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flybefree

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Hi, Cynic. Thanks for being here. I have three questions:

1) I own in both weeks and points. Why is it that the same unit, same date, same resort can have a huge difference in price in one system or the other? One in Provence was $370 more to book it in points. One in Germany is $45 cheaper in points.

2) How and why does RCI keep reducing TPUs on well-rated resorts in popular areas? Mine is in the Myrtle Beach area and is a lock-off. Depositing separately, it used to get a whopping 95 points when a friend told me about it. When I began shopping for one, it dropped to 89. By the time I bought one (resale, of course), I got only 63 TPU. My next deposit should be worth 65 TPU based on the calculator. I asked the resort, and they said RCI claims it's because of all the new resorts going up in that area, because of the competition. There aren't any new resorts in that area in RCI, and summer weeks like mine are gone months in advance every year. There is WAY more demand than supply. I also own at that resort in points and its retained its incredibly high trading power in points, which RCI says is due to a contract the resort has with points owners. How is it that RCI determines the trading power in weeks but the resort decides it in points?

3) And who the hell is managing the redesigns of the Web site? It's worse EVERY time they mess with it. I used to design e-commerce sites and I give it a D at best. Now we can only scroll through 10 resorts at a time, and if we want to search on trading power needed, we can only choose the smallest amounts, like 1-10,000 points. I've got a lot of points I need to use and wanted to search or sort on points so I could find a single trip that would use 50k+ points. Live it up a bit. Can't do that.

Thanks!
 

Jayco29D

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@Jayco29D Let me clarify: RCI gets you a lot of high quality stuff, but it's mostly stuff you already have access to, as most McFivestars are compatible with both II and RCI. The primary advantage of RCI is far more total locations, many of which will be unavailable/ VEP down for you (but in locations that are more appealing to more users). II has less total, but almost as many in your range. I'm not convinced RCI will give you much more than what you already have, as strata is your thing (and your high srata is not as important as trading power in RCI, which you may or may not have) . Disney chooses RCI for reasons that appeal to a larger number of users than users such as yourself, which I realize does you no good. Why they don't do II too is anyone's guess.

From what I hear, very few DVC owners use RCI at all. They say it is not equivalent in value. I suspect Disney chose RCI for this reason. I suspect Disney does not want its DVC members trading DVC resorts bc that devalues the resort. Exchanges are good for customers but bad for the resorts. People say “Why buy if I can get it cheaper by exchanging?”
 

taterhed

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Thanks in advance for your comments....

Any advice on how to maximize Worldmark points and/or spacebank in RCI?

Specifically, any tips for searches ?

Thanks.
 

jl2010

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So basically what I have gotten from this thread is the following:
1) TPUs are variable based on hidden contracts with various timeshare outfits have with RCI. Example would be vacation villages.
2) Wyndham has its own currency when exchanges with RCI (being the same company) giving Wyndham owners an advantage.
3) RCI can override TPU value as it sees fit when appying to an area with a glut of availability that can essentially making 38 TPUs worth 68 TPUs. Invisible to the trader of course. I would assume this is so trade power isn't always expected.
4) Weeks are more beneficial to owners than points. They can't be cost manipulated and are something solid to trade or rent.
5) There are no absolutes with RCI since they can change the rules any time they want.
6) Quality of timeshare does not always equal trading power. A dump in an area where there is very limited competition could have much greater trading power.... or not depending on RCI manipulation.
7) Greed dictates their fee structure.
8) The phrase "sexual favors" offends some. ")


Anything else?

To be honest, this is why I don't use RCI. No clear rules, and has always seemed sketchy to me. I bought resale a fixed week 26 on Cape Cod, about 1:30 minutes from my house so I could drive there and use it even in lean years, or just hang a sign at work to rent it out.
 
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flybefree

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I'd agree with all of that, except the weeks being more beneficial than points. My points value has been consistent due to the resort's contract. RCI has been screwing with the TPU on the weeks side for years. But...some properties are cheaper in one system than the other, points allows you to book less than or more than a week (we did 2 nights in Vegas, for example), and weeks lets you book farther out for *some* resorts than points. I wish my points one was an EOY instead of annual, because it gets too many points for us to use without paying to extend. Maybe that's why RCI agrees to such high trading power for it...sneaky! We are holding steady for now but are contemplating selling one or both. I still like that I discover new areas I wouldn't have otherwise, especially in Europe. But the costs are getting too high.
 

Jan M.

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I'd agree with all of that, except the weeks being more beneficial than points. My points value has been consistent due to the resort's contract. RCI has been screwing with the TPU on the weeks side for years. But...some properties are cheaper in one system than the other, points allows you to book less than or more than a week (we did 2 nights in Vegas, for example), and weeks lets you book farther out for *some* resorts than points. I wish my points one was an EOY instead of annual, because it gets too many points for us to use without paying to extend. Maybe that's why RCI agrees to such high trading power for it...sneaky! We are holding steady for now but are contemplating selling one or both. I still like that I discover new areas I wouldn't have otherwise, especially in Europe. But the costs are getting too high.

We are points and my sister and BIL are weeks owners. I always see far more availability as a points owner than my sister does as a weeks owner. We discovered this a few years ago when we were on the website at the same time and she couldn't see the reservation I called to tell her about. However I'm always looking for and booking reservations 5 weeks or less out.

We are all going to the new Wyndham resort in Austin next month that I booked through RCI in the past two weeks. She again wasn't seeing the reservations to book her own unit so I booked a week for her. All that was available when I booked both the units and the flights were studios and one bedroom units. Of course a few days after I was no longer able cancel and get the exchange fee back some two bedrooms showed up. Oh well. As other people have posted about wanting their own space even with family I find that I'm liking the idea.
 

flybefree

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Yeah, there seems to be better availability for near-term exchanges in points and better ones for more distant trips in weeks. I booked Vincennes two years out for the first week of the French Open. That would not have been available to me in points.
 

tschwa2

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We are all going to the new Wyndham resort in Austin next month that I booked through RCI in the past two weeks. She again wasn't seeing the reservations to book her own unit so I booked a week for her. All that was available when I booked both the units and the flights were studios and one bedroom units. Of course a few days after I was no longer able cancel and get the exchange fee back some two bedrooms showed up. Oh well. As other people have posted about wanting their own space even with family I find that I'm liking the idea.
I just checked and Austin both through the Worldmark portion and Wyndham portion are available through both points and weeks. I find that in RCI points (weeks inventory $239 exchange fee) shows up in points 1-24 hrs before it shows up an weeks so it does give points members a bit of a leg up.
 

Jan M.

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I just checked and Austin both through the Worldmark portion and Wyndham portion are available through both points and weeks. I find that in RCI points (weeks inventory $239 exchange fee) shows up in points 1-24 hrs before it shows up an weeks so it does give points members a bit of a leg up.

When I booked our stays two weeks ago the only thing showing was Worldmark Austin. During the whole week I was looking and planning every time I clicked on the calendar for Wyndham Austin it wouldn't open up. A week later a lot of inventory got loaded under Wyndham Austin. The resort just opened this week and last week was a soft opening for selected guests.
 

tschwa2

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When I booked our stays two weeks ago the only thing showing was Worldmark Austin. During the whole week I was looking and planning every time I clicked on the calendar for Wyndham Austin it wouldn't open up. A week later a lot of inventory got loaded under Wyndham Austin. The resort just opened this week and last week was a soft opening for selected guests.
Thanks for the heads up. I am just deciding whether I want a studio for 10 or a 1 br for 17. The size seems the same. It looks like the both have balconies. The difference is the privacy wall, and a washer/dryer in the 1 BR. The $30 a day for parking is a bit of a bummer.
 

SHG

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I hope someone can help answer this one?:

We just conducted a test where we had a friend log into their RCI account at the same time we logged into our HGVC RCI account. We each conducted an exchange search for Cabo San Lucas in July/August 2018. We were shocked to find that our friend had 8 pages of listing when we only had 8 resorts period!!! They were able to book exchanges into resorts that were not even on our list! How could this be??
  • No, their resort was not anything exceptional or perceived better than Hilton
  • Yes, we were both step by step looking at the same things, not filtering differently
  • Their RCI account is separate from their timeshare account, so they log directly into RCI

We called HCVC RCI the next day to see if they had any explanation. We made 2 separate calls to discuss with 2 different HGVC RCI counselors. Both were under the impression that we should be able to see all RCI availability and had no idea how anything different could be possible.

Is it possible that HGVC has reduced/filtered RCI exchange availability???? Anyone have any experience or insights on this?
 

Jayco29D

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This discussion is reinforcing my negative opinion of RCI. With our Disney RCI account, we have options to stay at Registry resorts but there are so few resorts in The Registry Collection. And even The Registry Collection does not seem worth the trade. RCI has many great all inclusives in Mexico and the Caribbean but the all inclusive fees make it as expensive or more expensive sometimes than just booking a special rate online. I had my eye on the El Dorado Maroma overwater bungalows in Riviera Maya through the Registry Collection but the “per day” all inclusive fee is $1000 per night. I spent less than that for a nicer overwater bungalow at Le Tahaa and Bora Bora. If you delete the all inclusives from RCI inventory, you lose about half the resorts, I am guessing.
 
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Panina

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I hope someone can help answer this one?:

We just conducted a test where we had a friend log into their RCI account at the same time we logged into our HGVC RCI account. We each conducted an exchange search for Cabo San Lucas in July/August 2018. We were shocked to find that our friend had 8 pages of listing when we only had 8 resorts period!!! They were able to book exchanges into resorts that were not even on our list! How could this be??
  • No, their resort was not anything exceptional or perceived better than Hilton
  • Yes, we were both step by step looking at the same things, not filtering differently
  • Their RCI account is separate from their timeshare account, so they log directly into RCI

We called HCVC RCI the next day to see if they had any explanation. We made 2 separate calls to discuss with 2 different HGVC RCI counselors. Both were under the impression that we should be able to see all RCI availability and had no idea how anything different could be possible.

Is it possible that HGVC has reduced/filtered RCI exchange availability???? Anyone have any experience or insights on this?
When I log into RCI thru the hgvc portal I see fewer resorts overall then if I logged in thru my own RCI account.

The reason, I have read elsewhere, is because the hgvc portal thru RCI will only see resorts that meet higher hgvc standards.
 

Jayco29D

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That's it, I'm done for the day. I saw week sex changes, and thought they are doing them really fast these days. :wave:

Too funny! I am glad Tuggers have a sense of humor.
 

SHG

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When I log into RCI thru the hgvc portal I see fewer resorts overall then if I logged in thru my own RCI account.

The reason, I have read elsewhere, is because the hgvc portal thru RCI will only see resorts that meet higher hgvc standards.
Yes, I have seen others with this theory as well. I seriously doubt this is true. The resorts that I know we could not see are Gold crown resorts that I know are very nice. There is no way they would be filtered out for 'higher standards'. Also, if this were true, I would like to see where that is written in any documentation......?
 

WinniWoman

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So basically what I have gotten from this thread is the following:
1) TPUs are variable based on hidden contracts with various timeshare outfits have with RCI. Example would be vacation villages.
2) Wyndham has its own currency when exchanges with RCI (being the same company) giving Wyndham owners an advantage.
3) RCI can override TPU value as it sees fit when appying to an area with a glut of availability that can essentially making 38 TPUs worth 68 TPUs. Invisible to the trader of course. I would assume this is so trade power isn't always expected.
4) Weeks are more beneficial to owners than points. They can't be cost manipulated and are something solid to trade or rent.
5) There are no absolutes with RCI since they can change the rules any time they want.
6) Quality of timeshare does not always equal trading power. A dump in an area where there is very limited competition could have much greater trading power.... or not depending on RCI manipulation.
7) Greed dictates their fee structure.
8) The phrase "sexual favors" offends some. ")


Anything else?

To be honest, this is why I don't use RCI. No clear rules, and has always seemed sketchy to me. I bought resale a fixed week 26 on Cape Cod, about 1:30 minutes from my house so I could drive there and use it even in lean years, or just hang a sign at work to rent it out.

This is a great synopsis! I totally agree. I haven't belonged to RCI for years. I like just showing up for my fixed weeks, though I have a longer drive for my VT one (pleasant 6 hours) (week 30) than you do for your Cape Cod week, but only a two hour drive after that VT week to the NH one (week 31).

I did do an exchange through Trading Places International (free membership) this year using my other VT week, which is a fixed- floating pre-assigned week (late Oct. this year), to Cape Cod for this Sept. (week after Labor Day week). Have not been to Cape Cod (except when in our 20's for a Labor Day weekend whale watching out of Provincetown with Greenpeace. LOL!). Looking forward to it. (Cove at Yarmouth).

Anyway, who needs all the hassles of having to figure out all the ins and outs of using points every year. You can tell from this thread what a convoluted system it all is. I just rent when I want to go somewhere extra. Yeah- it costs a lot more - but I just make a phone call and book it and call it a day. I get what I want where I want. The end.
 

jl2010

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Well maybe one of these years you,and I can do a straight trade if you like The Cape. We didn't do it this year cuz The Cove just got the first outdoor pool built on Cape Cod in 2 decades. Looking forward to visiting. That makes 3 pools and total for our Resort, not to mention the new outdoor pool changing rooms and outdoor pool snack bar/bar. Supposed to be some live music parties out there this season.
 

Jan M.

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Thanks for the heads up. I am just deciding whether I want a studio for 10 or a 1 br for 17. The size seems the same. It looks like the both have balconies. The difference is the privacy wall, and a washer/dryer in the 1 BR. The $30 a day for parking is a bit of a bummer.

There aren't any unit floor plans available yet on the Wyndham website so I couldn't check out the layout of the units. I booked one bedroom units for us. I must have started looking when they first started loading the inventory because when I first looked all that was available were studios at Worldmark Austin. Over the next few days they added one bedroom units. Then a week later they added Wyndham Austin in studios, one bedrooms and two bedrooms.

It may not work for you but we won't be renting a car and are taking the bus from the airport. The front desk staff told me the bus stop is no more than 2 blocks from the resort. We will be there for 12 days and my sister and BIL for 9 days so we have plenty of time to figure out what we want to do that will require a car and only rent one for a couple of days to do those things. We will be arriving before them so they can wait to see how taking the bus worked out for us.

The front desk staff at the resort told me there is a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods a mile from the resort. We will walk to the stores and take an Uber back with our groceries. They also told me it is only a two block walk to where the nightlife is in Austin.

We "walked on the wild side", lol, when we stayed at La Cascada in San Antonio two years ago and took the bus from the airport and back again. That trip my husband was a little hesitant when I told him I had checked out the bus schedule and decided we were trying the bus. I told him we are being spontaneous; it will be an adventure. And it was nice to be able to look around and not have to worry about the traffic and where we were going. We had no problem each pulling our suitcase on the two block walk to and from the bus stop. On the San Antonio trip I told my husband if after trying it we didn't like it that we could always take a cab or Uber back to the airport for our flight home but it worked out fine. There is an HEB grocery store a block and a half from the resort and LaCascada has shuttles to most of the big tourist places too.

My theory on the bus/public transportation systems in the cities where you have to pay to park is that the people who work at the hotels, restaurants, shops, businesses, etc. all have to get back and forth to work but most don't make the big bucks to pay that much for parking, therefore the public transportation has to be good. We'll be testing my theory again in Austin next month.
 

Cynic

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Hi, Cynic. Thanks for being here. I have three questions:

1) I own in both weeks and points. Why is it that the same unit, same date, same resort can have a huge difference in price in one system or the other? One in Provence was $370 more to book it in points. One in Germany is $45 cheaper in points.

2) How and why does RCI keep reducing TPUs on well-rated resorts in popular areas? Mine is in the Myrtle Beach area and is a lock-off. Depositing separately, it used to get a whopping 95 points when a friend told me about it. When I began shopping for one, it dropped to 89. By the time I bought one (resale, of course), I got only 63 TPU. My next deposit should be worth 65 TPU based on the calculator. I asked the resort, and they said RCI claims it's because of all the new resorts going up in that area, because of the competition. There aren't any new resorts in that area in RCI, and summer weeks like mine are gone months in advance every year. There is WAY more demand than supply. I also own at that resort in points and its retained its incredibly high trading power in points, which RCI says is due to a contract the resort has with points owners. How is it that RCI determines the trading power in weeks but the resort decides it in points?

3) And who the hell is managing the redesigns of the Web site? It's worse EVERY time they mess with it. I used to design e-commerce sites and I give it a D at best. Now we can only scroll through 10 resorts at a time, and if we want to search on trading power needed, we can only choose the smallest amounts, like 1-10,000 points. I've got a lot of points I need to use and wanted to search or sort on points so I could find a single trip that would use 50k+ points. Live it up a bit. Can't do that.

Thanks!

Hey!

1) Largely supply and demand, although resort contracts with RCI can also be a factor.

2) Many many factors are involved in the decrease and increase of value over time. Actual deposit date means far more than most people realize. 1+ year in advance gets most. Something deposited six month in advance has basically already lost about half it's trading power, and it gets worse the closer you get. Another undisclosed thing is VEP. As a resort ages, VEP generally tends to go down. VEP is an internal measure of total value, based on desirability and member comments about the resort each year. I don't personally agree with this, but many timeshare users seem to be as interested in the hairdryers in the bathroom (or lack thereof), presence of electronic kitchen gadgets, etc, far moreso than ordinary travelers. I suspect it goes back to the sales pitch. Since people were told about big nice places, they tend to place undue importance on those things vs common sense things like... umm... MYRTLE BEACH IN THE SUMMER!!! Basically, some users complain about "dated furniture" and such and value goes down. The best places often have lower VEP, and very high strata (niceness/fanciness) tends to be most common in less high-demand locations (Orlando or Branson, anyone?). Those with the absolute highest VEP may have payed 90k or more to some vacation club, to a very nice weeks place like Manhatten Club, etc. Understand those too may (read usually will) fade in value with time. I've stayed in resorts RCI considered "dumps" and loved them. They were where I wanted to be, when I wanted to be there, and I'm not vacationing to sit in my condo (or hotel room... I'll take any size as it's just me and another person usually). If I had a lockoff I'd basically always deposit it as two weeks, like you do. Unit size means a lot less than most people realize as far as actual value is concerned.

3) Likely a third party that has never actually used RCI. I'm sure Chrystal and her people met with them, and gave them a list of desired features. It was only toward the end of my tenure as a vacation guide that I even got to see what end users see, and I was not impressed. The internal system is far more powerful, but also far less user-friendly. I'd suggest submitting feedback to RCI. We were always coached to offer no more than the three biggest and best options over the phone, and suggest the Internet to "shoppers".

Happy vacationing!
 

Cynic

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From what I hear, very few DVC owners use RCI at all. They say it is not equivalent in value. I suspect Disney chose RCI for this reason. I suspect Disney does not want its DVC members trading DVC resorts bc that devalues the resort. Exchanges are good for customers but bad for the resorts. People say “Why buy if I can get it cheaper by exchanging?”

Hmmm...

Disney is it's own tier. Aftermarket values prove this easily. Some Disney owners may want other options, and RCI has the most. Sales tool.

Idiots always want something fancy. You live once, and vacationing is about living. People that know how to have a fun vacation always want... a location. And a place to crash after a long day of doing whatever. Many timeshare owners spend so much money they forget to have fun. Sad but true:(
 

Cynic

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Thanks in advance for your comments....

Any advice on how to maximize Worldmark points and/or spacebank in RCI?

Specifically, any tips for searches ?

Thanks.

Spacebank as far in advance as possible. I don't know if future years can be prepaid, but if possible I would. Submit search online, and early. THEN call and tell them about what sort of vacation experience you're looking for, how many are traveling, etc. They may be able to add other options of similar vacation experiences you hadn't thought of to your search.

Good example: "it's two of us, a couple, and we love golf, mountain biking, and chillaxing on the beach"
Bad example: "we want right on the beach in Myrtle Beach and we have a two bedroom, five star GC (in inland Texas in August) so we're entitled to a two bedroom right on the waterfront in July".

Be realistic. Many people expect the same size or bigger than what was put in, same or more number of stars, AND IN A MORE DESIRABLE PLACE. That would drive me crazy. Be as flexible as possible, and keep an open mind. And be ready for new experiences and FUN!
 

Cynic

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When I log into RCI thru the hgvc portal I see fewer resorts overall then if I logged in thru my own RCI account.

The reason, I have read elsewhere, is because the hgvc portal thru RCI will only see resorts that meet higher hgvc standards.

Correct. Everything VEP down will be blocked for you. Even via RCI account you will not see all availability (nor will a vacation guide see stuff not in range of what's being searched with). It's based on the first timeshare on that particular account. Some people had multiple accounts for this reason. And how you put it was... presentation BS. I'd say it this way: "you see what's of similar STRATA". Now you've learned something. You're welcome. Have fun.
 

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No, their resort was not anything exceptional or perceived better than Hilton

You don't actually know that. Their are numerous factors, such as resort contracts, actual deposit trends, VEP, etc. Plus things below you are also blocked. People in one area know that area, not the whole system. Chinese walls are the norm in corporate America these days.
 

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Yeah, there seems to be better availability for near-term exchanges in points and better ones for more distant trips in weeks. I booked Vincennes two years out for the first week of the French Open. That would not have been available to me in points.
QFT. But under 2 weeks you find the most random treasures in weeks. Too late to rent out.
 
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