Deciding between weeks vs. points TS

[amfox1]

I am a newbie here.

I have an opportunity to choose between two TS at the same resort for the same fixed week. Both come with a mandatory floating week. One is subject to RCI weeks (W) and the other is subject to RCI points (P). I am currently an RCI weeks member but not an RCI points member.

Please help me to think about how to choose between the two options.

Unit - both are 2BR, W is 1BA, P is 2BA, P is 20% larger sq. ft.

Weeks - identical

MF - W is approx. 5% less than P

Price - assume the same, but I would be paying closing costs for W but not for P. The price is consistent with resale market research that I have done and is approx. 4 years' worth of MF. We have been looking for this specific fixed week at this specific resort.

Usage - we would likely use the fixed week most years and would likely bank the TPUs/points for the floating week most years

MF/TPU - 22.8 for both weeks (15.5 for fixed week; 46.5 for floating week)

MF/Points - .0094 for both weeks (.0075 for fixed week; .0126 for floating week)

Add-ons - W is throwing in 2 years worth of TPUs for free

Because this is an active process, I do not wish to identify the resort or the specific week involved.

Thoughts?

 

[vacationhopeful]

How many weeks do you PLAN on vacationing at this resort?

Is the RCI Points week ... the MAXIMUM number of points for ANY season at THAT resort? Do you understand there is a RCI points membership fee plus $89 every 3 years to keep in RCI Points (I believe).

Can you afford to own BOTH weeks?

If you think that in future years ... you will need to use a different vacation time (school schedule, work issues) the RCI points would give you HOME RESORT PRIORITY book window where the reservation fee is $40 (or is it $50 per week now?)

If you buy/take both .. you would be able to book 2 back to back weeks OR have 2 weeks for the small dates (no fee).

If you want a NO PLANNING needed and never going to think to booking option ... take the fixed week. RCI points is action within a SET TIME FRAME to reserve your underlying week.

 

[amfox1]

How many weeks do you PLAN on vacationing at this resort?

Two. One we already own and the fixed week we would be acquiring. The mandatory float week would be used for exchanges.

Is the RCI Points week ... the MAXIMUM number of points for ANY season at THAT resort? Do you understand there is a RCI points membership fee plus $89 every 3 years to keep in RCI Points (I believe).

Yes, for the number of BR in the unit. I understand that there is a membership fee. I don't follow the $89 every three years fee.

If you think that in future years ... you will need to use a different vacation time (school schedule, work issues) the RCI points would give you HOME RESORT PRIORITY book window where the reservation fee is $40 (or is it $50 per week now?)

We actually think this flexibility is a benefit to points vs. weeks.

 

[WinniWoman]

These are resales I assume? I own at Smuggs- I am assuming that is the resort you are talking about?-Mine is a fixed with floater- 2 bedroom/2 bath-Sycamores. I also own a fixed at another resort in New England- 2 bedroom/2 bath.

One thing is I would never get a one bathroom. I just find that a big hassle, especially if you have more than 2 people you vacation with. Also- nice to have more square footage.

That said- I am not a points kind of owner, but a lot of people seem happy with RCI points. As long as you reserve your unit for the week you purchase within the time limit every year, there shouldn't be an issue.

The only real downside of RCI points is that you get locked into always belonging to RCI because without membership you can't use your points! This subjects you to the membership fees, the exchange fees with your floater, etc. With weeks, you don't need to belong to an exchange company at all and can take advantage of the independent exchange companies where there are no membership fees, cheaper exchange fees and you don't have to deposit your week until you find a week you want.

 

[amfox1]

These are resales I assume? I own at Smuggs- I am assuming that is the resort you are talking about?-Mine is a fixed with floater- 2 bedroom/2 bath-Sycamores. I also own a fixed at another resort in New England- 2 bedroom/2 bath.

One thing is I would never get a one bathroom. I just find that a big hassle, especially if you have more than 2 people you vacation with. Also- nice to have more square footage.

That said- I am not a points kind of owner, but a lot of people seem happy with RCI points. As long as you reserve your unit for the week you purchase within the time limit every year, there shouldn't be an issue.

The only real downside of RCI points is that you get locked into always belonging to RCI because without membership you can't use your points! This subjects you to the membership fees, the exchange fees with your floater, etc. With weeks, you don't need to belong to an exchange company at all and can take advantage of the independent exchange companies where there are no membership fees, cheaper exchange fees and you don't have to deposit your week until you find a week you want.

Yes, we currently have a resale at Smuggs (fixed week, plus an optional floating week), under the RCI Weeks program that we have owned for more than a decade.

We are looking at buying (resale) another fixed week at Smuggs, with a mandatory floating week, under the RCI Points program.

Since I initially posted, my DW has nixed the 1 bath option (which was the one subject to RCI Weeks in my initial post) for the reasons you suggested in your post. We are still considering the RCI Points one.

We have never used an exchange company other than RCI, so I'm not sure we know enough to know whether being locked into RCI is a real issue for us.

 

[tschwa2]

Just for comparison, you might want to look at how much it would cost and how much the MF's would be to get enough Wyndham points for the time of year and size you want.


Also you can opt out of the RCI points program. It might take up to three years before you would be able to do it without losing usage for a year.

 

[amfox1]

Just for comparison, you might want to look at how much it would cost and how much the MF's would be to get enough Wyndham points for the time of year and size you want.

The best ratio I have found for "free" Wyndham points is 140,000 points for $800 MF. I would need more points than that and, unless Smuggs was my home resort for the Club Wyndham Plus program, I would think that ARP would prevent me from getting the week I want, as my guess is that there won't be a lot of inventory.

Buying at the resort would guarantee the week I want or give me options to swap with another owner, rent out the week or bank the week/points and vacation elsewhere.

 

[WinniWoman]

And- a lot of Smuggs people who already have RCI points have told me this past summer when I was there that they are having a hard time trading back into the resort this year. So if I were you- and I definitely wanted a certain week every year, I would buy that week period- whether it is points or weeks. Don't play the game of buying another week (that you really don't want) and counting on trading back in for the week you want. You could be disappointed.

PS- I never heard of having an optional floating week at Smuggs. Which building do you own that in? Ours is an attached floater. We have owned for 16 years- week 30 with floater- always been able to exchange the floater with RCI. As we are older now, we do not exchange the floater very often, so we no longer belong to RCI- we use the other exchange companies through their free memberships and we search before we give them our week. Been working great so far for us. (Our other week we own is fixed week 31 in NH just 2 hrs. away from Smuggs- giving us the two weeks in a row vacation we always wanted. Was a freebie, too- so the price was right!

Looking for a resale I would leave no stone unturned to find the exact week you want (RCI points or weeks)- try all the sources- try to get the cheapest one you can or a freebie- hopefully for just the closing costs or even NO closing costs-but in a unit you will be comfortable in and enjoy every year. And- in your case- I would stay away from Wyndham! Good luck! Let us know how it works out!

 

[amfox1]

PS- I never heard of having an optional floating week at Smuggs. Which building do you own that in?

There are only two buildings with the optional floating week - Villmarksauna and Nordland. We are in the former.

 

[WinniWoman]

There are only two buildings with the optional floating week - Villmarksauna and Nordland. We are in the former.

I didn't realize that. Interesting. Well, again- good luck! As you know, Smuggs is a great place to own, despite some of the recent changes that have gone on. I never get tired of going there!

 

[tschwa2]

I wouldn't focus on finding a free week. Paying $500 to even $2500 or so to get the perfect week/unit or usage options is better than being stuck with something that isn't quite what you want especially if you divide it out by at least 5 years. If you end up owning it longer than even better. I know you probably know this but there are also EOY contracts that get the fixed week one year and the float week on the alternate year.

 

[WinniWoman]

I wouldn't focus on finding a free week. Paying $500 to even $2500 or so to get the perfect week/unit or usage options is better than being stuck with something that isn't quite what you want especially if you divide it out by at least 5 years. If you end up owning it longer than even better. I know you probably know this but there are also EOY contracts that get the fixed week one year and the float week on the alternate year.

I agree with this. If that points unit is in all other respects the perfect one for you, I would pay the money to acquire it. You are going to use it every year and even with the maintenance fees it will pay for itself fairly quickly. Of course, if you can find the same exact thing cheaper or free- or maybe a weeks unit like you already have for the exact same week- 2 bdrm/2 BA- so much the better!