# Timeshare worth owning for RCI trade into DVC



## encore (Jun 30, 2014)

I am considering purchasing a timeshare for the purpose of trading into DVC. I own Marriott Aruba weeks which were great for trading into DVC resorts but that all ended once Interval's relationship ended with DVC. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## DeniseM (Jun 30, 2014)

In simplest terms, you need a lot of RCI points or TPU to trade into DVC.  It doesn't really matter what the resort is - it's the points/TPU that count.  So you want to read the posts about what resorts are the best RCI traders.  

Best = low maintenance fees/high points or TPU.

That being said, few people are likely to reveal their tiger RCI traders, because that tends to be the kiss of death to trading power.


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## chalee94 (Jun 30, 2014)

encore said:


> I am considering purchasing a timeshare for the purpose of trading into DVC. I own Marriott Aruba weeks which were great for trading into DVC resorts but that all ended once Interval's relationship ended with DVC. Any suggestions would be appreciated.



once you buy that RCI trader, let me know.  i'll be looking for DVC to switch back to II shortly thereafter...


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## Passepartout (Jun 30, 2014)

That's like asking what would be the best car to have to trade straight across for a Rolls Royce. I suppose you could own a prime week at Manhattan Club. That would probably reliably trade with DVC. 

TUG wisdom: Own where you want to go. If you want to go to DVC, own at DVC. Then you don't have to either worry they will change exchange companies (again) or pay exchange fees. As a bonus, owning DVC will easily exchange for about anywhere else.

Jim


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## DeniseM (Jun 30, 2014)

I have to respectfully disagree with Jim - It is VERY expensive to own DVC, even when you buy on the resale market, because DVC keeps the prices high with ROFR.   DVC is far more expensive on the resale market than the other top resort systems.  So DVC is way too expensive to use as a trader.  

Remember, when you trade with RCI, the underlying resort means nothing - it's the point/TPU that count, and you can find them MUCH cheaper than buying DVC.

If you want to go to DVC every single year - it makes some sense to buy - but probably not for occasional use, and definitely not for a trader.


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## Beefnot (Jun 30, 2014)

There are tiger traders out there, one particularly I have in mind (<$10 per TPU) that appears quite infrequently on Ebay  and I forgot to bid on last year (when am I going to learn to just use a sniping service).  I own a couple at ~$15 per TPU, which is just decent.


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## JimMIA (Jun 30, 2014)

Passepartout said:


> As a bonus, owning DVC will easily exchange for about anywhere else.


I have to disagree with this.  

DVC's contract with RCI is very much RCI *Lite*!  DVC members have access to only about 600 RCI resorts -- a small percentage of the total system.  That doesn't mean DVC owners can't get exchanges they like, it just means they are limited.  Limited exchange on top of a very, very limited internal system (12 resorts, 5 locations) gives you a very limited timeshare ownership.  

DVC owners also do NOT have individual RCI memberships -- which means they don't get any of the normal RCI benefits like Extra Vacations or Last Calls.

IMHO, DVC is great for WDW visits only...but not much else.


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## JimMIA (Jun 30, 2014)

encore said:


> I am considering purchasing a timeshare for the purpose of trading into DVC. *I own Marriott Aruba* weeks which were great for trading into DVC resorts but that all ended once Interval's relationship ended with DVC. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


My suggestion would be to stay at one of the outstanding *Marriott* resorts in the WDW area.  What's the hard part?


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## Ron98GT (Jun 30, 2014)

deleted


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## Ron98GT (Jun 30, 2014)

deleted


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## PearlCity (Jun 30, 2014)

World mark that way if dvc goes back to trading in II you can still trade in II for dvc


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## bnoble (Jun 30, 2014)

> I am considering purchasing a timeshare for the purpose of trading into DVC.


This is probably a bad idea.

If you were instead looking for a good trader, generally, in RCI---one with which you might periodically exchange into DVC---that would be great.

But, to have one very specific destination in mind is asking for trouble.  I've been a timeshare owner for not quite eight years.  In that time there have been five sea changes in how one most effectively exchanges into DVC that have radically changed the prospects for my portfolio of ownerships.

1: The move from II to RCI eliminated all II-only traders.
2: The global RCI revaluation a year or so before TPUs went live whacked many (now ex-)Tigers in RCI.
3: TPUs were introduced.
4: Wyndham's global RCI revaluation for both Weeks and Points.
5: DVC's move from 11-month to 7-month deposits (making peak-demand weeks much harder)

It is a constantly moving target.

So, if your goal is to exchange in when you can, but you'll happily stay elsewhere, then go for it.  But, if you really want to stay in a DVC resort regularly, you should think about buying there (resale).


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## chriskre (Jun 30, 2014)

encore said:


> I am considering purchasing a timeshare for the purpose of trading into DVC. I own Marriott Aruba weeks which were great for trading into DVC resorts but that all ended once Interval's relationship ended with DVC. Any suggestions would be appreciated.



Since you already own an II trader I would consider purchasing Wyndham points so you'd have access to DVC thru the portal and if that didn't pan out then you could always stay at Bonnet Creek which is as close to Disney as you'll get for the price.  It's a pretty nice resort.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 30, 2014)

My WorldMark points match my OGS 2X more than my weeks account does, and I am resale, so my RCI account is just weeks.  It looks like points, but it's weeks.  

I am very happy with WorldMark for trading, and when Rick retires next year, we will use our WorldMark points to stay at WorldMark resorts. 

What I love about WorldMark is the intrinsic value to me as a person who loves so many of the areas where WM has the best resorts, like Estes Park, CO, Yellowstone, and Disneyland.  What more could I want.


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## encore (Jul 1, 2014)

Thanks everyone for all the great feedback! World mark looks like a good place to look at as there is such a great variety of locations and if Disney ever goes back to using II I would also have my Marriott properties to again trade for DVC.


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## lprstn (Jul 1, 2014)

I can honestly say I've had 7 trades into DVC using my Wyndham. However, I am a VIP gold member who can book immediately but I don't think that makes any difference. To be honest though, most of what I get is off season and 1 bedrooms. I've only ever seen a 2 bedroom 1 time.


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## chalee94 (Jul 1, 2014)

DeniseM said:


> It is VERY expensive to own DVC, even when you buy on the resale market, because DVC keeps the prices high with ROFR.



nitpick: a couple of years ago during the great recession, DVC stopped ROFRing contracts almost completely over the course of a year or 2.  with few exceptions, prices still remained relatively high. 

i think it's more about the demand to travel to wdw and stay onsite due to the uniqueness of the experience.  things might change at any time but i don't believe DVC resale values are high due to ROFR.


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## Beefnot (Jul 1, 2014)

chalee94 said:


> nitpick: a couple of years ago during the great recession, DVC stopped ROFRing contracts almost completely over the course of a year or 2. with few exceptions, prices still remained relatively high.
> 
> i think it's more about the demand to travel to wdw and stay onsite due to the uniqueness of the experience. things might change at any time but i don't believe DVC resale values are high due to ROFR.


 
Agree that demand definitely plays a significant part.  They are likely higher than they otherwise would be due to ROFR.  Both of the developers that have a rather disciplined ROFR practice, HGVC and DVC, have provided durable floors for the resale cost of their contracts.


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## PearlCity (Jul 1, 2014)

chriskre said:


> Since you already own an II trader I would consider purchasing Wyndham points so you'd have access to DVC thru the portal and if that didn't pan out then you could always stay at Bonnet Creek which is as close to Disney as you'll get for the price.  It's a pretty nice resort.


If your goal is Disney world this is a good idea. The. Bonnet creek can be your back up. But you should seriously look at DVc resale. Trade fees are always going up.


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## JudyS (Jul 6, 2014)

Brian (BNoble) correctly notes that nothing is guaranteed in timeshare trades, and therefore buying week just to trade into DVC is a big risk. While I agree that the risk is high, I think it's a risk worth taking, assuming you have a strong desire to stay at DVC rather than one of the off-site resorts. The reason it's worth buying a trader to get DVC access is that buying DVC points resale is extremely expensive. So is renting a DVC unit from an owner or from Disney. Given the high costs of buying/renting DVC, even two trades into a one-bedroom or larger DVC can save you thousands of dollars. That is definitely enough to pay for a decent non-DVC timeshare to use for trades.

What I would suggest is that you buy something that you can easily sell if the DVC trades don't work out. Worldmark would fit the bill, although the upfront cost to buy Worldmark is a bit high. Another option is RCI Points, which  gives excellent access to DVC units, often at a reasonable price both upfront and in MFs. But an RCI Points contract will be much less flexible than Worldmark, so make sure you have another use for it in case the DVC trades dry up. 

There are other possibilities that might work, such as maybe a Sheraton Broadway Plantation or a SoCal summer week, but they are harder to find.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jul 6, 2014)

I admit to buying one resort, Foxrun, just for trading into DVC through II.  I was able to get two trades for DVC using Foxrun because we owned prime summer weeks, and each week deposited received an AC, and since II holds back much of the inventory from view, getting a second DVC with the AC was easy to do.  

When DVC went to RCI, my hopes were dashed very quickly, and I had to sell and give away all of my Foxrun weeks, sans two, which I use for PIC with Wyndham.  

WorldMark really is a great option.  It's not as cheap to buy but cheapest to trade into DVC that I have found, and I have a few of the prime lockoffs others use to book Disney.

We own  46,000 points and pay .057 in MF's.  That makes a DVC 2 bedroom (10K points) just $570 + $209 exchange fee, no matter what season.


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