it by using the Staroptions for other Vistana resorts.

 

[schenriq]

I do not have a week (yet) with Staroptions but I own a couple of Sheraton weeks that were acquired for trading or renting out. So far it's working out well on both fronts. The Myrtle Beach week was acquired for almost free but I had to pay $99 for transfer. I thought that was OK until the news came that it's being transferred with an unused seller-paid week So, to II that week got deposited and got exchanged to a 1BR suite at Four Seasons Aviara for a MLK week. Not peak season in San Diego but nobody will complain when staying at Aviara esp. with a free week for exchange.

Now, having no staroptions is not quite a big loss for my family because we have Wyndham UDI points to use towards far more locations than what is available in (VS|SV)N. We value "location options" more vs. " high level of luxury" though so this is a big YMMV point.

But getting back to II/RCI, our strategy works because the Wyndham UDIs come with a free RCI weeks account. In addition, since the two Sheratons we own are dual affiliated, we really aren't tied to one big exchange company. We choose one based on where we're intending to go (and where there's a membership renewal promo -- wink wink ILG -- but it's really hard to beat free).

 

[dominidude]

Should I join the platinum membership in each? What else?

I think it is pretty much agreed that the platinum membership is good if you can take advantage of the perks on a regular basis. The perks have nothing to do with trading, therefore, you should NOT buy a platinum membership to increase your odds of getting the exchanges you want. Read through the perks and see if you could use them. Most people end up realizing soon that they do not use, or cannot use, the perks. Therefore, most people end up not getting the platinum membership.