# new Wyndham deposit of points into RCI



## toothlady (Feb 17, 2011)

I am so confused.  I got a little postcard that said something about good news January 11 weeks are now searchable on RCI...sounded good to me.  Now I have deposited what I thought were 2- 77,000 weeks.  They are showing on RCI as 154,000.  Okay I can search, but how do I know how much the weeks that I am seeing will cost me?  And what is it that everyone is talking about the change back and costing thousands of dollars to book the week.  Is there no standard RCI exchange fee anymore????  Wow!  Wyndham is really good at sliding change into action without giving any information.  Even the guy that I talked with when I was making the deposits said "Oh you won't need your RCI log in anymore, you can go in a back door from Wyndham."  He just forgot to tell me when I go in that back door I will need to have several thousand dollars in my wallet....UGH!!!  

Can anyone tell me what all this means to me.  I did deposit 28K weeks to trade in RCI for slow weeks and weeks in Orlando.  I have also taken some not so great resorts with 28K just so I can be in a certain area for vacation.   I also have deposited higher amounts so that I could get better places, so if I just have to deposit higher deposit okay I am not thrilled but I will live.  If I have to pay $1,000.00 to exchange I will NOT do that.

Is Wyndham doing this so more people will just use the points that they have within Wyndham?

Please help me to understand what has happened to my timeshare???


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## rrlongwell (Feb 17, 2011)

toothlady said:


> I am so confused.  ...  but how do I know how much the weeks that I am seeing will cost me?  ... Please help me to understand what has happened to my timeshare???



Unless you know something I do not, the RCI fee is still the same and the guess pass fee is still the same.  I have heard or seen a lot of chatter about the RCI Trading Power System.  I do not think I understand it well enough to explain, I will hopefully leave that to someone else.  The basics I think have to do with the value of the week you put in vs.  the value of the week you pull back out.


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## toothlady (Feb 17, 2011)

I know nothing, just have seen people talking about thousands of dollars, and that scares me!  We do use RCI a lot, but I won't if it costs me big bucks...we own at Myrtle Beach, and I already pay big bucks maintaince fees for that place so that we can have a summer vacation every other year there.


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## Goofyhobbie (Feb 17, 2011)

toothlady,

The cost to do an exchange using your Wyndham generic points with RCI has increased marginally. But the relative cost of completing an exchange has dropped a little due to the fact that you can make the exchange on-line and avoid the higher cost associated with using an RCI Guide over the phone to complete your exchange.

The postcard you received announced the change in how you can do business with RCI as of January 11, 2011.  You now have a RCI portal at Wyndhamvacationresorts.com to deposit your generic Wyndham points into your RCI "bucket." 

*IF * you deposited 77,000 generic points on two separate occasions since January 11, 2011 and have not done anything except search using those points then you have a total of 154,000 points in your post January 11th RCI "bucket" and can use the appropriate  number of the Wyndham points in the "bucket" to secure an exchange. 

The generic points left in the RCI "bucket" (if any) after you execute an exchange are still available to you until the two year life span expires.  But, you can deposit more generic Wyndham points into your RCI "bucket" at anytime to raise the level of points in the RCI "bucket" for a subsequent exchange or exchanges.

*Your cost:*

1) The Wyndham Reservation Transaction fee  (if any)  to make each separate deposit of Wyndham generic points into your RCI "bucket." 

(Remember that there is no maximum but there is a minimum number of points that you can deposit each time (27,000 points). You are free to determine for yourself how many points to deposit as long as the minimum is met and you increase the deposit amount by at least 1,000 points if you choose to deposit more than 27,000.

2) The Wyndham Assessment  that you are always responsible to pay for each 1,000 points that you own each and every year. 

3) The RCI Exchange Fee  which is the appropriate fee for an RCI exchange depending on whether the exchange is consummated on-line or by phone.


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## Conan (Feb 17, 2011)

In a nutshell, Wyndham has finally automated its connection to RCI so you can search RCI availability on-line.  You won't be able to book unless you've previously made a points deposit SUBSEQUENT TO THE CHANGEOVER (deposits you made last year of 28K, 70K, etc. points continue to require a phone call to see what you can get in RCI).

Unfortunately as part of the changeover they've also eliminated the tremendous bargains that 28K 70K etc. points used to get.  Search online and you'll see what you can get, at what points cost.

As always you do need to pay an RCI exchange fee when you make a reservation in RCI.  

After signing on to the Wyndham page, go to the My Membership tab for the link to RCI or try this:
https://www.wyndhamvacationresorts.com/ffr/secure/member/exchanges/rciExchangesMain.do


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## learnalot (Feb 17, 2011)

I have a feeling that Toothlady made 2 deposits of 77K under the old system - prior to January 11, 2011 and that she is still logging into her RCI Weeks account directly where she sees that those weeks are in her account. 

Toothlady, there is an entirely new system, but if I am correct and the two weeks you mentioned are weeks you deposited before January 11, you still have to call RCI to make an exchange using those weeks.  

From this point forward, any new deposits you make will go directly into a "points bucket" like Dave (Goofy) described.  Also, in the new system, you will not log-in directly to RCI at RCI.com.  You will go through a portal on Wyndham's website.  You can go in there and look around even without depositing points in the new system, but you won't be able to book anything unless you deposit new points.  If you see something you are interested in, you can call RCI and see if they are able to get it for you with one of your 77K deposits, but they probably won't be able to unless the check-in date is pretty close because the old deposits don't have very good trading power.  

In the new system, exchanges will cost more points but will have all the trading power you need.

There is a lot of information that has already been posted about the changes, so you might want to go back and read some of the other threads on here.


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## lprstn (Feb 18, 2011)

I'm a bit miffed at the new cost of 77K for blue studio, but what can you do?


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## markel (Feb 18, 2011)

*27K minimum*

What can you get with the 27K minimum? Will the new system be like the old with the low pts. deposits maybe being able to grab "last minute" stuff?  If not, what's the point in making that low of a pts. deposit?

Mark


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## rrlongwell (Feb 18, 2011)

markel said:


> What can you get with the 27K minimum? Will the new system be like the old with the low pts. deposits maybe being able to grab "last minute" stuff?  If not, what's the point in making that low of a pts. deposit?
> 
> Mark



Called RCI program, they indicated that 27,000 points would draw, at best, a couple of days.  They indicated they cannot provide me information on any availablity until I give them points.  That is to bad, I am a Platium member in Wyndham and I think I have the same in RCI (not sure on that).


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## Conan (Feb 18, 2011)

lprstn said:


> I'm a bit miffed at the new cost of 77K for blue studio, but what can you do?


 
Did you find anything available in RCI fo 77K ?  Remember for post-changeover deposits you have to log in and then go here to see what's available and at what cost.
https://www.wyndhamvacationresorts.c...changesMain.do


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## Conan (Feb 18, 2011)

rrlongwell said:


> Called RCI program, they indicated that 27,000 points would draw, at best, a couple of days. They indicated they cannot provide me information on any availablity until I give them points. That is to bad, I am a Platium member in Wyndham and I think I have the same in RCI (not sure on that).


 
The advantage of the new system is you can go online and see for yourself, rather than dealing with the random answers the guides sometimes give (yours quoted above being a good example of meaningless advice).

Sign on and then go here to see what's available and at what cost.
https://www.wyndhamvacationresorts.c...changesMain.do


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## rrlongwell (Feb 18, 2011)

Conan said:


> The advantage of the new system is you can go online and see for yourself, rather than dealing with the random answers the guides sometimes give (yours quoted above being a good example of meaningless advice).
> 
> Sign on and then go here to see what's available and at what cost.
> https://www.wyndhamvacationresorts.c...changesMain.do



I have a Plantium Member and cannot use the on-line system.  I am limited to 120 days out.  When that is searched I am not permitted to see inventory that has a line through the date for all days within 120 days.  Unfortunatly, I am not going to give RCI points in advance with no ability to see it on-line or throught calling RCI.  If you can see RCI availability on-line maybe you could check and answer the earlier questions.  RCI's position as of today, for me, is that I am not permitted information on availability unless they get the points first.  Apparently, the other two people that made inquiries could not get the info either.


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## Conan (Feb 18, 2011)

All I can tell you is the connection to RCI search is working for me. I have nothing-special 189,000 Wyndham points bought resale, and I don't have any points on deposit (and because I've already used all my 2011 points I couldn't deposit any even if I wanted to).

You have to enter a range of dates as part of your RCI search, but once you see those results you can x-out the date range to see all two years of availability.

So for example searching 


 Mexico 


 --Pacific Ocean Coast 


 ----Vallarta Area 

I can see
45 Resorts (7511 available units) as follows: 





*Check-In Month* 
February 2011 [4] March 2011 [9] April 2011 [9] May 2011 [11] June 2011 [11] July 2011 [10] August 2011 [11] September 2011 [12] October 2011 [12] November 2011 [12] December 2011 [11] January 2012 [8] February 2012 [4] March 2012 [5] April 2012 [4] May 2012 [2] June 2012 [2] July 2012 [2] August 2012 [2] September 2012 [2] October 2012 [2] November 2012 [2] December 2012 [1] 

[As for the prices, a 1-BR gold crown in March 2012 that I'm looking at will cost 95,000 Wyndham FSP points.]


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## rrlongwell (Feb 18, 2011)

Conan said:


> ... [As for the prices, a 1-BR gold crown in March 2012 that I'm looking at will cost 95,000 Wyndham FSP points.]



Thanks for the information.


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## rrlongwell (Feb 18, 2011)

rrlongwell said:


> Thanks for the information.



Tied your xxx trick, it worked.  I spot checked South Caroline the lowest I saw was Myrtle Beach in December for 7 nights for 77,000 points.


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## learnalot (Feb 18, 2011)

markel said:


> What can you get with the 27K minimum? Will the new system be like the old with the low pts. deposits maybe being able to grab "last minute" stuff?  If not, what's the point in making that low of a pts. deposit?
> 
> Mark



You wouldn't really be trying to book something with 27K.  You just can't make any deposits smaller than that.  Under the new system, when you deposit points, they go into a bucket of points in your new Wyndham-RCI portal.  They will comingle with any other points you put in through the new portal.  Once they are in the bucket, all points in the bucket are used together until they expire.  (They keep their own expiration dates based on when you deposited).  So you might have 29K left from this year, which you could deposit and then next year you might deposit more points to combine with the 29K, for example.


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## toothlady (Feb 21, 2011)

I deposited 2/77K points after January 11...so why did they allow me to do that?   I can see that I have 154 total.  Now another question.  RCI owners have a week.  It may be a white week 1 bed or a red week 1 bed, but when they search they might be able to use a white week 1 bed and get a red week 1 bed or use a red week 1 bed and get a red week 2 bed.  Is it correct in thinking that we will have to give up red week 1 bed worth of points to get that and if we want a red week 2 bed we will have to give up that amount of points?  Heck we might as well just trade within wyndham and save the RCI fee.  Only thing is if you can't use your current use year you can make those points last another 2 years by depositing into RCI.  I tried a search with the points, and could not see where it said how many points I needed to get the week....


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## learnalot (Feb 21, 2011)

toothlady said:


> I deposited 2/77K points after January 11...so why did they allow me to do that?   I can see that I have 154 total.  Now another question.  RCI owners have a week.  It may be a white week 1 bed or a red week 1 bed, but when they search they might be able to use a white week 1 bed and get a red week 1 bed or use a red week 1 bed and get a red week 2 bed.  Is it correct in thinking that we will have to give up red week 1 bed worth of points to get that and if we want a red week 2 bed we will have to give up that amount of points?  Heck we might as well just trade within wyndham and save the RCI fee.  Only thing is if you can't use your current use year you can make those points last another 2 years by depositing into RCI.  I tried a search with the points, and could not see where it said how many points I needed to get the week....



Hi Toothlady,

They allowed you to make 2 deposits of 77K after January 11 because there is no reason you wouldn't be able to that (unless you didn't have enough points).  I am curious whether you did it online or called a vacation counselor.  If you called in, a savvy VC would have pointed out to you that you can deposit in any increment of 1K now, as long as you meet the minimum of 27K.  But it seems that savvy VC's are few and far between.  If ever I speak to one who actually knows more than I do, I complement them profusely.

I'm not sure how you are searching and not seeing how many points the week would cost you unless you are just not going in far enough. When I do a search, the results that match my criteria will come back in a list.  If you want to see the details of how many points a week will cost, you have to go to the next level by clicking on the green button that says "Available Units" for each resort that came up on the list.  When you click on that, you will see the points cost on the next screen.

It is true that you can't get the same bargain basement trades as under the old system and that it will often be cheaper to just book internally with Wyndham and save the exchange fee.  But, as you pointed out, sometimes it might be helpful to use RCI - if you need to extend the life of your points or want to go somewhere that Wyndham doesn't have anything, for instance.


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## toothlady (Feb 21, 2011)

I did the deposit through Wyndham website.  It used one transaction to do both weeks.  I did it as 2 weeks because I didn't understand that they were all going to one bucket.  I am understanding the system a little better.  I was NOT going far enough to see the points that were needed for what was available.  

I have done some comparison shopping.  RCI has a Patriots Point in October for 74,000 looks like an A side while the same week Wyndham has an A side for 84,000 so I guess you can save some point usage by doing RCI.  I did see some things that I did not have enough points to obtain.  I guess on the old system they would not have shown up.  Not sure why they show up now if I don't have enough to get them.  Perhaps someone wants to make money from me when I have to rent extra points........

Thanks to everyone for all your help.  As usual I am so glad all of you are smarter and more experienced than I am!


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## Conan (Feb 21, 2011)

toothlady said:


> RCI has a Patriots Point in October for 74,000 looks like an A side while the same week Wyndham has an A side for 84,000 so I guess you can save some point usage by doing RCI.



Don't forget to allow for the $179 exchange fee cost if you're going through RCI.


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## JimMIA (Feb 21, 2011)

Conan said:


> Sign on and then go here to see what's available and at what cost.
> https://www.wyndhamvacationresorts.c...changesMain.do


When I try this link, I get the standard IE error message -- can't open this webpage.  I've also tried cutting and pasting the link and get the same thing.

When I log into the Wyndham owner's site, click on My Membership and then RCI Exchanges...follow it through to RCI, all I get is 120 day availability.

[ETA: I don't have any deposits, pre- or post-]

Anyone got any idea what I'm doing wrong?


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## Conan (Feb 21, 2011)

JimMIA said:


> I log into the Wyndham owner's site, click on My Membership and then RCI Exchanges...follow it through to RCI, all I get is 120 day availability.
> 
> [ETA: I don't have any deposits, pre- or post-]
> 
> Anyone got any idea what I'm doing wrong?



Once you're at the screen actually showing the weeks that have 120 day availability, look at the left side of the screen where your search is summarized, and click the little 'x' to de-select the range of dates.


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## JimMIA (Feb 21, 2011)

Conan said:


> Once you're at the screen actually showing the weeks that have 120 day availability, look at the left side of the screen where your search is summarized, and click the little 'x' to de-select the range of dates.


Wow, that's messed up, but it works!  

I wonder why you can get results that way, but can't just do a straightforward search???


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