trading power varies based on a secret formula. My best guess is they pay more if they need what you have, and pay less if they dont, Also they pay more for an early deposit than a late deposit
The RCI exchange fee (and their other fees) are creeping up every year. its over $200 now, which is almost as much as maintenance fees in some cases
I think the old tried and true advice is still good. Buy where you want to go and close to home. And plan to use it most of the time. For me that would be a triennial, 3 bedroom lockoff at Vacation Village at Parkway. MF was, last time I looked, under $800 every 3 years. Its within a 3 hour drive from my home They accept dogs, and you can deposit it as 2 one bedrooms. Vacation Village is a big place with lots of RCI availability and deep discounts close to check in. Oh and you get a discount on the deposit fee when you trade back into the Vacation Village family of resorts. The TPUs I get for a deposit and the TPUs required for a reservation are not the most important thing. Whats important is the spread. I A vacation Village week like I owned got 40 TPU on deposit, and one bedroom weeks were often available on RCI close to check in for 5 TPU.. So deposit my one week every 3 years for 40 TPU and get 8 weeks in trade,
Im sure that there are much better deals out there, and you may not live close to a Vacation Village resort. but concentrating on a resort close to home that I actually wanted to visit worked for me