Have HGVC, thinking of getting RCI points too

[kevreh]

It seems like a bit of a hassle to convert HGVC points to RCI. Also heard its not always best to go from HGVC > RCI. Is there a bennefit to just buying RCI? Granted, considering the quality level of Hilton we would probably only want Gold Crown RCI locations.

Anyone else do this, or is it better to just use the RCI exchange from the Hilton site?

 

[CalGalTraveler]

IMO...I don't find RCI resorts to be the same quality as HGVC. If you are fine with 3.5 star quality, then buying RCI points would likely be more cost effective than buying HGVC if that is your goal. Trading RCI back into HGVC or Disney may not be as economical as it was in the past because of the rising exchange and resort fees.

 

[Talent312]

It seems like a bit of a hassle to convert HGVC points to RCI.

I don't understand that statement. It's far from being any kind of "hassle." You just find a unit you want, confirm your stay, and poof, the points disappear... It's on a par with booking HGVC and darn near hotel-like booking. One of HGVC's better attributes.

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[kevreh]

Ok, point taken. Guess the other thing I was wondering was if people coming from the HGVC site have the same access to RCI resorts as people with RCI points and using the RCI portal directly. One quick example, RCI lists a number of the Disney resorts that don't come up when doing a HGVC/RCI search. The only Disney resort that comes up is Saratoga. Is that because Disney isn't sharing them with RCI, or RCI isn't sharing with HGVC?

 

[bizaro86]

Disney isn't depositing many resorts any more. Basically just Saratoga and the odd old key west.

 

[SmithOp]

With any RCI account its best to use Ongoing Search (OGS) if you want the good stuff, online searches are leftovers.

There is a free studio timeshare being given away in Bargain Deals forum right now, low mf and trades with RCI or Interval. IMO it would be a great addition to someone with HGVC only. It would give you access to both of the exchange systems.


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[Talent312]

Now that Disney has started charging non-DVC owners for resort parking, I'm not sure I would book there anyway. I have enjoyed several other RCI exchanges booked thru HGVC -- California, NYC, South Florida, Cancun, Jamaica...

That said, it has been reported that HGVC uses a quality filter of sorts; thus, there are some TS's that show up for RCI members but not HGVC members, and a few omissions reported that ought not to be. So, for that reason alone, there may be some utility in having a separate RCI account.
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[rickandcindy23]

Now that Disney has started charging non-DVC owners for resort parking, I'm not sure I would book there anyway. I have enjoyed several other RCI exchanges booked thru HGVC -- California, NYC, South Florida, Cancun, Jamaica...

That said, it has been reported that HGVC uses a quality filter of sorts; thus, there are some TS's that show up for RCI members but not HGVC members, and a few omissions reported that ought not to be. So, for that reason alone, there may be some utility in having a separate RCI account.
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Are you sure Disney is charging exchangers for parking? I know Disney charges $190 for concierge services, which is not too bad for a one bedroom unit that sleeps four people and gets magic bands and transportation, but I don't see any information on my exchange that states I will be charged for parking.

 

[rickandcindy23]

With any RCI account its best to use Ongoing Search (OGS) if you want the good stuff, online searches are leftovers.

There is a free studio timeshare being given away in Bargain Deals forum right now, low mf and trades with RCI or Interval. IMO it would be a great addition to someone with HGVC only. It would give you access to both of the exchange systems.


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Unfortunately, I don't think you can add a week to an HGVC membership, so a new RCI membership with all of the fees that entails would be costly.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

If you want access to RCI cash getaways and last minute deals, you can call via the HGVC RCI call center (kind of a pain for search).

or you could pay $99 to join RCI to see these online and simply list your HGVC timeshare on the field that asks for the timeshare. Worth a try. I'll bet RCI will take your money. You can search without depositing I believe.

FWIW...Some bloggers have reported joining RCI and listing an RCI timeshare they don't own in the field to get access to cash reservations. Apparently, RCI doesn't check. I am not advocating this tho. You can list your HGVC because you are a card carrying timeshare owner.

 

[Talent312]

Are you sure Disney is charging exchangers for parking? I know Disney charges $190 for concierge services, which is not too bad for a one bedroom unit that sleeps four people and gets magic bands and transportation, but I don't see any information on my exchange that states I will be charged for parking.

There was a whole thread on the subject and I didn't read it to the end.
Apparently, the bottom line is this:
"RCI inbound exchanges are NOT charged the parking fee, so it seems
as though you do not need to be DVC as well to get free parking."

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[Cyberc]

I own RCI points too and at least to me it’s a great addition to my hgvc membership.

I rarely use my hgvc account to anything in RCI except for hgvc nyc and Disney. Since I just became an owner of West 57 I guess it’s onyl Disney which I will trade into now.

My RCI points account on the other hand is used for a variety of exchanges in Europe etc because it’s a better use and value to us.

Sometimes I also booked Disney with my RCI points as RCI sometimes have a sale so I got away paying approx 35.000 points for a week. That’s approx $200 in MF plus $199 in exchange fees and plus the resort fee of $190. Just shy of $600 for a week that’s a good deal to me.