I guess I’m not familiar with what a last call is. Honestly I don’t know what I’m doing at this moment. Some time in April/May I may need something for July. I may have to burn vacation quickly if I change jobs. I have 3 interviews coming up so who knows.
Sounds like I need to make a friend with a RCI membership for my next trip. $200 is a killer weekly price.
I have several times with II A/C's and a getaway but not with RCI yet.We have some duplicate thoughts going, and I just posted in another thread that the 22 in our RCI history are all stuff I've gotten for other people, that goes back to 2015, but I started doing that in 2013. It just so happens that most of them are to Branson. The most expensive, including tax and certificate, was $355, and the lowest was $256. I posted one in another thread for $209, before taxes and certificate fee. Two of the couples are on the 5-year Guest Pass, so they don't pay the certificate fee.
Right now there are thousands of EVs and LCs in Branson, more than 700 at just one resort.
"769 AVAILABLE UNITS"
But, selection gets somewhat limited in peak summer, and again in November/December.
As already mentioned, EVs become LCs at 60 days out, and get severely discounted, but a recent trend of RCI is to offer deep discounts on EVs, stuff further out than 60 days. For instance, check this out right now:
Vacations 40% Off
Select Extra VacationsSM getaways are 40% off! Book by 4/5/19 for travel 4/5/19 through 6/23/19.
(That's more than 60 days out.)
Here's a Branson Gold Crown in a gated golf community, where, by the way, the annual maintenance fee is around $800. Not if you rent from RCI:
1 Bedroom Partial4/4 Max Occupancy/Privacy
Fri 12-Apr-2019 toFri 19-Apr-2019
SAVE NOW 40% OFF
USD 29.99Average Nightly RateUSD 209.99 / 7 Nights
So, anyone else here get stuff for other people?
It would probably be more entertaining to go at the same time and get to know another family. I suck at golf, but might be fun to play a round and maybe go to a show.
I rarely get or ask for more than cost when friends stay on an AC or using our points. And I hear ya about RCI shouldn't care about how the last call and extra weeks get used as long as their used. I'm assuming they're more worried about people who own a dozen weeks who try and rent out a whole building or something.That always seem to come up whenever I talk about getting stuff for other people. I get the impression that folks generally think, "Why would you get something for someone else unless you made money doing it?" Not just now, but forever that has been the case.
I guess my thinking is why wouldn't you?
I mean, just because by the time a person pays a maintenance fee and an exchange fee they might have $1000 wrapped up in an RCI week, why wouldn't you get a $300 (or $209) week for others, without making $$$ on it?
Or, for that matter, pick up one of the thousands of free weeks available, sign up for and deposit it with RCI, then sell it, or give it away, and get EVs and LCs for yourself, and others, forever?
Why wouldn't you???? but I realize folks don't.
We just had an Indiana couple spend a few days with us. They had been Wyndham owners since we first met them, around 1995. They gave it back to Wyndham, and now go on the RCI stuff their daughter gets them through her real estate agent job. Same excess inventory I get for people.
If what I wanted to do is go to Branson, or Orlando, or Vegas, or any of the more-popular tourist destinations, I would certainly rather spend $300 than $1000, and stay at the same places with the same amenities, and no ongoing obligation hanging over me.
Maybe renting is the wave of the future.
FWIW, RCI would love to have their members doing it. They get the week for free. If they get anything for it, they're ahead. If they can get more than an exchange fee, they're more ahead.
I'm betting that 769 available units is actually more like, available check in nights for each type of unit available. Cuz see resorts down there allow any night check in
That sounds awesome. Are there any more details? The only thing holding me back from going twice a month is my wife is in nursing school. I have this oddball job where I work every other week. It’s good and bad but enables me to have some fun. I think her next break is in July. I guess the only thing that confuses me on the resales are the maintenance fees. Do some people pay more or less maintenance fees based on when they purchased or what category of timeshare they own? Maybe when people post ads they are just posting incaccurate MF numbers and that’s what is confusing me.
From what you are saying you can’t merge two accounts if you bought two 120,000 point accounts from the same resort? If you own a particular season I assume that means you are restricted to that season? I couldn’t figure out how the home resort pricing figures into what your ownership is good for? Do some point systems not allow you to use the points at any resort?
For what it's worth, we stayed in a 1BR unit at Welk last year and loved it. We have stayed in many timeshares, Marriott and Starwood included, and our unit at Welk was one of the nicest.
I'm with csxjohn on this point. Truckinusa I still think the best bet for you is to keep reading up on the resort companies you're interested in, take some tours/presentations to get some cheap visits (as long as you have that hard "No" mindset).
I have friends who own at big cedar and I have had breakfast there. The common areas are very impressive.