Alan does get some good deals via RCI points in Orlando. I think he would be happy to answer the question
@AwayWeGo
Even before we took the timeshare plunge (2002), we liked January vacationing in various Florida locations. We didn't discover till later that early January is off-season in Florida. That seemed counterintuitive to us. We thought people would want to go to Florida in January to get away from the cold weather, making January a high-demand season. It turns out instead that people are tapped out after Christmas & New Year's, & the kids are back in school, making for a Florida travel lull in January. Who knew ?
Off-season means (a) lower demand for resort accommodations (with corresponding increased availability), & (b) more last-minute timeshare bargain opportunities (
Last Call,
Bonus Weeks, special sales, etc.).
After downsizing, all we have left is a triennial timeshare points unit that generates just 16
,333 points per year, not enough to get much at all in the way of straight-points timeshare exchanges. In recent years, however, that minimal points balance plus the
Last Calls, etc., have been enough to get us 2-3 nice 7-night Orlando timeshare reservations.
We have also taken advantage of those RCI
10,000 Points & Less week-long reservations that are mostly available when the reservations are made within 45 days of check-in. When we were short of points for 1 of those a couple of years ago, we were able to buy enough extra points to complete the reservation right there at the RCI on-line reservation payment page. (The RCI limit for buying more points is 1/2 the member's annual points allocation -- 8
,166 points, in our case. We only needed to buy 1
,000 or so that time.)
The public health situation in 2020 & 2021 had a depressing effect on vacation travel -- not just ours, but lots of people's. Maybe that's why, in 2020, we received an unusually favorable bonus offer -- $99 for a full-week reservation, no points, no tax, no TPUs, just $99. We pounced on that & reserved a 1BR January 2021 week at Vacation Village At Parkway. For some reason, we were able to request platinum
Unit Upgrade even though the $99 deal did not involve any points. As it happened,
Unit Upgrade came through & our reservation for that week was changed to 2BR. Unfortunately, because of the covid 19 scare, we were hunkered down & not traveling, so we did not use our upgraded $99 reservation. We gave it away to Florida friends unafraid to travel -- got'm a guest certificate & everything. So it goes.
Not long after that, we received another unusually favorable bonus offer nearly as good as the 1 we gave away. For $159 (no points, no TPUs, no tax, just $159), we reserved a 2BR March 2021 week at Vacation Village At Parkway. By then we had been vaccinated against covid 19 & were emboldened to go to Florida for 2 weeks. For the week right before our $159 Vacation Village At Parkway reservation, we got a 2BR bonus week reservation at Fantasy World Resort in Kissimmee FL.
As if to make up for only getting 2 January weeks in 2021, we snagged a 2BR week at Club Wyndham Star Island for 7
,500 points + exchange fee for check-in July 31. Knowing our granddaughters were planning on bringing a bunch of their friends, we also made a 1BR bonus week reservation for check-in August 1 at Vacation Village At Parkway -- & a good thing, too, because our Star Island unit was fully loaded with eight (
-- 8 -- ) kids plus 2 moms, leaving no room in the inn for Grandma & Grandpa. No problem. Grandpa & Grandma just motored 4 miles down Rt. 192 & bunked down comfortably & restfully by ourselves in the Vacation Village At Parkway unit we had prudently reserved just in case.
We don't know what the timeshare availability situation will be when we start thinking in detail about January 2022. We figure on searching in earnest at RCI's website after Thanksgiving. By then we'll have the remainder of this year's points available, plus next year's, with the added ability to borrow ahead on our 2023 points if need be. That will be plenty for a bunch of 7
,500-point reservations, assuming availability at resorts we like for the weeks we want (which is in no way guaranteed). We'll just take our chances & see what we're able to get.
So far, so good.
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.