RCI Points?

[Bucky]

Not sure if this should be in this forum or not. Moderator please move to the correct forum if necessary.

After 12 years we are going to scale back a little on our timeshares since we do not desire to travel as much as we once did.

Our RCI points account is up for renewal next year and we will not be renewing it. Our other units more than cover our travel needs.

We currently have 144K points that must be used by August 31, 2015 or we will lose them. We have already made all of our travel plans for 2015 and will not be using these points.

What is the best way to recuperate at least our MF on these points? Never had to worry about this in the past because we always renewed our account and either used the points or rolled them over.

Appreciate any help.

 

[theo]

I'm confused...

Not sure if this should be in this forum or not. Moderator please move to the correct forum if necessary.

After 12 years we are going to scale back a little on our timeshares since we do not desire to travel as much as we once did.

Our RCI points account is up for renewal next year and we will not be renewing it. <snip>

Unless I'm mistaken, any RCI Points account (yours certainly included) is associated with underlying deeded week(s) somewhere.

Accordingly, how is "not renewing" your RCI Points account a wise choice for you if you still have ownership of the underlying deeded week(s) (and, of course, the week(s)' maintenance fee obligations) for said deeded week(s) --- but then without the associated points?

P.S. I ceratainly don't know anything at all about the identity or quality of your underlying deeded week(s), but if you fail to renew your RCI Points membership and thereby allow the Points ownership(s) to just revert back to their underlying deeded week(s) alone, if the underlying deeded week is maybe a "dog"week, aren't you then unnecessarily devaluing your ownership and potentially shooting yourself in the foot, just to save some money on RCI Points membership fees?

After all, your RCI Points ownership(s), whatever they may be, are surely worth more to you (and certainly to someone else later, if / when you try to sell) with the option to use either the points or the underlying deeded week(s), rather than be limited to just the underlying deeded week alone, no?

 

[tschwa2]

Theo, if you don't renew the points membership it would revert to the deeded week. If the OP doesn't have another weeks membership and wants to continue to exchange a weeks account would be needed.

 

[vacationhopeful]

If you are going to sell or giveaway the underlying weeks, it many be better to do that IF there is the RCI Points option available to the new buyer.

If you are ONLY going to use the underlying fixed week ... dumping the RCI Points option will save you $89 every 3rd year and the yearly RCI Points membership which comes with an included RCI Weeks membership.

If the ownership at your resort is WORTH MORE with a RCI points membership for HOME RESORT advantage & the $40 per exchange fee ... sell it intact.

RCI Points is hard for many owners to understand and value .... I love my RCI Points weeks and its options. But I ONLY get this at the resort I can use the HOME RESORT ADVANTAGE option.

 

[ampaholic]

Very good advice from Linda there.

I sometimes use one of my underlying to exchange in Platinum Interchange and have been very happy with the results there.

Most RCI Points enrolled units can be "dis-enrolled" either for one year or permanently at no cost, even if you are keeping your RCI Points membership.

When you drop your RCI Points membership be sure to let your unit's management know not to continue to automatically deposit your week into RCI Points or you may loose some weeks.

 

[Coach Boon]

How does one buy RCI points with an underlying deed

Hi All,

I've been searching TUG trying to inform myself of this question - I have a week deeded property but would like the flexibility of points, how does one go about it and what are the pitfalls? My resort is weeks only but often I find difficulty trading into other weeks and some RCI point members have access to resorts in my world but I don't have access to resorts in theirs.

I apologize if I'm stepping in the wrong box here but it is the most current thread I could find on this topic and I'm hoping some of the more experienced members on this thread could help me or point me in the right direction.

Thanks

Kevin

 

[elaine]

in most cases, you can only convert an underlying deed to RCI points via the resort. You cannot just call up RCI and say please convert it. Many resorts charge a large fee for conversion, upwards of $1000+.

for OP--you can transfer your RCI points to someone.

 

[theo]

Another $0.02 worth...

in most cases, you can only convert an underlying deed to RCI points via the resort. You cannot just call up RCI and say please convert it. Many resorts charge a large fee for conversion, upwards of $1000+.

"Conversion" is not always even an available option at all, cost aside (conversion cost is closer to $2,800+ at all of the places with which I'm familiar). It's an individual resort decision; a "weeks only" resort is exactly that --- weeks only, with no RCI Points ownerships (as are all of my particular ownerships --- at least at present).

Coach Boon: If you are bound and determined to get into RCI Points and are willing to take on an additional annual maintenance fee, you might actually be better off finding an existing RCI Points ownership somewhere at very low cost (eBay, for example) with reasonable maintenance fees (GrandView, in Las Vegas often appears as a suggestion in such discussions), rather than convert a week which you currently own (...if it's even "convertible" at all in the first place). This is particularly true if the deeded week which you currently own is a decent one which you like and use, "as is". You probably wouldn't want to "convert" such a week to RCI Points (if it's even an option at all), unless you're willing to thereafter have to overtly "reserve" your own week each year --- which you would have to do if you converted an existing deeded week over to RCI Points and which you don't ever have to do while a deeded fixed week remains "unconverted" to RCI Points. Just thinking "out loud" here if it helps.

Your call and decision, in the final analysis. Good luck whichever way you go.

 

[Passepartout]

Kevin, if I understand your question, it seems you want to convert the deeded week you now to RCI Points. Not possible. Some resorts are changing over by doing this, but it's waaaay too expensive. The only reason they are doing it is to (a) increase profits, (b) sell more weeks (c) be able to charge full MFs to owners during 'mud' weeks by telling them they can simply go somewhere more desirable.

The least expensive way to get RCI Points is to buy one that's already been converted on eBay (or TUG Marketplace/Bargain Deals) for small cost. The resorts are charging around $3,000 for just the conversion. The thing you want to be conscious of is the cost-per-point-per MF. We feeel that about a penny a year per point is about right. Some cost a little less, and some cost as much as 50% more. In other words, 50,000 Points should have a MF of around $500.

If this wasn't your question, try again.

Jim

 

[ampaholic]

As Jim and Theo have said you can usuallly buy a decent "already converted" RCI Points unit on eBay or the marketplace here for 1/5 to 1/10 the cost of paying your resort to convert your weeks unit to RCI Points (if that is even possible).

You can usually either sell/give away your weeks unit (if you don't want it) here or you can keep it if it is a weeks only resort and once you "also" own a Points unit you can PFD your week into your "Points" account.

I'm not an expert on Point For Deposit (PFD) - but someone will come along and let you know the ins and out of that if that's what you want to do.

 

[Coach Boon]

Hi Jim, (and thanks to others).

My apology on not being clear enough. I don't plan on converting my deeded week to points even if it is possible. What I had found in my search was that one could pay extra for RCI points membership and use my weeks to convert to points not TPU's although that would still be available. I'd have to carry a 2nd membership but that would be ok. To be honest, the thread on this point wasn't clear to me hence my question to begin with.

Based on everyone's input .... in order to get points, I'd have to find a cheapie deal on Ebay or on TUG, be aware of the maintenance fees associated with the potential purchase - points only of course and go from there. This way I'd have a weeks and points maintenance fees to worry about.

Does that sound about right?

Thanks again,

Kevin

 

[Free2Roam]

If you want to minimize annual fees, look for a biennial or triennial points ownership. Keep in mind that if your weeks resort ever decides to go the RCI Points route you will no longer be able to deposit your week for points.

Also know that you get an RCI Weeks account with your paid RCI Points account.

 

[theo]

Not quite...

.... in order to get points, I'd have to find a cheapie deal on Ebay or on TUG, be aware of the maintenance fees associated with the potential purchase - points only of course and go from there. This way I'd have a weeks and points maintenance fees to worry about.

Does that sound about right?

Not quite. With RCI, there are really no "points only" ownerships, per se. There is still always an underlying, deeded week lurking quietly somewhere in the background, although it may be an off season, low demand week of little or no resale value without it having RCI Points also attached to it.

There are "just points" ownerships in other systems (e.g., Wyndham), but if you are exclusively addressing RCI Points, which seems to be the case here, there is (afaik) always an underlying deeded week involved, whether it's good or bad and whether or not it's a week that you would ever want to actually reserve and use.

Some resorts have adopted this "conversion" option to RCI Points in order to 1.) simply extract some more cash from people who already own their weeks and 2). impart some "value" (i.e. the RCI Points) and marketability to "dog" weeks which otherwise generate no interest, have no inherent value and remain HOA owned indefinitely, with no one paying any maintenance fees on them until resold. Dressing up such weeks up with RCI Points is a way to get a new mf paying owner on the hook even for such "dog" weeks, by "putting a tuxedo on a toad" (the Points being the tuxedo, the underlying dog week being the toad). If you put that analogy completely aside and just look at this as "points are points, in the final analysis", the desirability or demand of the underlying deeded week doesn't even really matter --- what really matters is the ongoing maintenance fees "cost" for the particular amount of RCI Points assigned.

 

[vacationhopeful]

...There are certainly "just points" ownerships in other systems (Wyndham comes to mind, for example), but if you are exclusively addressing RCI Points, which seems to be the case, there is afaik always an underlying deeded week involved (whether it's a good or bad week and whether or not it's one you would ever want to use).

....

With a Wyndham points membership, the resale points ownership comes ONLY with an RCI Weeks exchange option. Buy from Wyndham, you get both RCI weeks and RCI points exchange options.

As for understanding RCI Points (which I love mine)... my RCI points deeds are at The Ft Lauderdale Beach Resort. I also own fixed weeks which are NOT in RCI points at the same resort. Great to rebook back into MY HOME RESORT for a $40 exchange fee. So some weeks I sleep in my Fixed Week units and other weeks, I am sleeping in MY exchanged into RCI Points units (costing only $40 a week MORE than my deeded units).

Plus, I use those RCI Points to get DVC reservations, Hilton Club on NY, --- yes, I have to pay the full exchange fee ... but those are GREAT PLACES to visit.

 

[Coach Boon]

@theo - great explanation of all the booby traps. I was aware of putting the lipstick on the pig (you like toads also works for me) to squeeze more $$$ out of unsuspecting owners.

@Vacationhopeful - can you explain how you have RCI points with Wyndham. Wyndham owns RCI but has it's own resorts. I want to keep my deeded week and it's not going the points route but like you said, having points allows you into the Hilton's of this world which is a nice trade in. So can I assume you simply purchased points in the Wyndham world directly or via TUGS or Ebay etc...?

One always learns something new on TUGS doesn't one?

Kevin

 

[bobpark56]

Always be careful when saying "always."

Not quite. With RCI, there are really no "points only" ownerships, per se. There is still always an underlying, deeded week lurking quietly somewhere in the background, although it may be an off season, low demand week of little or no resale value without it having RCI Points also attached to it. <snip>

Does your always always mean always?

To the best of my knowledge, our annual 35,750 RCI points have no tie to any deeded week. We receive them as part of the contract we signed with Sandos Caracol in 2008. Using these points detracts in no way from our other uses of our Sandos ownership.

 

[theo]

Does your always always mean always?

To the best of my knowledge, our annual 35,750 RCI points have no tie to any deeded week. We receive them as part of the contract we signed with Sandos Caracol in 2008. Using these points detracts in no way from our other uses of our Sandos ownership.

Let me then say "'99+% of the time" instead of "'always". I admittedly have no knowledge of practices in Spain (...assuming that is where Sandos Caracol is located) and / or where those RCI Points to which you make reference may have originated in the first place (...and / or what any associated fees might possibly be).

Perhaps I should have instead more precisely stated that I've never heard of RCI Points ownerships in the USA (where both the OP and Coach Boon both own) which are not also directly tied to an underlying deeded week. Even with that observation, I'm certainly ready and willing to be enlightened or corrected, if somehow mistaken.

You inadvertently make a valid point that there are precious few absolutes that can be be safely proclaimed out into the rarefied air of Planet Timeshare.

 

[ampaholic]

I also used to have some "added" points.

I purchased a Florida unit on eBay that came with 85,000 points per year - little did I know until I went to sell it a few years later that it's "inherent" RCI Points value was 35,000 (it was a mud week) and the "added" points were from a 10 year contract signed between the management (Legacy) and the previous owners at a cost of 10,000 clams.

Well in the end my lawyer got me out of that one.

But, RCI Points can be "manufactured" by the resorts - and apparently RCI is OK with that, I am not privy to the bookkeeping involved, but it might be possible for the resort to sell points to a person why owns a completely different non point unit.

Or perhaps they are recycling points that expire