Changes to RCI through Club Wyndham- now not allowing me to book under 7 days exchange

[morexplore]

Hi, I'm new to using RCI through my Wyndham account. In May, I booked a 2 night exchange for 8400 points plus fees, though I didn't have any points deposited in RCI. Chat rep told me I didn't need to deposit anymore, they would be automatically taken out of my Wyndham account. Chat rep booked reservation, stay last month went fine, but points still not taken out of my Wyndham account. As others have noted, a few weeks ago my RCI accounts now tells me the Wyndham points I have available for use which is my current correct amount of unused CW points this and next year, and I now have the ability to search and book Full 7 day RCI weeks with points without chat help. BUT, I no longer have the ability to search and select any exchange stays under 7 days, anywhere, it doesn't show up on the search. Does anyone else have that issue? Is it possible with this new transition I need to have some points deposited into RCI in order to see point exchanges under 7 days? I still have 0 points deposited into RCI. RCI and Wyndham have been no help. Chat reps tell me they can book under 7 night stays for me, but I can no ;longer search and see what's available. Can other Wyndham points owners see exchanges under 7 days? Does anyone have a RCI account without any points deposited into RCI that can select less than 7 day exchange vacations?
I'm most interested in using my Wyndham points to book these shorter exchange stays, many that are discounted. But now I cannot search for them.

 

[kaljor]

Ive used RCI a number of times and It’s my understanding that RCI through our Wyndham ownership only allows bookings of a full week. I was not aware that they could make a shorter reservation over the phone.

When I search online it will show me full weeks but sometimes the same location will also show a 3 or a 5 night booking available. It seems to cost the same amount of points for all of them. In other words a 3 night booking would need the same amount of points as a 5 or 7 night stay. My guess is that even if a place makes a shorter reservation available, RCI treats it as a full week which is why we can book it.

if you want to see an example of this do a search for Tampa FL. It shows only 1 place and they have a 3 and a 5 night and a full week booking available but they all require the same points total.

Seems odd to me but that’s what I’ve learned.

 

[bnoble]

It’s my understanding that RCI through our Wyndham ownership only allows bookings of a full week.

I think this depends (in part) on whether or not you have PlusPartners. Accounts enrolled in PlusPartners have access to both Weeks and Points. Accounts not enrolled have access only to Weeks. The program documents and web site refer to this as "RCI Nightly Stays".

Additionally, some Weeks deposits are not full weeks. However, unlike @kaljor I do see them as pro-rated. For example, the 5-night Canterbury 1BR deposits this fall and early winter are all 75,600 Wyndham points. The full weeks in those units during the same period are all 126K. However, I do believe the exchange fees are the same for a full or partial week in Weeks, and I *think* they depend on length of stay in Points. I am not sure about that, as I am not enrolled in PlusPartners.

 

[rickandcindy23]

$129 exchange fee for 3 night stays:

 

[kaljor]

Well that’s very interesting. Plus Partners could have something to do with it, I don’t have it so I don’t have to worry about it. But I did learn from this thread. i checked Canterbury and found the same result as mentioned above. I checked a bunch of other locations and it seems that Club Wyndham and Worldmark units do prorate the points needed for a shorter stay but the non Wyndhams do not.

Good to know.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Plus Partners, developer purchase, gets me RCI Points reservations. I don't know if this is the same thing you are talking about. At ten months, I can book with my Wyndham points into RCI Points' resorts. I have to check with my RCI Points to see the cost and weigh it against Wyndham points. Sometimes Wyndham is cheaper, other times RCI Points is cheaper. My cost is 1.1 cent per point.

But there are times when I can book Maui Lea one bedroom during whale season for 126,000 points. That's a steal. Sands of Kahana 3 bedroom is 300,000 points, which is a lot, but I usually get a pretty great view through exchange.