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Long time DVC'er trying to navigate new-to-me RCI exchange potential

Swans5

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I watch DVC inventory in RCI and one bedrooms are often available at SSR from a few day out up to 3 months out (right now there are a pile of them on RCI) but lately we rarely see anything else. If you can travel almost anytime as you say then I expect you to be able to use these points for disney. The challenge is Disney can change what and how they deposit anytime and you could end up not being able to use these points.
We are lucky in having flexible travel schedules. Great point that the rules/habits for exchanges with Disney could change any time. All in all, after looking at reviews of the Wyn home resort, I think we could be happy there too, if that was all we could get. We like that part of Kauai a lot, and while the units get reviewed as compact and some need reno, neither of those are big turn-offs. In WDW I spend a ton of time in the rooms. In Hawai'i, it's all hikes and beaches.
The regional block would not affect Wyndham points currently and would be unlikely to in the future.
I did read about regional blocks, but I had no idea Wyndham points would not be affected. Eeeeeenteresting... Why is that, I wonder?
 

Dean

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We are lucky in having flexible travel schedules. Great point that the rules/habits for exchanges with Disney could change any time. All in all, after looking at reviews of the Wyn home resort, I think we could be happy there too, if that was all we could get. We like that part of Kauai a lot, and while the units get reviewed as compact and some need reno, neither of those are big turn-offs. In WDW I spend a ton of time in the rooms. In Hawai'i, it's all hikes and beaches.

I did read about regional blocks, but I had no idea Wyndham points would not be affected. Eeeeeenteresting... Why is that, I wonder?
To my knowledge none of the mini systems are affected by regional blocks including Worldmark, Windham and Bluegreen. I can’t answer for sure why but I suspect it’s because the points are not tied to a specific resort
 

djohn06

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Disney Hilton Head, Bay Lake Tower, Boardwalk and AKV
Vistana SBP and SVV
Harborside
WKV & WKORN
Bluegreen Harbor Lights
Wyndam Waikiki Beachwalk
Wyndam Great Smokey Mountains
Quarterhouse New Orleans
Laguna Surf
Marriott Monarch
I've purchased other timeshares with the hopes of trading into DVC via RCI. It is certainly cheaper than forking over 20k to get a 1 bedroom resale through Disney. It has worked for me, but over the past 3 or 4 years, there has been lots of changes to the RCI process.

1- The trade-in fee doubled. It used to be $95.
2- I used to get Boardwalk and Animal Kingdom Lodge 1 bedrooms. Now it's just SSR.
3- RCI tweaked the point totals year to year for units. So unlike Disney which is relatively steady, I've seen RCI increase the unit cost by 50 percent.

Just know that RCI has rapid changes and with Star Wars Land coming at the end of the year, who knows how many exchanges RCI will continue to do in the future.

However, I will say for a small investment on a monthly maint fee, as long as you are perfectly fine with staying at SSR, it is still worth trying.

Also, I am sure you will find a couple nice Wyndam resorts too that you like. Good luck! Let us know what you decide.

Lastly,the Wyndham fees are low, but they will Nickle and Dime you to death. Unlike DVC, they will charge you if change bookings after a few times. You also get cleaning credits too that you have to monitor. If you have several short stays, you may have to pay extra for cleaning. Lastly, points are use them or lose them (no banking).
 
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littlestar

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And also remember that one of the most important things about owning a timeshare is having an exit strategy. What you own today might be accepted by Wyndham Ovations, but not tomorrow. Depending on where your resort is deeded, there might be additional costs/hurdles to sell it if you cannot give it back through Ovations.
 

paxsarah

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Lastly, points are use them or lose them (no banking).

Ever since I've owned Wyndham, there's been a way to move points to a future year for a modest fee (previously the credit pool, now the points deposit feature).
 

djohn06

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Quarterhouse New Orleans
Laguna Surf
Marriott Monarch
Ever since I've owned Wyndham, there's been a way to move points to a future year for a modest fee (previously the credit pool, now the points deposit feature).

Ok I'm a newer Wyndam member so maybe I received incorrect info from their rep.

When I asked about moving Wyndham points to the following year, I was told I couldn't do that. My only option was a RCI deposit.

So you are saying I can pay a fee on unused Wyndam points and they will then go to my next user year instead of RCI?
 

Swans5

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Ever since I've owned Wyndham, there's been a way to move points to a future year for a modest fee (previously the credit pool, now the points deposit feature).
Related question: if you pay the fee and bank points into a future UY, can you ALSO then exchange into RCI?

Ie, can you bank 2019 points into 2020, and then in 2020 exchange into RCI where points would be usable 2020 until end of 2021?
 

paxsarah

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So you are saying I can pay a fee on unused Wyndam points and they will then go to my next user year instead of RCI?

Yes, the caveat being that for non-VIP it needs to be done in the first three months of the use year - whereas an RCI deposit can be made up until the last day. But for people who may already be planning 10 months out, that gives enough time to book the full year’s worth of vacations and dump whatever’s left into a future year.

Related question: if you pay the fee and bank points into a future UY, can you ALSO then exchange into RCI?

Ie, can you bank 2019 points into 2020, and then in 2020 exchange into RCI where points would be usable 2020 until end of 2021?

I’m not sure we know. The rules seem to imply not, because points that have been points deposited can’t be deposited a second time. But it doesn’t seem to be spelled out for RCI, and I don’t think I’ve seen a report from someone who’s tried.
 

drepublic

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Our MF is 4.42 (incl program fee), so ... $128/nt. Oh, wow. Yup, can't even get a value for that most times of the year! Okay, well this certainly gives me something to think about.

Last question (for now-lol!) Is there a fee to have an ongoing search with RCI? And thx so much for all the help.

I say all of the following as a Wyndham Owner who loves Disney.

As far as Wyndham maintenance fees go what you have is VERY LOW and would be attractive to many Wyndham Owners who don't need ARP booking and especially attractive to Wyndham owners who like to rent out their reservations. You have enough points to book a solid week at most Wyndham Resorts and get even more value traveling in non peak times.

For example Wyndham Bonnet Creek is popular with Wyndham Owners and it's inside the Disney Parks 2 miles down the road from Disney Springs. It also happens to be in a value season during Thanksgiving week. Here's what I have currently booked for this year:

1 Bedroom Presidential Unit for 7 nights (112,000 points)
2 two bedroom deluxe Thursday-Sunday (73,000 points)
2 two bedroom deluxe Thursday-Sunday (73,000 points)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Total point cost for 3 rooms: 258,000
Total Dollar Cost given your maintenance Fee Rate: $1,140.36 (258x4.42) for a large family to create memories over Thanksgiving Week.

Fridays and Saturdays always cost more points, but AVG Cost per night for the above rooms given your maintenance fees:

1 BR presidential for 1 week: $70.72/night
2 BR deluxe Thurs-Sun: $80.67/night

We have season passes at Universal Studios and we may or may not hit up a Disney park during this week. I do see trips to City Walk, Disney Springs, Universal Studios, Go Karts or whatever happening as my boys are 9 and 11.

You could look into renting booked reservations out and use profits towards Disney trips. Wyndham has several resorts across the US (many good beaches in including Clearwater where I own points with Wyndham). With the amount of points you have there you could book a few rooms at Wyndham's Bonnet Creek inside the Disney parks and shoulder your Disney Trips. On my next Disney Trip I'll plan on renting DVC points from an owner with ARP at Beachclub for a few nights and more than likely shoulder that trip with a beach trip or finish off the week in Orlando at Bonnet Creek heading to other Orlando attractions like Disney Water Parks or just hanging out int he pools/lazy river at Bonnet Creek.

It may be worth spending some time in the Wyndham Forums and asking this same question and looking at the points charts and locations you have access to. I see some of the regulars already commenting here.
 
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Swans5

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I say all of the following as a Wyndham Owner who loves Disney.

1 Bedroom Presidential Unit for 7 nights (112,000 points)
2 two bedroom deluxe Thursday-Sunday (73,000 points)
2 two bedroom deluxe Thursday-Sunday (73,000 points)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Total point cost for 3 rooms: 258,000
Total Dollar Cost given your maintenance Fee Rate: $1,140.36 (258x4.42) for a large family to create memories over Thanksgiving Week.

Fridays and Saturdays always cost more points, but AVG Cost per night for the above rooms given your maintenance fees:

1 BR presidential for 1 week: $70.72/night
2 BR deluxe Thurs-Sun: $80.67/night

It may be worth spending some time in the Wyndham Forums and asking this same question and looking at the points charts and locations you have access to. I see some of the regulars already commenting here.

Such terrific breakdowns! Thanks very much for that. I'm c/p'ing this into my info folder--lol! We are feeling very good about keeping the Bali Hai contract, esp now that Southwest has flights to . . . other Hawaiian islands--lolcry! But info like this is invaluable. Thx again.
 

drepublic

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Such terrific breakdowns! Thanks very much for that. I'm c/p'ing this into my info folder--lol! We are feeling very good about keeping the Bali Hai contract, esp now that Southwest has flights to . . . other Hawaiian islands--lolcry! But info like this is invaluable. Thx again.

Ah I figured it was a Bali Hai contract based on that maintenance fee level. That contract would not be hard for you to sell if you wanted to get rid of it. This forum is amazing by the way...lot's of good folks here have spend their time answering my questions, so feel free to ask away at Wyndham Forums if you want to know how to use the system better.

About the only other UDI contract that I am aware of that is lower than Bali Hai that is Canterbury in San Fran. I recently put together a chart for a thread in a Wyndham forum while researching low maintenance fee resorts and you can see how Bali Hai stacks up. Program fee can be 0.58 or .60 depending on type of contract. Right now my contract is 0.60 so I ran with that. This is obviously not a full list but this is a list I see many owning in the Wyndham Forums. Inside a 10 month window with Wyndham we like to use the phrase "Points are Points." So you could use the Bali Hai points anywhere, but if you wanted Bali Hai resort you could book it 13 months out. I made this chart to see how many points I would get per year per $1000 spent on maintenance.

UDI Points Comparison.png


With your point level, you could stay at Bonnett Creek or Panama City, or Destin, or Clearwater, or Myrtle Beach at nice Wyndham resorts in 2 Bedroom Deluxe Units (or 1 Bedroom Presidential Units) on peak times for at least 6 and maybe 7 nights depending on the resort and definitely spend 5 nights in 2 Bedroom Presidential Units with your point amount if you booked Sunday through Friday and if that were available at 10 months out. I just booked a 2 Bedroom presidential room at Clearwater for 300'ish and that included a weekend, but I could have booked it for 270,000 Sunday through Friday.

I almost pulled the trigger on a Bali Hai contract for low maintenance fee trips to for non ARP bookings or just to spend a winter week in Orlando (Thanksgiving or Christmas) just to get away, but decided to move on a resale contract at one of Wyndham's Myrtle Beach resorts for ARP booking (13 months out) and the maintenance fees are on par with Clearwater which is lower than what Wyndham typically pushes for new customers (CWA).

Also I have never intended on renting out my Wyndham points but once my family members in Florida (who are benefiting from the extra rooms I booked at Bonnet Creek in Thanksgiving later this year) realized what I had they started calling wanting to rent my points for short trips to Orlando. I recently put together this video for them as a preview of coming attractions. It is a 2 Bedroom Deluxe Unit at Tower 5 overlooking the heated lazy river. I'd be happy to rent my points to them and see an opportunity there, but my goals at this time are to use what I have to create memories....later in life I may revisit this.


The Flexibility of Wyndham is attractive, but their sales staff not so much (in the realm of customer service). Just unplug your phone upon arriving at a any Wyndham resort and you should be good to go.

I know I sound like a Wyndham fanboy, so I just want to be clear that if my intention is to visit a Disney Park for more than one consecutive day I will rent DVC points from an owner with ARP at a resort I love (Beachclub) as I am all about the "experience" and will pay for convenience of being on site. I really like the pools of Beachclub and that short walk to Epcot to be honest. I will visit Disney again when the Star Wars attractions open up at Hollywood Studios...and I may even wait until that new Star Wars hotel is built if I can even book it.
 

littlestar

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Would there be extra expenses for selling Wyndham points deeded in Hawaii? Just curious if you have to involve a lawyer or special title services.
 

Swans5

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Would there be extra expenses for selling Wyndham points deeded in Hawaii? Just curious if you have to involve a lawyer or special title services.
I don't know the answer to this. For us, our choice was between keeping or doing a deedback through Ovation, so selling didn't really enter in. But a few years down the road, who knows, so I'm curious what the answer is too.
 

Swans5

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Ah I figured it was a Bali Hai contract based on that maintenance fee level. That contract would not be hard for you to sell if you wanted to get rid of it. This forum is amazing by the way...lot's of good folks here have spend their time answering my questions, so feel free to ask away at Wyndham Forums if you want to know how to use the system better.

View attachment 10738
Yup! You were right!

Again, such cool information. Thank you so much! That chart is interesting. Those are names I have even started recognizing from going around various parts of these forums. I will definitely need to start hanging out in the Wyndham threads, lol!
 
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This is fairly on topic and would be something good for OP to know as well: How far out does one typically find a DVC week in RCI? The furthest out I've seen is 6 maybe 9 months. Or to rephrase it, when does DVC inventory get deposited into RCI? Right now there's a 1BR Boulder Ridge in Sept. available and 15 SSR including two 2BR weeks for this year.
 

Dean

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This is fairly on topic and would be something good for OP to know as well: How far out does one typically find a DVC week in RCI? The furthest out I've seen is 6 maybe 9 months. Or to rephrase it, when does DVC inventory get deposited into RCI? Right now there's a 1BR Boulder Ridge in Sept. available and 15 SSR including two 2BR weeks for this year.
Usually 6-7 months but they often filter in here and there thereafter.
 

famy27

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I own both DVC and Wyndham, and I use my Wyndham points mostly for DVC exchanges and also for some short stays in the Wisconsin Dells. I have had very good luck getting the weeks I want. This year, I got an exchange into SSR for the 4th of July. I've also done MLK weekend, spring break, and Thanksgiving through RCI, as well as lower demand weeks. As mentioned above, the only time I've been unsuccessful in exchanging has been October.

It is generally cheaper for me to exchange using my Wyndham points than it would be to use my DVC points. With your excellent low MFs, it would be even cheaper for you. If you end up not getting what you want, you could sell your contract easily. If I were in your shoes, I'd keep that contract.
 

Sandy VDH

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This year, I got an exchange into SSR for the 4th of July.

Perhaps you had that week or perhaps it was another. Glad to see a Tugger got that week if it was the one that I had. I had it on hold for my niece was she HAD to be back saturday and could not take the Sunday to Sunday dates available. So she opted for VIPP discounts at Wyndham instead.
 

rhonda

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Perhaps you had that week or perhaps it was another. Glad to see a Tugger got that week if it was the one that I had. I had it on hold for my niece was she HAD to be back saturday and could not take the Sunday to Sunday dates available. So she opted for VIPP discounts at Wyndham instead.
I had that June 30th check-in week on hold also but let it drop in favor of a later week that spanned a DVC Member event.
 

K Cain

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If you have DVC, do you need another RCI account if you have, say a Wyndham points property or can you use the RCI account paid for via DVC?
 

elaine

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DVC-RCI account is a portal only for DVC. Yes, you need another RCI account for non-DVC trades.
 

rickandcindy23

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If you have DVC, do you need another RCI account if you have, say a Wyndham points property or can you use the RCI account paid for via DVC?
Wyndham charges a fee in your MF's that covers RCI cost of membership. I assume you bought resale, for you to ask that, however. WorldMark accounts via resale don't get RCI membership included, for example. That is also managed by Wyndham.
 

bnoble

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DVC-RCI account is a portal only for DVC. Yes, you need another RCI account for non-DVC trades.
True, however:
if you have, say a Wyndham points property
Wyndham also provides you with a portal to use their points product (and it includes a straight Weeks account as well), paid for out of the program fee.
 

K Cain

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True, however:

Wyndham also provides you with a portal to use their points product (and it includes a straight Weeks account as well), paid for out of the program fee.
Ah, ok. Thanks!
 

K Cain

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Wyndham charges a fee in your MF's that covers RCI cost of membership. I assume you bought resale, for you to ask that, however. WorldMark accounts via resale don't get RCI membership included, for example. That is also managed by Wyndham.
Thanks! I haven't bought resale, yet. I'm trying to figure out the pieces before I do. I have DVC and Marriott, which I love. I was able to get my Marriott resale. I purchased DVC direct, before I discovered TUG. I haven't regretted the DVC purchase. I have a stupidly large family and we go on big vacations once in a while with each other, and can tolerate each other each year at a different place. I was thinking of adding an RCI property to the mix. I shopped around with Marriott and lurked on TUG forums before I agreed to be gifted a couple of Marriott Bronze weeks by a very generous colleague at work. My "crappy" Bronze weeks trade well, from my perspective, with II.
 
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