RCI points

[Campbell Vaughn]

How hard is it to book resorts during prime seasons??

 

[WalnutBaron]

It depends. There are a large number of factors to consider:

1. What is the value of the property you've offered in trade? Is it a high demand unit like Hyatt Aspen in January or Westin Ka'anapali any time of the year? Or is it a lesser-known unit that is not in high demand?
2. How far in advance have you deposited your week/points before you intend to complete the trade?
3. How flexible are you in terms of what you're willing to accept, even during prime seasons? For example, are you expecting to get one of the units mentioned above or are you willing to take a lower-demand unit and make some compromises in terms of quality and location as long as you can get the prime season you're looking for?
4. How patient are you? If you put in an exchange request at least nine months in advance, you will increase your trade value but you may also be waiting until the last few weeks before you want to travel to get your request confirmed--and, of course, it may not happen at all if your request is unrealistic (i.e. you can't trade a 1BR unit from a small legacy resort in New Hampshire and expect to book a 2BR unit at Westin Ka'anapali).

Finally, here's an article from the RCI website about trading power. I also highly recommend you spend some time reading past posts and conversations on TUG about trading power at the exchange companies. It is a source of endless discussion, curiosity, and insight and you'll learn a ton.

[Moderator: You might want to move this discussion to the Exchanging section.]

 

[Campbell Vaughn]

I have points

 

[rickandcindy23]

Yes, he is talking about II with the Westin and Hyatt Aspen.

RCI Points inventory is hard to count on. I was told by my home resort (Pres Villas in Surfside, SC) that all home resort reservations had to go through RCI now, and I have no idea what that means, since I see very little inventory for the resort during times of year I would want to reserve weeks.

Nonetheless, inventory is something I cannot count on for most any resort at 10 months, which is when RCI Points inventory is supposed to appear, exactly 10 months. I was hoping to get something for this next February on Maui and watched right at midnight, several days in a row, and I didn't see anything at all, and I look daily. So I am not a good person to answer the question, even though we own over 400K RCI points per year. As a Platinum member, I am just glad I can use my points for car rentals.

What are you hoping to get, and were you hoping for something in points, or weeks?

 

[Campbell Vaughn]

Weeks for vacations... I have a small SVV account that we use EOY for Orlando, I have bought enough points that I should get 10-14 days at the Majestic Sun in Destin(2 contracts), and I was going to finish out with either CWA points or a RCI Gold Crown resorts with good mfs. My issue is, young kids who are in school and my wife is an assistant principal. We have to travel her calendar (which changes yearly). They of course have summers, Thanksgiving, Spring Break, and normally have an extended weekend in the fall and an extended weekend in the spring.

We just visited SVV last weekend in March-the 1st Thursday in April (I paid 189 for an owner update). Now, I have a week banked in II that expires Dec 31st(I think is how I read that) and I have a week 44,000 SO I need to do something with before the end of June. I also have a certificate in II but I don't see anyplace I'd really like to see with the certificate.

Where we visit:
1. Every summer: 1 week Amelia Island with family. We rent 3 houses (34 of us)
2. With Wyndham in the future: 10-14 days @ Majestic Sun (recently purchased 2 contracts that will have enough points to do this)
3. SVV: Disney/Universal atleast EOY... if I could figure out how to maximize this or give me more power in II I would if mfs were in line.
4. RCI?? This depends, how likely am I to get on the beach in Destin or Gulf Shoars or HH or Mrytle or Sanibel during the time the wife and kids can enjoy the sun and the water?

 

[JohnPaul]

I have RCI points and use them primarily for two properties: Swan Mountain Resort in Dillon, CO and Red Wolf Lodge in Tahoe Vista, CA. We go during ski season to both. Both are fairly small properties. I typically keep a close eye and book at 10 months and don't really have any issues. However, both of these resorts are nearly impossible to trade into in the summer. I'd guess things like Maui would be tough.

With regard to home week or home resort, you get to book home week at 13 months and home resort at 12. This is before it becomes available to everyone at 10 months.

BTW you can also books some weeks resorts at more than 10 months.