# Why Buy Wyndham if I Own RCI?



## owebeewan (Sep 16, 2021)

I just attended a Wyndham timeshare presentation. Why would an RCI owner want Wyndham ownership if I can trade into them with South Africa timeshares with a $250/ year MF? I also own a resort with 122k RCI points for $850 MF.

I'm thinking that it's a 2-part answer: 1) Easier to stay at Wyndham resorts with Wyndham ownership, but 2) more expensive to do so than with an RCI membership.

For instance, I can trade into Club Wyndham Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach (#3871 RCI) for 34,000 RCI points in April. This gives me almost a month for my $850 RCI MF (3 1/2 weeks). If I do a targeted search for specific Wyndham properties, I suspect availability will show up for other properties.

Can you help me better understand why I might want to sell my RCI points property and get a Wyndham resale property?

Thanks


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## Ty1on (Sep 16, 2021)

1.  Add $1000 for four weeks of RCI Points exchange fees.
2.  You're going to find better inventory availability via Club Wyndham than RCI, depending of course on when and where you go.
3.  If you are flexible in your travel plans, you're good where you're at.  I presume you have something like a Grandview 2 BR prime week in RCI Points.  That's pretty close to unbeatable in terms of RCI bank for the buck.  Given what you own (I have no idea what kind of trade value the RSA weeks get you), if it were me, and my RSA and RCI Points were getting me the vacations I wanted, I wouldn't fix what ain't broke.

Edit, I see in your profile, yeah, Grandview 2BR prime week.  That's a great contract!


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## rickandcindy23 (Sep 16, 2021)

Wyndham is just another system you learn to use and enjoy.  What you have is perfectly fine.  If you choose to double what you own, that might be the better thing to do.  

If you buy a Wyndham resale with a rate of $6.00 per thousand in MF's, some Bonnet Creek 2 bedrooms are 112,000 X $6.00 for a full week.  That is a good value, when you consider exchange fees.  It depends where you want to go and when.  You buy into a system (resale) to trade within the system for dates that might be tough to get elsewhere.  If you love a particular resort and cannot get it via exchange, then by all means buy into the system with that resort, but don't overbuy.

So many good systems to own.  I personally love Interval International for exchanging, and Wyndham won't do that for you.


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## raygo123 (Sep 16, 2021)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Wyndham is just another system you learn to use and enjoy. What you have is perfectly fine. If you choose to double what you own, that might be the better thing to do.
> 
> If you buy a Wyndham resale with a rate of $6.00 per thousand in MF's, some Bonnet Creek 2 bedrooms are 112,000 X $6.00 for a full week. That is a good value, when you consider exchange fees. It depends where you want to go and when. You buy into a system (resale) to trade within the system for dates that might be tough to get elsewhere. If you love a particular resort and cannot get it via exchange, then by all means buy into the system with that resort, but don't overbuy.
> 
> So many good systems to own. I personally love Interval International for exchanging, and Wyndham won't do that for you.


There are some Wyndham resorts that trade through II. I owned a two bedroom at Fox Run converted to Wyndham points. Alexandria may be another. Those now are only available resale. 

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## Ty1on (Sep 16, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> There are some Wyndham resorts that trade through II. I owned a two bedroom at Fox Run converted to Wyndham points. Alexandria may be another. Those now are only available resale.
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk



So many good II traders out there to be searching for a Wyndham unicorn.


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## paxsarah (Sep 16, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> There are some Wyndham resorts that trade through II. I owned a two bedroom at Fox Run converted to Wyndham points. Alexandria may be another. Those now are only available resale.


Although there are a few II traders still out there among longtime owners who resisted Wyndham’s various attempts to convert them to RCI, any new resale owner will not be given an II account, only an RCI account, even if the resale they’re purchasing is at one of the original handful of II resorts.


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## bnoble (Sep 16, 2021)

owebeewan said:


> Why would an RCI owner want Wyndham ownership


Three possible answers.

1: You do not want to be constrained to full-week stays and/or you want different check-in days than are deposited. Points ameliorates this somewhat, but only somewhat, because plenty of the Wyndham inventory sent to RCI uses the Weeks channel.

2: You do not want the hassle/uncertainty of dealing with exchange (which is supply-driven) vs. direct booking (which is demand-driven).

3: You want a stay that is rarely (or, in practical terms, never) deposited to RCI. Wyndham owners can book no later than 10 months prior to use*. Wyndham deposits to RCI no earlier than 7-8 months. Things that are in high demand internally** will not make their way to RCI.

Of course, none of those answers are "It's cheaper." RCI can be a great way to create arbitrage opportunities, and if dollar cost is your bottom-line metric, then none of those things matter. Lots of people on TUG get caught up in this idea, and I used to as well until I realized that there are no medals for "I stayed here the least expensively." At the end of the day, for me, I don't really care if I get the _very best_ deal, I just want a _good_ one.

------
*: Yes, there are exceptions (Margaritaville, PR, Outrigger, etc.) but they aren't that important for this discussion.

**: It's too soon to say, but it appears that Wyndham _might_ be abiding by the owner-only restricted dates/resorts when choosing deposits to RCI. Edited to add: apparently, they are not.


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## jwalk03 (Sep 16, 2021)

There are many top tier Wyndham resorts that are rarely or never available through RCI.  So if you want to stay at any of those you would need direct access to Wyndham.  And ever more that are only available through RCI at off peak times.  

Personally I have had far better luck using my Marriott trader in II than using RCI.


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## tschwa2 (Sep 16, 2021)

owebeewan said:


> Can you help me better understand why I might want to sell my RCI points property and get a Wyndham resale property?
> Thanks


As long as you don't want those wyndham reservations that never are deposited into rci- Alexandria, Glacier Canyon or Smokey Lodge (waterparks) during summer school vacations,  Myrtle Beach Ocean front in any of the Wyndhams during summer school vacations, and a handful of others during prime time; then no reason to buy into wyndham.  Wyndham is also more flexible if you find yourself needing to cancel and rebook often.  Other than the $19 transaction fee, if you are out, you can cancel up to 14 days before check in.  If you do that with rci you will be out the exchange fee and some or all of the points depending on when you cancel (unless you put up another $89+ for points protection).


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## Ty1on (Sep 16, 2021)

bnoble said:


> Three possible answers.
> 
> At the end of the day, for me, I don't really care if I get the _very best_ deal, I just want a _good_ one.
> 
> **: It's too soon to say, but it appears that Wyndham _might_ be abiding by the owner-only restricted dates/resorts when choosing deposits to RCI. Edited to add: apparently, they are not.



Firstly, brilliant point on the former line I left in the quote.

To the latter line, there are unconverted intervals in many Club Wyndham destinations that wouldn't be subject to the restriction.  I say that to stress that just because someone may see a Wyndham on Easter weekend in RCI, that doesn't mean it was deposited by the Club.


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## snickers104 (Sep 16, 2021)

I also own a 2 bdr prime week at Grandview (122000 point). I use this to get places I can't get with Wyndham. I am in the process of closing on 195000 Wyndham CWA points for the ARP in some of the harder to book Wyndham resorts.


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## rickandcindy23 (Sep 16, 2021)

tschwa2 said:


> As long as you don't want those wyndham reservations that never are deposited into rci- Alexandria, Glacier Canyon or Smokey Lodge (waterparks) during summer school vacations,  Myrtle Beach Ocean front in any of the Wyndhams during summer school vacations, and a handful of others during prime time; then no reason to buy into wyndham.  Wyndham is also more flexible if you find yourself needing to cancel and rebook often.  Other than the $19 transaction fee, if you are out, you can cancel up to 14 days before check in.  If you do that with rci you will be out the exchange fee and some or all of the points depending on when you cancel (unless you put up another $89+ for points protection).


There are some Glacier Canyon on RCI right now for full weeks, and it's cheap to get through weeks (TPU's).  I am amazed, but the outdoor waterpark wouldn't be open in April, I wouldn't think.


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## Eric B (Sep 16, 2021)

A couple of things to add to the discussion - first, what you see in RCI right now is not very representative of what is typically in RCI.  As others have mentioned, there are some Wyndham resorts that you don't even see in RCI right now and may never see; there are also specific unit types that will never get in there (i.e., most presidential units), but might get into the Registry Collection.

Another point is that owning both in the Club Wyndham Plus system and out of it allows me to compare the different costs to stay at the same resort and in the same unit type using the different access methods.  Wyndham, and many of the other mini-systems at have corporate portals to RCI (e.g., Hilton), has a set exchange cost in RCI based on unit size and season that doesn't take into account the resort specific costs.  This can be advantageous even when reserving a Wyndham resort through the Wyndham RCI portal - for example, a 2 BR week in at Wyndham Shearwater costs 400,000 Wyndham points (or more for an upper level or presidential unit), but occasionally is available in RCI at a cost of 205,000 Wyndham points deposited in RCI.  The same week would be 121,000 RCI points if you use your Grandview points, for example.  For me, using my Wyndham Bali Hai points ($4.50/K), it would cost me $1,800 to book the week through Wyndham, $922.50 for points plus $249 exchange fee = $1,171.50 going through the Wyndham RCI portal, and your Grandview points would be ~$968 for the RCI points (if I recall the cost right at ~$.008/RCI point) plus $249 exchange fee = $1,217.  There can be a lot of other permutations to consider - YMMV.


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## troy12n (Sep 16, 2021)

RCI is "all other timeshare systems leftovers"... Wyndham is not. A lot of the properties in RCI which are high demand are about impossible to get into, even with the recurring search thing. That search functionality and pseudo waitlist leaves a lot to be desired. Even though Wyndham does not have one. My understanding is you have to commit to the purchase when you input the search, and if you set a date range, you may end up with a less than ideal date.


Don't get me wrong, RCI has it's place, but to me more of a supplemental system than a primary.


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## snickers104 (Sep 16, 2021)

troy12n said:


> RCI is "all other timeshare systems leftovers"... Wyndham is not.


Not necessarily....I've booked Wyndham Grand Cayman Reef Resort with RCI account....not in the Wyndham club.

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## troy12n (Sep 16, 2021)

snickers104 said:


> Not necessarily....I've booked Wyndham Grand Cayman Reef Resort with RCI account....not in the Wyndham club.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk



I understand, but all inventory RCI is basically *unused/unwanted* inventory people (or timeshare companies) deposit into it. It's stuff the TS systems can't move on their own, or that individual owners don't want or cant use.


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## Ty1on (Sep 16, 2021)

snickers104 said:


> Not necessarily....I've booked Wyndham Grand Cayman Reef Resort with RCI account....not in the Wyndham club.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


Yeah, you will never find that in Club Wyndham because it isn't a Club Wyndham resort.


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## tschwa2 (Sep 16, 2021)

Rci points resorts that auto deposit can result in good finds at exactly 10 months.  Bulk deposits from developers can also result in good finds even if not the highest demand. 

Wyndham does some decent deposits just not prime summer and prime ski but shoulder season even with the exchange fee can be a bargain through rci.


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## Ty1on (Sep 16, 2021)

tschwa2 said:


> Rci points resorts that auto deposit can result in good finds at exactly 10 months.  Bulk deposits from developers can also result in good finds even if not the highest demand.
> 
> Wyndham does some decent deposits just not prime summer and prime ski but shoulder season even with the exchange fee can be a bargain through rci.



This is true of RCI Points side.  On the Weeks side, with the exception of OGS and prayer for an Orlando DVC hit, Troy fairly nailed it.  Pretty much stuff that no one really wants, and anything attractive goes fast.


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## snickers104 (Sep 16, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> This is true of RCI Points side. On the Weeks side, with the exception of OGS and prayer for an Orlando DVC hit, Troy fairly nailed it. Pretty much stuff that no one really wants, and anything attractive goes fast.


Kinda strange.....my OGS for Disney hasn't failed to ever hit. I see value in my RCI account for short stays on the points side. Wyndham helps with the weeks side searches.

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## Ty1on (Sep 16, 2021)

snickers104 said:


> Kinda strange.....my OGS for Disney hasn't failed to ever hit. I see value in my RCI account for short stays on the points side. Wyndham helps with the weeks side searches.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk



To be clear, it seems like OGS works most of the time.  I wrote that particularly because I'm sweating out an OGS for Easter Week next year.

Though looking at the cost of airfare, I'm on the verge of pivoting to my backup plan in Anaheim.


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## Italag5 (Sep 16, 2021)

owebeewan said:


> I just attended a Wyndham timeshare presentation. Why would an RCI owner want Wyndham ownership if I can trade into them with South Africa timeshares with a $250/ year MF? I also own a resort with 122k RCI points for $850 MF.
> 
> I'm thinking that it's a 2-part answer: 1) Easier to stay at Wyndham resorts with Wyndham ownership, but 2) more expensive to do so than with an RCI membership.
> 
> ...


Question is why buy Wyndham if you can rent from a VIP owner for less then the cost of maintenance fees? See link below for Last minute rentals at 1/2 the cost of owning and paying maintenance fees. I will also add no RCI reservation fee at $249. 








						Last Minute Discounted Timeshare Rentals Offered
					

Rentals of actual resort time (not points) with start dates 45 days or less into the future and Maximum rental rate $800/week or $115/day. Rentals more than 45 days out should be placed in the regular TUG Timeshare Marketplace.




					tugbbs.com


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## rboesl (Sep 16, 2021)

troy12n said:


> I understand, but all inventory RCI is basically *unused/unwanted* inventory people (or timeshare companies) deposit into it. It's stuff the TS systems can't move on their own, or that individual owners don't want or cant use.


That's not necessarily true. There are some systems, Vacation Village for instance, that have contracts with RCI to manage their inventory for them. Divi also used to do that.


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## Ty1on (Sep 16, 2021)

rboesl said:


> That's not necessarily true. There are some systems, Vacation Village for instance, that have contracts with RCI to manage their inventory for them. Divi also used to do that.



Yes, they use RCI for their INTERNAL exchange.  This doesn't make highly sought after reservations in those systems highly available to other RCI exchangers.


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## troy12n (Sep 16, 2021)

rboesl said:


> That's not necessarily true. There are some systems, Vacation Village for instance, that have contracts with RCI to manage their inventory for them. Divi also used to do that.



That's only sort of true, but anything available in RCI to non-VV owners is, indeed, leftovers or castoffs, just like everything else.


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## troy12n (Sep 16, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> This is true of RCI Points side.  On the Weeks side, with the exception of OGS and prayer for an Orlando DVC hit, Troy fairly nailed it.  Pretty much stuff that no one really wants, and anything attractive goes fast.



And this is where I apparently don't know fully how RCI works on both sides. I've only used the RCI *weeks* account, which is available through the Wyndham owner portal. I have been told and learned here that I also should have access to, and am entitled to, an RCI *points* account as well, since i'm a Wyndham retail VIP owner.

If this is true, I have never used it, and don't know how to access it. I have asked Wyndham and RCI and both entities point me to the other for assistance. So I seem to be stuck in the water when it comes to this.

I have heard that the inventory is different on the weeks side vs points side, and there are sometimes better inventory on one side or another. But don't seem to have access to it. I currently do not have any points deposited in RCI anyway. But want to get this figured out. 

Also, I did not know that Wyndham auto-deposited inventory from certain resorts in the points side. Is there a list somewhere of what resorts they do this for? This was news to me. I thought anything they did this on was available to weeks and points.


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## tschwa2 (Sep 16, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> This is true of RCI Points side.  On the Weeks side, with the exception of OGS and prayer for an Orlando DVC hit, Troy fairly nailed it.  Pretty much stuff that no one really wants, and anything attractive goes fast.


For the most part, I agree.  Hilton deposits some pretty prime stuff and even with their resort fees the summer 2 and 3 BR Myrtle Beach was pretty nice as is some of the Hawaii inventory that doesn't come up for holiday weeks but does get about 40 out of 52 weeks deposited including some 2 BR and some rare 3 BR's; your best bet is to have an ongoing search or search manually often to catch the bulk deposit on the morning it is deposited.


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## tschwa2 (Sep 16, 2021)

troy12n said:


> And this is where I apparently don't know fully how RCI works on both sides. I've only used the RCI *weeks* account, which is available through the Wyndham owner portal. I have been told and learned here that I also should have access to, and am entitled to, an RCI *points* account as well, since i'm a Wyndham retail VIP owner.
> 
> If this is true, I have never used it, and don't know how to access it. I have asked Wyndham and RCI and both entities point me to the other for assistance. So I seem to be stuck in the water when it comes to this.
> 
> ...



You do have access to points inventory as a retail Wyndham owner.  It should come through your portal.  You can't match an ongoing search for rci points inventory.  If you look at exactly 10 months preferably 10 months to the day for a Friday and/or Saturday check in at a place like The Crane Residential in Barbados or the Windjammer in St Lucia or Wyndham Reef on Caymen Islands.  Check July 14-July 17, 2022.  That would be points inventory.  They may have had larger units if you had checked at midnight yesterday.  I don't know how fast they go.  Points inventory doesn't always make it to 10 months.  At 12 months owners at that resort but who own different weeks can exchange, and at 11 months owners at resorts in the same resort group can grab that inventory.  Yes summer in the Caribbean isn't high time but it still is busy with families travelling.  Since 10 months from today puts you into mid July that is where you will see the best examples of points inventory.  The better stuff won't stick around long and as I said doesn't always make it to open inventory at 10 months.  My local beach is Ocean City Maryland.  I can usually get up to the middle of June in points inventory for a 2 BR.  In July and early August I can't.  Owners either reserve their home weeks or the inventory is taken by other owners of lesser weeks before making it to the 10 month mark.


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## rboesl (Sep 17, 2021)

RCI members that own resorts that deposit points into RCI should have both a points account and a weeks account. The difference is that when using the weeks account you can only see weeks that are available. But, when using the points account you can see resorts with points availability AND resorts with weeks availability. You can tell the difference by looking at the check in days. Weeks resorts will only show check in days of Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Points resorts will show all days of the week.


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## Ty1on (Sep 17, 2021)

troy12n said:


> And this is where I apparently don't know fully how RCI works on both sides. I've only used the RCI *weeks* account, which is available through the Wyndham owner portal. I have been told and learned here that I also should have access to, and am entitled to, an RCI *points* account as well, since i'm a Wyndham retail VIP owner.
> 
> If this is true, I have never used it, and don't know how to access it. I have asked Wyndham and RCI and both entities point me to the other for assistance. So I seem to be stuck in the water when it comes to this.
> 
> ...



You should really give owner services a call if you are a frequent exchanger.  It's only $0.02 more per thousand and opens up a whole new inventory for you.


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## Cyrus24 (Sep 17, 2021)

Italag5 said:


> Question is *why buy Wyndham if you can rent from a VIP owner for less then the cost of maintenance fees?* See link below for Last minute rentals at 1/2 the cost of owning and paying maintenance fees. I will also add no RCI reservation fee at $249.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


New Account, I see.  Same message.


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## Ty1on (Sep 17, 2021)

Welcome


Italag5 said:


> Question is why buy Wyndham if you can rent from a VIP owner for less then the cost of maintenance fees? See link below for Last minute rentals at 1/2 the cost of owning and paying maintenance fees. I will also add no RCI reservation fee at $249.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Welcome back, Dominic!


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## Eric B (Sep 17, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> Welcome
> 
> Welcome back, Dominic!



Was he gone?


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## ailin (Sep 17, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> You should really give owner services a call if you are a frequent exchanger.  It's only $0.02 more per thousand and opens up a whole new inventory for you.



I really should have kept up with the changes better over the years.  I knew that I could get access to RCI points, but for some reason I thought it would be a big cost.  We own 300k developer, deeded (don't think that matters?).  So all I need to do is call up owner services, say I want to add PlusPartners, pay $6 more in program fees, and get access to RCI points?  Kicking myself why I didn't know this before!


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## Eric B (Sep 17, 2021)

ailin said:


> I really should have kept up with the changes better over the years.  I knew that I could get access to RCI points, but for some reason I thought it would be a big cost.  We own 300k developer, deeded (don't think that matters?).  So all I need to do is call up owner services, say I want to add PlusPartners, pay $6 more in program fees, and get access to RCI points?  Kicking myself why I didn't know this before!



If you own developer points you might already have PlusPartners and you may already be paying the $0.02/K cost.  Sign in to the Wyndham site and look at the "My Ownership" portion; it would be listed as one of the additional programs in the upper right corner.  Also, it's not exactly RCI points, but the RCI Nightly Stay Option and is discussed on page 262 of the directory.


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## ailin (Sep 17, 2021)

Eric B said:


> If you own developer points you might already have PlusPartners and you may already be paying the $0.02/K cost.  Sign in to the Wyndham site and look at the "My Ownership" portion; it would be listed as one of the additional programs in the upper right corner.  Also, it's not exactly RCI points, but the RCI Nightly Stay Option and is discussed on page 262 of the directory.



Under additional programs, it only says "RCI".  We're paying 0.62 in programs fees, not 0.64.  Bought 20 years ago, so don't think it existed then.  Thanks for the tip on where to look, will check there again after I call.


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## Ty1on (Sep 17, 2021)

ailin said:


> Under additional programs, it only says "RCI".  We're paying 0.62 in programs fees, not 0.64.  Bought 20 years ago, so don't think it existed then.  Thanks for the tip on where to look, will check there again after I call.



You would be paying $0.64 or $0.66.  There is no $0.62.


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## ailin (Sep 17, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> You would be paying $0.64 or $0.66.  There is no $0.62.



I was looking at my 2020 statement.  Guess it went up?


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## troy12n (Sep 17, 2021)

I guess I have it then, and didn't know. I had assumed it was a different login or webpage that you showed inventory. I thought you had to access RCI Points through the RCI website, not the Wyndham portal. I thought that was the distinction. And i've never been able to log into the RCI website directly. 






Eric B said:


> If you own developer points you might already have PlusPartners and you may already be paying the $0.02/K cost.  Sign in to the Wyndham site and look at the "My Ownership" portion; it would be listed as one of the additional programs in the upper right corner.  Also, it's not exactly RCI points, but the RCI Nightly Stay Option and is discussed on page 262 of the directory.


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## Eric B (Sep 17, 2021)

ailin said:


> I was looking at my 2020 statement.  Guess it went up?



Every year like clockwork


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## Free2Roam (Sep 18, 2021)

Anyone who thinks RCI is all about leftover or unused inventory that nobody wants, doesn't really know how to use RCI.

Initially I obtained an RCI Points contract to use for locations Wyndham had no resorts. Over time I found myself using RCI Points more than Wyndham. I have also deposited fixed weeks to RCI Weeks... not because it was a bad week, but because I didn't want to go that year and wanted TPUs in RCI to book other vacations. RCI fees are the costs I pay to get the vacations I want. When I calculate total cost for Wyndham vs RCI, including fees, Wyndham is usually more expensive (and our Wyndham fees aren't extremely high... about $6/1000)

Just some of the vacations booked thru RCI over the years:
- Aruba (June & August multiple years... a couple times we booked multiple units for the same week) 
- VA Beach (summer weeks in oceanfront resorts)
- Ocean City, MD (summer week) 
- Hershey, PA (Memorial Day week... I think this was dumb luck)
- Cape Cod, MA (August)
- Lake Placid, NY (March - last minute... booked a month out using RCI Points... cost was under $400 including cost of points used and exchange fee)
- Massanutten, VA (all times of the year)

Opinions vary, but RCI is a better fit for me.


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## bnoble (Sep 18, 2021)

Free2Roam said:


> Anyone who thinks RCI is all about leftover or unused inventory that nobody wants, doesn't really know how to use RCI.


The question wasn't "Why would I ever want RCI." The question was "Why would I own Wyndham if I already have access to RCI."

And, _*specifically for Wyndham*, _the answer is: "The most popular times at the most popular resorts are rarely if ever deposited, because owners have at least a two month head start to book them." Wyndham can't deposit weeks that are booked, and if all of those prime weeks are booked, they aren't going to make it to RCI.

Wyndham is far from the only system that does this. DVC is perhaps the most notorious example: It deposits only 1BRs (the least popular size for owners) mostly at SSR (the least popular resort for owners), and rarely if ever deposits October or early December (some of the most popular times for owners). Hilton has some of this as well: they rarely if ever deposit holiday weeks. Peak ski season at Park City is pretty rare if not impossible. On the other hand, we've gotten a 3BR Penthouse at Lagoon Tower in summer season, so it's not all bad.


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## bogey21 (Sep 18, 2021)

Back in my travel heyday I was a member of both RCI Weeks and Points, both from ownerships costing me about $100.  Used them primarily for ski weeks in the Dillon, Frisco area and HGVCs in Las Vegas.  They were truly bargains personified...

George


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## Free2Roam (Sep 18, 2021)

bnoble said:


> The question wasn't "Why would I ever want RCI." The question was "Why would I own Wyndham if I already have access to RCI."



Understood that part. 

There were a couple comments that RCI inventory is unwanted leftovers. My post simply offered another viewpoint.


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## Ty1on (Sep 20, 2021)

Free2Roam said:


> Understood that part.
> 
> There were a couple comments that RCI inventory is unwanted leftovers. My post simply offered another viewpoint.



My comments:  "RCI Weeks", "Mostly unwanted leftovers" or words to the same effect, and I stand by that.


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## snickers104 (Sep 20, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> My comments: "RCI Weeks", "Mostly unwanted leftovers" or words to the same effect, and I stand by that.


Everyone has their opinions...

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## raygo123 (Sep 20, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> My comments: "RCI Weeks", "Mostly unwanted leftovers" or words to the same effect, and I stand by that.


No, you are not using it right. You have to "plan" to use RCI. IT WAS A REALLY sweet deal before Wyndham took away the quiet season deposit upgrade.

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## troy12n (Sep 20, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> My comments:  "RCI Weeks", "Mostly unwanted leftovers" or words to the same effect, and I stand by that.



I agree completely. There may be bargains to be had, I don't doubt that one bit. But trying to find bargains, in locations you want to go, in the timeframe that occupancy in the RCI system may theoretically exist, is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. At best. At worst, those resorts are *NEVER* deposited into RCI at all, or if they are, it's quiet season and 1BR units.

Other than the oft used examples of "Vegas" or some of the Orlando resorts, I challenge  you to find prime booking opportunities in RCI. They almost certainly don't exist.



raygo123 said:


> No, you are not using it right. You have to "plan" to use RCI. IT WAS A REALLY sweet deal before Wyndham took away the quiet season deposit upgrade.



I think you are being completely disingenuous with this statement.

It can be a really sweet deal, if, *and a only if*, they have availability in a location someone desires, at a timeframe that also lines up with the travellers ability to travel.

More often than not, this is *not* the case.

If you are younger and either have a family and have to book vacations around school or have limited PTO which may be seasonal, RCI is usually a really bad fit. Unless you like to go to Williamsburg, Massanutten, Vegas or Orlando all the time. Then, I cede, you can probably regularly find something.

But... if you are retired, have infinite flexibility and don't really care where you are staying, and are just in it for the bargain vacations, no matter where they are at, then yes, I would agree, RCI is great. Or... if  you just like going to Vegas or Orlando a lot...

You are making some really big assumptions about people's ability to plan as well. In this day and age, planning out a vacation 10 months out is difficult for a large percentage of people. This is something you may not know.


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## raygo123 (Sep 20, 2021)

troy12n said:


> I agree completely. There may be bargains to be had, I don't doubt that one bit. But trying to find bargains, in locations you want to go, in the timeframe that occupancy in the RCI system may theoretically exist, is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. At best. At worst, those resorts are *NEVER* deposited into RCI at all, or if they are, it's quiet season and 1BR units.
> 
> Other than the oft used examples of "Vegas" or some of the Orlando resorts, I challenge you to find prime booking opportunities in RCI. They almost certainly don't exist.
> 
> ...


I don't know. I been booking for the kids my two daughters and each have two children. Last year first week of August in Wisconsin Dells this year Smokey Mountain lodge a two and three bedroom. Every year spring break etc. I would book a Wyndham where they want to go for spring break. This year The Fountain's showed up. I had just cancelled my Quebec city Trip and received my points back. I paid the $89 Travel Insurance and received my points and a credit for my exchange fee but points had to be booked by end of year. 

I switched my daughter to The Fountains and cancelled my WYNDHAM Bonet Creek I made for her. Take a look at the Fountains. It seems you don't have the luxury of time to fiddle with RCI.

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## troy12n (Sep 20, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> I switched my daughter to The Fountains and cancelled my WYNDHAM Bonet Creek I made for her. Take a look at the Fountains. It seems you don't have the luxury of time to fiddle with RCI.



I specifically mentioned Orlando always having inventory in RCI, so that doesn't surprise me, I should have mentioned Sevierville/Gatlinburg because that's another area that always has tons of inventory. Dells in August kind of surprises me, which resort? I live in Florida, so Orlando is of no interest to me, even though i've used the resorts there (always last minute, always get VIP discount + an upgrade) so paying the exchange fee for them is of zero value to me personally. 

Orlando, Vegas, Williamsburg and Gatlinburg are reliable bets. Everything else is a crap shoot or low season leftovers. 

If that works for you, fine, i'm posing my answer to the OP's question and I stand by it.


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## Ty1on (Sep 20, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> I don't know. I been booking for the kids my two daughters and each have two children. Last year first week of August in Wisconsin Dells this year Smokey Mountain lodge a two and three bedroom. Every year spring break etc. I would book a Wyndham where they want to go for spring break. This year The Fountain's showed up. I had just cancelled my Quebec city Trip and received my points back. I paid the $89 Travel Insurance and received my points and a credit for my exchange fee but points had to be booked by end of year.
> 
> I switched my daughter to The Fountains and cancelled my WYNDHAM Bonet Creek I made for her. Take a look at the Fountains. It seems you don't have the luxury of time to fiddle with RCI.
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk



Nice on the Wisc Dells.  I'm not sure how I would judge Smokey Mountain Lodge as quality of trade, as I've never been to the area.  The Fountains doesn't impress me as a rebuttal to someone who said there are only few places you could find a reliable and decent exchange, and listed Orlando as one of them.


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## paxsarah (Sep 20, 2021)

You know, the Sightings/Distressed forum is a good source for actual sightings of well-regarded resorts in RCI (as well as II).


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## raygo123 (Sep 20, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> Nice on the Wisc Dells. I'm not sure how I would judge Smokey Mountain Lodge as quality of trade, as I've never been to the area. The Fountains doesn't impress me as a rebuttal to someone who said there are only few places you could find a reliable and decent exchange, and listed Orlando as one of them.


Quebec, cape Cod, Virginia Beach , Grand Mayan Cancun and Puerto Vallarta Nuevo etc. I bought a resale deed at Fox Run at lake lure back in '83. 17 TPUs for the first 10 years before converting to points. Trust me it is your perspective. Just as you have knowledge of easy to get into, did you ever think there are still people who want to go there? 

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## troy12n (Sep 20, 2021)

Do you still own Fox Run? Those MF seem pretty high. Not sure if it was always that way.


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## Ty1on (Sep 20, 2021)

paxsarah said:


> You know, the Sightings/Distressed forum is a good source for actual sightings of well-regarded resorts in RCI (as well as II).


And that is a fantastic example.  II sighting have to outnumber RCI 10 to 1 if youbtake out SSR and OKW


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## Ty1on (Sep 20, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> Quebec, cape Cod, Virginia Beach , Grand Mayan Cancun and Puerto Vallarta Nuevo etc. I bought a resale deed at Fox Run at lake lure back in '83. 17 TPUs for the first 10 years before converting to points. Trust me it is your perspective. Just as you have knowledge of easy to get into, did you ever think there are still people who want to go there?
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk


We use it for Vidanta all the time, even paying the insane resort fee now.  But let's be honest, Vida dumps those weeks in RCI.  Quebec and Cape Cod I dont really care about.  Show me a decent exchange into a SoCal beach resort!!! Or a good Hawaii resort.


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## ailin (Sep 21, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> We use it for Vidanta all the time, even paying the insane resort fee now.  But let's be honest, Vida dumps those weeks in RCI.  Quebec and Cape Cod I dont really care about.  Show me a decent exchange into a SoCal beach resort!!! Or a good Hawaii resort.



SoCal:
Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort late June
HGVC Marbrisa Thanksgiving

Hawaii:
HGVC Kings' Land spring break, Thanksgiving
The Cliffs at Princeville Christmas

Non-school holiday weeks:
HGVC Hilton Hawaiian Village Lagoon Tower December
Ka'anapali Beach Club January
Aulani February - my best ever exchange, probably never to be topped.


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## raygo123 (Sep 21, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> We use it for Vidanta all the time, even paying the insane resort fee now. But let's be honest, Vida dumps those weeks in RCI. Quebec and Cape Cod I dont really care about. Show me a decent exchange into a SoCal beach resort!!! Or a good Hawaii resort.


We liked Vida so much we bought there. I think you don't like Wyndham and especially RCI. I think you have an attitude problem. Hell, I I even got into Lake condominiums at big sky in July. You my friend are cutting off your nose to spite your face. As Wyndham, you have to learn RCI. You are a preconditioned Wyndham owner. An owner that sees it a a terrible ulturnative to use your points. I like people like you. Stay ignorant. The more that you don't know that you don't know the better it is for me.

And in the end that's all that counts.

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## bnoble (Sep 21, 2021)

Both things can be (and, in my experience, are) true: RCI is primarily the leftovers and things other people don't want, _and_ RCI can be a source of true gems. The trick is that the gems are rare, and require some effort to identify and exchange into. Over time, the gems become fewer and farther between for all sorts of reasons. And even then, it doesn't always work.

That's why I usually advise people _not_ to buy with the goal of regularly exchanging via third-party exchange--especially for folks who are relatively inexperienced with timeshare. It can be a nice option for the infrequent thing you can't use yourself, and sometimes can really deliver. But, it is not for the faint of heart. It works best if you can be opportunistic and place a few broad searches to see what turns up.


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## Ty1on (Sep 21, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> We liked Vida so much we bought there. I think you don't like Wyndham and especially RCI. I think you have an attitude problem. Hell, I I even got into Lake condominiums at big sky in July. You my friend are cutting off your nose to spite your face. As Wyndham, you have to learn RCI. You are a preconditioned Wyndham owner. An owner that sees it a a terrible ulturnative to use your points. I like people like you. Stay ignorant. The more that you don't know that you don't know the better it is for me.
> 
> And in the end that's all that counts.
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk



You're making some very deep presumptions here.


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## Ty1on (Sep 21, 2021)

ailin said:


> SoCal:
> Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort late June
> HGVC Marbrisa Thanksgiving
> 
> ...



Did you get the HGVCs through RCI Weeks?

And Aulani ws a golden unicorn.  I doubt it will ever be seen again.


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## Eric B (Sep 21, 2021)

bnoble said:


> Both things can be (and, in my experience, are) true: RCI is primarily the leftovers and things other people don't want, _and_ RCI can be a source of true gems.



That pretty much sums up how and why markets work.  People are willing to sell or exchange things they have that other people might want because there's something they would prefer to have.  The price on stuff people don't want as much generally goes down over time and gets put on sale or goes unsold. If it were all leftovers that nobody wants, RCI wouldn't contribute anything to the Time + Leisure bottom line and would never have been bought out by Wyndham.


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## ailin (Sep 21, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> Did you get the HGVCs through RCI Weeks?
> 
> And Aulani ws a golden unicorn.  I doubt it will ever be seen again.



Yes, RCI weeks.  Most were ongoing search matches.  Some might have been from Sightings of bulk deposits.

I know I'll probably never see Aulani again.  The golden age of DVC exchanges is over.  But I still have my search going.  You can't win if you don't play, right?


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## troy12n (Sep 21, 2021)

Regarding the ongoing searches. I have set a couple up, but never actually pulled the trigger. In doing these dry runs, it looks like you have to commit to purchase and commit CC to make the purchase before finishing setup. 

Then if a search "hits", it's yours. But you have to make the financial commitment to it before you set up the search. And if you do a large date range, it could end up being a less than ideal fit. 

So some tips here, which might make me more amenable to using the ongoing searches and RCI in general, to find one of those unicorns you keep talking about...


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## Ty1on (Sep 21, 2021)

troy12n said:


> Regarding the ongoing searches. I have set a couple up, but never actually pulled the trigger. In doing these dry runs, it looks like you have to commit to purchase and commit CC to make the purchase before finishing setup.
> 
> Then if a search "hits", it's yours. But you have to make the financial commitment to it before you set up the search. And if you do a large date range, it could end up being a less than ideal fit.
> 
> So some tips here, which might make me more amenable to using the ongoing searches and RCI in general, to find one of those unicorns you keep talking about...



I was surprised that I was able to set up an OGS without paying the exchange fee in advance.


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## ailin (Sep 21, 2021)

troy12n said:


> Regarding the ongoing searches. I have set a couple up, but never actually pulled the trigger. In doing these dry runs, it looks like you have to commit to purchase and commit CC to make the purchase before finishing setup.
> 
> Then if a search "hits", it's yours. But you have to make the financial commitment to it before you set up the search. And if you do a large date range, it could end up being a less than ideal fit.
> 
> So some tips here, which might make me more amenable to using the ongoing searches and RCI in general, to find one of those unicorns you keep talking about...



Usually, you need 1 exchange fee in your account to do an OGS.  But you can set up as many as you want off of that 1 fee.  Maybe sometimes they have a promo where no fee needed.  I know I'll end up using it, so I don't mind having the money stuck there.  You could always ask for a refund too.

Once it hits, you have 3 business days to confirm it or it gets released.  I did have one time where it auto confirmed, which was very weird.  I was able to get it canceled though.


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## troy12n (Sep 21, 2021)

ailin said:


> Usually, you need 1 exchange fee in your account to do an OGS.  But you can set up as many as you want off of that 1 fee.  Maybe sometimes they have a promo where no fee needed.  I know I'll end up using it, so I don't mind having the money stuck there.  You could always ask for a refund too.



That makes sense, I don't have any Exchange Fees or even points in there now, so that's probably what it was asking for funding info for then.

I guess it makes sense it asks you for something. I was curious if you needed this for every search, you answered that question.



> Once it hits, you have 3 business days to confirm it or it gets released.  I did have one time where it auto confirmed, which was very weird.  I was able to get it canceled though.



Does it notify you, or do you have to log in to see the "hit"??

I'm assuming when you match the search, it tells you how many points you will need, and you have the ability to transfer points into RCI if you don't have it?


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## ailin (Sep 21, 2021)

troy12n said:


> That makes sense, I don't have any Exchange Fees or even points in there now, so that's probably what it was asking for funding info for then.
> 
> I guess it makes sense it asks you for something. I was curious if you needed this for every search, you answered that question.
> 
> ...



You get an e-mail when it matches.  It'll tell you how long the hold lasts, but not the number of points.  You'll have to login to see that.  Gold and above I hear the points get automatically pulled from Wyndham.  We don't have that, so I go and manually deposit the points to RCI.  It shows up in RCI the next day and then I confirm it.


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## geerlijd (Sep 21, 2021)

I have Plus Partners through Wyndham so I get weeks and points. Over the last several years I've booked the following exchanges:
-Hacienda Del Mar - Cabo in February (whale season)
-HGVC Kings Land in HI over Thanksgiving, then Hilton Hawaiian Village the following week
-2 weeks back to back in Aruba over Christmas (Costa Linda and Casa del Mar)
-Whistler Village in July
-Mountain Run at Boyne (Northern MI) in August
-Several weekends in Spring and Summer at Hotel Blake in Chicago 


I've also used Last Calls and Extra Vacations for cheap weeks in Orlando, and off season in. Northern MI.

There is a lot in RCI if you use OGS and get familiar with how to find value that works for you.


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## Ty1on (Sep 22, 2021)

Just looked in Weeks for ANY Hawaii, at ANY time.

Search results revealed Paniolo Greens, with one check-in date in October 2021 and one check-in date in November 2021.  That's it.  Up the side of a volcano far from the shoreline.


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## paxsarah (Sep 22, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> Just looked in Weeks for ANY Hawaii, at ANY time.
> 
> Search results revealed Paniolo Greens, with one check-in date in October 2021 and one check-in date in November 2021.  That's it.  Up the side of a volcano far from the shoreline.


That's weird - I get 17 resorts in Hawaii (using my Club Wyndham weeks-only RCI account). Never having been there, I can't speak to how desirable they are, but several are Wyndham.


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## Eric B (Sep 22, 2021)

In my RCI weeks account, I got 31 resorts in Hawaii, including a number of them on the beach.  This is a stand alone non-corporate account.  Not sure why @Ty1on would only get Paniolo Greens.  I even tried limiting the dates of the search to between now and November, but still had a couple of dozen results.


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## Cyrus24 (Sep 22, 2021)

paxsarah said:


> That's weird - I get 17 resorts in Hawaii (using my Club Wyndham weeks-only RCI account). Never having been there, I can't speak to how desirable they are, but several are Wyndham.


I pulled up 32 Hawaii resorts via my standard RCI Weeks Account.  I pulled up 32 Hawaii resorts via my Wyndham RCI Account.  In my RCI points account, I pulled up 31 resorts with 644 available units.

As a Wyndham VIPP, I'm very spoiled by discounted points and unlimited RT's.  I can book and cancel at will which helps since I've not been the best planner, lately.  I do like the options that RCI provides when I can truly plan for and commit to a trip.


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## tschwa2 (Sep 22, 2021)

I have 33 Hawaii resorts available but if I filter out the next 60 days I am down to 8 in RCI weeks which is more along normal except after a big bulk deposit.  There is still a bunch of last minute (more than usual) due to covid uncertainty.


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## rboesl (Sep 23, 2021)

I ran across something similar to what is being reported. I called RCI for an explanation. I was told the site does some filtering on a search. It only shows availability based upon what the person doing the search has enough points/TPUs to cover the cost.

I will say this was a few years ago so things may have changed. But, it sounds like a reasonable filter to me.


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## raygo123 (Sep 23, 2021)

rboesl said:


> I ran across something similar to what is being reported. I called RCI for an explanation. I was told the site does some filtering on a search. It only shows availability based upon what the person doing the search has enough points/TPUs to cover the cost.
> 
> I will say this was a few years ago so things may have changed. But, it sounds like a reasonable filter to me.


It still that way. In weekend you have 17 TPUs you see all 17 and below.

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## troy12n (Sep 23, 2021)

rboesl said:


> I ran across something similar to what is being reported. I called RCI for an explanation. I was told the site does some filtering on a search. It only shows availability based upon what the person doing the search has enough points/TPUs to cover the cost.
> 
> I will say this was a few years ago so things may have changed. But, it sounds like a reasonable filter to me.



This seems completely flawed to only show inventory if you have TPU's or points deposited in RCI. I would imagine most people don't have points deposited into RCI unless they have an immediate use. TPU's I guess are a different story if you have fixed weeks you deposit into RCI. But I would like to think that inventory would show regardless. 

If not, maybe that's something that should get fixed.


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## paxsarah (Sep 23, 2021)

rboesl said:


> I ran across something similar to what is being reported. I called RCI for an explanation. I was told the site does some filtering on a search. It only shows availability based upon what the person doing the search has enough points/TPUs to cover the cost.
> 
> I will say this was a few years ago so things may have changed. But, it sounds like a reasonable filter to me.


I don't know that this is necessarily the case with a minisystem portal like Wyndham. If that were true, then I should see zero inventory because I don't have any Wyndham points deposited right now, and not being VIP, RCI doesn't have the ability to automatically pull my points when I decide to make an exchange - I have to manually deposit them first. In fact, some of the exchanges I'm able to see require more Wyndham points than I have available to deposit right now.

But it is weird that I'm only seeing 17 results and others are seeing 31-33. I would have assumed that I'm only seeing Weeks inventory and the others are seeing Weeks + Points in Wyndham (I don't have access to Points as a resale owner), but it seems even a standard Weeks account is seeing 30+ results.


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## raygo123 (Sep 23, 2021)

troy12n said:


> This seems completely flawed to only show inventory if you have TPU's or points deposited in RCI. I would imagine most people don't have points deposited into RCI unless they have an immediate use. TPU's I guess are a different story if you have fixed weeks you deposit into RCI. But I would like to think that inventory would show regardless.
> 
> If not, maybe that's something that should get fixed.


Why do you need to see something you can't book?

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## Eric B (Sep 23, 2021)

I think the filtering of results for what you can book predated the shift to TPUs from just keeping the trading value proprietary and doing a week-for-week exchange.  That said, though, I do know that RCI differentiates what resorts are made available to specific corporate accounts like the Wyndham and HGVC ones.  Might do the same for individual accounts based on the ownership they're associated with.  My RCI weeks account is one I established quite a while ago when I bought my first TS at Massanutten.


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## paxsarah (Sep 23, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> Why do you need to see something you can't book?


But as a gold or above member he can book something instantly without having the points deposited.
That said, as I mentioned above I don't think the TPU filters on visibility apply to minisystem portal accounts, so it's really a moot discussion.


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## raygo123 (Sep 23, 2021)

troy12n said:


> This seems completely flawed to only show inventory if you have TPU's or points deposited in RCI. I would imagine most people don't have points deposited into RCI unless they have an immediate use. TPU's I guess are a different story if you have fixed weeks you deposit into RCI. But I would like to think that inventory would show regardless.
> 
> If not, maybe that's something that should get fixed.


As far as points, that's a totally different situation. With points when you log in to the portal, it shows the number of points you have available in bother deposited points and points you have in your Wyndham account and should see all

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## raygo123 (Sep 23, 2021)

paxsarah said:


> But as a gold or above member he can book something instantly without having the points deposited.
> That said, as I mentioned above I don't think the TPU filters on visibility apply to minisystem portal accounts, so it's really a moot discussion.


No they don't. The portals are a separate negotiations as to how they work. In our case the TPU values are done on a bedroom basis and averaged out as to their value. Hence a Disney One booking is the same points as a one bedroom at a Shawnee village. So your seeing everything but unless you have the number of points you cannot book anything. Where with RCI weeks there may be at least something to book even if it is of lesser value than what you own, there will be something even if it is only worth one TPU.

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## bnoble (Sep 23, 2021)

paxsarah said:


> as I mentioned above I don't think the TPU filters on visibility apply to minisystem portal accounts


They don't apply to "straight Weeks" accounts with TPU either---at least not as the prior poster describes. For example, the largest TPU value I have on deposit right now is 56, but I am able to see e.g. NYC inventory with TPU values above that. For that inventory, I am reminded that I can combine deposits in order to make the relevant exchange.

The filtering that _does_ happen in Weeks accounts is based on date: you cannot see any inventory beyond the latest expiration date of your current deposits. Right now, my latest deposit expires at the end of August 2023, so I cannot see any inventory in September 2023 (the latest that RCI currently allows).

I suppose it is also possible that RCI will not show you inventory that you cannot obtain via any combination, but I can't test that because I have more than 60 TPU total on depost that can be combined, and 60 is the maximum value.


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## JeffC (Sep 23, 2021)

From my experience you can see inventory that is available to book based on your highest TPU deposit. After you scroll through that inventory there is a list of weeks that you can book by combining, that list is filtered by the max amount of TPU's from the combos and the date that it would expire.


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## Ty1on (Sep 23, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> Why do you need to see something you can't book?
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk



Ummmm, maybe because if you see something you want, you can then deposit points and book it?


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## Ty1on (Sep 23, 2021)

So this morning I went back in and instead of searching "Hawaii" I used All Resorts and the map.  I can find a few resorts, but so far the ones I've looked at have been within the next two months only.


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## raygo123 (Sep 23, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> Ummmm, maybe because if you see something you want, you can then deposit points and book it?


Right, I'll pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. They're a wholesaler. Now a resort system.

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## Eric B (Sep 23, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> So this morning I went back in and instead of searching "Hawaii" I used All Resorts and the map.  I can find a few resorts, but so far the ones I've looked at have been within the next two months only.



My curiosity is piqued.  Are you doing this search with an individual RCI weeks account rather than a corporate one (e.g., Wyndham or one of the others)?  If so, what do you have on deposit in terms of TPUs and expiration date?  Is Last Call checked on the results page?  (Last Call is the only way I can get close to reproducing those results.)


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## Ty1on (Sep 23, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> Right, I'll pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. They're a wholesaler. Now a resort system.
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk



No, sparky.

You see a resort you want.  126,000 points.
You have 80,000 points.
So you deposit 46,000 points.
Wait for the points to appear in RCI.
See if the resort you want is still available.
Book the resort if it is still available.

And RCI isn't a wholesaler by any means.


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## Ty1on (Sep 23, 2021)

Eric B said:


> My curiosity is piqued.  Are you doing this search with an individual RCI weeks account rather than a corporate one (e.g., Wyndham or one of the others)?  If so, what do you have on deposit in terms of TPUs and expiration date?  Is Last Call checked on the results page?  (Last Call is the only way I can get close to reproducing those results.)



I'm using Wyndham portal and I have 130K points deposited.  And I meant to say a few resorts on each island.  The number of resorts that appeared was actually pretty impressive overall.


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## Free2Roam (Sep 23, 2021)

Many years ago I had a problem with my Wyndham RCI account (can't remember if it was my original RCI Weeks account or the one thru the portal). Even though it was paid by Wyndham, the RCI account was set to expire within a couple months, preventing me from searching inventory. I called RCI and, after a few attempts, they fixed it. I haven't had that problem again since.


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## Eric B (Sep 23, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> I'm using Wyndham portal and I have 130K points deposited.  And I meant to say a few resorts on each island.  The number of resorts that appeared was actually pretty impressive overall.





Free2Roam said:


> Many years ago I had a problem with my Wyndham RCI account (can't remember if it was my original RCI Weeks account or the one thru the portal). Even though it was paid by Wyndham, the RCI account was set to expire within a couple months, preventing me from searching inventory. I called RCI and, after a few attempts, they fixed it. I haven't had that problem again since.



Looking in my Wyndham RCI account, even limiting the search to 7 day stays I get 37 resorts in Hawaii and 2,245 resorts worldwide.  @Free2Roam is probably on the right track re: the Wyndham RCI account being set up improperly.  If it were me, I would either call or chat with RCI to see if the problem can be fixed and to verify that there is in fact more availability out there than the limited amount that is showing up.


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## geerlijd (Sep 23, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> No, sparky.
> 
> You see a resort you want. 126,000 points.
> You have 80,000 points.
> ...


If you don't have enough points in your Wyndham RCI account, you can call in and RCI will put the exchange on hold for you if it's an underlying RCI weeks exchange. That gives you a couple days to move the points in and confirm. This is for any Wyndham RCI owner (I'm not VIP).

RCI points exchanges can't be held.


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## paxsarah (Sep 23, 2021)

paxsarah said:


> But it is weird that I'm only seeing 17 results and others are seeing 31-33.


And now I'm seeing 29, which seems in line with everyone else. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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## bnoble (Sep 23, 2021)

Free2Roam said:


> Even though it was paid by Wyndham, the RCI account was set to expire within a couple months, preventing me from searching inventory. I called RCI and, after a few attempts, they fixed it. I haven't had that problem again since.


Yeah, I remember those days. Happily it seems to have been fixed.



Eric B said:


> Looking in my Wyndham RCI account, even limiting the search to 7 day stays I get 37 resorts in Hawaii and 2,245 resorts worldwide.


I only see 29 Hawaii resorts in my Wyndham RCI Portal, but I am pretty sure I am not PlusPartners, so I do not see Points inventory at all. I see 31 in my straight Weeks account. I don't have the time right now to figure out which two are missing or why.


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## bnoble (Sep 23, 2021)

I lied, because I was curious. The two resorts that my Weeks account sees that my Wyndham non-PP account does not are:

Alii Kai (a single unit: 2-Oct-21)
Vacation Internationale Aloha Towers (a single unit: 27-Sept-21)

Given the usual problems of ghost inventory, etc. etc. that we see all the time in all of these systems, that's probably as good as I'd expect.


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## Ty1on (Sep 23, 2021)

geerlijd said:


> If you don't have enough points in your Wyndham RCI account, you can call in and RCI will put the exchange on hold for you if it's an underlying RCI weeks exchange. That gives you a couple days to move the points in and confirm. This is for any Wyndham RCI owner (I'm not VIP).
> 
> RCI points exchanges can't be held.



Nice to know, thanks!


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## Ty1on (Sep 23, 2021)

paxsarah said:


> And now I'm seeing 29, which seems in line with everyone else. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯



I show 28 total at this moment, which is probably something being snatched up since you saw 29

ETA:  And for giggles, I just searched "Hawaii" instead of navigating the map.  This is the search that gave me only Paniolo Greens yesterday.  All 28 appear now.


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## Eric B (Sep 23, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> I show 28 total at this moment, which is probably something being snatched up since you saw 29



Are you doing something different now?


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## Ty1on (Sep 23, 2021)

Eric B said:


> Are you doing something different now?



The only thing different is yesterday, I logged in and went straight to typing "Hawaii, USA" in the search box, while today I used View All Resorts to use the map, and later typed "Hawaii, USA" into the search box.

I historically have not done well searching Hawaii in RCI, and today's results are probably the most I've seen at once.  It's relaxing my "junk no one else wants" attitude a bit.


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## Eric B (Sep 23, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> The only thing different is yesterday, I logged in and went straight to typing "Hawaii, USA" in the search box, while today I used View All Resorts to use the map, and later typed "Hawaii, USA" into the search box.
> 
> I historically have not done well searching Hawaii in RCI, and today's results are probably the most I've seen at once.  It's relaxing my "junk no one else wants" attitude a bit.



Interesting; it's probably related to how they have the search function set up.  The other thing you can do is drill down using the "Region" tab on the left to select "USA" then select "Hawaii".  You might check to see if that gives you a different result than using the search function.

I'd suggest substituting "dang that's a lousy search interface" for the "junk no one else wants" thought. There's generally some halfway decent stuff available in there if you can find it, but there's a learning curve to do that and they periodically change the interface to make it harder.


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## troy12n (Sep 23, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> Right, I'll pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. They're a wholesaler. Now a resort system.
> 
> Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk



This is an absolutely ridiculous statement and comparison. 

I don't use RCI much, and as such, don't want to tie up any of my timeshare system points locked up in RCI. I have points I can deposit INTO RCI if I see a need, and want to exchange. 

I don't know too many people who just deposit points into RCI just to do it, on the off chance they might use them one day... 

It's one thing if you have timesharepoints that you HAVE to either deposit into RCI or lose them, but it makes no sense to me to do this under any other circumstance. 

I have 0 Wyndham points left in my current use year, but can still see inventory. In case I want to buy / rent points from wyndham or borrow points from future UY.


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## Ty1on (Sep 23, 2021)

Eric B said:


> Are you doing something different now?



Sorry I didn't see this.  Last time I looked a couple hours ago, there were 25


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## raygo123 (Sep 23, 2021)

troy12n said:


> This is an absolutely ridiculous statement and comparison.
> 
> I don't use RCI much, and as such, don't want to tie up any of my timeshare system points locked up in RCI. I have points I can deposit INTO RCI if I see a need, and want to exchange.
> 
> ...


Again they are not a resort system. Why do you expect the rules to be the same? And no your not a RCI user. I would bet most if not all of the major system owners rarely use, and try to avoid RCI. It goes back before points. Deposits are needed before anyone can book. And RCI needs the fees from those deposits.

Sent from my Lenovo TB-X103F using Tapatalk


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## troy12n (Sep 23, 2021)

raygo123 said:


> Again they are not a resort system. Why do you expect the rules to be the same? And no your not a RCI user. I would bet most if not all of the major system owners rarely use, and try to avoid RCI. It goes back before points. *Deposits are needed before anyone can book.* And RCI needs the fees from those deposits.



I realize you need to deposit before you can book, i'm not debating that, but you just aren't listening. It makes no sense to not show *inventory* unless you have deposited points. Otherwise you have situations where people try to look for ways they can use RCI, see a bunch of crap, then never use it...


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## troy12n (Sep 23, 2021)

Ty1on said:


> The only thing different is yesterday, I logged in and went straight to typing "Hawaii, USA" in the search box, while today I used View All Resorts to use the map, and later typed "Hawaii, USA" into the search box.
> 
> I historically have not done well searching Hawaii in RCI, and today's results are probably the most I've seen at once.  It's relaxing my "junk no one else wants" attitude a bit.



For what it's worth, I just logged into my RCI, and I searched "exchanges", then "Hawaii, USA" and it brings up 36 resorts,

Most of which show very little in availability except a handful of days or weeks inside 60 days, I see nothing past November for days or weeks. While on the Wyndham side, I see pretty much wide open availability.


To me, this screams *leftovers*. I wanted to try to look at a comparison where I could check availability on both systems. What's weird is currently on the Wyndham side they have no availability in 2BR units at all, but in RCI you can get a 2BR. Odd that they would deposit larger units. 

I'm curious to see if anyone with deposited points or TPU's sees anything differently than me. 

Also, apparently I do have a RCI points account because I can see now I can book for invervals less than 1 week. I swear I did not have this ability before the recent website change.


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## troy12n (Sep 23, 2021)

I'm gonna throw one more thing at you, just for comparisons sake, I looked at Club Wyndham Smokey Mountains, a week in March 11-18 available in both RCI and Wyndham. 2BR deluxe 126k points in Wyndham... full points cost. In RCI, 165k points + Exchange fee. The same week was available in Extra Holidays for ~$650.

I get the idea of RCI and Exchanges is "one price based on room size and type of week", but the economies of this don't always work in our favor as Wyndham owners.

There might be bargains to be had, but there's also bad deals.


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## ailin (Sep 23, 2021)

troy12n said:


> I'm gonna throw one more thing at you, just for comparisons sake, I looked at Club Wyndham Smokey Mountains, a week in March 11-18 available in both RCI and Wyndham. 2BR deluxe 126k points in Wyndham... full points cost. In RCI, 165k points + Exchange fee. The same week was available in Extra Holidays for ~$650.
> 
> I get the idea of RCI and Exchanges is "one price based on room size and type of week", but the economies of this don't always work in our favor as Wyndham owners.
> 
> There might be bargains to be had, but there's also bad deals.



Anything that costs relatively few Wyndham points is likely to be a bad deal going through RCI.  The reverse is also true.  Example - Wyndham Shearwater 3 bedroom is 600k points for a week.  It's 300k through RCI.


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