# RCI costs continue to astound...



## skimble (May 22, 2016)

Membership:  124
Exchange:  219
Extend trade value:  69  
Platinum:  69
Vacation protection:  99

$570 to exchange.     

I'm sure I missed some other costs.


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## klpca (May 22, 2016)

I agree that RCI is expensive, especially compared to Interval. For starters, I never bother with the last three items on your list. (I did buy platinum this year to check it out - it's really no use to me so I won't be doing that again). Probably about every 5 trades, I cancel for one reason or another. $219 down the drain. On the other hand, we have the ability to stay in some pretty nice properties in Hawaii for under $1000 per week. That's the only reason that I keep my membership with them. That and I can get about two trades for every week that I deposit with them because they give our units a lot of TPU's. If I was only able to do straight across exchanges I would definitely use another exchange company.


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## Passepartout (May 22, 2016)

This is exactly my point when I see the famous questionnaire for newbies that asks 'Do you want to stay more at a Home Resort, or trade around.' They invariably say that they want to travel all over. That one item is what makes timesharing most attractive. It's what developers stress, and have the big RCI or II wishbooks and models of resorts that people can exchange into. They just don't tell 'm that it can cost nearly as much as their MF to do it.

Jim


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## bogey21 (May 22, 2016)

Back when I got disillusioned with the "Big Boys" and sold out I did two things.  First I bought 6 Fixed Week, Fixed Units at Independent HOA controlled Resorts I planned to visit each year and second, I bailed on RCI and II because of the ever increasing cost.

George


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## DAman (May 22, 2016)

Plus the resort fees at certain resorts......


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## missyrcrews (May 22, 2016)

*Also consider....*

The membership fee is the same no matter how many weeks you have enrolled with RCI.  You pay per membership...not per week.  I have 4 weeks, so the "per week" cost isn't too bad.  

The platinum fee gets me 10% off extra vacations and last calls.  For our household, we make the fee up in discounts...we tend to purchase several of those two kinds of vacations/year. 

I've never needed to extend my TPU's...we plan to use them up before they expire.  

I actually love my RCI membership.  As with most other things, it isn't for everyone.  But it's worked great for us for 15 years!


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## Timeshare Von (May 22, 2016)

RCI is OK . . . but not as good as it used to be . . . but is anything?

Back when I bought my very first TS in the early 1980's, if you deposited into RCI and they didn't have anyone exchange for your deposited week, you got it back to use yourself.  I think that was at about 10-14 days out from your scheduled week.

For me, living in NoVA and the resort being in the Poconos, it was feasible to do . . . and I did get a week back once to use in addition to the exchange already taken/used.

As a Wyndham points contract owner today, the price of RCI membership is bundled into my MF and I really don't see it since we pay Wyndham monthly.  I don't use RCI much but when I have, it's been a nice convenience. 

Unfortunately, Wyndham doesn't give you an option to have or not have RCI . . . go figure.  LOL  That probably bothers me more than the cost itself.


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## VegasBella (May 22, 2016)

skimble said:


> Membership:  124
> Exchange:  219
> Extend trade value:  69
> Platinum:  69
> ...



I don't pay those last three fees. 

One you missed is the guest certificate if it's not going to be you to check-in. 

For now, I think I get a pretty good value from RCI. I am using it mostly for extra vacations. I book something for myself or my family often enough that it seems worth it. Of course, I can't compare to II or other exchange systems because I haven't really used those much.


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## Egret1986 (May 22, 2016)

*Yep, that was a feature I remember from the 80's. I've been a member since 1984.*



Timeshare Von said:


> RCI is OK . . . but not as good as it used to be . . . but is anything?
> 
> Back when I bought my very first TS in the early 1980's, if you deposited into RCI and they didn't have anyone exchange for your deposited week, you got it back to use yourself.  I think that was at about 10-14 days out from your scheduled week.
> 
> I don't use RCI much but when I have, it's been a nice convenience.



I use it when I can't rent my weeks.  RCI has made it convenient with their newest feature for $69.  If you deposit as little as 15 days from check-in, you can get your full trade power back.   I wouldn't use that for a low TPU week, but it does provide value for high TPU weeks that can't be used or rented.  

As missycrews stated if you have several weeks, it defrays the annual costs.  My Mom only had one timeshare and kept an ongoing RCI account.  She sold the timeshare last year, but still had two banked weeks.  I told her to forget about those weeks. She can't really travel and trying to find exchanges that can accommodate her aren't happening.  So she's continuing the annual membership and will pay the high exchange fee attempting to use weeks that will probably not work out.   The costs far outweigh what she can even hope to get.  I've offered to let her use my weeks at great rates, which are where she would like to go.  However, she has banked weeks with RCI and wants to use those.  

To the OP; yes, the costs have gotten ridiculous.  

As Jim said, the fees can be as much as some maintenance fees.  It's just not cost effective for the casual exchanger for sure.

I work the system to the best of my ability as the system changes.  I've gotten fantastic exchanges over the years.

However, my timesharing is taking a new direction and one day in the future I hope to be like bogey21.


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## LynnW (May 22, 2016)

I remember that Platinum members used to get a discount on guest certificates but I don't see that as a benefit anymore. Does anyone know? Also has anyone tried to call the resort and ask if a guest certificate is required for family members checking in?

Lynn


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## dougp26364 (May 22, 2016)

We dropped RCI a long time ago because of the costs associated with exchanging. I.I. has kept it reasonable but, we've used them a lot less than in the past. We're down to 1 or 2 external exchanges per year. As it stands now it looks as if one year it will be one exchange and the next year two exchanges. The ONLY reason for using I.I. at this moment is there are a few resorts within driving distance that allow us to bring our dogs. Brining out dogs is less expensive than boarding them, even with the I.I. exchange fee and resort pet fee's. If/when that benefit disappears, so will our interest in I.I.

I will say that as new owners way back in 1998, exchanging was a huge part of our travel plans. As the years have gone on and we've seen many of the places we wanted to see, our needs have changed. I believe there's still a strong need for both RCI and I.I., it's just they don't fit our needs the same way for travel anymore.


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## ronparise (May 22, 2016)

So back to the old tried and true advice 

Buy what you intend on using yourself. I find with the over  one hundred resorts in club Wyndham and Worldmark that I own, I don't need RCI


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## presley (May 22, 2016)

Skimble, look into SFX for future trading. I have heard that even GPX will accept some of their owners other weeks for trading, too.


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## bellesgirl (May 22, 2016)

LynnW said:


> I remember that Platinum members used to get a discount on guest certificates but I don't see that as a benefit anymore. Does anyone know? Also has anyone tried to call the resort and ask if a guest certificate is required for family members checking in?
> 
> Lynn



Platinum no longer gets a rebate on GC, but you get savings dollars instead, which are pretty useless, IMO. I do call the resort to see if I need a GC and in many cases I do not.  A few times, the resort has just changed the name on the reservation, especially if it is family member.  Sometimes a letter will suffice.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (May 22, 2016)

We pretty much dropped out of RCI quite a few years ago. A good part of it was the cost of exchanging. When we first got involved we got RCI membership for $59 per year, and domestic exchanges were $79.  A few years later costs had nearly doubled.  

We decided it was much easier to give the join a mini-system that had resorts in places we wanted to visit, essentially swapping the RCI membership fee for the added cost of membership in the mini.  But with the mini it's far easier to get what we want and make travel plans, instead of hoping for an exchange.  Plus, being a member of the mini gets us a free membership in an exchange company, and with greater trade power than we had as individual members.  

We occasionally use an exchange company, when we need to fill out a vacation of when we have expiring mini-points that we need to burn.


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## bnoble (May 22, 2016)

I must be one of the few who still sees good value in RCI.  Granted, I've got a couple of different currencies to spend---both TPU and Wyndham points---and my membership is already paid for through my Wyndham MFs whether I like it or not.  But, we've had some lovely stays through RCI that have been very cost-effective over the years, and those continue to this day.  Just next month we'll spend a week in a 3BR Penthouse at HGVC's Lagoon Tower and the week after at HGVC's Kings Land in a 2BR.


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## Steve (May 22, 2016)

Like many others, I have dropped RCI completely.  It just got too expensive for what I got out of it.  I also use II much less than I used to, and I may not renew when my membership expires next year.  

I have decided...after having owned, exchanged, and stayed in dozens of timeshares...that it now makes sense to own only where I consistently like to vacation or in a mini system.  When I want to go other places, I'll either rent a timeshare or stay in a hotel.  Cash is the ultimate points system.

Also, as Doug mentioned, I like to take my dog on vacation with me. The fact that so few timeshares allow pets has tipped the scales away from timeshare exchanges for me.  I'd rather stay in a hotel with my dog than in a timeshare without her.

Steve


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## WinniWoman (May 23, 2016)

Passepartout said:


> This is exactly my point when I see the famous questionnaire for newbies that asks 'Do you want to stay more at a Home Resort, or trade around.' They invariably say that they want to travel all over. That one item is what makes timesharing most attractive. It's what developers stress, and have the big RCI or II wishbooks and models of resorts that people can exchange into. They just don't tell 'm that it can cost nearly as much as their MF to do it.
> 
> Jim



Agree. To me, it just doesn't make sense (financially) to buy a timeshare to just exchange, although I realize there are exceptions. Having a home resort you can drive to and use each year is the best bet. Also so not to be beholden to airfare. Just rent. We always use our home resorts and rent when we want to go elsewhere. We eventually ended our RCI membership. For the rare occasions that we want to exchange, we utilize the free memberships in the independent exchange companies.


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## WinniWoman (May 23, 2016)

missyrcrews said:


> The membership fee is the same no matter how many weeks you have enrolled with RCI.  You pay per membership...not per week.  I have 4 weeks, so the "per week" cost isn't too bad.
> 
> The platinum fee gets me 10% off extra vacations and last calls.  For our household, we make the fee up in discounts...we tend to purchase several of those two kinds of vacations/year.
> 
> ...



I agree the membership fee could be worth it just for those extra vacations for sure. And then there is this:


https://www.resortcerts.com/about_us


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## WinniWoman (May 23, 2016)

dougp26364 said:


> We dropped RCI a long time ago because of the costs associated with exchanging. I.I. has kept it reasonable but, we've used them a lot less than in the past. We're down to 1 or 2 external exchanges per year. As it stands now it looks as if one year it will be one exchange and the next year two exchanges. The ONLY reason for using I.I. at this moment is there are a few resorts within driving distance that allow us to bring our dogs. Brining out dogs is less expensive than boarding them, even with the I.I. exchange fee and resort pet fee's. If/when that benefit disappears, so will our interest in I.I.
> 
> I will say that as new owners way back in 1998, exchanging was a huge part of our travel plans. As the years have gone on and we've seen many of the places we wanted to see, our needs have changed. I believe there's still a strong need for both RCI and I.I., it's just they don't fit our needs the same way for travel anymore.




I can relate. RCI was great for us back in the day when our son was in school and we had a floating week ("attached" to our prime summer fixed week) that always fell during school time. The fees were low then so we were lucky and it was with that off-season week that we traveled around the country. We still used our fixed week at our home resort then. Now we use both the fixed and floating week at our home resort except in rare occasions.

Now, it isn't worth it for us to exchange between the fees, cost of flying, etc. We just rent occasionally when we want to go somewhere else and make the decision whether or not we want to fly, but at least aren't forced to.


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## Sugarcubesea (May 23, 2016)

Wow,  So Happy I'm with II.




skimble said:


> Membership:  124
> Exchange:  219
> Extend trade value:  69
> Platinum:  69
> ...


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## dougp26364 (May 23, 2016)

ronparise said:


> So back to the old tried and true advice
> 
> Buy what you intend on using yourself. I find with the over  one hundred resorts in club Wyndham and Worldmark that I own, I don't need RCI



There was one week associated with I.I. we bought that we really weren't going to use for personal use. In the 7 years we owned it we stayed there exactly once, and that was just to see what we owned (curiosity got the best of me). It was the first week we got rid of when we decided to downsize.

It was still a good value when we got rid of it with a MF of $360, and it would trade into more expensive resorts easily. So even paying $90/year in I.I. membership fee's and $179 in exchange fee's was a bargain. We often exchanged into resorts where the MF's would have been $700 to $1,200. 

Now if this resort had been associated with RCI we'd never have purchased. With RCI's membership fee's and exchange fee's, I don't think I could have validated owning it just to exchange.


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## bellesgirl (May 23, 2016)

mpumilia said:


> I agree the membership fee could be worth it just for those extra vacations for sure. And then there is this:
> 
> 
> https://www.resortcerts.com/about_us



I have never seen these before, but I am not sure how it differs from Extra Vacations.  Seems to be a subset of EV. What am I missing?


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## dougp26364 (May 23, 2016)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> We pretty much dropped out of RCI quite a few years ago. A good part of it was the cost of exchanging. When we first got involved we got RCI membership for $59 per year, and domestic exchanges were $79.  A few years later costs had nearly doubled.
> 
> We decided it was much easier to give the join a mini-system that had resorts in places we wanted to visit, essentially swapping the RCI membership fee for the added cost of membership in the mini.  But with the mini it's far easier to get what we want and make travel plans, instead of hoping for an exchange.  Plus, being a member of the mini gets us a free membership in an exchange company, and with greater trade power than we had as individual members.
> 
> We occasionally use an exchange company, when we need to fill out a vacation of when we have expiring mini-points that we need to burn.



The modern version of own-where-you-want-to-go but, modified to own within the system that gets you to the destinations you desire most. Three of our 5 remaining timeshares are in systems we like the best. The two that aren't are EOY usage in resorts we enjoy staying at and have never exchanged, unless you count exchanging back into the same resort for a larger unit.


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## krj9999 (May 23, 2016)

Not sure where you are seeing $124 for membership.  

I currently see $99 for renewal for 1 year; and a 3-year renewal is $83/year.

Don't forget the "combine" fee, which in and of itself is a positive but as that cost goes higher becomes less of a value as well.

Yes fees are going higher; but the bigger challenge for me is TPU adjustments.  Some are likely justified, but others I don't think are.

And in some (many?) cases, it's now less costly to book an extra vacation than to deposit and exchange.


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## tschwa2 (May 23, 2016)

$124 is for an RCI points membership.  No combine fee with points but unlike a weeks membership you can't just decide to opt out for a couple of years if you are using your home resort.  You need to pay the fee every year or pull your unit out of rci points.  There is a modest discount for purchasing multiple years but unlike weeks there is never any 2 for 1 year specials.


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## WinniWoman (May 23, 2016)

bellesgirl said:


> I have never seen these before, but I am not sure how it differs from Extra Vacations.  Seems to be a subset of EV. What am I missing?



You don't have to belong to RCI or even be a timeshare owner.


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## DirtyPirate (May 26, 2016)

mpumilia said:


> You don't have to belong to RCI or even be a timeshare owner.



Or you can sign up for the RCI employee affiliated program and get access to these same weeks for $400 instead of $600. They dont even verify you are or were an employee at a resort.

https://www.rcivipgetaway.com/home?ac=affiliatemployee


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## Jimster (May 26, 2016)

*RCI*

The first thing you need to ask is "Why is there a membership fee at all?"  Other timeshare companies don't have them.  Given the outrageous cost for their exchanges it is obviously corporate greed.   Also consider members give them the properties to exchange for free.   Then factor in the ridiculous extraneous fees they include and the asinine rules they. Set up to gouge you even more.

For these and probably a hundred other reasons, I long ago decided that RCI would not be my exchange company.


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## Topher (May 28, 2016)

What are some of the other/mini trading firms available?  Which ones have anyone used with good success?


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## bobby (May 28, 2016)

I'm using up my deposits but will keep the membership for when the weeks I normally rent out rather than deposit aren't rented that year, maybe dry year in snow ski season, etc. Also, I'll use it for last minute deals. You can get good values there.


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## castleo (May 28, 2016)

*RCI Withdrawal*

I am actually thinking of withdrawing some of my points timeshares from RCI.  Then I would just schedule them directly with the resort and if I wanted to exchange them, deposit them with a reasonable exchange company.  That should work--right?


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## Picker57 (May 28, 2016)

Topher said:


> What are some of the other/mini trading firms available?  Which ones have anyone used with good success?



We've had good results with SFX (San Francisco Exchange), but they definitely seem to have more come available in some areas than in others. They've been quite nice to deal with, and have some "bonus thingies" that have worked well.  

We're Shell Vacations Club (points) owners, and have enjoyed the Shell properties we've used. However there just aren't a whole lot of them in places we want to go, plus  they're expensive compared to VRBO.  So we have increasingly used our points before they expire to book Shell weeks, then bank them with SFX.....rather than go through the crap with I.I.   And now Shell is switching to RCI?  Frying pan into the fire? Sheesh !!!

------------------Zach


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## WinniWoman (May 28, 2016)

Topher said:


> What are some of the other/mini trading firms available?  Which ones have anyone used with good success?



I have so far used DAE and Trading Places with no issues. I also belong via free memberships to SFX, Platinum Interchange and RTX, as well as VRI because one of my timeshares is affiliated with them.


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## Coach Boon (May 28, 2016)

*Recent RCI fees*

I just went through the escalating fees with RCI. We have only 1 timeshare -weeks so we don't have access to the points only timeshares. It does limit availability.

Canadians pay an even higher fee due to the exchange rate. To exchange a week it costs $319.  We had 2 weeks available which we used at the same time so that my sister's family could join us. So, we had to pay $319 for each week. It costs them nothing in doing 2 transactions at the same time.   Fortunately we don't need the guest certificate.

They're slick on how they charge their fee because initially they charged $399. They did mention the insurance portion but I had to ask the amount. When I found out it was an extra  $80, I cancelled it. I'm not worried about forfeiting my week.

This is definitely fee creep and it is become a major portion of the cost of exchanging and paying MF.

I've booked one week with DAE to test those waters.


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## Larry M (May 28, 2016)

*DAE: Free, Easy to deposit, Hard to find specialty resorts*



mpumilia said:


> I have so far used DAE and Trading Places with no issues. I also belong via free memberships to SFX, Platinum Interchange and RTX, as well as VRI because one of my timeshares is affiliated with them.



DAE seems great to use. It's very simple to deposit a fixed week you can't use. When I gave my Wyndham unit is Arkansas back to the Association, the effective date was after my week, so I deposited the week. All it took was a phone call or two and maybe an email.

But when I wanted to find a week in exchange, things were not so easy. Suppose, like me, you wanted a resort that a specialty like one of these:

Golf
Tennis
Horseback riding
Bicycles and paths
Snorkeling
Clothing-Optional
Oceanfront
Suppose you didn't care where you golfed. You just wanted a new course. It didn't matter whether you golfed in Texas or South Dakota or anywhere else in the Americas.

You would have to search all 50 states, all the Canadian provinces, and all the Central America and South American countries, then go to the website for each available property to see if golf was an amenity. And then you would have to do the searches over for each successive week.

If your desired specialty is one of the less popular ones, like horseback or clothing optional, you could spend days checking out your options.

I don't want to hijack this thread, so I'll be looking for a DAE thread or creating one to continue this discussion.


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## rodwalsh (May 29, 2016)

*Mini-system*

I've seen "mini'system" mention a few times - what is it and are there any links.

Thank you,
Rod



Steve said:


> Like many others, I have dropped RCI completely.  It just got too expensive for what I got out of it.  I also use II much less than I used to, and I may not renew when my membership expires next year.
> 
> I have decided...after having owned, exchanged, and stayed in dozens of timeshares...that it now makes sense to own only where I consistently like to vacation or in a mini system.  When I want to go other places, I'll either rent a timeshare or stay in a hotel.  Cash is the ultimate points system.
> 
> ...


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## dioxide45 (May 29, 2016)

rodwalsh said:


> I've seen "mini'system" mention a few times - what is it and are there any links.
> 
> Thank you,
> Rod



Mini-systems are the likes of Wyndham, Marriott, DRI, HGVC, etc. They have internal exchange system, usually using points, where you can stay at other resorts within their system. Some have fees, some do not.


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## flybefree (May 29, 2016)

While I don't like the price hikes in the exchange fees over the past several years, especially since they have made very few improvements to the Web site and it's buggy as hell, I'm still getting a great value out of my RCI membership. My resort has high trading power, both in the weeks and points systems (I own an annual in points and an EOY odd week at the same resort) with a low MF. I can get 2-3 vacations out of each deposit, sometimes more with last-minute or off-season deals.

I hadn't originally planned to be a points owner, but when I bought my first TS, the previous owners had converted it into points and the reseller didn't even know until the previous year's usage was transferred to me (they gave us a free year, which got me a 2BR in Bavaria during Oktoberfest, a 2 BR in Sedona in June, and more than half the points needed for a studio in Honolulu over spring break). I was going to switch it back until I saw how much I could get out of my points membership, so I kept it that way, and the friend who told me about this resort gave me her EOY week. 

Some resorts are cheaper in the points system, and others are cheaper in the weeks system. And some are only available in points. My husband and I are going to NYC, staying at the West 57th Grand Hilton, for four nights this September during the second week of the US Open (which is why we're going)....our total cost for the booking fee and value of the points? $310!! This place goes for $500 a night. 

I also snagged a hard-to-get-into TS on the eastern side of Paris for the first week of the French Open next May. Our cost is less than $650 for the week, and I used slightly more than half my TPUs. 

Personally, I'd love to own a Marriott because the properties are consistently fantastic, but the MFs go up quite a bit every year. I know enough people who own with Marriott that I can rent theirs for a particular property if they're so inclined. We're planning to move to Europe and RCI has a wide selection there. A lot of crappy ones, but a lot of great ones too. We wouldn't be able to afford to travel like we do if we couldn't exchange, and we're still saving a lot of money despite RCI's fees. The value can't be beat if you get a high trading power for a low MF. Of 4 rentals through Airbnb and 1 through HomeAway, only one was really great. Another was ok, one was barely acceptable, and two were horrible (one we left after one night; the other we couldn't, despite a psycho owner, because we were at a tennis tourney all day every day and had no time to move) (Yes, we travel a lot for tennis! LOL).

I always want to go somewhere new, so for now, RCI is working really well for me. I hate it when the booking fee is lost if you've canceled; we've had to suck that up once so far. That's BS. They should give at least a 50% credit toward your next booking. 

At some point, I might prefer to go stay at one place every year, and if so, I'll buy at that resort (resale, of course!) and stop exchanging. It would certainly make travel planning easier. But for now, I'm loving it.


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## JuliGee (May 29, 2016)

Picker57 said:


> We've had good results with SFX (San Francisco Exchange), but they definitely seem to have more come available in some areas than in others. They've been quite nice to deal with, and have some "bonus thingies" that have worked well.
> 
> We're Shell Vacations Club (points) owners, and have enjoyed the Shell properties we've used. However there just aren't a whole lot of them in places we want to go, plus  they're expensive compared to VRBO.  So we have increasingly used our points before they expire to book Shell weeks, then bank them with SFX.....rather than go through the crap with I.I.   And now Shell is switching to RCI?  Frying pan into the fire? Sheesh !!!
> 
> ------------------Zach



We stopped using RCI and II quite a few years ago, and have been using SFX with mostly good success. We started with their free gold membership. Your exchange fee is due if they confirm you. Because of our increase in vacations each year, we thought we would get better value out of their Diamond membership, so we upgraded. If you are only getting away for just a week or two each year, then you are better off just keeping the free gold membership.

Juli


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## rodwalsh (May 30, 2016)

Thank you!



dioxide45 said:


> Mini-systems are the likes of Wyndham, Marriott, DRI, HGVC, etc. They have internal exchange system, usually using points, where you can stay at other resorts within their system. Some have fees, some do not.


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## bogey21 (May 31, 2016)

Jimster said:


> The first thing you need to ask is "Why is there a membership fee at all?"........ it is obviously corporate greed.



I think you answered your own question!

George


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## stonebroke (May 31, 2016)

*A couple ways to do this.*



castleo said:


> I am actually thinking of withdrawing some of my points timeshares from RCI.  Then I would just schedule them directly with the resort and if I wanted to exchange them, deposit them with a reasonable exchange company.  That should work--right?




It sounds like you may be keeping your RCI Points account since you are only withdrawing "some" of your resorts.   If you want to some day return them to RCI points then you would have to notify your resort and RCI at least 13 months in advance that you are going to be using your own week this year...then you would be free to deposit it somewhere else or use it yourself.   If you close your RCI points account and pull them out...they revert to being regular weeks and if you would ever want to put them back into RCI points you would have to pay the fee to the resort to convert them back...but you would be free to deposit those for trading purposes with another trading organization or even RCI weeks.


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## BigRedOne (May 31, 2016)

I’ve owned at Roark in Branson since the early 80’s when there weren’t any other timeshares in Branson and when RCI was RCI.  When Fairfield (Wyndham) bought RCI it took a nose dive pretty quick and got kind’v expensive.  But I have kept up my RCI membership mostly out of fear that I won’t find what I want without it.  That being said I have had some pretty fantastic trades through RCI and I think I have gotten pretty good value, you just need to learn to work the system.  
I think when Fairfield started the points system it devalued RCI.  Now I know that there are those of you out there that would argue about the points but it really was easier and cheaper to get good quality resorts (and better selection) before the points system came along.  I am looking at retiring in about three years and when I do that I probably will drop RCI and just use my timeshare in Branson every year.


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## Tjim1972 (Jun 1, 2016)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> We pretty much dropped out of RCI quite a few years ago. A good part of it was the cost of exchanging. When we first got involved we got RCI membership for $59 per year, and domestic exchanges were $79.  A few years later costs had nearly doubled.
> 
> We decided it was much easier to give the join a mini-system that had resorts in places we wanted to visit, essentially swapping the RCI membership fee for the added cost of membership in the mini.  But with the mini it's far easier to get what we want and make travel plans, instead of hoping for an exchange.  Plus, being a member of the mini gets us a free membership in an exchange company, and with greater trade power than we had as individual members.
> 
> We occasionally use an exchange company, when we need to fill out a vacation of when we have expiring mini-points that we need to burn.


We are new to TUG and timesharing. What is a mini-system?


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## tschwa2 (Jun 1, 2016)

dioxide45 said:


> Mini-systems are the likes of Wyndham, Marriott, DRI, HGVC, etc. They have internal exchange system, usually using points, where you can stay at other resorts within their system. Some have fees, some do not.












I was listening to youtube and was accidentally signed into my son's google account.  Now his friends will think he was listening to girl pop music.  oops.


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## skimble (Jun 2, 2016)

I see a lot of TUGGERS are making alternative choices.  Even I am looking elsewhere for my trades, including renting.  
The value of a trade is extremely marginalized.  I'm wondering when the economic law of diminishing returns will take effect on RCI.  
Or, is it already?


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## dougp26364 (Jun 2, 2016)

skimble said:


> I see a lot of TUGGERS are making alternative choices.  Even I am looking elsewhere for my trades, including renting.
> The value of a trade is extremely marginalized.  I'm wondering when the economic law of diminishing returns will take effect on RCI.
> Or, is it already?



I started wondering this maybe 10 years ago. Apparently RCI has many revenue streams, one of which is membership fee's and exchange fee's. My bet is exchanges aren't necessarily at the top of their list for importance. It would take a major loss of deposits to force a change. With developers providing a ready source of new blood, that's not likely to happen.

Every member of TUG appreciates it's value. Unfortunately TUG members are a very small percentage of timeshare users. Therefore RCI has little to fear as it continues to gouge it's members for more fee's.


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## tschwa2 (Jun 2, 2016)

This is my last year's transactions with RCI all are 7 nights unless noted- we don't always use the full week but try.

RCI points:
upcoming June 2016 *mini van rental 8 days *from BWI *49256 points plus $25 *transaction fee.  Best price for dates was $475

upcoming June 2016 Ocean Time 2br (Ocean city, MD) exchanged at exactly 10 months.  This is the first week of summer break- picking up son's early on last day and leaving.  34500 points plus *$149* exchange fee

April 2016 Katskill Mountain Club (Hunter,NY) 1 br lockoff - this is for a festival my husband attends 27,000 points plus *$209* exchange fee plus *$59 *guest cert (all weeks are in my name only so when DH travels without me we have to buy GC).  He only used Fri-Mon  We can't get an exchange next year.  He is paying $495 for 3 nights in a studio with mini fridge and microwave only.

January 2016- House of Summer Bay 3 BR (Orlando) LM 7500 points plus *$209* exchange plus *$59* guest certificate

other fees  I buy multi year memberships so my annual cost is approx. *$105 *per year.  I do have platinum so that runs about *$65*

Total* $880 in fees plus 118,256 in points*

RCI weeks:

Upcoming July -  3 two bedroom units at Regal Vistas in Massanutten- 2 are for me to put together to make a 4 br lock off and 1 is for a guest.
These are Vacation Village internal exchanges and each have an exchange fee of $139 *3= $417- $40 promotional exchange credit=*$377* plus one guest certificate $69 (I think they went up)
*The tpu's were 18, 24, and 22*

Upcoming June- Boardwalk One studio (Ocean City) same as my other week for my mother.  I am checking in to save on the guest cert. *$209 exchange fee plus 26 tpus.*

April 2016 Beachwoods (kitty hawk, NC) 2br- Week before Easter only used 4 nights it was a stopover on the way to Hilton Head (which was a II exchange) *$209 plus 22 tpu's *

Sept 2015 Summit at Massanutten 4br *$139* internal exchange fee 9tpu's I get a free tpu deposit if I pay my Mf early.  It has a short shelf life so rather than paying to combine if I don't need a combine I just use it and get a nice fall getaway for the $139 exchange fee. 

RCI weeks membership paid for with points membership

*$934 in exchange fees and guest cert plus 112 in tpu's.*  I didn't do an combo fees this year but will need to do two at the end of this year.  I keep my VV points separate from my non VV points.

So total RCI fees for the year* $1814 plus $2700 in MF  9 weeks of vacation plus 8 days of mini van rental*.  It averages out to about $450 a week and each one of those would have cost that or more and some quite bit more so I think it is worth it.

None of the travel was particularly exotic this year but some years are like that.


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## LynnW (Jun 5, 2016)

I just booked at week in Florida for our daughter and son-in-law. Because we have to pay in Canadian dollars the cost was $303 exchange fee and $95 guest certificate. This is really getting crazy! I should have hung in for a few weeks to see if SFX came up with something but that's the only week they could go. 

Lynn


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## Magic1962 (Jun 5, 2016)

*This is why I us RCI...*

This is a copy of one of my old posts..... WHY WOULDNT I belong to RCI???

How I leveraged my points for our trip to Hawaii...
Hello all! the question is asked on what is better points or weeks and while I don't have that answer I thought I would pass on how I used this years points for our trip to Hawaii in Nov.

1.) 2 bedroom at the Grand Waikikian by Hilton Vacations Clubs for seven nights 69500 Points plus money for trade to RCI...

2.) 7day car rental from Enterprise - Chevy Tahoe 50,050 points plus 25.00

3.) 2 bedroom at Shearwater for three nights 40,920 points plus money for trade to RCI...

4.) 3day car rental from Enterprise - Chevy Tahoe 22,500 points plus 179.23

TOTAL RCI POINTS :183000 points ~$1000.00 a year paid for MF for Grandview

$1000.00 MF Grandview
$ 219.00 RCI Trade cost for 1
$ 25.00 RCI cost for 2
$ 219.00 RCI trade cost for 3
$ 179.23 RCI trade cost for 4
$1642.23 TOTAL for lodging and transportation for 10 days in Honolulu and Kauai........ 

 I feel that I have leveraged my points to the best I could because if you were going to pay straight up cash to stay in a two bedroom and vehicles you would pay TONS more then what I am.... oh and by the way the other couple who is going with us is paying half so now it brings it down to less then $822.00 for 10 days in paradise!!!!!!  plus 950.00 each for airfare from Detroit.....

Dave (have I said how much I love Timesharing)...


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## skimble (Jun 7, 2016)

Magic1962 said:


> This is a copy of one of my old posts..... WHY WOULDNT I belong to RCI???
> 
> How I leveraged my points for our trip to Hawaii...
> Hello all! the question is asked on what is better points or weeks and while I don't have that answer I thought I would pass on how I used this years points for our trip to Hawaii in Nov.
> ...



Plenty of TUGGERS make it work.  We are the exception.  
I have a friend who owns two CA beach weeks. They used to trade one in RCI and use the other one each year.  Some time over the past 5 years, the costs for an RCI trade reached a breaking point.  It doesn't make sense for her.  By today's standards, she would pay her maintenance fee of about $900, joins RCI each year for $129, $69 for full point value since her week falls about 5 months after her fees are due.  $219 for a trade, $69 for guest certificate since she always let her adult kids use the week.    Too much.


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## JuliGee (Jun 7, 2016)

Magic1962 said:


> This is a copy of one of my old posts..... WHY WOULDNT I belong to RCI???
> 
> How I leveraged my points for our trip to Hawaii...
> Hello all! the question is asked on what is better points or weeks and while I don't have that answer I thought I would pass on how I used this years points for our trip to Hawaii in Nov.
> ...



Based on your annual costs, this looks like great value. But I noticed you didn't include the purchase price of your timeshare unit. Wouldn't that need to be factored into your cost analysis to get the true total cost of your accommodations?

Juli


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## Magic1962 (Jun 8, 2016)

JuliGee said:


> Based on your annual costs, this looks like great value. But I noticed you didn't include the purchase price of your timeshare unit. Wouldn't that need to be factored into your cost analysis to get the true total cost of your accommodations?
> 
> Juli


Back in 2011 I bought resale vacation Village in Parkway 74000 points, Plus an additional 74000 points in the contract.... I paid approx. 1000.00 for that... I used those points and Did a three bedroom in Myrtle Beach at the Wyndamn Ocean Blvd....for a week in December, 2012 over Christmas, got a 1 bedroom in Gatlinburg for my daughter and her husband for their Honeymoon and got a two bedroom at Las Vegas 2013 stayed for a week in a 2 bed room at Tahiti Village in Las Vegas.... I also bought my first Grandview Points 120000 points for 2,800.00... Used some of those points to pay for the airfare for our daughter and spouse to fly and me and my wife the same.... 2014 we stayed in a three bedroom at the island links at Hilton Head.... 2015 got rid of VV for nothing and bought my other Grand View 64000 for around1000.00 we flew to Florida and got a three bedroom at Bonnet Creek this past summer and usedALL OUR points for that trip.... And we used all our points for our trip to Hawaii..... I think I couldn't have done better..... But I study and plan all the time doing this....  Dave.  I LOVE RCI and TIMESHAREING.... #### added.... so I guess if you look what I have spent ~$4800.00 for buying my properties and getting rid of the VV Parkway I couldn't stay at Bonnet Creek 3 bedroom or my Hawaii vacation for what I have spent


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## geekette (Jun 9, 2016)

nottub said:


> We are new to TUG and timesharing. What is a mini-system?



A mini-system is like a chain that allows internal booking, no exchange company (or its fees) required.

I own Bluegreen, a mini-system that uses points and no fees to use them (after paying maint fees and club dues, both once per year pmts)

Wyndham and Worldmark are also examples of mini-systems.  Note that each plays by their own rules, including fees, booking rules, housekeeping fees, ability to let a guest use with or without fees, etc.   

Being able to skip exchange company is great, but no mini-system covers the globe, I do still sometimes exchange or rent from an owner to get where I want to go outside my mini.


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## Beefnot (Jun 12, 2016)

I get value out of RCI.  Aulani 2BR exchange in 2015 for about $157 per night, upcoming two consecutive weeks this summer at Hilton Waikoloa 2BR for about $90 per night.  A trade for a friend into Suites at Hershey for ~$70 per night.  I own a dual affiliated timeshare that has decent trade value (~$16 MF/TPU ratio) and another timeshare that gets great trade value (~$10.50 MF/TPU ratio).  I am not a buy where I want to go type of person because there are too many places I want to go.  I am a happy camper so far.


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## castleo (Apr 7, 2019)

castleo said:


> *RCI Withdrawal*
> 
> I am actually thinking of withdrawing some of my points timeshares from RCI.  Then I would just schedule them directly with the resort and if I wanted to exchange them, deposit them with a reasonable exchange company.  That should work--right?


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## castleo (Apr 7, 2019)

castleo said:


> *RCI Withdrawal*
> 
> I am actually thinking of withdrawing some of my points timeshares from RCI.  Then I would just schedule them directly with the resort and if I wanted to exchange them, deposit them with a reasonable exchange company.  That should work--right?




I have been thinking that too.  I have units that automatically get deposited into RCI annually totaling over $200,000 RCI points.  I am having trouble using all the time and finding places and times I want to go.  Also as stated many times here the fees are outrageous.  Seems like they keep the best for rentals!  Can I just tell the resorts I own NOT to deposit with RCI?


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## tschwa2 (Apr 7, 2019)

castleo said:


> I have been thinking that too.  I have units that automatically get deposited into RCI annually totaling over $200,000 RCI points.  I am having trouble using all the time and finding places and times I want to go.  Also as stated many times here the fees are outrageous.  Seems like they keep the best for rentals!  Can I just tell the resorts I own NOT to deposit with RCI?


Yes.  I believe you have to let them know before 13 months prior.  So if you have a fixed week, I believe it is 13 months prior to that date.  If you own a float week you would have to contact your resort and actually reserve a week at least 13 months prior to when you see the points auto deposited.  Some resorts use RCI for all aspects of points members reservations including home weeks.  If that is the case you have to reserve through rci during the home week period.  There is no fee for home week reservations through rci when made during home week priority.


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## bogey21 (Apr 7, 2019)

castleo said:


> I am having trouble using all the time and finding places and times I want to go.



I understand that Tuggers stay on top of things and use their Weeks, Points, etc.  But I wonder how many Weeks and/or Points get deposited into RCI (or II) and expire unused...

George


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## rapmarks (Apr 7, 2019)

bogey21 said:


> I understand that Tuggers stay on top of things and use their Weeks, Points, etc.  But I wonder how many Weeks and/or Points get deposited into RCI (or II) and expire unused...
> 
> George


A good question.  I have 44 tpus left which expire end of November and I have a search in.  I will likely have close to twenty left and will have to decide whether to extend my time. I have nothing to add.  As I am in southwest Florida it is hard to get a trade and really hard to get for twenty tpus, not sure what I will do.


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## montygz (Apr 7, 2019)

LynnW said:


> I just booked at week in Florida for our daughter and son-in-law. Because we have to pay in Canadian dollars the cost was $303 exchange fee and $95 guest certificate. This is really getting crazy! I should have hung in for a few weeks to see if SFX came up with something but that's the only week they could go.
> 
> Lynn



$400 for a week seems like a bargain to me. One night in Orlando can cost that depending on the resort.


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## PigsDad (Apr 7, 2019)

montygz said:


> $400 for a week seems like a bargain to me. One night in Orlando can cost that depending on the resort.


But that is just the exchange fee.  The total cost for the week is the exchange fee PLUS the maintenance fees for the underlying week / points that were needed for that exchange.

Kurt


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## rapmarks (Apr 8, 2019)

PigsDad said:


> But that is just the exchange fee.  The total cost for the week is the exchange fee PLUS the maintenance fees for the underlying week / points that were needed for that exchange.
> 
> Kurt


Yes, add four hundred to the maintenance fee and no longer a bargain.


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## Shankilicious (Apr 8, 2019)

I can get a week, no matter what size unit for $239. There may be a resort fee once I get there but that's gonna vary place to place. As a platinum member I get 25% off GCs  so $66.75 and Points Protection is $64 if I wanted to add those. Add half my maintenance fee which would be $700 since this is only half my points. My Platinum membership is included in my resort MFs.
So $739+ resort fees (if any) to get a full week at a gold crown resort.


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## MrockStar (Apr 9, 2019)

geekette said:


> A mini-system is like a chain that allows internal booking, no exchange company (or its fees) required.
> 
> I own Bluegreen, a mini-system that uses points and no fees to use them (after paying maint fees and club dues, both once per year pmts)
> 
> ...


Same here geekette, we own bluegreen and also use there internal direct exchange option with Shell and Raintree access which is way cheaper than RCI.


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## montygz (Apr 9, 2019)

PigsDad said:


> But that is just the exchange fee.  The total cost for the week is the exchange fee PLUS the maintenance fees for the underlying week / points that were needed for that exchange.
> 
> Kurt



I usually get 2-3 weeks for my week of maintenance fees. RCI and Vacation Villages (I own Grandview) often have sales. Last year we stayed at Saratoga Springs, Wyndham Bonnet Creek and Vacation Villages at Parkway and still had some of our 98K points left.

Sometimes sales don't require you use any points at all, sometimes they reduce points and sometimes they reduce the cost of an exchange.

Now, I did pay various resort fees and exchange fees on our stays, but the more you travel the more value you get out of these timeshare resorts compared to renting or paying for a hotel.


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## castleo (Apr 26, 2019)

tschwa2 said:


> Yes.  I believe you have to let them know before 13 months prior.  So if you have a fixed week, I believe it is 13 months prior to that date.  If you own a float week you would have to contact your resort and actually reserve a week at least 13 months prior to when you see the points auto deposited.  Some resorts use RCI for all aspects of points members reservations including home weeks.  If that is the case you have to reserve through rci during the home week period.  There is no fee for home week reservations through rci when made during home week priority.




Thanks for the info. By them do you mean the Home resort or RCI?  Will an email do?  Plus I suppose one needs to explore where else they can deposit the week.


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## castleo (Apr 26, 2019)

Have you ever withdrawn a week?


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## castleo (Apr 26, 2019)

rapmarks said:


> Yes, add four hundred to the maintenance fee and no longer a bargain.


Plus consider whatever you paid for it originally.


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## moonstone (Apr 26, 2019)

castleo said:


> Have you ever withdrawn a week?



I believe (somebody please correct me if I am wrong) but once you deposit/give RCI your week to exchange, even if you haven't found anywhere to exchange to, you can not get it back even if you want to go to your home resort for your deeded week. Another reason I wish we could do a 'fake' deposit with RCI just to see what a week could pull before actually giving it to them. They need to instill a 24 or 48 hr deposit so people could see what's available and if nothing is suitable then pull the week back to use it themselves. 


~Diane


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## silentg (Apr 26, 2019)

They have a trade power indicator on the page. 
While on the subject of exchanges, we have had successful Marketplace exchanges thru TUG.
That is another option, if you are tired of paying exchange fees.
PM me if you have questions.
Silentg


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