# Full list of RCI fees?



## dandan14 (Jul 3, 2013)

Hi, does anyone have a full list of RCI fees I can use to build a spreadsheet.  If I were to buy a week on ebay, I'd want to understand all of the small gotcha fees so I can understand how it compares with just renting from other TUGers (which is what we've done in the past.)

Here's what I know of:
First time membership:  $225
Yearly RCI membership:  $124
Exchange fee:  $159
Maintenance fee for home resort: $700-900ish

Are there other fees for depositing your week into the system or something like that?


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## skimble (Jul 3, 2013)

Not that I have this list, but exchange fees are $199. 
Are you talking about Points ore Weeks?
The Points system has cleaning fees, sometimes parking and resort fees that cannot be accounted since they are from resort management.


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## Passepartout (Jul 3, 2013)

Since you posted this in 'Point System Discussions', I assume you aren't talking weeks. Points annual membership is not discounted like multiple year weeks membership. If you are fortunate enough to buy a big enough bundle of RCI points to get several exchanges out of- even last minute ones- each costs $199. 

Annual fees can be expected to increase at around 5% a year. And they go on as long as you own the timeshare.

I gather from your question(s) that you are cost sensitive. That being the case, I'll let you in on a secret- known only to experienced TUGgers. Buy where you want to go most years. Fixed weeks are cheaper than points. Buy resale. Buy within driving distance- no point enriching the airlines especially if you are flying as a family. Buy at a resort that has some resale value, 'cause eventually you will want or need to divest yourself of it.

If you don't like the above reality, rent.

Jim


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## dandan14 (Jul 3, 2013)

Passepartout said:


> Since you posted this in 'Point System Discussions', I assume you aren't talking weeks. Points annual membership is not discounted like multiple year weeks membership. If you are fortunate enough to buy a big enough bundle of RCI points to get several exchanges out of- even last minute ones- each costs $199.
> 
> Annual fees can be expected to increase at around 5% a year. And they go on as long as you own the timeshare.
> 
> ...



Hi Jim, 
That is welcomed advice.
Yes...definitely trying to get the best bang for the buck.  Unfortunately, we really don't know where we'll be geographically in the coming years, so I've primarily focused on an exchange system.


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## Free2Roam (Jul 4, 2013)

This doesn't include resort specific fees... just RCI fees: http://pgs.rci.com/landing/ptr/fees/indexUS.html


To keep costs down, consider a triennial and when you need additional points, rent from another points member or from RCI.


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## dandan14 (Jul 4, 2013)

FreeIn2010 said:


> This doesn't include resort specific fees... just RCI fees: http://pgs.rci.com/landing/ptr/fees/indexUS.html
> 
> 
> To keep costs down, consider a triennial and when you need additional points, rent from another points member or from RCI.




Thanks.  Very helpful link. 

So what you're saying on the Triennial is to get something like this where I get a small allotment per year in exchange for 1/3 of the maintenance fee.

20,000 points per year
$325 yearly maintenance

So then if we wanted to book an exchange for a 40,000 place, my costs would be:

$325 maintenance fee
$124 Annual RCI fee
$159 7 night exchange
$400 Rental of 20,000 points at .02 each
-----
$1008

Honestly -- .02 per RCI point doesn't seem too bad.  Do I even need to purchase a timeshare to join RCI?  Or could I just join RCI and rent points at .02 each?


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## Free2Roam (Jul 4, 2013)

Yes you must own a timeshare that has RCI points in order to join. 

I've seen RCI points for rent in the TUG Marketplace for .01-.012 per point. 

I would suggest looking for a contract with maintenance fees closer to .01/point. They do come up periodically.


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## Elan (Jul 4, 2013)

dandan14 said:


> Hi, does anyone have a full list of RCI fees I can use to build a spreadsheet.  If I were to buy a week on ebay, I'd want to understand all of the small gotcha fees so I can understand how it compares with just renting from other TUGers (which is what we've done in the past.)
> 
> Here's what I know of:
> First time membership:  $225
> ...



  Just curious if you've looked into any of the mini systems?  They may be better suited to your needs than RCI Points.


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## dandan14 (Jul 4, 2013)

Elan said:


> Just curious if you've looked into any of the mini systems?  They may be better suited to your needs than RCI Points.



Enough to know that it was overwhelming -- since they all have different point scales, different fees, etc.   

I'm looking into a few now.  Will report back here with inevitable questions.


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## squierjosh (Jul 5, 2013)

Yearly membership varies on how many years you want to commit to at a time. You can save a few bucks by committing longer. I think I did 2 years with my first one, just to try it out.

Exchange fees vary based on length of stay, and possibly other factors. Usually a week is $199. But I've booked several 4 day trips and only paid $99 exchange fee. Still a ripoff, considering I paid for the points and membership already.


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## ronparise (Jul 5, 2013)

see no one has answered your question yet

RCI weeks fees

http://pgs.rci.com/landing/InsideRCI/fees/indexUS.html


RCI points fees

http://pgs.rci.com/landing/ptr/fees/indexUS.html


When you are deciding which points system to buy, you dont have to know everything about every one. That would indeed be overwhelming. Following the "buy where you intend to vacation, and buy close to home" advice you will get here on TUG.... Focus on the resorts in each system first. Based on the number and mix of resorts in each system, you should be able to choose a system or two to put at the top of your list. (for me it had to be Wyndham... its the only system with resorts in San Francisco, Washington DC, Florida and New Orleans. All are important to me)  Then you get down to the other details

Just know when you compare one of the systems to buying an RCI points resort; Although RCI has the most resorts in their system, RCI also has all those fees, on top of the maintenance fee charged by the resort.


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## dandan14 (Jul 5, 2013)

Thanks for the advice Ron.


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## skimble (Aug 3, 2013)

ronparise said:


> see no one has answered your question yet
> 
> RCI weeks fees
> 
> ...



OK... I checked the Points Fees... 
They charge $159 for a Points reservation and $199 for a Weeks reservation.  
I am under the assumption that any week I book with RCI Points is a Points reservation.  The resort I just booked into is a Points resort.  And, I booked 7 nights.  But, I got charged $199.  Does that mean the 7 consecutive nights I booked was a Weeks deposit, and therefore I got charged a Weeks fee?


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## ronparise (Aug 3, 2013)

skimble said:


> OK... I checked the Points Fees...
> They charge $159 for a Points reservation and $199 for a Weeks reservation.
> I am under the assumption that any week I book with RCI Points is a Points reservation.  The resort I just booked into is a Points resort.  And, I booked 7 nights.  But, I got charged $199.  Does that mean the 7 consecutive nights I booked was a Weeks deposit, and therefore I got charged a Weeks fee?



Did you book it using RCI points or RCI weeks (tpu)?


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## skimble (Aug 3, 2013)

ronparise said:


> see no one has answered your question yet
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I own 15 weeks, two of which are RCI Points weeks.  I own the points for exchange, the other weeks are resorts I like to go to-- I use my day use privilege at nearly all of them.  
This may be semantics, but you are not talking about buying where you want to go; you are talking about buying into the SYSTEM that has the type of resort you want to vacation in.  
You still own points or arbitrary shares.  You espouse the same thing often (as do many Tuggers) that one should buy where they want to go.  And, while the system is working well for you, and will likely continue to work for years, don't think you are immune to the powers that be, and their ability to create change that favors new developers, new investment, and new owners.  You own the points; they control the system.  
I own week 25 at the Carlsbad Inn... nobody can take that away from me.  I pay my taxes, I pay my fees, and I have my fixed unit every year.  
I own my floating week 30 at Carlsbad Seapointe, and my unit can fluctuate, but my July reservation will remain solid.  
You own shares in a system.  Systems change... you bought in there for the exchanges that this affords you.
If you don't believe this, take a good look at Marriott owners.  Look at their Platinum membership.  Take Newport Marriott for example... owners who bought platinum knew they were getting summer weeks, and it was easy to book June, July and August.  Today, they've been pushed out by the Platinum Points.  It's a long explanation, but Marriott started with straight weeks-- floating.  Then it went to platinum-- seasonal ownership with prime booking privileges.  Now the favored membership is a Points ownership-- more like owning stock in a corporation.  They have steadily buried the platinum season owners, and the resale value of their weeks are reflecting this.  

What's my point?  Many people espouse the "buy where you want to go" philosophy on TUG.  This is a good idea.  Most Tuggers also play the system.  You might own Wyndham POINTS in places you want to go, but you are also playing with a system-- a system that feels pretty secure to... for the time being.


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## skimble (Aug 3, 2013)

ronparise said:


> Did you book it using RCI points or RCI weeks (tpu)?



RCI Points, not TPU


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## tschwa2 (Aug 3, 2013)

skimble said:


> OK... I checked the Points Fees...
> They charge $159 for a Points reservation and $199 for a Weeks reservation.
> I am under the assumption that any week I book with RCI Points is a Points reservation.  The resort I just booked into is a Points resort.  And, I booked 7 nights.  But, I got charged $199.  Does that mean the 7 consecutive nights I booked was a Weeks deposit, and therefore I got charged a Weeks fee?



 If you are charged $199 it means it was a weeks deposit at a points resort.  If it is more than 10 months out you will know for sure it is a weeks deposit.  If it does not allow you to book less than 7 days it is a weeks deposit.  If you click on the the start day and every day is available for check out and it is 10 months or less (or more if it is in your home resort or home group) then you should get charged the points 7 night fee ($159).


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## skimble (Aug 3, 2013)

tschwa2 said:


> If you are charged $199 it means it was a weeks deposit at a points resort.  If it is more than 10 months out you will know for sure it is a weeks deposit.  If it does not allow you to book less than 7 days it is a weeks deposit.  If you click on the the start day and every day is available for check out and it is 10 months or less (or more if it is in your home resort or home group) then you should get charged the points 7 night fee ($159).


 
You are correct.
I asked the RCI guide how I can differentiate between a Weeks and a Points resort, and this was his answer... direct quote:

"The only way to really differentiate would be to get to the step where you pay."

Otherwise, yes... the 10 month window is a good indicator.


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## FlaKmunKy (Sep 10, 2013)

*RCI Points Annual Membership:*
$124 - 1 Year
$229 - 2 Years
$319.02 - 3 Years
$400.00 (approx, not sure exact price) - 4 Years
$499.00 - 5 Years (I think)

*RCI Weeks Annual Membership:*
$89 - 1 Year
$168 - 2 Year
$229 - 3 Year
4 Year not sure
5 Year not sure.

*Exchange Fees:*
Home Week - No Exchange Fee
Home Resort Booking (11-12 Months Out and in Same Unit Type & Season you own) - No Exchange Fee
Home Resort Booking (11-12 Months Out in different unit type or season) - $50
1 Week Exchange Fee (weeks inventory) - $199 (online) $209 (call center) <-- Standard Exchange fee for all weeks accounts
7 Night Stay or more (points inventory) - $159 (online) $169 (call center)
1 Night Stay - $49
2 Night Stay - $69
3 Night Stay - $89
4 Night Stay - $109
5 Night Stay $129
6 Night Stay $149

*Other Fees:*
Vacation Protection - $49 (makes it so you can change or cancel with no penalty as far as your points are concerned)
Guest Certificate (to send someone other than you or someone on the acct - $59

I think this is fairly close.  This is all typed up by memory so don't quote me I could be off by a smidgen.


IF you own at a vacation village property and you book into a vacation village property AND you have a WEEKS account only you are eligible for the $139 exchange fee for booking into a vacation village property only.

*Points Partners Reservations:*
Hotels?
Car Rental?
Airfaire?

Not sure about those.  Does anyone else on here know those?


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## kwindham (Sep 10, 2013)

skimble said:


> You are correct.
> I asked the RCI guide how I can differentiate between a Weeks and a Points resort, and this was his answer... direct quote:
> 
> "The only way to really differentiate would be to get to the step where you pay."
> ...



Wow, I did NOT know this.  good info.


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