Is RCI Memberships legit?

Hi,

So have been looking at some resale timeshares to buy. All of a sudden I
am getting emails from brokers selling RCI memberships as an alternative to a timeshare.

The way it was explained to me you choose a package that suits your points needs. There is an upfront fee for the membership than $99 dollars annually
after. What you get in return is 10k RCI points yearly and 1.5 cents for additional
points and no maintenance fee's at all.

So does anyone have any personal experience with this? This my first time hearing about this and want to make sure it's legit. Trying to figure out the pro's and con's

He is not selling you an RCI membership - he is selling you membership in his vacation club, that has access to RCI points.

You will not own RCI points yourself.

Since you aren't suppose to rent exchanges made with RCI points, I don't know if this has RCI approval or not.

Since you can acquire timeshares enrolled in RCI points for free, and actually own and control the deed yourself, I'm not sure why you would want to do this.

Thank you Denise. That makes more sense to me. I was trying to figure the dynamics of it. They really give you the impression it's a new program thru RCI as an alternative to a TS and not having to pay MF.

evdvqq4 said:

Thank you Denise. That makes more sense to me. I was trying to figure the dynamics of it. They really give you the impression it's a new program thru RCI as an alternative to a TS and not having to pay MF.

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I bet!

Something like this used to be available through a resort in Palm Springs, and only was talked about through word-of-mouth, then became unavailable. The rumor was that it was kind of an under-the-table thing, and not sanctioned by RCI.

The numbers were a little different, and iirc, the buy-in (or lease) was for 3 years, then you had to either re-up or the thing just evaporated like a magazine subscription.

It is my understanding that all RCI Points ownerships have to be linked to a deeded week at a specific resort, and that RCI Points are not to be sold, nor would be made available bare naked. Points can be transferred to family and friends with no financial transaction. The above is not encumbered with any inside knowledge, so might be completely wrong.

I would be skeptical without some assurance directly from RCI (not heresay).

Now as to use. 10,000 RCI points won't go far. I find that most middle-of-the-road one bedroom resort rooms in season will go for 30,000-35,000 points for a week, and a premium 2 bedroom unit will set you back 60,000-70,000. So for that 2 bedroom week, there is the initial $100 + $900 for 60K +about $100 RCI membership + $280 for RCI exchange fee. So roughly $1400 for the week. Maybe you can rent something comparable for $200/night, maybe not. And of course no one is mentioning availability, or if you can put in ongoing searches or are relegated to the inventory in the online catalog.

Seems kinda iffy to me.

Jim

evdvqq4 said:

They really give you the impression it's a new program thru RCI as an alternative to a TS and not having to pay MF.

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But in your OP you said "There is an upfront fee for the membership than $99 dollars annually after."

So even though there are no MFs, there are still other fees. They just have a different name.