I am brand new at this.

[Bonita]

My husband and I bought a timeshare in Orlando with RCI points. I am waiting on my information and passwords. I have a hundred questions in my head and I just paid to join TUG. I am not gooing to go into all my questions, but I was wondering if anyone can tell me about the "Extra" vacations and also the last call vacations. Will I really be able to get extra vacations at times when I would want to go there? Will I be able to book a timeshare within 45 days? I only have 53,500 points for two years so I am planning on using the last call option. I really, really appreciate any comments from you experienced timesharers.

 

[CMF]

Welcome!

Others will give you more detailed answers I'm sure. Extra Vacations and last calls are ALWAYS available. The question is: Will the resorts and weeks that you want be available? You will get better answers if you describe your expectations in some detail.

Again WELCOME!

Charles

 

[Bonita]

I am brand new at this

Thank you very much for replying. We would like to go somewhere on the Florida coast, around Daytona, in the spring or fall. Also, would there be anything in New England in the summer or fall. We just don't want to go to the beach when it is cold. I am really pretty nervous about this and don't have too much of a clue what to do. How about the 9,000 point vacations?
Are there nice places to go with this. We live in Ohio and can drive to the east coast or fly to Florida. I bought at Summer Bay in Orlando.

 

[geekette]

I found several Last Calls last year for FLL area in Sept. It was still plenty hot down there. Can't say as to Daytona for Last Call, but thru other channels I did find openings in Daytona in mid-October last year. I don't think it's booked solid.

 

[CMF]

Snap Shot

There is nothing available in Florida in Last Call right now. There are 17 resorts available in New England, mostly Mass, for the same time period [late March early April]. Because of the nature of Last Call vacations, I can't search for the Fall. Others may tell you what they know from experience.


Extra Vacation are another matter. There are 45 resorts listed for New England in May, and 39 in Eastern Florida. This will give you a bit of an idea.

You should also be aware that there is strong sentiment for the view that RCI rents too many weeks thereby depleting the WEEKS exchange inventory. If that is in fact the case, availability for weeks in the areas you are interested in would be more than fair in Extra Vacations.

RCI is pretty quick [at least it was for me] in setting up the online account. So you should be able to log on an play with the website your self - a lot of fun and education.

Enjoy,
Charles

Charles

 

[talkamotta]

When you get your passwords, etc, you will have more questions.

Also the review section of TUG is priceless, when deciding which resorts to pick and what to do in a particular area.

Congratulations and Welcome.

 

[Spence]

My husband and I bought a timeshare in Orlando with RCI points. I am waiting on my information and passwords. I have a hundred questions in my head and I just paid to join TUG. I am not gooing to go into all my questions, but I was wondering if anyone can tell me about the "Extra" vacations and also the last call vacations. Will I really be able to get extra vacations at times when I would want to go there? Will I be able to book a timeshare within 45 days? I only have 53,500 points for two years so I am planning on using the last call option. I really, really appreciate any comments from you experienced timesharers.

Maybe I missed it... if you've been waiting only a SHORT time, maybe you're still in your recission period.

 

[Bonita]

Thanks from the new person!

I want to thank those of you who have responded to my questions. I do feel much better knowing that there will be "last call" vacations and Extra Vacations available. I signed the papers on February 24 and was told that I should expect my passwords in 8-10 weeks but others have said they received them in six weeks. Once I get my passwords and can finally get into RCI, I will have a lot more questions. I bought the points at Summer Bay in Orlando. It was a resale but I am pretty sure I paid too much, but it is too late now. I just want to understand what I have and be able to enjoy it.
You guys have been great! Since I have 53,500 points in two years, I am hoping to take two different vacations a year and then let my kids use some of the extra vacations. Any comments or suggestions are GREATLY appreciated!!

 

[CMF]

Congratulations on Buying Resale!

You are already ahead of the curve!

Charles

 

[mocat]

Instant Exchanges

I am also somewhat new at this, having just bought some RCI points on resale and going on my first 7500 pt week vacation at Myrtle Beach this Friday. If I am not mistaken, Last Call and Instant Vacations do not take away any of your points, they merely cost whatever RCI chooses to charge. It is the Instant Exchanges (those within the 45 day window) that cost 7500-9000 pts and a small RCI exchange fee. Instant Exchanges are somewhat hard to locate in the areas and the time periods you want to go; I live in Florida and have not found anything on the beach as yet. I would expect that as summer rolls around, you might find more availability in Florida.

mocat

 

[JLB]

Bonita:

I have been enjoying FL, especially SW FL, for 30 years, timesharing there for maybe 17 years, and searching Resorts on the Beach and SW FL, for January, for several thousand searches. You can find my results in the SW FL in January thread on the Florida Board.

I also search Extra Vacations and LCs.

EVs are not what they were when we first started, when they were called Vacation Escapes, and then Bonus Vacations. EVs have gotten pricey, but in most cases are less expensive than owning another week.

The least desirable, and thus most likely to be available through EV or LC, areas of Resorts on the Beach are the Panhandle and NE FL, down to roughing Cocoa Beach. The Ormond/Daytona/New Smyrna area has a lot of converted hotel timeshares.

Drop me an email if you wanna talk Florida and beach.

 

[david8054]

Bonita,

Regarding your password, you can get it now. I joined RCI on Monday and got my password yesterday. Just register online. I got an error message when I entered the information they asked for, but called one of their guides and got the password emailed to me. The 4-6 weeks will be for the printed materials.

Regarding Last Call and Extra Vacations, I did see a week at HGVC Orlando Sea World for $390.00 (11/9-11/16, 2 bedroom) I am certainly no expert (having never even been to Florida!), but this did seem like a very good deal to me. I didn't see anything in the Last Call that appealed as much to me. Perhaps others can comment whether this is a good deal.

David Fraser

 

[JLB]

Ahead of the Learning Curve

Speaking of being ahead of the learning curve, let me goose you along a bit!

The good news is that there are ample Extra Vacations for your timeframe, but that is probably the extent of the good news.

Searching Extra Vacations for the right coast I see the following numbers of resorts, and the highest prices for these rentals:

April-13-$500
May-31-$1100
Jun-35-$1250
Jul-36-$1100
Aug-43-$1250
Sep-43-$1250

Frankly, these numbers of resorts are the types of numbers one would hope to see in an exchange search, but not for an Extra Vacations (formerly reserved only for excess inventory). One would not expect there to be that much excess inventory for these months.

When I do approximately the same searches for exchanges, the numbers are:

April-6
May-30
Jun-33
Jul-38
Aug-61
Sep-73

Until Aug, amazingly similar numbers. And the resorts seen for Extra Vacations are traditional RCI resorts (as many as I looked at).

So the questions many are asking are where is all this excess inventory coming from and if a company could get $164 for a product or $1250 for the same product, other than integrity what would keep them from not doing the latter?

That should move you along a bit.