# Wyndham exchange into RCI - Advice needed please



## JuliusF (Sep 15, 2011)

Hello - I just joined - what a great forum. I am hoping some of you could help me with my exchange. I am a Wyndham owner and I have pooled my last years points hoping to get a week in Hawaii next Christmas with Wyndham. It turns out the Wyndham properties need over 500,000 points so I will either transfer to RCI or Trading Places. 
I cannot search online in RCI (Wyndham website) because RCI is telling me some accounts cannot search online. Anyways, I don't know how many points I should deposit into RCI for what I am looking for. I have a couple questions:
This is my goal:
2 bedroom condo (one week) in December 2012, Maui, Hawaii (thru RCI)

This is my point status as of today:
Jan.1.12 - Dec.31.12 - 189,000 points
Sept.1.12-Aug.31.12 - 189,000 points (credit pool)
Jan.1.13-Dec.31.13 - 189,000 points

1. Can I deposit my Wyndham pooled points into RCI? 
2. Do I get charged each time I make a deposit from Wyndham into RCI? How do I know how many points to deposit into RCI since I cannot even search to find out? I am assuming Maui is red, prime?

any help and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.


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## siesta (Sep 15, 2011)

Are you trying to go to hawaii during xmas week? Or are you trying to go during december some time...

If you are trying to go during xmas week, your best bet is thru wyndham and you will need to either utilize ARP or try at 10 months out and if no availability put yourself on the rotating priority list for xmas week at a resort. For rotating priority list you cant use pooled or cancelled points, it needs to be from your original alotment with enough points to book hawaii.

I would not count on getting hawaii xmas week thru rci .

To answer your questions

1)Yes, but first you need to make a reservation and cancel it.
2) only uses one reserVation fee within 1 day, so get them all in on the same day.

You CAN search availability on RCI and see how many points you have on deposit by logging into your wyndham account and clicking member services, rci exchanges, then follow the prompts.


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## bnoble (Sep 15, 2011)

> I cannot search online in RCI (Wyndham website) because RCI is telling me some accounts cannot search online.


Call the RCI/Wyndham number (1-800-572-0931) and ask to be transferred to Web Support.  They are usually very helpful, and much more so than the front-line representatives.



> 1. Can I deposit my Wyndham pooled points into RCI?


Not directly.  You have to book something *using* those pooled points, and then cancel them.  They are then returned to your account in the Use Year of the reservation as Cancel Points.  Cancel Points *can* be deposited.



> 2. Do I get charged each time I make a deposit from Wyndham into RCI?


A deposit to RCI requires one Transaction Credit.  However, one Transaction Credit is good for as many different "transactions" in a single day as you care to make.  So, if you deposit from two different Use Years, but do so on the same day, it requires only one Transaction Credit.  If you do the two deposits on different days, it requires two Transaction Credits.



> How do I know how many points to deposit into RCI since I cannot even search to find out?


Ordinarily, sightings are a TUG-Member only feature.  In this case I can give you some info because you *should* be able to search on your own.  It looks like Maui is Prime year-round, so you would need 224K.

I would first get your RCI-Wyndham portal account fixed so that you can search yourself.  Once that happens, book something that requires 224K in 2012---a Prime Season Bonnet Creek 2BR is the easiest choice.  Then, cancel it, and deposit those points to RCI.  If you do all of this on the same day, it will cost you only one Transaction Credit.  Once your deposit clears (after ~1-2 days) call RCI and establish an ongoing search for your dates.  Try to be flexible about dates/resorts, because Christmas itself is going to be a very hard exchange.   Being flexible about which island wouldn't be a bad idea either.  There is literally only *ONE* 2BR anywhere on Maui in the Weeks space bank right now, for any time in the next 2 years.

Note that if you bought from the developer you *also* have access to RCI Points via PlusPartners.  You have to search that yourself; you cannot place an ongoing search.  Check RIGHT AT the 10-month mark for your best opportunity.


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## Conan (Sep 15, 2011)

You should be able to see RCI availability online at the Wyndham website.

Sign onto your Wyndham account and under "My Membership" select "RCI Exchanges" and then click the various buttons and consents.

This link may work to get you started, after you log in
https://www.wyndhamvacationresorts.com/ffr/secure/member/exchanges/rciExchangesMain.do

Once you get over to an RCI webpage, click on the "RCI Vacations" tab. Initially you'll have to include a range of dates as part of your first search, but once that search completes you can x-out the date range to see all availability.

Pooled points won't exchange into RCI, however.

To actually make the reservation you'll need to deposit the points (via one of the online buttons), then wait a day or two for processing and hope that the currently available week you want doesn't get taken by somebody who already had their points in RCI.


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## JimMIA (Sep 15, 2011)

JuliusF said:


> I cannot search online in RCI (Wyndham website) because RCI is telling me some accounts cannot search online.


First of all, welcome to TUG!

Have you established BOTH your Wyndham account AND the RCI account?  They are two separate things and the RCI access requires a separate sign-up.  

When we first bought, I was told that RCI activation happened automatically, but it didn't for us.  It took almost two months to get it working...and that was after we finally got online with Wyndham (which was another saga).  

I finally had to go through Wyndham (not RCI) Quality Assurance to get everything working correctly.

Once you get online with RCI, you're going to find the website pretty clunky.  When you hit a snag, come back here and ask questions and one of the pros here will help you.


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## bnoble (Sep 15, 2011)

> Have you established BOTH your Wyndham account AND the RCI account?


Jim: I think the OP is talking about the Wyndham/RCI portal, not the 'stand-alone' RCI account.  That *should* be set up automatically, because your Wyndham membership number also serves as your RCI membership number *and* you log in to the Wyndham site to use it.


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## JimMIA (Sep 15, 2011)

bnoble said:


> Jim: I think the OP is talking about the Wyndham/RCI portal, not the 'stand-alone' RCI account.  That *should* be set up automatically, because your Wyndham membership number also serves as your RCI membership number *and* you log in to the Wyndham site to use it.


"Should be" and "is" are often not the same.  My Wyndham/RCI portal "should have been," but it took MONTHS.  I had the Wyndham portal, but could not access RCI through it for a good two months.


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## JuliusF (Sep 15, 2011)

Thanks to all for your replies so far. I will work with Wyndham to get the portal fixed. Rci is saying it is Wyndham and wyndham is saying it is rCi.
Has anyone ever used TPI?


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## JimMIA (Sep 16, 2011)

JuliusF said:


> Thanks to all for your replies so far. I will work with Wyndham to get the portal fixed. Rci is saying it is Wyndham and wyndham is saying it is rCi.


I got the same story during my quest to get hooked up to RCI.  The problem in my case was Wyndham, not RCI.  Wyndham had never sent any info to RCI to request an account for me...despite numerous assurances from multiple Wyndham employees that they had.

It wasn't until I got Wyndham *Quality Assurance* involved -- not the regular Wyndham folks, and not the Wyndham title folks --  that my problems began to get resolved.


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## dumbydee (Sep 16, 2011)

JimMIA said:


> I got the same story during my quest to get hooked up to RCI.  The problem in my case was Wyndham, not RCI.  Wyndham had never sent any info to RCI to request an account for me...despite numerous assurances from multiple Wyndham employees that they had.
> 
> It wasn't until I got Wyndham *Quality Assurance* involved -- not the regular Wyndham folks, and not the Wyndham title folks --  that my problems began to get resolved.



I have been dealing with this for over two weeks and today I think they finally got my RCI portal opened up for me to use. Uhoh NO, she said it would take at least 24 more hours and if it does not show up then to CALL back.  Oh well we will see tomorrow.


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## slabeaume (Sep 23, 2011)

JuliusF said:


> Thanks to all for your replies so far. I will work with Wyndham to get the portal fixed. Rci is saying it is Wyndham and wyndham is saying it is rCi.
> Has anyone ever used TPI?



If you can deposit a week in TPI, your chances for Maui are a lot better.  I've done this and gotten a 2 bedroom for next Memorial day.  Not sure you'll have much luck with X-mas week with any exchange company.  But TPI does have a lot more Hawaii availability, especially Maui.  I did have to book a Hawaii week from Wyndham (I'm VIP so had the advantage of 50% off points and an upgrade) and have Wyndham give it to TPI in order to get the Maui week.  With TPI if you want a 2 bedroom unit, you have to give them a 2 bedroom unit.


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