# Wyndham Points Deposit to Rci Question



## dwmantz (Jul 10, 2012)

Am looking to book a Wyndham 2BR unit in Hawaii for Aug 2014.

I have 224,000 left this year to deposit to RCI.

How does the deposit work?  Do I get RCI points or TPUs?

What is the best amt to deposit?  Can I do more than 1 deposit with this amount of points?

When should I look for bulk Hawaii deposits?

Any Hawaii resort recommendations?

Thanks!!!!


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## bnoble (Jul 10, 2012)

> Do I get RCI points or TPUs?


Neither.  The deposit remains denominated in Wyndham Points.  The currency works more like RCI Points than RCI Weeks; there is just one "pool of points", and you can add to/subtract from it over time without paying combine fees, etc.  Valuations are based on a fixed crossover grid from Wyndham Points to exchange size/season.  You will find the grid on Page 237 of the Wyndham Directory: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/wyndham/memberdirectory11-12/



> What is the best amt to deposit?


Because the grid is fixed size/season, averaged across an entire area, you just want to know what "season" is assigned to Hawaii for August '14.  We aren't yet able to see August '14, but August '13 is probably a good indicator.  Based on a quick search in the portal, it looks like that is Prime season, so you would need 224K for a 2BR, most likely.  If, for some reason it ends up costing you less, you will have the leftover points in your account to use for something else.  224K is the largest 2BR cost in the current grid, so it probably won't cost more (unless the grid is revised; I don't expect this, but it could happen.)

One caveat: I would not deposit before August '12, or maybe even September '12.  The directory states that points are good for two years from the date of deposit.  In practice, it is sometimes more---most people seem to have fixed "years" at which points expire---but you don't want to count on that.


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## dwmantz (Jul 10, 2012)

Fantastic!

I'll make the deposit in December then to be certain.

Is that 224,000 restricted to use with just Wyndham Resorts or can I possibly access any 2BR units available through RCI at that time?


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## learnalot (Jul 10, 2012)

dwmantz said:


> Fantastic!
> 
> I'll make the deposit in December then to be certain.
> 
> Is that 224,000 restricted to use with just Wyndham Resorts or can I possibly access any 2BR units available through RCI at that time?



You can use for any RCI inventory.  If you want to book at another Wyndham there is no need to go through RCI.  You can.  But it will usually though not always be cheaper just to book internally.


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## scootr5 (Jul 10, 2012)

learnalot said:


> You can use for any RCI inventory.  If you want to book at another Wyndham there is no need to go through RCI.  You can.  But it will usually though not always be cheaper just to book internally.



It seems like for most of the Hawaii resorts RCI would be cheaper though, right? I'm guessing that's one of a handful of exceptions.


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## dwmantz (Jul 10, 2012)

Excellent!

One of the biggest reasons to do an RCI deposit is to use extra 2012 Wyndham points I just purchased for an Aug 2014 reservation!


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## simpsontruckdriver (Jul 10, 2012)

Here's the best plan... check how many points you need in HI during your planned vacation. If you have enough, plan on making your reservation 10 months to the day before your vacation at 6:00am EST.

TS


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## dwmantz (Jul 10, 2012)

The 10 months to the day would be for a Wyndham reservation, correct?

I'm planning an Aug 2014 RCI reservation with 2012 Wyndham points.  I think the deposit needs to be made before the end of 2012 and that I'll be able to make the reservation much sooner then 10 months out.


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## Sandy VDH (Jul 10, 2012)

dwmantz said:


> The 10 months to the day would be for a Wyndham reservation, correct?
> 
> I'm planning an Aug 2014 RCI reservation with 2012 Wyndham points.  I think the deposit needs to be made before the end of 2012 and that I'll be able to make the reservation much sooner then 10 months out.




Yes 1o months for wyndham.  Longer for RCI.  RCI inventory will start to show up 2 years to 6 months in advance. 

I booked a November 2013 in May of 2012 for Hawaii already.   Not yet available in any of my point based Hotel systems like Wyndham and Hilton.


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## dwmantz (Jul 11, 2012)

Once I make the 224,000 deposit, can I do a long term search with RCI with it?

Should I just do a blanket Hawaii search or should I put in specific resorts?  Or should I just check periodically after August when Aug 2014 will start showing up?

Thanks!!!!


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## bnoble (Jul 11, 2012)

You can run a search against Weeks inventory.  If you have Plus Partners, you will also have access to Points inventory, but you will have to search that yourself by hand.

As for blanket search vs. specific resorts: that's up to you, and it depends on how particular you want to be.


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## dwmantz (Jul 11, 2012)

No partner's plus.  All points purchased resale.  All at Bentley Brook, generally for Skiing.


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## Sandy VDH (Jul 11, 2012)

In general you need to consider the option of Pool (in Wyndham) or Deposit (into RCI).

In this case it may be too late for you to pool since you were required to do that before your use year begins (unless you are VIP, but since you purchased resale I would guess you are NOT).

Pros of Pooling 
- You can still exchange with Wyndham, so NO or LOWER transactions fees, or housekeeping (if you plan well). 
- Good inventory choices for Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island. 

Cons of Pooling
- have to know in advance that you are NOT traveling one year in advance, or you have to know you are planning a big vacation in a future year. 

Pros of Depositing
- if points are expiring you just got 2 more years out of them.
- access to locations that are NOT available via Wyndham

Cons of Depositing 
- darn reservation fee of $189 plus guest fees as well, if required. 

In some cases it may be cheaper points via RCI than it is via Wyndham because they use a fixed scale based on size and season and NOT based on location.  So this might help for Hawaii.  But you have to add on the reservation fee via RCI which is $189 per reservation.  

I have no reservation fees via Wyndham, so via RCI is adding a lot to each reservation.  Some locations it is cheaper via wyndham, others it is cheaper via RCI.  There is not a constant answer.


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## dwmantz (Jul 11, 2012)

Thanks!

Very informative and interesting.  So many little nuances!!


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## mshatty (Jul 11, 2012)

One other thing to think about in depositing to RCI.  If you want to protect your points when you reserve an exchange ($189 fee), you can pay $49 for vacation protection.  That allows you to cancel your exchange and retain all of the Wyndham points you used for the exchange.  If you don't buy vacation protection, as time goes forward, if you cancel the points returned will be reduced depending on when you cancel.


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## New2time (Jul 12, 2012)

how long do you have to purchase the vacation insurance at RCI?


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## mshatty (Jul 12, 2012)

I believe that you have up to 30 days after you confirm an exchange per RCI rules to purchase Trading Power Protection or Vacation Protection.  You can't buy it 14 days or less before travel/check in.

Personally, I added Trading Power Protection to an exchange about 7 days after I made the exchange reservation and it cost $49.  If I cancel, I get my "trading power" back, i.e., my points.  Vacation Protection costs $89 and trading power and includes a credit of the exchange fee.


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