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10% Discount on RCI Exchange fee through 6/3/2023

escanoe

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This currently shows up as a promotion on both my RCI Points and RCI Weeks Account. Only for travel taking place through the end of 2023.

Based on clicking through, it looks like it will actually give it to me on the RCI Points account. It did not look like it would give it to me when clicking through on RCI Weeks. YMMV
 

Patri

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I have a weeks account and I got it too.
 

Luanne

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And you have to book by tomorrow.

10% Off The Exchange Fee
Book by 6/3/23 and save on your next exchange when you travel by 12/31/23.
 

escanoe

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escanoe

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I take all the odd ball promotions discounting exchange fees (for both direct RCI customers and mini system portals) as a tacit admission they jacked up exchange fees too quickly and are having to run promotions to keep the inventory going out the door.
 

jp10558

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I take all the odd ball promotions discounting exchange fees (for both direct RCI customers and mini system portals) as a tacit admission they jacked up exchange fees too quickly and are having to run promotions to keep the inventory going out the door.
Honestly, I don't actually get what their fee is even for with a membership fee and it being all online. It's just that for a lot of people, it's the only choice (i.e. both HGVC and Wyndham only use RCI as far as I can tell) and so you pay the fee if you want to use it. But it's got to be all profit at this point.
 

escanoe

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Honestly, I don't actually get what their fee is even for with a membership fee and it being all online. It's just that for a lot of people, it's the only choice (i.e. both HGVC and Wyndham only use RCI as far as I can tell) and so you pay the fee if you want to use it. But it's got to be all profit at this point.
I started off thinking exactly what you do. And there certainly should be an element of truth to it. But I expect their costs may be higher than you think. For us informed users, it should entirely be an online system. But they still do a world of business calling people up on the phone to book exchanges. It has to be a significant part of their costs. DRI (before HGVC bought them) built their own all digital exchange (DeX) where DRI created the consumer facing exchange and it ran on RCI on the back side of the portal. I believe it charges $149 per exchange, and RCI and presumably DRI are not losing money on that. So just digitizing it that much could reduce exchange fees to $149.

But lack of competition also keeps them fat and lazy instead of innovating to save costs. Every single time I book an exchange on RCI or set up an OGS, it asks me to opt in or opt out of their text messaging service. I always get a text confirming I have opted in. FOR YEARS, I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN ANY FURTHER TEXT MESSAGE ... INCLUDING ONE TELLING ME I HAVE A MATCH. But if you don't opt out of phone calls, they WILL MOST CERTAINLY CALL YOU ON THE PHONE TO GET YOU TO MATCH OR MAKE OTHER PLANS.

Why in the world have they half-implemented (but not completed) a texting system that would save them who knows how much on phone calls? Answer: there is no competition to have affordable costs or build a more efficient system.

I will also acknowledge their exchange fee had been flat for a few years before COVID. Dring COVID, they were running a real backlog on processing cancellations and refunds. It appeared to be staff intensive on the backend. They have been jacking fees up constantly since that started.

What I wish they would offer is something like a more expensive platinum level that came with something like free exchanges or unlimited $50 exchanges.
 

jp10558

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I guess I think they should offer different prices if you're doing it online or by phone... Plenty of places do that, and I imagine everyone using the online system would prefer the $150 price lol. Then again, it's not like they're losing business. Though I am surprised they're not pressured more by the mini-systems like HGVC and Blugreen etc cutting out at least "in network" exchanges.
 

escanoe

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I guess I think they should offer different prices if you're doing it online or by phone...

Neither RCI nor II would do that unless competition forced them to do it. If one did, the other would almost have to do it. But they have a good thing going in what is basically a duopoly. Any exchange starts to grow to become a competitor, one of their parent companies will buy it.
 
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