DVC from RCI Weeks with 23 TPU - any chance?

[rickandcindy23]

I am that person giving away the EOY even. 2022 reservation is already made for July. Thank you Cindy!

It only takes about 2 weeks for the week to transfer through the resort. The closing process seemed pretty fast, except Legal Timeshare Transfers has a bit of a back-up right now. They may take a while.

 

[bnoble]

If you do get another timeshare, I’d suggest a system you might use for other travel.

I second this. Buying something with the expectation that you will mostly trade it is often a bad idea. That's not to say you can't, or it can never work. But, exchange is a moving target, and ownerships don't usually move with it.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I second this. Buying something with the expectation that you will mostly trade it is often a bad idea. That's not to say you can't, or it can never work. But, exchange is a moving target, and ownerships don't usually move with it.

I respect your opinion, of course. She spent money joining RCI already, RCI weeks, so I was hoping to give her some ideas on what to buy to actually use that membership. I think Grand Palms is a bargain for using in weeks. If I were her, I would buy more than one of them because Myrtle Beach is a sure bet for trading power, and the value is there.

I think her alternative is to tell RCI to give her a refund for membership. If Disney was her goal, they failed by giving her low trading power for her week. I would ask for my week back, too. I don't care that someone already took it. It's a very valuable week and hard to get via RCI.

We do tend to forget as timeshare owners that our learning curve was drastic, and if we can help keep another person from experiencing that trial and error, it's a good thing.

The real concern for me in buying to trade into DVC with RCI is that DVC will listen to its owners and go back to II. But that is not going to happen anytime soon.

 

[Dean]

Thanks so much. I was just researching a property in Orlando (Vacation Villages at Parkland) and luckily found that DVC wont accept trades through RCI, even on points. So, now I'm on the hunt for something outside of Orlando. I've never used "points" and have refused to transfer my weeks to points when my home resort has pushed it in the past. I'm leery about points devaluation as I've seen it happen almost every other year on airlines and everywhere else - so your advice about picking a place we will use otherwise is perfect. Of course, my hope is to get something with a good trade into Disney, but need to hedge my bets. I've got some time free from work over the holidays and it sounds like I'll be reading up on HGVC and Marriott!

DVC blocks regional trades even for RCI points. They do not block points systems like Bluegreen or RCI when using points. You should look at high point lower fee options like Grandview in LV as an example, if DVC is the objective. Or high TPU options with low fees and combine TPU's when needed.

 

[rickandcindy23]

DVC blocks regional trades even for RCI points. They do not block points systems like Bluegreen or RCI when using points. You should look at high point lower fee options like Grandview in LV as an example, if DVC is the objective. Or high TPU options with low fees and combine TPU's when needed.

She very recently joined weeks with her Cabo.

 

[Dean]

She very recently joined weeks with her Cabo.

I saw that but she mentioned Villages last Parkway on points and the regional block.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I saw that but she mentioned Villages last Parkway on points and the regional block.

Yeah, that is true. Not good to buy RCI Points in Florida. The regional block is extensive, and why buy in Florida, when Grandview is always such a bargain.

 

[Dean]

Yeah, that is true. Not good to buy RCI Points in Florida. The regional block is extensive, and why buy in Florida, when Grandview is always such a bargain.

In addition I'd investigate and proceed along the best long term route even if that means a duplicate account for a year or 2. It may also be possible to deposit the MX week into an RCI points account as weeks to points. I haven't done this in a while and there used to be a small fees to do so. It may be that buying DVC directly may be the best options.

 

[chaimommy]

And here I thought I knew a little bit about timesharing for 10+ years. LOL I feel like a newbie all over again listening to you all talk through this! Thanks so much for your wisdom. I have found quite a few listings for Grandview in LV. What is crazy to me is why/how I can get 122K RCI points for Las Vegas in the heat of summer at a resort that isn't even on the strip and my Christmas holiday week in Cabo at a top tier resort on the beach is worth so little. I would most likely never use that actual LV week/resort and I'd be purchasing for points only which makes me a little nervous unless those points are going to stay valuable (and it sounds like points haven't devalued which is reassuring).

In researching the RCI membership, it sounds like RCI would merge my account so if I do go to points, I don't think i'd have to pay for a 2nd membership. I won't transfer my Cabo weeks into RCI again and will just plan to keep those in II. So, I'm now researching good value RCI options to give me a shot at transferring into DVC or at least giving me options outside of what II already has. I did a very quick search on DVC resales and almost fell out of my chair. Wow, they are pricey. We've probably got 15 years of Disney at minimum so I'm sure in the long-run I'd break even or better, but tough for the initial outflow. And, if I'm nice like rick&cindy23... more than 15 years if we continue to vacation with kids and hopefully someday grandkids. How lucky are they?!

 

[bnoble]

I respect your opinion, of course.

And it's only that---an opinion, and worth every penny anyone paid for it. (Which, in this case, is zero.)

But, I think it is worth thinking about. Myrtle Beach probably will have good trade power for a long time. But, it is not certain---I've lived through at least two global revaluations that each took many different former tiger traders in RCI and cut them off at the knees, and that's just in the last 15 years or so. Disney probably won't leave RCI for II, until suddenly they do. There are many ways that exchange can go sideways, and I've seen at least a half dozen of them that completely changed the way I get DVC exchanges and what those exchanges might be. That's with a fairly broad portfolio of different ownerships, some dual-affiliated, etc.

In other words, if you are counting on one particular resort ownership to accomplish one particular exchange goal year after year, then IMO you are asking for trouble.

One alternative is to buy into a mini-system that one can use most of the time, and treat trading as a very nice bonus. That way, if your primary reason for trading does become harder/impossible, you still have something you own that you can get good use out of. WorldMark, Wyndham, and Bluegreen all could serve this role if the underlying resort network is attractive.

Getting started in RCI and finding you don't have the right combination doesn't mean you have to or even should focus on doing RCI "better." There are other ways to hedge your bets.

We do tend to forget as timeshare owners that our learning curve was drastic, and if we can help keep another person from experiencing that trial and error, it's a good thing.

Exactly. But that also means that if we learned, over time, that a particular strategy is risky and worth thinking twice about, it is worth sharing that lesson too.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Grandview might just be a good choice for you. Wait for the 122,000 one.

You might also want to consider a mini system as bnoble suggested. That is a great idea. You can get Disney Vacation Club weeks with 105,000 Wyndham points + exchange fee and $190 Disney "concierge fee," It does include parking at the parks, if you drive.

 

[Dean]

And here I thought I knew a little bit about timesharing for 10+ years. LOL I feel like a newbie all over again listening to you all talk through this! Thanks so much for your wisdom. I have found quite a few listings for Grandview in LV. What is crazy to me is why/how I can get 122K RCI points for Las Vegas in the heat of summer at a resort that isn't even on the strip and my Christmas holiday week in Cabo at a top tier resort on the beach is worth so little. I would most likely never use that actual LV week/resort and I'd be purchasing for points only which makes me a little nervous unless those points are going to stay valuable (and it sounds like points haven't devalued which is reassuring).

In researching the RCI membership, it sounds like RCI would merge my account so if I do go to points, I don't think i'd have to pay for a 2nd membership. I won't transfer my Cabo weeks into RCI again and will just plan to keep those in II. So, I'm now researching good value RCI options to give me a shot at transferring into DVC or at least giving me options outside of what II already has. I did a very quick search on DVC resales and almost fell out of my chair. Wow, they are pricey. We've probably got 15 years of Disney at minimum so I'm sure in the long-run I'd break even or better, but tough for the initial outflow. And, if I'm nice like rick&cindy23... more than 15 years if we continue to vacation with kids and hopefully someday grandkids. How lucky are they?!

I think MX is so low for 2 reasons, lower demand and over saturation. There are a ton of great resorts and statistically significantly less people want to go there. Demand is far more important to trade power than resort quality itself. It's been that way ever since I've been in timesharing related to MX, over 26 years now. It's likely even worse now due to the unrest there. RCI does tend to be more dynamic with trade power from year to year and resort to resort than II but both adjust over time as things change. Of course there are additional reasons why the AI's are even lower. I don't believe you can do an ongoing search for Points resorts using RCI points.

Is DVC your main goal? If so, you should likely just buy there. Otherwise you may want to seriously consider a mini system like Bluegreen or Wyndham. Both should be able to get you to DVC at times but at the current time the only likely option for DVC when it is available would be a 1 BR at SSR.

 

[elaine]

I really want DVC for the convenience of the app....

I don't understand this? You can get the app without staying onsite. Currently, about the only major benefit to onsite is early entrance/ 2 late nights. There's no advance planning (fast passes), etc. that onsite gets, except maybe 10 day jump on dining. For that 1st trip, honestly, I'd try offsite and a HGVC, Marriott, etc. If you really want close, then stay at the Silver Lakes resorts right around the corner from AKV. I've not stayed there and the area/resort does not appeal to me, but the location is good. We've stayed a bit farther down from Silver at Orange Lakes with nice pools, putt putt for kids, etc. We also like HGVC SeaWorld as well at the Marriotts near SW, as it's a quick drive down Palm Parkway.
If we couldn't get DVC, Bonnet Creek would be a close 2nd (great location), then HGVC or Marriott (toss up). But, 23 tpus is unlikely to get any of those--but it should pull Silver Lakes and maybe Orange in lower seasons if you don't have another use for those points. You should be able to easily get Marriotts via II.
After your 1st trip, I'd then evaluate the "worth" of DVC. I do understand it--my "kids" are now in college and I sold DVC in 2020 (to free up cash for renos) and rebought (for $25/point higher) in 2021!

 

[rickandcindy23]

We own DVC Points and rent them out for $17.50 per point through go-koala.com, and then I exchange into the resorts. The exchanges are a bargain. I rent studios to people for about $200 per night and then get exchanges for less than $1,000 per week my cost (using Wyndham, Shell Points and RCI Points) through exchange. So I feel great that I figured this out a long time ago.

Wyndham is a great option, Shell points via resale can be, too, but there are very few resorts in their system and they are pretty expensive to book. It's only 2,500 points for DVC with Shell, but that is still $750 MF's + RCI exchange and Disney fee of $190. Wyndham has many more resorts in their system to book.

 

[elaine]

There are many tug posts about good resale trading weeks with low purchase prices. However be careful about buying to trade into dvc. What if deposits dry up, or dvc stops using rci, etc.

FYI--DVC will be using II as of Jan 1, 2022.

 

[rickandcindy23]

FYI--DVC will be using II as of Jan 1, 2022.

You beat me to it!

Yes!!!! II is so much better than RCI. Time to sell all of my RCI traders. I already have Wyndham to use with RCI for other stuff.

 

[bnoble]

Disney probably won't leave RCI for II, until suddenly they do.

And there you go. I will miss being able to use my Wydham points for DVC, but I have some dual-enrolled traders that worked well in the past and hopefully still will.

 

[rickandcindy23]

And there you go. I will miss being able to use my Wydham points for DVC, but I have some dual-enrolled traders that worked well in the past and hopefully still will.

You are such a wise man, or a wise guy. You say it and poof, it happens. My grandkids will call that Disney magic. You do not know how excited I am about this switch. I have so many weeks that will work to get DVC. This is incredible news.

 

[JohnB3]

FYI--DVC will be using II as of Jan 1, 2022.

I stopped by this thread to share that news but as usual a day late and a dollar short


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[bnoble]

You say it and poof, it happens.

To be fair, I've been saying this for a very long time. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

But, I'm very very glad that I put the second of two back-to-back March weeks on hold yesterday. I have a pile of RCI TPUs to burn, and that will help. Luckily I was dragging my feet on depositing those dual-enrolled weeks into RCI for 2022, and that appears to have been fortuitous.

Now I have to remind myself how II works and catch up on the latest twists and turns; I haven't used it in years. Everyone needs a hobby I guess!

 

[chaimommy]

Thanks all! i took some time away from timeshare planning/purchasing over the holidays and I'm so glad I did! I wish I could get those weeks back that I deposited to RCI, but even better that I didn't purchase something just for the RCI points - thanks for all the advice! I will eventually buy resale, but this change for DVC to II gives me a few more years to decide. Now I need to deposit into II and see what is available there! Hopefully more DVC'ers will be interested to exchange and open up their weeks.

 

[LMD]

Just book a 1BR for my Aunt at Saratoga Springs for April 1 last minute for 12 TPU. Unless they are last minute seems like they are 45 TPU which in my opinion is not worth it….especially for a one bedroom

 

[rickandcindy23]

Just book a 1BR for my Aunt at Saratoga Springs for April 1 last minute for 12 TPU. Unless they are last minute seems like they are 45 TPU which in my opinion is not worth it….especially for a one bedroom

Is your LMD TUG name short for Last-Minute Disney? Just kidding, of course.

This entire thread should make anyone think twice about buying just for trading purposes.

 

[LMD]

LOL…no….those are my initials. I have not stayed on a Disney property in 10 years or so. Actually prefer the Marriotts in Orlando.

 

[CPNY]

Is your LMD TUG name short for Last-Minute Disney? Just kidding, of course.

This entire thread should make anyone think twice about buying just for trading purposes.

I bought an ownership enrolled in RCI points for DVC exchanges and that didn’t turn out as planned. I was able to get 4 exchanges into DVC in the time I had the account, I’ve also been able to exchange into other great trips. RCI points Def has value beyond DVC trades.