New and "Improved" RCI site. Blech.

[Vacay0606]

I still can't search for resorts. Error message comes up and says try again.

 

[TUGBrian]

bet they watched the livestream last night =D

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi All ,
I have been on my RCI Weeks account almost everyday getting familiar with the new search update.
There are some positives.

1) It loads 16 resorts at a time [ The previous cap was 10]
2) Under "Filter and Sort" there is an option of 1-6 days / 7 days
3) You can switch these filters around - while maintaining a search window date

There are some other filters that may help in searches - for instance one that can limit searches to TPU ranges [ 1-10 etc. ]
Some of the filters previously existed - but I believe you had to go back and start a new search and then click on them to make the search operational.

 

[iowateach]

After 40 years, my RCI membership will run out at the end of the month, and I will not be renewing it. I thought I'd miss it. Maybe not so much after reading all the comments.

 

[Luanne]

I don't plan to renew my RCI membership when it runs out. But I checked and I'm good through 2023. However the resorts I have banked expire in 2028. LOL

 

[jackio]

Hi All ,
I have been on my RCI Weeks account almost everyday getting familiar with the new search update.
There are some positives.

1) It loads 16 resorts at a time [ The previous cap was 10]
2) Under "Filter and Sort" there is an option of 1-6 days / 7 days
3) You can switch these filters around - while maintaining a search window date

There are some other filters that may help in searches - for instance one that can limit searches to TPU ranges [ 1-10 etc. ]
Some of the filters previously existed - but I believe you had to go back and start a new search and then click on them to make the search operational.

I cannot seem to find any filters. I want to be able to filter out exchange only vs. rentals.
Can you tell me where to find the filters?
Thanks,
Jacki

 

[WorldT]

@jackio

You have a to go through the route: book>exchange. You can also select booking options if you entered the region or city first. In the weeks account, it is a drop down menu but in the points account, you need to uncheck the radio button.

I know it looks different and for some people there is a learning curve. That being said, I will take the filtering options in RCI over II anytime. As I said before, the filtering options in RCI makes me wonder if the lack of options in II is intentional.

 

[jackio]

@WorldT Thank you so much! I never go book>exchange, I just usually put in a destination (sometimes with a date, sometimes without). This worked for me!

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi @jackio - [Using my Weeks Acct.]
If you're starting with destinations -than the filter that says 1-6 days / 7 days could help your searches.

Let's say you want to go to Las Vegas for a week - there are 51 resort codes with available units .There are 25 codes showing 7 days
and 26 codes are 1-6 days.[A lot of these are the same resorts with a different code for shorter stays ]
I don't think you could filter this way previously.

Then, if you go back to the minimum unit size & click on 1 bedroom - there are still 25 ; but if you click on 2 bedrooms
you reduce the options to 17 resort codes.

If you then add a month - you can see that April has 2 options / May has 22 / June has 18

I also regularly use the - " All inclusive not required filter" for Mexican Searches .

 

[easyrider]

I just check my RCI portal through Worldmark. It looks the same. I checked the Grand Luxxe and the fees are still higher than I like. Nothing changed at the Luxxe either.

Bill

 

[andre10056]

I had to smile when I saw the title of this thread. Of course, the OP's "blech-ing" is being done in response to the alleged "new and improved" aspects of the site. I, on the other hand, had been over and over again "blech-ing" about RCI in general.

I had amassed a good number of RCI TPUs over time due to unexpected things that came up forcing me to bank my owned weeks. And would always pay to restore the value of my deposit as if I had deposited it many months earlier. And then would keep on paying to extend out my TPU balance because I couldn't find ANYTHING to trade into. So I became committed in 2025 to diligently scrutinizing RCI at all hours to see if I could find something, anything so I could finally reduce my TPU balance to zero or near zero. And, through diligent effort and, in retrospect, insane amounts of time doing so, I finally found a ballpark 30 TPU springtime Tropic Shores in Daytona Beach Shores 2 BR (pool was still hurricane damaged and unusable) and ballpark 50 TPU early May Galleon 1 BR in Key West. TPUs still not too close to zero but significantly reduced. Hence, no more extensions saving me a ballpark $170 per year.

Indeed, no more RCI as I asked for, and received back, a prorata refund for all my prepaid regular and add-on membership years.

Good riddance to RCI.

Last year also, someone came onto TUG and offered their 100 TPU balance free of charge to whomever wanted it. I saw that offer very early after it was made, briefly thought about it, and said to myself, "Nah". I didn't need that nightmare of being unable to find anything for years to come.

 

[andre10056]

Good morning @TUGBrian , and all readers
It is Thurs. April 9th [4 days after I posted the quoted comment]

I am now seeing the correct Canadian $ dollar RCI exchange [ $ 434 ] rather than the USD $ price of $ 299.

perhaps RCI does read TUG threads ......

It sounds (and is) horrible in US dollars but it sounds a heckuva lot worse in Canadian dollars.

 

[escanoe]

So I became committed in 2025 to diligently scrutinizing RCI at all hours to see if I could find something, anything so I could finally reduce my TPU balance to zero or near zero. And, through diligent effort and, in retrospect, insane amounts of time doing so, I finally found a ballpark 30 TPU springtime Tropic Shores in Daytona Beach Shores 2 BR (pool was still hurricane damaged and unusable) and ballpark 50 TPU early May Galleon 1 BR in Key West. TPUs still not too close to zero but significantly reduced. Hence, no more extensions saving me a ballpark $170 per year.

Glad you were able to spend it down and hopefully get some good traveling in. While it can be challenging in a weeks account with one big TPU ball, utilizing some ongoing searches (OGSs) can be helpful.

 

[jackio]

I also had a back up of TPU’s, so this year I exchanged for 3 2BR units in Surfside Beach SC in August. The plan is for us, our kids and grands, 14 in total, to take our first full family vacation together. We will see how that pans out
But it significantly lowered my TPU total.

 

[jp10558]

I had to smile when I saw the title of this thread. Of course, the OP's "blech-ing" is being done in response to the alleged "new and improved" aspects of the site. I, on the other hand, had been over and over again "blech-ing" about RCI in general.

I had amassed a good number of RCI TPUs over time due to unexpected things that came up forcing me to bank my owned weeks. And would always pay to restore the value of my deposit as if I had deposited it many months earlier. And then would keep on paying to extend out my TPU balance because I couldn't find ANYTHING to trade into. So I became committed in 2025 to diligently scrutinizing RCI at all hours to see if I could find something, anything so I could finally reduce my TPU balance to zero or near zero. And, through diligent effort and, in retrospect, insane amounts of time doing so, I finally found a ballpark 30 TPU springtime Tropic Shores in Daytona Beach Shores 2 BR (pool was still hurricane damaged and unusable) and ballpark 50 TPU early May Galleon 1 BR in Key West. TPUs still not too close to zero but significantly reduced. Hence, no more extensions saving me a ballpark $170 per year.

Indeed, no more RCI as I asked for, and received back, a prorata refund for all my prepaid regular and add-on membership years.

Good riddance to RCI.

Last year also, someone came onto TUG and offered their 100 TPU balance free of charge to whomever wanted it. I saw that offer very early after it was made, briefly thought about it, and said to myself, "Nah". I didn't need that nightmare of being unable to find anything for years to come.

I have to say - I guess it really does depend on what you like. I only have RCI points via Grandview, 98,000 a year. I had no issues spending down some of those points with a week coming up at Jackson Gore Inn, and a week near the Outer Banks for my sister. There have been a bunch that I would love to book, but my scheduling just hasn't worked out - I think I could have booked 4 different sub 10k points deals if I wasn't already otherwise booked for those dates. If I'd had more points I could have booked Massanutten, though I used Extra Vacations and the Platinum discount for that. I guess maybe Points is better? in that it seems like it lets me save points a year for free with platinum. I'm hoping all the medical stuff is done by next year and I'll be able to use some more of the "that looks like fun" bookings. I still don't think I'll have a problem using up the points though.

 

[andre10056]

Glad you were able to spend it down and hopefully get some good traveling in. While it can be challenging in a weeks account with one big TPU ball, utilizing some ongoing searches (OGSs) can be helpful.

I've tried to forget some of my traumatic RCI experiences but I'll tell you about one after having put in an OGS.

One day, out of the blue, and it wasn't even a zero dark thirty time, I happened to see a Marco Island 2 BR at Eagle's Nest. I had an ongoing search for Marco Island and other areas and I had received no notification about any match. So I immediately tried to snatch it and , as I recall (and maybe at this point I'm misremembering all the details), I couldn't do so as long as I had an ongoing OGS. So I frantically went through the steps of attempting to cancel the OGS so I could select that Eagles Nest 2 BR.

I finally managed to discard the OGS and turned my attention to the Eagles Nest page. And it was gone! Someone had beat me to it.

Of course, I called customer service. I told them about that 13 TPU (!!!) Eagles Nest about three to four weeks away. Can you see it? Can you get it for me? Why wasn't I matched with it?

I was told that an OGS only "sees" weeks commencing more than 30 days away. So I could not have been matched via OGS for the specific week I was describing. And that there was nothing they could do in that it was no longer there.

Grrrrr.

 

[andre10056]

I also had a back up of TPU’s, so this year I exchanged for 3 2BR units in Surfside Beach SC in August. The plan is for us, our kids and grands, 14 in total, to take our first full family vacation together. We will see how that pans out
But it significantly lowered my TPU total.

Wow. That's quite an achievement to get three 2 BR units at the same time at the same resort. Good for you. It should be a wonderful vacation for all.

But I'll give you a bit of a "heads up" about South Carolina in August. I spent three months of boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC (not too far from Hilton Head) And also a good bit of time in what turned out to be the Unbelievably Polluted Tap Water Capital of the US, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, right on the coast.

August in the Carolinas is hot, humid, rainy, etc. As a result, the Marine Corps' belief was that we Marines should have been worked PARTICULARLY hard during the hottest and "humidest" months of the year. In that way, we could be "acclimatized" (a word I had never heard before joining the Marine Corps) to such heat and humidity. And, indeed, it seemed to work as we did not feel any great amount of discomfort during summertime.

So I would recommend that all fourteen of you start going on 10 mile runs and doing all manner of other PT (physical training). You, too, will thereby be acclimatized to the heat and humidity.

 

[andre10056]

I have to say - I guess it really does depend on what you like. I only have RCI points via Grandview, 98,000 a year. I had no issues spending down some of those points with a week coming up at Jackson Gore Inn, and a week near the Outer Banks for my sister. There have been a bunch that I would love to book, but my scheduling just hasn't worked out - I think I could have booked 4 different sub 10k points deals if I wasn't already otherwise booked for those dates. If I'd had more points I could have booked Massanutten, though I used Extra Vacations and the Platinum discount for that. I guess maybe Points is better? in that it seems like it lets me save points a year for free with platinum. I'm hoping all the medical stuff is done by next year and I'll be able to use some more of the "that looks like fun" bookings. I still don't think I'll have a problem using up the points though.

Yes. I agree with you. It really does depend on what one likes. And I don't like inland at all. And that goes for Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, inland Massachusetts, even inland California. No interest whatsoever.

To be honest, I personally have zero interest in Disney but family members may so that's only an option if I'm inclined to name them on a guest certificate.

I know you have an interest in more areas. I've watched your videos about Vacation Village at Weston and offseason somewhere in Tennessee. I also read your posts about somewhere where you were loaded up with bird poop on your balcony. Also, somewhere where you were freezing your butt off because your heat wasn't working and the portable space heaters weren't cutting it. But, if I had a choice between going there or staying home, it would be staying home all the time.

When I was working as an independent contractor and had an assignment in the Miami area, I might have done Last Call to VV Weston to save money, but otherwise it would nowadays have to be Miami Beach.

 

[jp10558]

Yes. I agree with you. It really does depend on what one likes. And I don't like inland at all. And that goes for Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, inland Massachusetts, even inland California. No interest whatsoever.

That's important context for sure - I am somewhat the opposite of you in that I personally have about 0 interest in the beach - seen one, seen them all (with the "black swan" of the Florida gulf coast white sand). Sand generally makes my life worse, and I am not interested in swimming in the ocean. The views are interesting in a "I'm and Influencer and look at my 'amazing luxurious view'" sort of way, but I find looking at the ocean boring, and have sort of exhausted my skill in getting interesting bird or ocean photos at a beach.

I totally accept I'm in the minority here, and it's useful to point that out. Though I do think you can get Myrtle Beach via OGS in RCI in the higher seasons because there's so much there, and a lot of either on the beach or just across a road from the beach locations - if you can believe the photos of course.

To be honest, I personally have zero interest in Disney but family members may so that's only an option if I'm inclined to name them on a guest certificate.

I know you have an interest in more areas. I've watched your videos about Vacation Village at Weston and offseason somewhere in Tennessee. I also read your posts about somewhere where you were loaded up with bird poop on your balcony.

That was via Interval International to be fair.

Also, somewhere where you were freezing your butt off because your heat wasn't working and the portable space heaters weren't cutting it.

And that was using my owned points with Wyndham, and Wyndham is unfortunately a bit hit or miss, though this was one of the worst customer service I've ever had.

When I was working as an independent contractor and had an assignment in the Miami area, I might have done Last Call to VV Weston to save money, but otherwise it would nowadays have to be Miami Beach.

That's fair enough, and I wouldn't really expect exchanges to get me that. I struggled with owned HGVC points in December, and never see my needed 2BR the rest of the year.

 

[andre10056]

That's important context for sure - I am somewhat the opposite of you in that I personally have about 0 interest in the beach - seen one, seen them all (with the "black swan" of the Florida gulf coast white sand). Sand generally makes my life worse, and I am not interested in swimming in the ocean. The views are interesting in a "I'm and Influencer and look at my 'amazing luxurious view'" sort of way, but I find looking at the ocean boring, and have sort of exhausted my skill in getting interesting bird or ocean photos at a beach.

I totally accept I'm in the minority here, and it's useful to point that out. Though I do think you can get Myrtle Beach via OGS in RCI in the higher seasons because there's so much there, and a lot of either on the beach or just across a road from the beach locations - if you can believe the photos of course.

That was via Interval International to be fair.

And that was using my owned points with Wyndham, and Wyndham is unfortunately a bit hit or miss, though this was one of the worst customer service I've ever had.

That's fair enough, and I wouldn't really expect exchanges to get me that. I struggled with owned HGVC points in December, and never see my needed 2BR the rest of the year.

Just to bring it back a bit to the "website" aspect of the OP's post, I would hope that the allegedly new and improved website no longer does what the old website used to do as per my post #41 above. Why on earth would an OGS prevent one from immediately locking in whatever week one unexpectedly sees? Apparently, the "old" way of doing things was, upon someone seeking to lock in a week, the program would (1) check whether or not there's an outstanding OGS and (2) if so, not allow any new selection of a "non-OGS notified" week.

Why do that? Couldn't you program the website so that the OGS would immediately and simultaneously fall off?

Made no sense to me that someone would code the program to do that.

In any case, in response to your post, let me say that an oceanfront timeshare isn't just "the ocean". It's a good many visitors, including business executives in that geographic area having their summer homes at those locations. It's a plethora of above average restaurants, oftentimes of numerous ethnic and/or restaurant specialization varieties. It's fun activities like parasailing, moonlight cruises, fishing cruises, visiting sea turtle hospitals, doing swims with dolphins, classic car exhibitions, seafood (shrimp, lobster festivals), and perhaps getting your arm bit off by feeding fish as follows (maximize the page):

girl almost gets her arm bit off by feeding fish in the keys youtube - Search Videos

Watch videos instantly on Bing—enjoy direct playback, discover related clips, and dive into trending content all in one place.

www.bing.com

New Smyrna Beach (not far away from Orlando) happens to be the "shark bite capital of the world". Why is that? Because there's a strong current inlet between New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet/Daytona Beach Shores/Daytona Beach island (great lighthouse in PI by the way...fun watching people climb the interior spiral stairway, get to the top, go outside, and freeze in total "fear of heights" panic). That strong current flushes all manner of baitfish into the inlet which, of course, attract sharks who are hungry for such baitfish. But it just so happens it's a rite of passage for 14 yo and 15 yo surfers to show their "manhood" by trying to surf the inlet. And as their legs are dangling into the water as they're sitting on their boards, sharks may nibble to see what they taste like. Apparently, sharks don't like the taste of humans but that tiny nibble may be cause for a thirty stitch wound.

As soon as kids in my party heard that, we had to watch to see what kid would get bit.

Sadly, we didn't have any "luck" although the whole scene was very entertaining: the surfer kids trying to show onlookers how nonchalant and cool they were, the actual surfing (although East Coast surfers definitely aren't California, Hawaii, or Australia surfers), and the performances by young kid onlookers declaring that they couldn't take it anymore, saying they wanted to surf, taking off their shirts and sneakers, marching down to the shoreline, and saying they were going to swim out to where the surfers were to ask them if they could use their boards.

And then of course there's the white sand, palm trees, and flowers everywhere which ain't too shabby.

 

[beejaybee]

Just opened RCI for the first time since the new design was launched. Awful!!
E.G. looking for HHI February next year and using the "Filter and Sort" on the right side of the screen was able to get to the area and select the # of bedrooms minimum for the search. Took a couple too many steps IMO. Finally found that even though the calendar appears all X'd out for the month, Saturday check-in dates show. However, each date must be clicked on individually which means going back and forth several times.
Have 11 TPUs leftover from 2 exchanges for this year and 36 TPUs from my late deposit for this year's PeeknPeak week that I want to use before RCI membership ends in June of 2027.

 

[b2bailey]

I had timeouts frequently before the changes and much less now since the changes. I like that all the fees are upfront and that you can remove the all-Inclusive resorts.

You can still set up more favorite searches and resorts.

Should it be faster? Absolutely, but considering the number of timeshares, timeshare systems and their various computer systems, it is amazing it works as well as it does. From what I have seen, many timeshares aren't exactly investing in the latest tech to speed up booking.

How to remove all-inclusive?

 

[WorldT]

How to remove all-inclusive?

That is one of the filter options in RCI and it is still there even with the new website. It is in the filter section with all the other options. Just look for the filter button.

 

[WorldT]

Just opened RCI for the first time since the new design was launched. Awful!!
E.G. looking for HHI February next year and using the "Filter and Sort" on the right side of the screen was able to get to the area and select the # of bedrooms minimum for the search. Took a couple too many steps IMO. Finally found that even though the calendar appears all X'd out for the month, Saturday check-in dates show. However, each date must be clicked on individually which means going back and forth several times.
Have 11 TPUs leftover from 2 exchanges for this year and 36 TPUs from my late deposit for this year's PeeknPeak week that I want to use before RCI membership ends in June of 2027.

I will disagree on this.

Step 1: From the home page you can enter the region or city you want (e.g: Cancun and Yucatan Peninsula), then enter the date range (all of January). The results will populate.

Step 2: Head over to the top right and select "filter and sort". This will open a menu with all the filtering options that previously existed. For me, I select non-AI, 2 bedrooms, and exchanges only. Then hit the big "view results button". Now you see the list of resorts that meet your criteria.

Step 3:
Select a resort you like and it automatically defaults to all availability showing you all available dates and rooms in your date range. It also shows the resort fees (this may be slightly off for resorts that charge based on the number of guests vs the number of rooms).
At this stage, you can go back into the filter button and add more filters if you like. Also, if you did not select the room size, you can use a room size search on this page without going back to the filter button. You can also look at the results on a calendar.
I typically prefer the calendar mode because in some resorts (eg Vidanta) all availability can be pretty long.

Is there room for improvement? Absolutely! However, I think it is far better than II and I also think it is better than the previous format. It also seems the website is faster. My biggest complain is not even the performance of the website, it is the ridiculous $300 exchange fee.

 

[jp10558]

I will disagree on this.


Is there room for improvement? Absolutely! However, I think it is far better than II and I also think it is better than the previous format. It also seems the website is faster. My biggest complain is not even the performance of the website, it is the ridiculous $300 exchange fee.

Yea, I'm left asking - compared to what? If you've tried to use Wyndham or HGVC mini-system sites or II's site - this is better for filtering than any of them IMHO. I think the biggest changes I'd propose are making the huge search bar at the top let you just type in a location, and yes, lowering the exchange fee.