I LOVE RCI right now!!!

[krmlaw]

I had 2 dog traders. And I had 2 good traders.

I used my good traders to trade for great places 6 months ago. But I didnt know what to do with the dog traders. I called RCI and asked them if there was any way I could switch the units that I used to trade with 6 months ago, to get my 2 good units back, and they said no problem ...

So now I still have my same reservations, but the dog traders are gone and I have my good traders back!

Has anyone else ever experienced this?

 

[krmlaw]

Oh yeah,

My dog traders were pulling 75,000

My good traders I got back are pulling 148,000

Now THERE is a difference!!!

 

[rhonda]

Curious: Were you charged a new RCI Exchange fee for the swap? Thx!

 

[krmlaw]

No! I thought I would be, but I wasnt. They just swapped out the week I had original used to trade with for the week I told them to. :whoopie:

 

[gorevs9]

Sometimes it just takes getting the right VC. Last year, I wanted to change a Points reservation from a studio to a 1 BR. The first VC was going to do a cancellation, then book a new reservation, which was going to cost me a loss of points on the cancellation and an additional exchange fee. I called back the next day and talked to a different VC. She just changed the reservation and only "charged" me the additional points needed for the 1 BR.:whoopie:

 

[Toughbeat]

WOW! talk about the old adage, "It can't hurt to ask." Awesome!!!!

 

[MuranoJo]

Be careful, you never know who's watching. A bird in the hand could quickly fly away tomorrow. There's some history of that here on TUG.

 

[Carl D]

I'm somewhat surprised that many here would think this is a good thing.

Doesn't this distort & weaken the trading pool? I mean, now someone with a legitimate strong trader is left with sub par resorts to choose from.

Does II also allow this bait & switch policy?

 

[BevL]

I had it happen when I phoned in to confirm a unit with a one in four rule. The VC offered to use a deposit which expired earlier than the one I had used, and which was a significantly weaker week.

The next day I received an email form asking me to rate my RCI experience and in particular my VC. SHe got very high marks from me.

 

[Garnet]

I agree with Carol D.... Great for you. Not so good for the other points holders.....

 

[Garnet]

I thought this was the "point" of the points program.....not having people have the overly-lopsided exchanges that may occur in weeks.

 

[Carolinian]

I thought this was the "point" of the points program.....not having people have the overly-lopsided exchanges that may occur in weeks.

The lopsided trades are, in fact, built into the Points system with grossly overpointed resorts, thanks to developers politicking RCI, on one hand, and the rip-off (to Weeks) generic grids for raiding the Weeks system on the other.

The so-called lopsided trades in Weeks are not lopsided at all, but simply the market speaking that maybe some weeks didn't have the real supply / demand curve to make them as hoidy-toidy as some people thought. In Weeks, the market forces of supply and demand govern what a week is really worth as opposed to the rigged and frozen values of Points.

 

[bnoble]

Doesn't this distort & weaken the trading pool?

It depends on what is being switched. If the lesser traders could see it anyway, it doesn't matter.

I do this often with Wyndham generics. You can't search online with those, so I use a fixed week to hold, and then rebook with the generics. Sometimes the generic has sufficient trade power, other times it doesn't.

 

[krmlaw]

Im glad I was able to switch to the quicker expiring weeks! I had called to ask if i could switch, because of the expriation on the weeks, and they said no problem! There was a big difference in their trading power, but I just assumed RCI wouldnt have made the switch if I couldnt pull the same resorts with either weeks?

 

[Carl D]

Bad form.
As a DVC Member, now that I will be affected by these type of policies, I am not real happy.

If I do opt to trade my DVC, I may lose my trade to the owner of Crappyville Resorts.
In addition, my DVC traded villa may go to an owner of RoachHaven Vacation Villas.

Nice.

 

[Steve]

Im glad I was able to switch to the quicker expiring weeks! I had called to ask if i could switch, because of the expriation on the weeks, and they said no problem! There was a big difference in their trading power, but I just assumed RCI wouldnt have made the switch if I couldnt pull the same resorts with either weeks?

Actually, RCI often will make the switch even if the lesser weeks won't pull the exchanges that you previously made with your stronger weeks. This was a topic of intense debate here on TUG several years ago.

Steve

 

[JEFF H]

Actually, RCI often will make the switch even if the lesser weeks won't pull the exchanges that you previously made with your stronger weeks. This was a topic of intense debate here on TUG several years ago.
Steve

Years ago this was true but I don't belive it is common practice anymore.

Currently You can switch the deposit used to confirm the week only if the deposit used has enough trade power to pull the confirmed week.
Its always possible you may find a RCI rep willing to bend the rules in your favor but generally that is not going to happen.

 

[bnoble]

I don't believe it is common practice either. As I wrote above, I have been told that the week I put on hold with my visible trader cannot be confirmed with my Wyndham generic. So, it is certainly not automatic.

 

[Carl D]

Currently You can switch the deposit used to confirm the week only if the deposit used has enough trade power to pull the confirmed week.

If that's the case, than why not use the lower quality trader in the first place?

 

[bnoble]

Generally, most people who are thinking things through would do so. But, sometimes folks make mistakes.

There are also situations in which that's not possible or convenient. The Wyndham Generics, for example, can only be exchanged when the Wyndham-RCI desk is open, and that has shorter hours than the "regular" call center, vs. the online tool which is always available.

Unless it is broken.

 

[Carl D]

Okay... But I recall people here actually boasting about their "bait & switch" tactics used in the past. They actually bragged about using a high quality unit to make the trade, then switch it to a low quality unit.

Not the biggest deal in the world to me, as I will rarely (if ever) trade my DVC.

 

[bnoble]

I suspect that the RCI VCs do sometimes bend the rules a bit, but it seems to be increasingly the exception. I don't get too worked up about it, and I use RCI a lot.

 

[Steve]

I suspect that the RCI VCs do sometimes bend the rules a bit, but it seems to be increasingly the exception.

Or people just don't talk about it as much publicly since the big fuss a few years back.

Steve

 

[bnoble]

I'm basing that on personal experience, not so much what I read.

 

[JEFF H]

If that's the case, than why not use the lower quality trader in the first place?

Often times I will have different weeks searching for different resorts and dates. When I get confirmations I will sometimes find I should use the deposit that expires sooner for the confirmation.
Trade power is another valid conceren. I don't want to waste a really good trader on a easy exchange if I have a lower power week that will pull the same confirmation.
When I don't have enough trade power RCI will tell me sorry I can't see your confirmed week with that deposit.