If one were to deposit 3 months before checkin-better trading power with RCI or II?

[mlsmn]

This would be for a small 1 bedroom Sheraton Desert Oasis, Scottsdale.

 

[lprstn]

I would say RCI, as you would have more resorts to chose from. Just do it quickly.

 

[johnmfaeth]

Both are a complete waste in my opinion with such a late deposit. I would instead do a rental via craigslist or redweek.com, even if at a discounted price. That deposit will trade poorly, better to get the cash towards a future rental rather than pay exchange fees for junk.

 

[Piper]

Both are a complete waste in my opinion with such a late deposit. I would instead do a rental via craigslist or redweek.com, even if at a discounted price. That deposit will trade poorly, better to get the cash towards a future rental rather than pay exchange fees for junk.

I'm still pretty new to all this and would love some clarification. If you deposit 3 months before check in, is your trading power reduced because you are so late requesting another resort? Couldn't you deposit the time and then look for something much more in the future to use instead?

 

[JudyS]

I'm still pretty new to all this and would love some clarification. If you deposit 3 months before check in, is your trading power reduced because you are so late requesting another resort? Couldn't you deposit the time and then look for something much more in the future to use instead?

Exchange companies want lots of time to find someone to take your deposit before the check-in date passes and the week no longer exists. So, they generally would like you to deposit your week a full year before check-in. The closer it is to check-in, the more trouble they will have finding someone who wants that week, and therefore, the less trade power they will give you. How far in the future you want to travel is largely irrelevant; what matters is the amount of time before check-in for your deposit.

That said, I have gotten good trades in II with deposits made only about 4 months before check-in. I feel that II penalizes late deposits far less than does RCI. Furthermore, I generally get better trades in II to start with. Also, this week should get a valuable "Starwood preference" reservation window in II. Last but certainly not least, you can check and see what II will offer you for this week, before you deposit it. You can't do that with RCI. So, I'd go ahead and try to deposit this into II, but check first to see what II is offering in trade.

Bear in mind that it can take several weeks for you to set up an II account and get your resort added to it. If you can't deposit 60 days or more out, II will consider it a late ("Flexchange") deposit and put severe restrictions on trading it.