# Weeks Exchange with RCI



## Jan&Ern (Jul 22, 2012)

Maybe this topic has been posted out here already and if so, please direct me to the post. I'm upset to finally realize that RCI has blocked me out of their system now that my week (not points) no longer has value to do a trade. What's with this "new" trading power thing that essentially forces me to combine my 2 weeks at Wyndam Bay in AR in order to get close to trading for ONE week in Florida? This week of vacation will now cost me 2 maintenance fees plus the fee to combine AND....the trade fee? That's like $1300 for one week of vacation. My weeks used to be tradeable for any other one week timeshare in their system. My weeks at my home resort are considered Red weeks and in the higher demand time for the area. Now, they are basically worthless. I'm going to use them in 2013 and then sell them here on TUG since I've now been boxed out by RCI. Does anyone else feel this way about what has happened? I used to feel that RCI worked well for us but not any more.


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## bshmerlie (Jul 22, 2012)

You can try other exchange companies.


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## Beefnot (Jul 22, 2012)

bshmerlie said:


> You can try other exchange companies.



Queue Carolinian...


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## bellesgirl (Jul 22, 2012)

How many TPUs does your week get?


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## rickandcindy23 (Jul 22, 2012)

When and where do you want to go in Florida?  How many points do you get for your week?  Do you own floating time?  Have you considered purchasing something else to add to your ownership and give you more trading power?


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## BevL (Jul 22, 2012)

Jan&Ern said:


> Maybe this topic has been posted out here already and if so, please direct me to the post. I'm upset to finally realize that RCI has blocked me out of their system now that my week (not points) no longer has value to do a trade. What's with this "new" trading power thing that essentially forces me to combine my 2 weeks at Wyndam Bay in AR in order to get close to trading for ONE week in Florida? This week of vacation will now cost me 2 maintenance fees plus the fee to combine AND....the trade fee? That's like $1300 for one week of vacation. My weeks used to be tradeable for any other one week timeshare in their system. My weeks at my home resort are considered Red weeks and in the higher demand time for the area. Now, they are basically worthless. I'm going to use them in 2013 and then sell them here on TUG since I've now been boxed out by RCI. Does anyone else feel this way about what has happened? I used to feel that RCI worked well for us but not any more.



I think many feel your pain but I expect that if you have to combine two weeks to get one, your weeks likely never were "tradeable for any other one week timeshare in their system."  The difference now is you can see what you were missing before.

I agree that the days of "trading up" are, for the most part, gone.  I too have a week that used to pull the Manhattan Club that now doesn't.  That changed prior to the new TPU system.

Two ways to look at it.  You at least have an opportunity to use both weeks for a "better" exchange if you choose to.  You didn't have that option before, you simply wouldn't have seen that availability in the first place.  Or, as mentioned, you can explore other options for the use of your weeks.  RCI sets the "price" of exchanges and that's not likely to change any time soon. 

JMHO.


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## Mel (Jul 22, 2012)

Using the deposit calculator, I found 2 resorts that came up under Wyndham Bay.  One newer resort with 2BR units, and another older resort with 1BR units.  Looking at the TPU offered for both resorts, I don't see anything particularly low.  I didn't check all weeks, but what I saw ranged from 16 TPU for January weeks in the older 1B resort, to 50+ for week 27 in the 2BR newer resort.  Hardly what I would call blocked from exchanges.

OP: a few questions so we might understand

Which specific resort is this?  
How far in advance did you deposit your weeks (or were they assigned as floating weeks)?
How many points (TPU) do you get for each week?

And on further note - are you sure these are the original deposits, or do you have some remainder TPU floating in your account, after you used your deposits?  Those could be 2 or 3 TPU, and might be causing some confusion.
Those would require combining to use, but they are leftovers, or what some would consider extras.  If you already exchanged the underlying weeks, the cost to combine and exchange 2-3 of these leftovers would be about $300, since there is no underlying maintenance fees.


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## csxjohn (Jul 22, 2012)

bshmerlie said:


> You can try other exchange companies.



I agree 100%

I use DAE and unless there is something drastically wrong with your resort where they would not take it in trade, you will still be able to exchange all over the world and for less money than RCI charges, and membership is free.


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## Jan&Ern (Jul 22, 2012)

My resort in Arkansas was known as Fairfield Bay, resort #0071 in RCI. The trading power of my 2 April weeks are 12....and I deposit them a year in advance. They are 2 bdrm/2 bath units for 6. Used to be considered tradeable to just about everywhere. The resort has golf, a large body of water for summer sports, etc. So, from the responses it appears that everyone is getting fabulous trade power for their home resort and has no issue with getting a trade. I have never had trouble getting nice 2 bedroom units in Florida with either of my weeks until now. There are some resorts that I can't access because they are points only. But the places we've stayed in Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Daytona, etc. are now going to require me to use 2 timeshare weeks for one week of vacation....and never did before. No matter what, that's no deal for me or anyone else who hasn't converted to points, which probably still would not be a benefit to me. The resort will buy my weeks back if I pay them $150 and possibly even the maintenance fee. To say I am sad to see the wonderful years of enjoying timeshare travel be taken away from me is an understatement. Selling my weeks (or giving them away) are my only option since I do not what to travel to Arkansas. I probably won't look to find another timeshare because of all the games that are played to make money by resorts and travel companies (RCI, II, etc.)


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## rickandcindy23 (Jul 22, 2012)

You should try another exchange company, like Trading Places or Platinum Interchange.  Find a company that has something you want, then say, "I will give you this week for that week."  It's the way I started dealing with SFX, actually, which is an exchange company that specializes in San Francisco.  I told them I could give them a Myrtle Beach 1 bedroom week for a 1 bedroom in SF, and it was a done deal.

I had the same realization as you with my Foxrun, NC mountains resort.  I used to get great trading power, but I discovered RCI no longer valued Foxrun in the new system.  I gave all of my weeks away and kept two to trade in II only.  Interval still loves those Foxrun weeks and gives them top trading power.  I doubt you can use II for your weeks, unfortunately.


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## lindner (Jul 22, 2012)

Jan&Ern said:


> My resort in Arkansas was known as Fairfield Bay, resort #0071 in RCI. The trading power of my 2 April weeks are 12....and I deposit them a year in advance. They are 2 bdrm/2 bath units for 6. Used to be considered tradeable to just about everywhere. The resort has golf, a large body of water for summer sports, etc. So, from the responses it appears that everyone is getting fabulous trade power for their home resort and has no issue with getting a trade. I have never had trouble getting nice 2 bedroom units in Florida with either of my weeks until now. There are some resorts that I can't access because they are points only. But the places we've stayed in Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Daytona, etc. are now going to require me to use 2 timeshare weeks for one week of vacation....and never did before. No matter what, that's no deal for me or anyone else who hasn't converted to points, which probably still would not be a benefit to me. The resort will buy my weeks back if I pay them $150 and possibly even the maintenance fee. To say I am sad to see the wonderful years of enjoying timeshare travel be taken away from me is an understatement. Selling my weeks (or giving them away) are my only option since I do not what to travel to Arkansas. I probably won't look to find another timeshare because of all the games that are played to make money by resorts and travel companies (RCI, II, etc.)



You can still get Orlando fairly easily, except perhaps for Christmas.  Booking a year in advance requires a TPU for a gold crown resort, 2 bedroom of something in the 20's, which is more than your 12.  However, if you book a couple months in advance you can get TPUs for the same unit for under 10.  A week ago I booked a gold crown two bedroom for 8TPU for early August.  Very nice resort; in fact I had my choice of gold crown resorts.  Orlando is so heavily overbuilt that you still stand a very good chance of getting what you want even a few weeks in advance of booking.  The same is not true for peak season in Daytona however.  If you like traveling offseason however, Daytona can be had again for under 10 TPU.  Thus, you can still trade your 12 TPU for something very nice.  You just have to play the game differently than you did before.


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## bellesgirl (Jul 22, 2012)

RCI runs periodic TPU "sales" and you can get some great exchanges for 5-6 TPUs.  They just had a sale a few weeks ago.  There was a lot of inventory in Florida, but not in peak winter season. What time of year did you travel to Florida in the past?


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## DeniseM (Jul 22, 2012)

I think the number of TPU's you have been assigned is reasonable.  The demand for April in your location is low:  April includes weeks 14-17


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## ronparise (Jul 22, 2012)

Fairfield Bay is one of Wyndhams older resorts, in fact Im pretty sure this is where Fairfield started. It was built in the 1980s, so comming up on 30 years old... But it does look like about 15 TPU in RCI

I didnt know timeshares or rci before the recent change to tpu, but from what I can see, the change forces more like-for-like trades; not so many opportunities to trade up

I have a 15 TPU deposit with RCI and I just did a search...There are over 900 resorts in the USA that I can trade into with my 15 TPU deposit and with a little carefull shopping and a willingness to step down to a 1 bedroom or even studio, it looks like I can get 2 or even 3 weeks.

I dont want to minimize the annual fee and the exchange fees, but thats the price we have to pay if we cant use our home week and need to exchange.


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## ampaholic (Jul 22, 2012)

DeniseM said:


> I think the number of TPU's you have been assigned is reasonable.  The demand for April in your location is low:  April includes weeks 14-17
> 
> snip: www.intervalworld.com image



Denise - are you saying that RCI uses the II chart to set TPU's? THAT would be news!


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## DeniseM (Jul 22, 2012)

ampaholic said:


> Denise - are you saying that RCI uses the II chart to set TPU's? THAT would be news!



If the demand for April is low in II - it's going to be low in RCI too - demand is demand.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jul 22, 2012)

I was able to get two 2 bedroom units at Bonnet Creek in October for a total of 20 points for the two weeks.  I was able to get two 2 bedrooms at Vistana Fountains in October for the next week for 8 points per week.

There are also sales, where resorts that normal cost 20 points are on sale for 5 points.  If you can take advantage of one of those sales, then you will do well.  

I do believe RCI raised the point levels for Orlando resorts recently, but I believe you can still get bargains.


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## csxjohn (Jul 23, 2012)

ronparise said:


> I dont want to minimize the annual fee and the exchange fees, but thats the price we have to pay if we cant use our home week and need to exchange.



I'm thinking that more of us fall into the category of can use our home week but want to exchange.

When timeshares were first pitched to me in the 70's these exchange companies did not exist and although the thought of paying a relatively low cost for a nice condo in a vacation area was appealing, I could not imagine going to the same place year in and year out.

In step the exchange companies opening up travel all over the world using the week(s) we own.

Now it's a matter of which exchange company, weeks or points, and which points system.


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## krj9999 (Jul 23, 2012)

I get the sense in looking at RCI values that some further delineation is being made.  For example, the upper end resorts (Disney, HGVC) are becoming more expensive to trade into for many.

The OP quoted receiving 12 TPU for each week.  There are available 2BR units in April 2013 listed for exchange at 7 TPU.  Even the available summer weeks only required 20 TPU to exchange into.

I fear RCI is stretching the bands too far here.  Over 40% of available US exchanges have a value of 10 TPU or lower (only about 6% require 24 or higher).  Maybe it is more "market-based", but if too many members are unhappy, it does not bode well for RCI.



rickandcindy23 said:


> I was able to get two 2 bedroom units at Bonnet Creek in October for a total of 20 points for the two weeks.  I was able to get two 2 bedrooms at Vistana Fountains in October for the next week for 8 points per week.
> 
> There are also sales, where resorts that normal cost 20 points are on sale for 5 points.  If you can take advantage of one of those sales, then you will do well.
> 
> I do believe RCI raised the point levels for Orlando resorts recently, but I believe you can still get bargains.


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## tschwa2 (Jul 23, 2012)

The OP may have also been getting the home resort bump in the past if she traded back into Wyndhams.  The home resort/group used to give the equivalent of another 5-10 point bonus for trading back into your home resort group.  That's gone now.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jul 23, 2012)

The Hiltons for the same dates in October were a whopping 12 TPU's.  I would love to take Hilton, but the resort has the 1-in-4 rule, which leaves me out for many years.  Disney is 36 TPU's for the same timeframe.  I am pretty close to being done with Disney.  We have Disney points we can use to get additional nights for the sake of saving on airfare.  But that's about all of the Disney I want.  $95 at check-in is annoying me now.  :rofl: 

We go to Orlando 7-9 weeks per year, and I have used all of the Hilton exchanges to the max each time, both accounts (except Parc Soleil).  I am anxious to book again in 2014.  I am still bitter about the 1-in-4, don't get me wrong.  

Orange Lake is generally pretty cheap, too.


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## gnorth16 (Jul 23, 2012)

If you got 12 TPU for your April weeks, that is pretty good.  RCI has them up for exchange for 7 TPU.


	 2 Bedrooms	 6 (4)	 Full	 Sat 13-Apr-2013	 Sat 20-Apr-2013	Exchange Fee	7 
	 2 Bedrooms	 6 (4)	 Full	 Sun 14-Apr-2013	 Sun 21-Apr-2013	Exchange Fee	7 
	 2 Bedrooms	 6 (4)	 Full	 Sat 20-Apr-2013	 Sat 27-Apr-2013	Exchange Fee	7 
	 2 Bedrooms	 6 (4)	 Full	 Sun 21-Apr-2013	 Sun 28-Apr-2013	Exchange Fee	7 
	 2 Bedrooms	 6 (4)	 Full	 Sat 27-Apr-2013	 Sat 04-May-2013	Exchange Fee	7 
	 2 Bedrooms	 6 (4)	 Full	 Sun 28-Apr-2013	 Sun 05-May-2013	Exchange Fee	7


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## gnorth16 (Jul 23, 2012)

*Ideas for Orlando - April*

Vacation Villages at Parkway 16 TPU
Summer Bay 16 TPU
Villas at Summer Bay 15/16 TPU
Silver Lake Resort 16 and 17 TPU
Cyprus Pointe 16/17 TPU
HGVC (Sea World or I Drive) 16-18 TPU

You would have to combine for $109, and it would leave enough points to exchange back into you deposited week or hold out for a TPU sale.

Most of the places at 12 TPU and under I would pass and pay the fee to combine.


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## Beefnot (Jul 23, 2012)

So sounds like there are still options, but now a change in strategy may be in order.  If one is primarily in the exchanging game, one needs to be prepared to adapt as necessary.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jul 23, 2012)

Beefnot said:


> So sounds like there are still options, but now a change in strategy may be in order.  If one is primarily in the exchanging game, one needs to be prepared to adapt as necessary.


I agree 100% with this, and you can watch for a sale.  RCI has done 4 and 5 point deals quite often since the change.  There are bargains out there.


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## Ridewithme38 (Jul 23, 2012)

I just got an email that if i exchange by 7/27/2012 i get $50 of the Exchange fee, that may help supplement the Combine fee for you...


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## Carolinian (Jul 23, 2012)

deleted - duplicate post


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## Carolinian (Jul 23, 2012)

Your report is just another example that RCI played numbers games, changing trading powers when they changed the system, something they claimed they would not do.  A poll on another site asked a question if RCI users could still get the same trades as in the old system with one week or if it now took combining weeks.  Half of the respondents said they could still get it done with one while half said it took more than one to now get the same trades they used to with one.

RCI clearly made some major changes in value relationships of weeks, and some won and some lost.  They seem to do this more frequently, so they are no longer a dependable exchange system

You might try one of the independents that does one for one trades like:

www.sfx-resorts.com

www.daelive.com

www.htse.net

www.tradingplaces.com

www.platinuminterchange.com

RCI is NOT the only game in town!  Vote with your feet to an exchange company that treats you more fairly.



Jan&Ern said:


> Maybe this topic has been posted out here already and if so, please direct me to the post. I'm upset to finally realize that RCI has blocked me out of their system now that my week (not points) no longer has value to do a trade. What's with this "new" trading power thing that essentially forces me to combine my 2 weeks at Wyndam Bay in AR in order to get close to trading for ONE week in Florida? This week of vacation will now cost me 2 maintenance fees plus the fee to combine AND....the trade fee? That's like $1300 for one week of vacation. My weeks used to be tradeable for any other one week timeshare in their system. My weeks at my home resort are considered Red weeks and in the higher demand time for the area. Now, they are basically worthless. I'm going to use them in 2013 and then sell them here on TUG since I've now been boxed out by RCI. Does anyone else feel this way about what has happened? I used to feel that RCI worked well for us but not any more.


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## Carolinian (Jul 23, 2012)

Beefnot said:


> So sounds like there are still options, but now a change in strategy may be in order.  If one is primarily in the exchanging game, one needs to be prepared to adapt as necessary.



. . . and therein lies the problem.  RCI used to be a fairly stable trading system.  Now, you have to ''adapt'' every time you turn around.  And just wait till the next big change, when they merge Points and Points Lite (''Weeks'').  Like every other RCI change, some will win and some will lose.  I'm sure there will also be a steady diet of lesser changes along the way until we get to that one.


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## ampaholic (Jul 23, 2012)

Beefnot said:


> Queue Carolinian...



Well, it took a full day and 25 posts - but here is your kudo 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 - you called it!


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## gnorth16 (Jul 23, 2012)

krj9999 said:


> I fear RCI is stretching the bands too far here.  Over 40% of available US exchanges have a value of 10 TPU or lower (only about 6% require 24 or higher).  Maybe it is more "market-based", but if too many members are unhappy, it does not bode well for RCI.



So 56% are between 10 and 23 TPU.  That seems in-line with what I expect, but I m fairly new at the game.  Keep in mind many of the sub 10 TPU are All Inclusives in Mexico, IMO no point in trading into when I can get a better deal with flights from my travel agent...


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## Beefnot (Jul 23, 2012)

ampaholic said:


> Well, it took a full day and 25 posts - but here is you kudo
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I think I misused "queue". Think i should have used "cue".


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## Beefnot (Jul 23, 2012)

Carolinian said:


> . . . and therein lies the problem.  RCI used to be a fairly stable trading system.  Now, you have to ''adapt'' every time you turn around.  And just wait till the next big change, when they merge Points and Points Lite (''Weeks'').  Like every other RCI change, some will win and some will lose.  I'm sure there will also be a steady diet of lesser changes along the way until we get to that one.



Even if they really eff things up, they are still the biggest game in town and can always lure people back by monkeying with trading power and offering cut rate promotions or whatever juicing of the program they want to do.  Despite some of their questionable practices, they still have a very good product--I would venture to say innovative in some ways--relative to other exchanges.  But like you say over and over and over and over and over and over and over (and over) again, if folks aren't enthused with the RCI racket, they can always go to the independents.

P.S. Speaking of independents, I don't like SFX.  They cannot get me my 'impossible' trade requests that I am more confident I could have gotten with II.   Alas, a wasted deposit.  That experiment backfired.


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## Tamaradarann (Jul 23, 2012)

*TPU's,Trading Value, RCI Points are relative value for demand*



ampaholic said:


> Denise - are you saying that RCI uses the II chart to set TPU's? THAT would be news!



I agree with Denise that the relative value for demand is what is RCI TPU's, RCI Points, or II Trading Value is all about.  I am an RCI points member so I searched for the Fairfild Bay Resort in Arkansas in RCI points.  During the prime summer vacation season a 2 BR at that resort is valued at 68,000 points.  However, in April a 2Br at that resort gets about half of that or 34,000 points.  My 2 Br at Misner Place in Weston Florida gives me 86,500 points in the prime winter months of the South Florida vacation season.   Therefore, I can see how owning a 2BR at the Fairfild Bay Resort in Arkansas would only give you enough TPU's to get you into a 2BR in Florida during the prime season every other year.


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## Carolinian (Jul 24, 2012)

Tamaradarann said:


> I agree with Denise that the relative value for demand is what is RCI TPU's, RCI Points, or II Trading Value is all about.  I am an RCI points member so I searched for the Fairfild Bay Resort in Arkansas in RCI points.  During the prime summer vacation season a 2 BR at that resort is valued at 68,000 points.  However, in April a 2Br at that resort gets about half of that or 34,000 points.  My 2 Br at Misner Place in Weston Florida gives me 86,500 points in the prime winter months of the South Florida vacation season.   Therefore, I can see how owning a 2BR at the Fairfild Bay Resort in Arkansas would only give you enough TPU's to get you into a 2BR in Florida during the prime season every other year.



The problem is that RCI puts its thumb on the scales in both directions, and sometimes heavily for a variety of reasons including pandering to developers particularly those still in developer sales and skewing the system to support RCI's own rentals of spacebank deposits to the general public.  Sometimes the numbers are skewed in one system but not the other.  

Someone gave me a Points directory some years ago, and I posted a number of really screwy examples of ''even'' trades within the Points system.  I left that directory back in the states when I moved over here, but I recall one that was in my area and therefore really hit home.  It involved depositing a blue week in inland (and overbuilt for what it is) New Bern, and being able to trade it for a summer holiday beachfront Outer Banks week of the same size with ''change'' left over.  That was from a Points resort to a Points resort, and of course examples get worse when you look at crossover trades into Weeks.  Part of the reason that was possible is that the developer that still controlled the sold out beachfront OBX resort, threw it under the bus on values with RCI in order to overvalue its non-beachfront resort that was still in sales.  Those rotten, underhanded deals go on between RCI and developers all the time.  Of the two resorts mentioned on the OBX, the overvalued resort (by RCI) has signigicantly the lowest demand on the timeshare rental market on the OBX and the undervalued resort has the second highest rental demand.  RCI got it exactly backwards but they did it for an ulterior motive.  Doing that was what got that developer to join the Points system, and the developer's interest was in its resort that was still in active sales. It could have cared less about its sold out resort.  In fact, if you look through RCI's valuations generally, you will find that the term ''sold out resort'' often has a sinister double meaning in the wacky world of RCI valuations.

What is really interesting for those who think supply and demand has anything to do with RCI's points or points lite systems is to compare RCI's own tables on supply and demand that have appeared in the European version of its directory.  At the times I first posted about those tables, one could order one of those directories from the US RCI office, but funny thing, once I made a few posts quoting those tables, RCI quit letting US members do that.  They apparently were reading TUG and did not like that info getting out.  One example, that I posted the details of a number of times in times past, was that South Africa on a month by month basis, and compared all 12 months, had a significantly better supply / demand curve than Florida, based on RCI's own data.  At one time, RCI's trading power reflected that, but South Africa timeshare owners living outside SA were severely whacked when Points Lite was imposed.  The funny thing, though was that SA timeshare owners living in South Africa used a different points system, and under that they kept their trading power as it had been.  The fact that there is now a substantial difference in the trading power of a South African timeshare depending on where the owner of it lives illustrates how arbitrary and capricious RCI's valuations really are.  Oh, and if you live outside SA and use your SA timeshare for PFD into RCI Points, you still also get the value it used to have.  It is only the SA owners who live outside SA and deposit into Points Lite (''Weeks'') whom RCI has decided to screw and undervalue their weeks.

There are also lots of very high demand / very low supply areas I have posted on in the past on these boards in the US, Caribbean, and Europe that are classic examples of deliberate undervaluation by RCI.  At the same time, there are similar classic examples of dime-a-dozen timeshares in overbuilt areas that are deliberately overvalued by RCI.  If they were only running an exchange system then doing this would make no economic sense, but when they are looting their exchange deposits to feed their rentals to the public, the reason they are doing so becomes very clear.


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## vckempson (Jul 24, 2012)

Jan&Ern said:


> The resort will buy my weeks back if I pay them $150 and possibly even the maintenance fee. To say I am sad to see the wonderful years of enjoying timeshare travel be taken away from me is an understatement. Selling my weeks (or giving them away) are my only option since I do not what to travel to Arkansas.



Don't get angry, just learn and reposition.  A look at the glass will tell you it's half full, not half empty.  With RCI's new transparency,  you can figure out the best moves to take.  

Unload your weeks for $150 and go on e-bay and get some 2 bdrm lockoffs during prime time at a prime locations for a buck or so.  You'll go from 12 TPU's for each week to 50 TPU's or more per week.  Yes, it will take a little time and a little money, but look at what you are left with.  Now you'd have 2 weeks that will get you 4 weeks of vacation.  Or just buy one week to get your 2 weeks vacations and cut your MF in half.

This is exactly what many of us have already done here, and you can too.


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## timeos2 (Jul 24, 2012)

Carolinian said:


> . . . and therein lies the problem.  RCI used to be a fairly stable trading system.  Now, you have to ''adapt'' every time you turn around.  And just wait till the next big change, when they merge Points and Points Lite (''Weeks'').  Like every other RCI change, some will win and some will lose.  I'm sure there will also be a steady diet of lesser changes along the way until we get to that one.



You are the one who has always demanded that the trade values be fluid & not fixed! Now if it changes its it's "unstable"? Then go to points where the value is static (but THAT is arbitrary and rigged too, I know...).


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## Rene McDaniel (Jul 24, 2012)

vckempson said:


> Don't get angry, just learn and reposition.  A look at the glass will tell you it's half full, not half empty.  With RCI's new transparency,  you can figure out the best moves to take.
> 
> Unload your weeks for $150 and go on e-bay and get some 2 bdrm lockoffs during prime time at a prime locations for a buck or so.  You'll go from 12 TPU's for each week to 50 TPU's or more per week.  Yes, it will take a little time and a little money, but look at what you are left with.  Now you'd have 2 weeks that will get you 4 weeks of vacation.  Or just buy one week to get your 2 weeks vacations and cut your MF in half.
> 
> This is exactly what many of us have already done here, and you can too.



Actually, that is EXCELLENT advice for the original poster.  Deed those low TPU weeks back to the resort while they are still taking them, and get yourself something better.  If you want to still be in the timeshare game there are plenty of people out there practically giving away weeks that they paid tens of thousands of dollars for.  

Another cheaper option to consider:
Deed back your week to the resort.  Keep your RCI membership (obviously you won't be depositing those weeks anymore, but you can leave them in your account).  Then buy inexpensive RCI Extra Vacations, Last Calls, and Rentals which are cheaper than paying annual maintenance fees + ever-increasing RCI exchange fees and combine fees.  You can also get timeshare rental weeks from owners directly here on TUG or Redweek.com or My Resort Network.  You can even pick up decent deals on timeshare units sometimes using Expedia.  There are a lot of great options out there now!

-- Rene


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## SherryS (Jul 24, 2012)

The RCI "rules of the game" are always changing, for RCI's advantage!  Two years ago, we changed exchange companies.  We are II  members, and have also used Trading Places, Hawaii Timeshare Exchange, and Trading Places Maui.  We've been very successful without RCI!


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## Margariet (Jul 24, 2012)

Jan&Ern said:


> My resort in Arkansas was known as Fairfield Bay, resort #0071 in RCI. The trading power of my 2 April weeks are 12....and I deposit them a year in advance. They are 2 bdrm/2 bath units for 6. Used to be considered tradeable to just about everywhere. The resort has golf, a large body of water for summer sports, etc. So, from the responses it appears that everyone is getting fabulous trade power for their home resort and has no issue with getting a trade. I have never had trouble getting nice 2 bedroom units in Florida with either of my weeks until now. There are some resorts that I can't access because they are points only. But the places we've stayed in Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Daytona, etc. are now going to require me to use 2 timeshare weeks for one week of vacation....and never did before. No matter what, that's no deal for me or anyone else who hasn't converted to points, which probably still would not be a benefit to me. The resort will buy my weeks back if I pay them $150 and possibly even the maintenance fee. To say I am sad to see the wonderful years of enjoying timeshare travel be taken away from me is an understatement. Selling my weeks (or giving them away) are my only option since I do not what to travel to Arkansas. I probably won't look to find another timeshare because of all the games that are played to make money by resorts and travel companies (RCI, II, etc.)



You already received lots of advices. TPU's with RCI go up and down, just like the weather. Some of us are very lucky and get higher TPU's every year, some others get lower TPU's. At least the RCI exchange system according to TPU's is fair to many members. In the past someone with one week in the Manhattan Club would just get one week in your resort and you would never have gotten into the Manhattan Club. Now you can combine weeks and get to a place that needs more TPU's. One might say that RCI has become more favorable for members who own more weeks.

However you still can get terrific bargains for only 4 to 6 TPU's with RCI. Or bonus weeks for only 0 TPU's. You only have to be alert.

For you the other exchange systems might work now but they change their policies all the time as well. So you'll never know if they will work. It's an illusion to think that for instance II or SFX will suddenly put a high value on your week. Good luck with it!


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## Carolinian (Jul 24, 2012)

You are blurring two entirely different issues.

One is an honest setting of trading power value, without a thumb on the scales.  As long as that is done, there is absolutely no problem with values adjusting for ever changing supply and demand factors, and indeed a fair system would do that.

The problem comes in with arbitrary overpointing and underpointing that reflects other agendas of the exchange company rather than correctly valuing for supply and demand.  When South Africa weeks gradually declined in trading power as more Americans and other nationalities saw they were a good deal and started depositing them, that made perfect sense and reflected market forces of an increase in supply.  When RCI arbitrarily and severely suddenly whacked the value of SA weeks deposited by non South Africans into the ''Weeks'' system after Points Lite was imposed, but left the trading power the same for owners who lived in South Africa and for Points members who used them for PFD, that was a clear case of a thumb on the scales.




timeos2 said:


> You are the one who has always demanded that the trade values be fluid & not fixed! Now if it changes its it's "unstable"? Then go to points where the value is static (but THAT is arbitrary and rigged too, I know...).


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## Carolinian (Jul 24, 2012)

You last paragraph is spot on, except that it might even be better in some circumstances to rent from RCI through their non-members portals and save the annual fee.  Sometimes the rental prices are a bit higher, but sometimes they are less than offered to members.

Playing RCI's shell game and having to constantly reposition is for the birds. Some of the best Points Lite plays out there now are clearly vastly overpointed based on visible supply and demand, so buying them is building on quicksand.  It may work for a while, but for how long?

My response to RCI's foolishness was to reposition - to other exchange companies; SFX, DAE, and UKRE.




Rene McDaniel said:


> Actually, that is EXCELLENT advice for the original poster.  Deed those low TPU weeks back to the resort while they are still taking them, and get yourself something better.  If you want to still be in the timeshare game there are plenty of people out there practically giving away weeks that they paid tens of thousands of dollars for.
> 
> Another cheaper option to consider:
> Deed back your week to the resort.  Keep your RCI membership (obviously you won't be depositing those weeks anymore, but you can leave them in your account).  Then buy inexpensive RCI Extra Vacations, Last Calls, and Rentals which are cheaper than paying annual maintenance fees + ever-increasing RCI exchange fees and combine fees.  You can also get timeshare rental weeks from owners directly here on TUG or Redweek.com or My Resort Network.  You can even pick up decent deals on timeshare units sometimes using Expedia.  There are a lot of great options out there now!
> ...


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## Tamaradarann (Jul 25, 2012)

*Points, TPU's and South Africa*



Carolinian said:


> The problem is that RCI puts its thumb on the scales in both directions, and sometimes heavily for a variety of reasons including pandering to developers particularly those still in developer sales and skewing the system to support RCI's own rentals of spacebank deposits to the general public.  Sometimes the numbers are skewed in one system but not the other.
> 
> Someone gave me a Points directory some years ago, and I posted a number of really screwy examples of ''even'' trades within the Points system.  I left that directory back in the states when I moved over here, but I recall one that was in my area and therefore really hit home.  It involved depositing a blue week in inland (and overbuilt for what it is) New Bern, and being able to trade it for a summer holiday beachfront Outer Banks week of the same size with ''change'' left over.  That was from a Points resort to a Points resort, and of course examples get worse when you look at crossover trades into Weeks.  Part of the reason that was possible is that the developer that still controlled the sold out beachfront OBX resort, threw it under the bus on values with RCI in order to overvalue its non-beachfront resort that was still in sales.  Those rotten, underhanded deals go on between RCI and developers all the time.  Of the two resorts mentioned on the OBX, the overvalued resort (by RCI) has signigicantly the lowest demand on the timeshare rental market on the OBX and the undervalued resort has the second highest rental demand.  RCI got it exactly backwards but they did it for an ulterior motive.  Doing that was what got that developer to join the Points system, and the developer's interest was in its resort that was still in active sales. It could have cared less about its sold out resort.  In fact, if you look through RCI's valuations generally, you will find that the term ''sold out resort'' often has a sinister double meaning in the wacky world of RCI valuations.
> 
> ...



That was quite an education on TPU's and South Africa.  I would agree that RCI does some value altercations that may not be correct or just.  We have an aquaintance living in the US who bought South African timeshares for cheap and was raving about his great trading power a few years ago.  However, he hasn't raved about his trading power lately but has indicated great admiration and surprise that we can trade as well as we can with our timeshares.  We didn't buy cheap, but we did buy resales.

Finally, my point about the week at Fairfield Bay in Arkansas in April was that the demand for that week is much less than that resort in Arkansas in the summer or South Florida in the winter.  Therefore, the Points, TPU's and trading power should reflect that and they do.


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## Jan&Ern (Jul 25, 2012)

*Thanks*

for all the good input. I'll keep watching for a spring (April) week in Florida (probably not Orlando) and possibly pick up an Extra Vacation that's reasonably priced. But I'm still disappointed in what's happened with RCI and my ability to exchange in the system. I can't help but think this is merely another attempt to get me to either sell, convert to a ton of points for more money or just pay a whole lot more to them for one week of vacation. After I combine my two weeks they will have my 2 weeks for my one week of vacation. And then garner not only all the extra fees from me but fees from someone else purchasing my unused week.


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