# Open season on RCI?



## chriskre (Jul 11, 2010)

Still learning my HGVC so please be patient with this newbie.   

I was playing with the HGVC/RCI portal and I saw this:

_Open Season
 For short stays and quick getaways, contact Club directly to access competitive nightly rates at top RCI affiliated resorts.
_
Are these different Open Season than the resorts you see in the Classic reservation system?  Are these non-affiliate resorts?


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## KarenL (Jul 11, 2010)

It sounds like this is referring to RCI's Last Call Vacations, which are last minute inventory. I believe check in is for the upcoming 45 days. Not a lot of choices, generally speaking, but sometimes folks get lucky, especially with areas that are overbuilt.
Karen


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## BocaBum99 (Jul 11, 2010)

KarenL said:


> It sounds like this is referring to RCI's Last Call Vacations, which are last minute inventory. I believe check in is for the upcoming 45 days. Not a lot of choices, generally speaking, but sometimes folks get lucky, especially with areas that are overbuilt.
> Karen



I have seen something like this on other forums, but haven't confirmed it.  It sounds like it is Last Calls or Extra Vacations for *NIGHTLY* stays.

That might be an interesting feature.


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## chriskre (Jul 11, 2010)

It's not Last calls.  There is a seperate link for last calls.

It's not RCI nightly reservations either.  There is a link for that too.

I also see a link for the weekly reservations. 

So, I'm stumped.    

It doesn't have a link under it, it just says to call the club.


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## BocaBum99 (Jul 11, 2010)

chriskre said:


> It's not Last calls.  There is a seperate link for last calls.
> 
> It's not RCI nightly reservations either.  There is a link for that too.
> 
> ...



Why don't you call to find out?  Sounds like an interesting program?


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## chriskre (Jul 11, 2010)

BocaBum99 said:


> Why don't you call to find out?  Sounds like an interesting program?



I will when I'm off again.  Can't call from work so it'll have to wait til Thursday but the curiosity might kill me before then.


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## OrlandoTS (Jul 12, 2010)

We are thinking of buying HGVC. I'm trying to find a general exchange rate for 7000 platinum HGVC points to RCI. Is there a chart?


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## chriskre (Jul 12, 2010)

OrlandoTS said:


> We are thinking of buying HGVC. I'm trying to find a general exchange rate for 7000 platinum HGVC points to RCI. Is there a chart?



From what I see going into RCI from HGVC's portal,
2400 points are required for any studio
3400 points are required for any 1 bedroom
4800 points are required for any 2 bedroom

It doesn't seem to matter whether it's a gold crown resort or a rinky dinky dumpy TS, the points go by size which is kinda dumb so you have to be a very educated consumer before blowing your points on something you could have picked up on last call or by other cheaper means.  

There is no difference depositing gold, silver or platinum points.  Points are points.  The season only matters with HGVC not RCI.  

Now, I'm not sure about deposit first since I haven't done that yet.  
I'm not sure how many points are required for a 3 bedroom either.


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## lvkcwalker (Jul 12, 2010)

*Points Values for RCI Exchange Reservations*

From Page 138  2010 Club Member Guide

For RCI Exchange Reservations, pts required are:
3 BR:
Red Time 5,800
White Time 4,000
Blue Time 2,900

2 BR: 
Red Time 4,800
White Time 3,400
Blue Time 2,400

1 BR:
Red Time 3,400
White Time 2,400
Blue Time 1,700

Studio:
Red Time 2,400
White Time 1,700
Blue Time 1,200


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## Talent312 (Jul 12, 2010)

OrlandoTS said:


> We are thinking of buying HGVC. I'm trying to find a general exchange rate for 7000 platinum HGVC points to RCI. Is there a chart?



There IS a chart. Its on page 138 of the Members Guide.
HGVC point requirements in a nutshell. I've omitted blue-season.

Size - Season ..... 7N Stay ..... Weekday Night .... Weekend Night

3BR - Red ............... 5800 ......... 580 .................... 1160
3BR - White ............ 4000 ......... 400 ...................... 800

2BR - Red ............... 4800 ......... 480 ...................... 960
2BR - White ............ 3400 ......... 340 ...................... 680

1BR - Red ............... 3400 ......... 340 ...................... 680
1BR - White ............ 2400 ......... 240 ...................... 480

Studio - Red ............ 2400 ......... 240 ...................... 480
Studio - White ......... 1700 ......... 170 ...................... 340

No deposits are needed to book a stay. Simply make the reservation.
HGVC deducts the points from your account upon confirmation.
HGVC does the exchange with RCI using "club" inventory.
-------------------------
IMHO, in using the phase "RCI Open Season," HGVC is obliquely referring
to RCI's "Last Call," not a separate program. They are simply applying
their own nomenclature... but I couild be wrong.


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## lvkcwalker (Jul 12, 2010)

We have exchanged several times into White and/or Blue Season to save pts. RCI's season are red, white, blue...much like HGVC seasons are Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. We did not need to deposit our pts into RCI first as we searched for available units online and selected from the available inventory. We've been able to stretch our pts nicely by staying in White or Blue Seasons and have still had some very nice vacations this way. Each RCI TS in the RCI directory lists their particular seasonal timeframes.


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## chriskre (Jul 12, 2010)

Thanks guys.  

I'm still learning.  

I must be searching in only red time because I haven't seen any of those cheap points deals.

Probably because I'm only searching Florida and New York.


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## Talent312 (Jul 12, 2010)

chriskre said:


> Thanks guys.
> I'm still learning.



I suggest reading the Guide thru a few more times before taking
the HGVC-competency test. But not to worry... Its open-book.


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## chriskre (Jul 12, 2010)

Talent312 said:


> I suggest reading the Guide thru a few more times before taking
> the HGVC-competency test. But not to worry... Its open-book.



 Honestly, my computer freezes up when I try ro read it online and the few times I can get it to work, I cant read the font.  I did finally get a paper copy but it's always downstairs when I'm upstairs and too lazy to go get it.  

Sorry I know, but better than saying "my dog ate it".


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## PigsDad (Jul 13, 2010)

chriskre said:


> Honestly, my computer freezes up when I try ro read it online and the few times I can get it to work, I cant read the font.


I have had the same issue, but I found a solution.

Did you know that you can download a copy to your computer?  It is an option on the web page.  It downloads as a PDF file -- once you have it on your computer, you can view it with Adobe Reader (or your favorite PDF reader).  No problems w/ crashing, you can easily set your own zoom level so the fonts are your preferred size, you can easily do a key word search, etc.  Much better than trying to view it on the HGVC website, IMO.

Kurt


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## glypnirsgirl (Jul 13, 2010)

Chris - there is a copy of the members book on one of the links above. I have downloaded it to my computer and done exactly as suggested using the adobe zoom feature. I got mine from the link, not from HGVC.

elaine


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## glypnirsgirl (Jul 13, 2010)

*Here is the link*

http://multimedia.hiltongrandvacations.com/mg/Book_Reader.cfm?BookId=1


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## OrlandoTS (Jul 13, 2010)

Thank you so much for the information.


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## msbrinkley (Jul 13, 2010)

lvkcwalker said:


> From Page 138  2010 Club Member Guide
> 
> For RCI Exchange Reservations, pts required are:
> 3 BR:
> ...





Does this mean you deposit 4800 of your points, request an exchange back into HGVC for a 2B/2B for 1 week and then rescue the balance for the next year.  Seems this is a loophole that could allow you to get a week for less points (example 7000 in platinum season and rescue into the next next year).  Do this a few times and you could really pull one off.   Is this real?


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## riz (Jul 13, 2010)

You don't really "deposit" anything in RCI.  You use HGVC website site to then jump into the RCI portal (thru your HGVC login) then view what is there......once you find something you grab it and Hilton then grabs 4800 points from your account.  

Its my understanding that some folks have been able to snag a HGVC site this way but the vast vast majority of times its for a RCI location.  We did this for a RCI site on Victoria Island, which we will be at the end of the month for a week.




msbrinkley said:


> Does this mean you deposit 4800 of your points, request an exchange back into HGVC for a 2B/2B for 1 week and then rescue the balance for the next year.  Seems this is a loophole that could allow you to get a week for less points (example 7000 in platinum season and rescue into the next next year).  Do this a few times and you could really pull one off.   Is this real?


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## chriskre (Jul 13, 2010)

glypnirsgirl said:


> Chris - there is a copy of the members book on one of the links above. I have downloaded it to my computer and done exactly as suggested using the adobe zoom feature. I got mine from the link, not from HGVC.
> 
> elaine





PigsDad said:


> I have had the same issue, but I found a solution.
> 
> Did you know that you can download a copy to your computer?  It is an option on the web page.  It downloads as a PDF file -- once you have it on your computer, you can view it with Adobe Reader (or your favorite PDF reader).  No problems w/ crashing, you can easily set your own zoom level so the fonts are your preferred size, you can easily do a key word search, etc.  Much better than trying to view it on the HGVC website, IMO.
> 
> Kurt





glypnirsgirl said:


> http://multimedia.hiltongrandvacations.com/mg/Book_Reader.cfm?BookId=1



I tried saving it by downloading it but when I try to open it I get a microsoft page with an error message.  It doesn't give me an option like most pdf files do that say, save as.  

I tried doing this in the past and it keeps bringing me to the website with no pdf file.  

Frustrating.  :annoyed:


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## chriskre (Jul 13, 2010)

msbrinkley said:


> Does this mean you deposit 4800 of your points, request an exchange back into HGVC for a 2B/2B for 1 week and then rescue the balance for the next year.  Seems this is a loophole that could allow you to get a week for less points (example 7000 in platinum season and rescue into the next next year).  Do this a few times and you could really pull one off.   Is this real?



You don't have to "deposit" the 4800 points in advance if you see something you want on the RCI portal, you just reserve it and they deduct it.   I've compared a few weeks on RCI with the HGVC portal and there are several weeks that are definetely cheaper to exchange thru RCI and have points left over for another vacation.  

You don't have to rescue the leftover points if you wanted to still use them this year.


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## ausman (Jul 13, 2010)

chriskre said:


> I tried saving it by downloading it but when I try to open it I get a microsoft page with an error message.  It doesn't give me an option like most pdf files do that say, save as.
> 
> I tried doing this in the past and it keeps bringing me to the website with no pdf file.
> 
> Frustrating.  :annoyed:



The file is small enough that someone probably could email to you (<13,000KB), most mailboxes accept more than that in a message attachment now.

Ask one of your HGVC buddies.


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## chriskre (Jul 14, 2010)

basham said:


> The file is small enough that someone probably could email to you (<13,000KB), most mailboxes accept more than that in a message attachment now.
> 
> Ask one of your HGVC buddies.



Hi Buddy, 
Can you send it to me?


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