Advice for RCI exchange

[tidegirl]

Hi. I have been reading here off and on for a while. I wish I had found the forum while I was in my rescind period but such is life. I have 238,000 odd year points.

I have used RCI for last call, but I am wanting to exchange points to them for the first time and would like to make sure I don't screw it up LOL. I want to use points for Key West. I will have to do an ongoing search for this since it is such a hot area. We are open to pretty much any time as long as I have at least about 6 weeks notice to request the time off.

So I am planning to deposit the points I will need as soon as they are available and start an ongoing search for I guess about a year time frame. I spoke with RCI a while back and they suggested it is better to have the points in your account so if the week becomes available you don't lose it waiting for the points to transfer.

Is there anything else I am missing or that I need to know? Do I stand a decent chance of getting Key West since we will be wide open on our dates? I love my Wyndham points but dang, you practically need a degree in vacationing when you first get started. Just wanna make sure I don't have any missteps with RCI.

Oh, and if anyone has opinions on the two Key West resorts I would love input.

 

[Eric B]

I haven't seen Key West show up all that often in RCI; it has once or twice in the last few years, but on fairly short notice. If you do go that route, it would be good to have a backup plan.

The downside of RCI exchanges is you can't rent them or trade on other exchanges, so depositing points in RCI is pretty much a one way thing. There are other exchanges that will accept Wyndham deposits if you book a week at a specific resort; I use SFX when I have extra Wyndham points I'm not planning on using myself and get bonus weeks as well. Some Wyndham resorts also have arrangements with TPI, too. I've done well with RCI exchanges, but haven't gone done that path with my Wyndham points.

 

[ronandjoan]

I haven't seen Key West show up all that often in RCI; it has once or twice in the last few years, but on fairly short notice. If you do go that route, it would be good to have a backup plan.

The downside of RCI exchanges is you can't rent them or trade on other exchanges, so depositing points in RCI is pretty much a one way thing. There are other exchanges that will accept Wyndham deposits if you book a week at a specific resort; I use SFX when I have extra Wyndham points I'm not planning on using myself and get bonus weeks as well. Some Wyndham resorts also have arrangements with TPI, too. I've done well with RCI exchanges, but haven't gone done that path with my Wyndham points.

Key west is very hard to get, I would think SFX might be a better possibility, but you might need to wait a year or more...just be prepared for it. and meanwhile, go somewhere else and enjoy your new ownership.

 

[paxsarah]

I'll just mention that having points deposited if you're mainly relying on an ongoing search is not necessary, as you get something like 2-3 days to confirm an OGS hold which is ample time to deposit the points and confirm the exchange. It's only if you see an exchange sitting out in inventory that you might get stuck.

 

[tidegirl]

Wow, I hadn't heard of SFX, didn't even know additional exchange companies was an option. They do have a few more options. I checked out their site, but I can't find how much it costs to exchange with them?

I am definitely willing to wait, planning on opening a long search and take whenever I can get. We are Florida natives so the heat doesn't bother us, and no kids so our only restriction is 6 weeks or so notice to request the time off.

ETA: One more question... My next points aren't available until Jan '19 and I just learned that they became available for exchange today. Would these also be available for exchange to SFX?

 

[Eric B]

Costs are hinted at here: https://www.sfxresorts.com/assets/images/sfx-membership-programs-0007.png.

They have quality and size upgrade fees depending on what you do. They don’t accept points; you have to book a week and provide the email confirmation to them. Probably best of speaking with them first to see what Wyndham resorts they accept/prefer and give the best bonuses for.

 

[patwerner1]

Hi. I have been reading here off and on for a while. I wish I had found the forum while I was in my rescind period but such is life. I have 238,000 odd year points.

I have used RCI for last call, but I am wanting to exchange points to them for the first time and would like to make sure I don't screw it up LOL. I want to use points for Key West. I will have to do an ongoing search for this since it is such a hot area. We are open to pretty much any time as long as I have at least about 6 weeks notice to request the time off.

So I am planning to deposit the points I will need as soon as they are available and start an ongoing search for I guess about a year time frame. I spoke with RCI a while back and they suggested it is better to have the points in your account so if the week becomes available you don't lose it waiting for the points to transfer.

Is there anything else I am missing or that I need to know? Do I stand a decent chance of getting Key West since we will be wide open on our dates? I love my Wyndham points but dang, you practically need a degree in vacationing when you first get started. Just wanna make sure I don't have any missteps with RCI.

Oh, and if anyone has opinions on the two Key West resorts I would love input.

I have used the RCI exchange several times in the past - when I have booked the points were pulled from my account without problem. THEN last year I had some points in the pool (which has since been removed - but I have points there until 2020). My 2017 points were at 0 - my exchange was for 2018. The points were pulled from my pooled points. It took 3 months and several phone calls - and I finally got the points deposited back in the pool.
In planning for 2019 I realized that I would have 58K points left over in 2018 - so I went to the online system and requested a deposit to RCI exchange from y 2018 points. I found the unit I wanted and put it on hold. Well - I had to use the pooled points to confirm it because my 55K points were delayed. Come to find out - they would have been pulled from the 2018 points anyway - made me a little angry that I did not realize that - but it will be alright (no - not what I wanted but can manage)
Well - 8 days later - and my points have gone off into neverland.
First I was told that it takes 48 hours
then I was told it takes 2 'business' days (ok that is somewhere in the confirmation I clicked but did not see)
then I was told the first day (Friday) did not count in the 2 days
Called back on Wednesday - and was told the points were used for the hold reservation (no they were not)
THEN a ticket was opened to find my missing points - and I WILL hear back in a week.

Just want to make sure you set your expectations when you do decide to make the RCI exchange - I hope my points show up before October when I need to use them for 2019!

 

[tidegirl]

What a nightmare! I hope they get things straightened out quickly. Thanks for the warning!

 

[Free2Roam]

<snip> THEN last year I had some points in the pool (which has since been removed - but I have points there until 2020). My 2017 points were at 0 - my exchange was for 2018. The points were pulled from my pooled points.

What's interesting is that pooled points were not eligible for RCI deposits... or am I remembering that wrong?

 

[paxsarah]

What's interesting is that pooled points were not eligible for RCI deposits... or am I remembering that wrong?

No, you're remembering that correctly. I only have pooled points left in 2018, and prior to March 1 I was unable to deposit points to RCI (unless I rented them from Wyndham) because I didn't have any regular UY points.

 

[patwerner1]

What's interesting is that pooled points were not eligible for RCI deposits... or am I remembering that wrong?

I am not sure if it changed at any time - but EVERY person that I had on the phone said that 'pooled points are not available for RCI exchanges - since I could see on my points history that the points were taken from the 'May 2017-May 2020' points - needless to say each phone person did not have an answer!

 

[Braindead]

I am not sure if it changed at any time - but EVERY person that I had on the phone said that 'pooled points are not available for RCI exchanges - since I could see on my points history that the points were taken from the 'May 2017-May 2020' points - needless to say each phone person did not have an answer!

Points are blind as far as use. Your allocation of points for RCI probably went down.
Just like credit pool points can be used for ARP reservations but your ARP allocation will be reduced as if the points came from that use year points.

 

[paxsarah]

Points are blind as far as use. Your allocation of points for RCI probably went down.
Just like credit pool points can be used for ARP reservations but your ARP allocation will be reduced as if the points came from that use year points.

This is inaccurate as far as legacy pooled points and RCI deposits. As I stated above, prior to 3/1, I was unable to deposit any points to RCI without renting. This is even though I would have had 10,500 available based on allocation, as I have 70k pooled points but no 2018 UY points available. Legacy pooled points are not working for RCI deposits the way they do for ARP.

 

[Braindead]

I am not sure if it changed at any time - but EVERY person that I had on the phone said that 'pooled points are not available for RCI exchanges - since I could see on my points history that the points were taken from the 'May 2017-May 2020' points - needless to say each phone person did not have an answer!

This is inaccurate as far as legacy pooled points and RCI deposits. As I stated above, prior to 3/1, I was unable to deposit any points to RCI without renting. This is even though I would have had 10,500 available based on allocation, as I have 70k pooled points but no 2018 UY points available. Legacy pooled points are not working for RCI deposits the way they do for ARP.

The eligible timeframe doesn’t change it’s still March 1. That’s the only way I can see how patwerner1 was able to deposit credit pool points into RCI
How else could of that happened?

 

[paxsarah]

The eligible timeframe doesn’t change it’s still March 1. That’s the only way I can see how patwerner1 was able to deposit credit pool points into RCI
How else could of that happened?

Although it wasn't entirely clear from their explanation, it sounds to me like the pooled points were were automatically pulled directly from patwerner1's account to cover a held exchange in RCI, versus having been manually deposited. I've never had the points for an exchange be pulled from Wyndham to RCI (is that a VIP benefit?) - I've only ever manually deposited them on the Wyndham website. I assume that's the difference. But I can confirm that in doing it manually, the limitation on depositing pooled points is still there. It does not behave like ARP has since the change to the new site.

All I can say is that from the point that I tied up all of my 2018 points allocation until 3/1/18 (when my 2019 points became available to deposit), Wyndham showed 0 points available to deposit to RCI even though I currently have credit pool points available and per my UY allocation, I should still have been able to deposit 10,500 to RCI. I can't speak to whether this will have any bearing on the new points deposit feature, and I can't speak to whether when the system automatically pulls points from Wyndham to RCI it behaves differently, but I can speak to the fact that when manually depositing points to RCI that credit pool points are disallowed.

 

[Braindead]

Not sure I understand what your saying. If all of your 2018 points are tied up how would you have any allocation left for a RCI deposit ?
There is so many inconsistencies with Voyager it’s hard to figure things out. It will be simpler ounce the old school credit pool points are gone.
Until then it’s anyones guess

 

[paxsarah]

Not sure I understand what your saying. If all of your 2018 points are tied up how would you have any allocation left for a RCI deposit ?
There is so many inconsistencies with Voyager it’s hard to figure things out. It will be simpler ounce the old school credit pool points are gone.
Until then it’s anyones guess

Here's the rundown. My regular UY points allocation for 2018 is 115,500 points. (We own some EOY contracts so our odd years are high, even years low.) We also have some points in the credit pool expiring in 2019. In 2017 soon after the rollout of the new system, I deposited 105,000 of our 2018 points into RCI, then made a 2018 standard window reservation within Wyndham that used up the remaining 10,500 regular UY points and some but not all of our credit pooled points.

So. I have credit pooled points available to me right now anytime through late 2019. If we're going by allocations, I should be able to deposit 10,500 of those points into RCI right now, but I can't. The reason I brought up the 3/1 date is because now obviously I can deposit all of my 2019 points to RCI as well, but prior to 3/1 I could not, but neither could I deposit that 10,500. But - I could use those credit pooled points for ARP, because I hadn't used any of my ARP allocation. So basically, legacy credit pooled points behave in the old "bucket" way for deposits to RCI, but in the new "allocation" way regarding ARP. I agree that this weirdness should clear itself up once the legacy credit pooled points get used up by the owners who still have them.

 

[north]

When you are VIP, you don't need to deposit points to RCI before making a RCI reservation. When you log in to RCI and look at available points, it will show you both your deposited points as well as the regular Wyndham points that are in the right time frame for RCI deposits. For some reason, this include the credit pooled points. If I go to the Wyndham web site to deposit points to RCI, those credit pooled points are not available.

The last RCI reservation I made, ended up using credit pooled points. The RCI system takes the points from the use year with the earliest expiration date, which in my case happened to be credit pooled points, when you don't have enough deposited points in RCI.

 

[Eric B]

When you are VIP, you don't need to deposit points to RCI before making a RCI reservation. When you log in to RCI and look at available points, it will show you both your deposited points as well as the regular Wyndham points that are in the right time frame for RCI deposits. For some reason, this include the credit pooled points. If I go to the Wyndham web site to deposit points to RCI, those credit pooled points are not available.

The last RCI reservation I made, ended up using credit pooled points. The RCI system takes the points from the use year with the earliest expiration date, which in my case happened to be credit pooled points, when you don't have enough deposited points in RCI.

OP has 238,000 odd year points, so isn’t a VIP.

 

[paxsarah]

OP has 238,000 odd year points, so isn’t a VIP.

But we had moved on to discussing the behavior of patwerner1's points a few posts later, not the OP's. From their description, it certainly sounds like they utilized the VIP benefit of allowing points to be pulled directly from Wyndham rather than manually making the deposit. And so it sounds like the system will allow the use of pooled points for an RCI deposit/exchange in that situation in that automated process, but that the interface presented to owners for a manual deposit simply doesn't display those pooled points as an option.

 

[Braindead]

But we had moved on to discussing the behavior of patwerner1's points a few posts later, not the OP's. From their description, it certainly sounds like they utilized the VIP benefit of allowing points to be pulled directly from Wyndham rather than manually making the deposit. And so it sounds like the system will allow the use of pooled points for an RCI deposit/exchange in that situation in that automated process, but that the interface presented to owners for a manual deposit simply doesn't display those pooled points as an option.

If points are pulled automatically by the computer system points are blind as far as use. I was right.
If done manually by an owner you were right.
We found a VIP benefit. Not much of one but a couple of owners benefited

 

[paxsarah]

If points are pulled automatically by the computer system points are blind as far as use. I was right.
If done manually by an owner you were right.
We found a VIP benefit. Not much of one but a couple of owners benefited

Another question would be if the VIP/automatic pulling of points also pulled pooled points prior to the system change (in which case, it was probably an unintentional perk/glitch) or if this behavior is new since the new system (in which case I would see it as evidence of a partial implementation of the new bucketless approach).

Also, if you can say "pulling of points also pulled pooled points" five times fast, you're qualified to be an auctioneer.

 

[Eric B]

Are the points pulled primarily from pooled points prior to pulling points posted in other participants’ pools of points?

 

[paxsarah]

Are the points pulled primarily from pooled points prior to pulling points posted in other participants’ pools of points?

 

[patwerner1]

But we had moved on to discussing the behavior of patwerner1's points a few posts later, not the OP's. From their description, it certainly sounds like they utilized the VIP benefit of allowing points to be pulled directly from Wyndham rather than manually making the deposit. And so it sounds like the system will allow the use of pooled points for an RCI deposit/exchange in that situation in that automated process, but that the interface presented to owners for a manual deposit simply doesn't display those pooled points as an option.

I want to give an update to my missing 55000 rci deposited points.
When I did my confirmation for my RCI exchange - the first points used were my remaining 2018 points. Yes it is a VIP benefit. If I had realized that they would be used first - instead of depositing them I would have just let the confirmation happen on its own. So in a small way I did cause my own problem.
That did not explain why my 55k points disappeared.
After 5 phone calls I finally found a representative that again got RCI on the phone - we were both transferred to an RCI supervisor. She looked back through the reports that RCI receives from Wyndham for the transfer and could not find my deposit. The fantastic Wyndham person did yet another direct deposit form - and the next day the points were finally in my RCI account. The wyndham person even followed up the next day to tell me that she was not able to get back to the RCI person that gave her a direct phone number ;-) But she at least kept trying prior to calling me!

So - I will be altering my 2019 trip - but it is not a disaster - just a fork in the road!