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how to gift RCI TPU's

gwen

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hi.

I have deposited timeshare weeks to RCI and now have some points. [30ish] We dont have plans to use them this year so how would I be able to 'gift' them [hopefully]? We don't want to renew our membership is why 'gifting'

newbie so please be gentle. I tried searching so might have missed info. sorry if this is true.
Thanks.
 
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theo

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I have deposited timeshare weeks to RCI and now have some points. [30ish] We dont have plans to use them this year so how would I be able to sell them [hopefully]? We don't want to renew our membership is why selling/getting rid of pts

newbie so please be gentle. I tried searching so might have missed info. sorry if this is true.
Thanks.

As a result of "depositing" week(s) with RCI, you now have 30-ish "TPU's" (trading power units), which are actually something entirely different from RCI "Points".

I leave it to others who use RCI (I do not) to address whether or not you can "transfer" TPU's from your RCI "weeks" account to someone else's RCI "weeks" account.
If so, there is surely a fee to do so (ain't nuthin' free with RCI). Frankly, I didn't think this was allowed at all, with or without a fee, but I've read input from others which suggests otherwise, so I defer to those with first hand knowledge and experience on this very subject to provide you with a clear and definitive answer. :shrug:
 
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BevL

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I believe you can still transfer TPUs. There's a fee and a form. That will sometimes be done when a person sells an underlying week and agrees as part of the terms of the sale to transfer the TPUs generated from the deposit of that week to the new purchaser.

However, to sell the TPUs is considered by RCI to be a commercial use of your timeshare. Just as you cannot make an exchange with TPUs and then rent it out, you can't sell the underlying TPUs. If RCI gets wind of it, they could confiscate the TPUs and close your account. Even if you're not selling at a profit, just recouping your fees, it could get you into trouble.

Now, having said all that, there are lots and lots of people who rent exchanges. Take a look at Ebay and you'll find a whole bunch.

There are also lots of folks who might occasionally "give" an exchange to a "friend" and the "friend" may return a "gift" of cash.

My personal take, and this is strictly my personal take. If one transfer form came through to someone for all of your TPUs, I would think that RCI wouldn't get too excited. If you were parcelling them out in a number of transfers, it might raise a red flag.

FWIW, I feel your pain. I have A LOT of TPUs that I will probably not be able to use. It's frustrating that the rules don't allow at least a reimbursement of maintenance fees with no profit, but it's their sandbox, their rules.

I hope I've been helpful and not clouded it even further.
 

tschwa2

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I looked recently and unlike in the past where the form seemed to allow a transfer of a single deposit or multiple deposits without transfer of the actual unit to the same person, the one I saw in RCI.com currently seems to only allow the transfer of the unit to the same person that the entire unit is being sold to. Maybe I just couldn't find the correct form.
 

moonstone

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hi.

I have deposited timeshare weeks to RCI and now have some points. [30ish] We dont have plans to use them this year so how would I be able to sell them [hopefully]? We don't want to renew our membership is why selling/getting rid of pts

newbie so please be gentle. I tried searching so might have missed info. sorry if this is true.
Thanks.

You might want to check with RCI to see if you can pay to carry over/extend your TPU's until next year or before your membership expires. Then you can either go for 2 weeks or stay in a nicer/bigger unit or in more of a 'peak' timeframe.

Just a thought! :ponder:

~Diane
 
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gwen

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I have seen where we could pay to extend the life of our TPU's. However just not interested in throwing more money into that pit.

Really looking to 'gift' the whole lot vs letting expire since we do have lots $ already sunk into them. I will check out ebay and cross my fingers. Something is better than nothing.

Thanks for all the help.
 

BevL

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Here's a link to the form:

https://www.rci.com/docs/KnowledgeBase/Documents/en_US/RCI_Wks_Mem_trans_agrmt_1.pdf


It appears there's a $98 fee for transfer - that might be lower for Americans.

I know that back in the "old" days, you could simply fill out section D to transfer deposits, but not sure they allow that anymore.

You may want to contact RCI, if you haven't already, and run a hypothetical of wanting to "gift" some unused TPUs to see if that's still allowed.

And again, if by checking Ebay you meant possibly listing them for sale on ebay, it's a risk, as my previous post mentioned.

Are you using your timeshare? If you're looking to get out of the whole thing, perhaps giving it away with the perk of the TPUs would be a way to kill two birds with one stone.

As I said, I feel your pain. I'm facing extending some deposits again, and will probably do it although it may be throwing good money after bad.
 

gwen

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Thanks for the link. This looks great. Now to find someone willing to 'gift' them to.

Ya, ebay is riskier than im interested in.

We sold our timeshare. Tried to add on those TPU's but nope. We used a few but due to trading points on sale we used very few. AAAGGGG lol
 
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BevL

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Take a look at the thread about "gifting" points. It may be a more current procedure than what I mentioned in my posts.
 

DeniseM

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Please be aware that the RCI rules say that you can "gift," TPU but specifically state that you cannot "sell" TPU.

If you quietly "gift" them to friends or family who understand the situation, you will probably be OK, but if you are advertising TPU "for sale," to strangers on the internet, you are far more likely to get caught.

RCI can have harsh penalties if they "catch" you selling their products. If you get caught, they can and will freeze your Acct.
 
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gwen

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thanks for the reminder.

BevL I will check out that thread. Didnt see it in my original search. Thanks.
 

gwen

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ok, so I just booked an RCI week for my daughter. Then realized since im not going should I have gifted them or will she be fine checking in?
sounds like I need to gift them and pay the $98. darn.
 

wackymother

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ok, so I just booked an RCI week for my daughter. Then realized since im not going should I have gifted them or will she be fine checking in?
sounds like I need to gift them and pay the $98. darn.

You need to get a guest certificate. You can get that right up till about two weeks before departure. It costs $69 now, so it's still less than the fee to give away points.

To do this, log into your RCI account. Then Home > My Vacation Plans > Confirmed.

Now look at the confirmation for the week you are giving to your daughter. Over at the right, under the green buttons, you'll see Create Guest Certificate. Click on that, and it will take you to the screen where you can enter your daughter's information and pay the fee.

HTH!
 

theo

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ok, so I just booked an RCI week for my daughter. Then realized since im not going should I have gifted them or will she be fine checking in?
sounds like I need to gift them and pay the $98. darn.

You should now obtain a Guest Certificate directly from RCI in your daughter's name, so that there are no discrepancies or problems for her at check-in.
There will be a fee for the GC (ain't nuthin' free with RCI), but I don't know current GC cost (it's not a huge amount).
 

gwen

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thank you both so much. I was still searching for the answer. LOL
 

Conan

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Of course, a person you gift points to must be an RCI member, so your daughter might not qualify.

Also, the RCI Platinum brochure lists no-fee gifting of points as a Platinum benefit. Hopefully only the donor needs to be in Platinum. I've never tried it so I can't be sure, but it's something to be aware of.
 

BevL

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You've also hit on another possible solution. If you have friends and family that you can gift a week that you've exchanged for, it would be preferable to dealing with strangers.

And yes, a gift certificate will be a bit less, I believe, than transferring the underlying TPUs that you used to make the exchange.
 

gwen

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good point bevL.

Conan - she isnt a member and im pretty sure im not platinum. I just did the guest certificate and had to pay the $69 so guess not.

Glad I thought of this before she went to check in next month. Thanks for the help.
 
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