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HGVC RCI trade - that you feel are worth the points

Panina

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What resorts in the USA have you traded into recently using your hgvc Rci portal account that you felt were worth using your points for?

Dvc and NYC hgvc are the obvious good ones to me.
 

brp

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We have never done RCI trade. Then again, we own at DVC and HGVC NYC :)

Cheers.
 

CalGalTraveler

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Great question @Panina.

Trades:

* Fiesta Americana Cabo. This was before RCI started allowing exorbitant resort fees and AI was still $80/pp.
* New Years week at Peacock Suites at Disneyland. Although this is a step down in quality we are not in the room much at Disney so less important than good location, event week, and 2 bdrms. We preferred the Worldmark/Wyndham Anaheim because it seemed nicer but it was not available via the portal for the dates.
* Back into HGVC for Lagoon Tower and Blvd Vegas for half the points. But now there are resort fees which limit value so might as well trade directly via HGVC.

Potential future trades (when we can get more vacation time + available):

* Tradewinds cruise
* Snowbird, Utah (ski)
* Four Seasons Villamoura
* Several Cabo resorts that are very nice with no mandatory AI or resort fees.
* Worldmark/Wyndham for Zion/southern Utah hiking
* Florida Keys (Galleon or an II resort)
* Crane Barbados (fewer points)

Any gems in Aruba? or do we need to look at II?

Also have an II list but we can only do cash getaways and ACC.
 
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Cyberc

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What resorts in the USA have you traded into recently using your hgvc Rci portal account that you felt were worth using your points for?

Dvc and NYC hgvc are the obvious good ones to me.

I’ve done both DVC and NYC but that was before I became owners if both DVC and hgvc nyc :)

If I really wanted to stretch my hgvc points I would do NYC again. 2.400 points for a week in a studio it’s hard to beat but it comes with limitations as you can’t change the booking and supply is limited and you don’t know for sure when they will open for your dates.

Don’t know if I would do other places. Maybe HI if I could book something not available or sold out with HGvC.

The vast majority of my use of points is in the hgvc system rarely in rci. It’s just not worth it.

Also I have a regular RCI account too and I use that to book whatever I want/need.
 

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The Manhattan Club now has ridiculous resort/housekeeping fees but we only had to use 2200 for a studio and 3400 for a 1 bedroom. Considering how much a tiny hotel room cost in Manhattan and the incredible location of the Manhattan Club, 2200 points was an incredible deal.

But I think the daily resort fee is now $54 (?). Plus however much the current RCI exchange fee is. Not to mention if you need to park your car. So now the great deal it use to be.
 
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topdog

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A few years ago we went to Samoset which was a good RCI exchange. Also went to Boardwalk Villas, which was good, but a lot harder to get these days, yes?
 

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I have traded back into the Hilton Club and west 57th in NYC for some nightly stays for much less point cost per night. DVC was worth it even though I prefer the HGVC Orlando resorts. (We stayed at Saratoga Springs). back when DVC offered more options we stayed at the beach club, wilderness lodge and boardwalk and that was a great deal. I haven't been able to trade back into Hawaii and haven't really done Vegas. Most of the resorts are a step down so we dont trade into them. For this fall we booked a couple nights at snowbird since its close and fun. Before resorts added resort fee's we used to use it more, now its less and less. I did call the flamingo asking if a club member would have the rci resort fee waived for a 3 night stay and they said no. It would have been a similar booking fee and used less points but the resort fee is lame.
 

Panina

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I have traded back into the Hilton Club and west 57th in NYC for some nightly stays for much less point cost per night. DVC was worth it even though I prefer the HGVC Orlando resorts. (We stayed at Saratoga Springs). back when DVC offered more options we stayed at the beach club, wilderness lodge and boardwalk and that was a great deal. I haven't been able to trade back into Hawaii and haven't really done Vegas. Most of the resorts are a step down so we dont trade into them. For this fall we booked a couple nights at snowbird since its close and fun. Before resorts added resort fee's we used to use it more, now its less and less. I did call the flamingo asking if a club member would have the rci resort fee waived for a 3 night stay and they said no. It would have been a similar booking fee and used less points but the resort fee is lame.
The resort fees when we trade back into hgvc thru rci is like paying a tax. We paid our dues, we use hgvc portal and pay the rci fees and hgvc doesn’t recognize us as members for the trade. Many times there are hgvc weeks on rci that are not available on hgvc which is a further insult.
 

escanoe

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The Manhattan Club now has ridiculous resort/housekeeping fees but we only had to use 2200 for a studio and 3400 for a 1 bedroom. Considering how much a tiny hotel room cost in Manhattan and the incredible location of the Manhattan Club, 2200 points was an incredible deal.

My family of four traded into a one bedroom there for Memorial Day Weekend. Yes, the daily "because we can" fee stinks. But they can get by with it because of the location, and considering the location it was on okay deal. When I look at the point values on the new bHC properties coming to NYC, I have less reason to complain about the Manhattan Club "because we can" fee.

I feel I got a good deal trading my HGVC points on RCI, but I now own a "trader" timeshare enrolled directly in RCI points that is enrolled in RCI platinum. Sometimes it gets me better value than trading HGVC points on RCI, but not always. In my situation I thought if I was using more than 1/3 to 1/2 of my points on RCI -- it might make more sense to own something directly enrolled in RCI as opposed to using my HGVC points (I have cheaper HGVC points). If you have high MF HGVC properties, I think it could be hard to get value trading into RCI.
 
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terces

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My family of four traded into a one bedroom there for Memorial Day Weekend. Yes, the daily "because we can" fee stinks. But they can get by with it because of the location, and I felt considering the location it was on okay deal. When I look at the point values on the new bHC properties coming to NYC, I feel I have less reason to complain about the Manhattan Club "because we can" fee.

I feel I got a good deal trading my HGVC points on RCI, but I now own a "trader" timeshare enrolled directly in RCI points that is enrolled in RCI platinum. Sometimes it gets me better value than trading HGVC points on RCI, but not always. In my situation I thought if I was using more than 1/3 to 1/2 of my points on RCI -- it might make more sense to own something directly enrolled in RCI as opposed to using my HGVC points (I have cheaper HGVC points). If you have high MF HGVC properties, I think it could be hard to get value trading into RCI.
We sort of 1/2 lucked in to a Mexican TS with RCI points. The resort gets their pound of flesh by charging their all inclusive fee of plus/minus $100 USD per day per person, so they only charge us $199 per year for MF's for the 84,000 RCI points we have - so basically these RCI points are almost free to us. The resort by the way is Sandos (NOT Sandals) in Playa Del Carmen. So we are still using these RCI points to book some holidays, but I far prefer booking HGVC into HGVC resorts and staying away from RCI. The booking fee of at least $300 per week for RCI is irritating, but the big problem is that it is not refundable if the reservation is changed or cancelled. Also you can buy insurance to protect your points in case of cancellation but at more than $80 it may not be worth it depending how many points are at risk. So in total the upfront, non changeable, non refundable fee is about $400 US which is very close to $600 CDN at this time. It's not bad if you luck in to a good RCI for this $600 per week, but we have had a few times lately when life got in the way and we needed to cancel. It seems that a lot of RCI resorts are about 40 years old with about 15 coats of paint, and they do allow resort owners to post fake reviews, so you do not have any where near as much assurance of getting good quality accommodation as you do with HGVC. But if you do want to trade in to RCI it might be an idea to look at purchasing one of these Sandos TS on the secondary market instead of using up your much more valuable, in my opinion, HGVC points. Sandos is also RTU (right to use as opposed to deeded) with a set term, so your entire exposure is the $199 MF's times the number of years left on the contract
 

escanoe

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The booking fee of at least $300 per week for RCI is irritating ..... Also you can buy insurance to protect your points in case of cancellation but at more than $80

I agree with all your stated concerns on costs and fees. However, the costs you describe sound extreme to me. You must be paying more for having a foreign timeshare. RCI exchanges for me are $239 per week (on and off HGVC). I think insurance is around $60 to $70, but I seldom buy it. I use most of my RCI points for long weekend trips within driving distance where there are no HGVC properties and will use for going to Disney or where there are no HGVC option I can get into. I own a Massanutten timeshare that gets 137k RCI points per year with a current MF of $855.

Headed tomorrow to spend thee nights at Virginia Beach.
 

Talent312

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A few years ago, we spent a week at the Quarter House in New Orleans,
and went to the N.O. Jazz Festival where we saw Billy Joel.

This year...
We spent a week outside Yellowstone at The Timbers, Island Park, ID,
with a week at Outer Banks Beach Club, Kill Devil Hills, NC, coming up.

So, I'd have to say that it's indeed worth it.

.
 

brp

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I feel I got a good deal trading my HGVC points on RCI, but I now own a "trader" timeshare enrolled directly in RCI points that is enrolled in RCI platinum.

I have a friend from a Disney board as well as from here that has done this and really knows the nuances well. This is something I've thought about and want to learn. Seems that there are much better values than HGVC to use for RCI traders.

Cheers.
 

anderik1

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My family of four traded into a one bedroom there for Memorial Day Weekend. Yes, the daily "because we can" fee stinks. But they can get by with it because of the location, and considering the location it was on okay deal. When I look at the point values on the new bHC properties coming to NYC, I have less reason to complain about the Manhattan Club "because we can" fee.

I feel I got a good deal trading my HGVC points on RCI, but I now own a "trader" timeshare enrolled directly in RCI points that is enrolled in RCI platinum. Sometimes it gets me better value than trading HGVC points on RCI, but not always. In my situation I thought if I was using more than 1/3 to 1/2 of my points on RCI -- it might make more sense to own something directly enrolled in RCI as opposed to using my HGVC points (I have cheaper HGVC points). If you have high MF HGVC properties, I think it could be hard to get value trading into RCI.
@escanoe this seems like it's relatively close to being on topic that I'm not hijacking thread, but if it's hard to get a good value trading hgvc into RCI, what do you all consider to be a good trader. if there's already a good thread on that somewhere else, as I'd appreciate a pointer to that as well.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
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bizaro86

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I agree with all your stated concerns on costs and fees. However, the costs you describe sound extreme to me. You must be paying more for having a foreign timeshare. RCI exchanges for me are $239 per week (on and off HGVC). I think insurance is around $60 to $70, but I seldom buy it. I use most of my RCI points for long weekend trips within driving distance where there are no HGVC properties and will use for going to Disney or where there are no HGVC option I can get into. I own a Massanutten timeshare that gets 137k RCI points per year with a current MF of $855.

Headed tomorrow to spend thee nights at Virginia Beach.

They were probably quoting the fees in Canadian Dollars. RCI will only bill Canadians in Canadian dollars, and they use a disadvantageous exchange rate, which adds insult to injury on their already high fees.
 

terces

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They were probably quoting the fees in Canadian Dollars. RCI will only bill Canadians in Canadian dollars, and they use a disadvantageous exchange rate, which adds insult to injury on their already high fees.
I stand corrected. I just contacted RCI and the booking fee is $335 CDN and the points insurance is $90 CDN, so the fees that we stand to loose are $425 CDN if we make ANY changes or cancellations.
 

escanoe

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What resorts in the USA have you traded into recently using your hgvc Rci portal account that you felt were worth using your points for?

Just locked in an RCI OGS match for Marathon Key Beach Club II the week of New Year’s. Going with that instead of splitting the weak between McAlpin and Plantation Beach Club. I figure it will be a step down on accommodations, but our first time to experience the Keys on a family trip and we will have a pool for the full week and better chances of the beach working out. I am using my RCI trader points instead of spending my HGVC points. It will free up 7k HGVC points I had previously budgeted for the week. Curious if you have any experience with Marathon Key Beach Club, @Panina.
 

Panina

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Just locked in an RCI OGS match for Marathon Key Beach Club II the week of New Year’s. Going with that instead of splitting the weak between McAlpin and Plantation Beach Club. I figure it will be a step down on accommodations, but our first time to experience the Keys on a family trip and we will have a pool for the full week and better chances of the beach working out. I am using my RCI trader points instead of spending my HGVC points. It will free up 7k HGVC points I had previously budgeted for the week. Curious if you have any experience with Marathon Key Beach Club, @Panina.
I have not been to this resort. The area I would stay in. From my readings, many love it and some things in the unit might be worn, maybe more then a few steps down from hgvc, but if you can look past that you can have a good time.

I just saw Driftwood Beach Club in Lauderdale for January 2021 in the hgvc portal, a studio and 1 bedroom. I decided on the 1 bedroom thus went into my RCI tpu account. If I took the studio I would have used the hgvc points instead. It too is a step down, I usually go to Marco Island but I wanted to go there. Sometimes a location is more important then the accomodations.
 

Cyberc

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As you both have noted booking rci with your hgvc points is a step down.

However there are ofc exceptions to the “rule”

If you have a regular rci ts as well I would suggest using that unless the MF is too high and cost wise it’s better to go with the HGVC ts.
 

Tamaradarann

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As you both have noted booking rci with your hgvc points is a step down.

However there are ofc exceptions to the “rule”

If you have a regular rci ts as well I would suggest using that unless the MF is too high and cost wise it’s better to go with the HGVC ts.

I do have a regular RCI points account but I used 2400 HGVC points to reserve the Hilton Club in New York through HGVC/RCI instead of about 80,000 RCI points. The 2400 HGVC is the equivalent of 1/2 of the points of a 1 BR , the 80,000 RCI points is almost the entire amount I get for a 2 BR.

Now I have used my HGVC points to do an on going search for certain locations and have been successful. However, that leads me to the exchange hierarchy question. Would I have been successful in my search if I had used my RCI points in the search? My on going searches found a 1 BR at the Maui Lea in Maui, a Studio at the Donatello in San Francisco, a 1 Br at the Lawai Beach Resort in Kauai, and a 2 BR at the Galleon twice in Key West. Now I have since tried to get the Galleon for the same week in early December using RCI points for an on going search and after a few months I gave up since I was unsuccessful. So was my HGVC on going search POWER the reason I was so successful in the on going searches?
 

escanoe

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Now I have used my HGVC points to do an on going search for certain locations and have been successful. However, that leads me to the exchange hierarchy question. Would I have been successful in my search if I had used my RCI points in the search?

My understanding of this is if it is a normal week inventory that for some reason does not have priority with a certain type of account, whoever has the oldest OGS will have first match. So it should matter first which account of yours has the oldest OGS available to use (modify an old one if need be) and not one account having higher priority. There are exceptions to this for instance where it is a priority listing for RCI platinum accounts.

I am trying to build up an inventory of aged OGSs to help me do better getting matches in the future. You can set the OGSs to satisfy curiosities you have about how to match, and you do not have to accept any of the matches until you are ready to pull the trigger. It helps you to learn the system. An OGS that is modified to get what you currently want, will be treated as if has the date you created the original search.

I may be wrong or have missed a nuance, and suspect I will be corrected and learn something if that is the case.
 

escanoe

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I do have a regular RCI points account but I used 2400 HGVC points to reserve the Hilton Club in New York through HGVC/RCI instead of about 80,000 RCI points. The 2400 HGVC is the equivalent of 1/2 of the points of a 1 BR , the 80,000 RCI points is almost the entire amount I get for a 2 BR.

As a general rule I do better using my RCI trader TS than my HGVC portal for RCI trades. There are exceptions. I find doing trades with my RCI platinum points account to be like day trading. Point costs associated with trades vary to match market conditions. There is far less fluctuation when trading on the HGVC portal with HGVC points. Trying to get high demand trades in NYC is a place one might do better using HGVC points through the portal. When booking off season somewhere, you are likely to get more of a bargain using RCI points compared to HGVC.

To know in any given instance which account will have a relative advantage you have to know your MF to Point ratio for both accounts and do the math.
 

Tamaradarann

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As a general rule I do better using my RCI trader TS than my HGVC portal for RCI trades. There are exceptions. I find doing trades with my RCI platinum points account to be like day trading. Point costs associated with trades vary to match market conditions. There is far less fluctuation when trading on the HGVC portal with HGVC points. Trying to get high demand trades in NYC is a place one might do better using HGVC points through the portal. When booking off season somewhere, you are likely to get more of a bargain using RCI points compared to HGVC.

To know in any given instance which account will have a relative advantage you have to know your MF to Point ratio for both accounts and do the math.

The 2400 HGVC points I used to reserve the Hilton Club in New York through HGVC which is equivalent to 1/2 the points of a 1 BR at my highest maintenance resort would cost about $500. The 80,000 RCI points which is almost the entire amount of my 2 BR is about $800. Also, at times I can get better utilization from my RCI points. This past May for 101,000 RCI points, which would value at about $1000 in maintenance costs, I was able to reserve 2 weeks in a 1 BR in Maui at the Kaanapali Beach Resort on the Ocean. I would have had to use 6800 HGVC points to reserve those 2 weeks and and utilizing the same highest maintenance resort would be about 1.5 weeks for a cost of about $1500.
 

CalGalTraveler

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We recently traded into Lagoon Tower Penthouse using RCI. Although the points were only 5800 (+$40/day resort fee which the resort would not waive even though we are an HGVC owner). The penthouse unit they assign for RCI trades is in the back corner (2472/3). Although laid out nicely and the balcony and view were fantastic, the elevator noise in the master was very loud because the machines are on the roof next to the headboard. Earplugs did not seem to help much.

We tolerated the noise but next time will spend the extra HGVC points for an internal trade to get a quieter unit.
 
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