Points fee

[forrestbrooke]

We just bought an RCI points membership. We get 30,000 points per year. We make monthly payments. We were not advised that there would be any additional fees, but I've just received a notice that I have to pay a "points fee" before my next anniversary if I want my next set of points deposited on time. What??? I'm afraid we've made a bad financial move here. Can anyone help to quiet my frayed nerves?

 

[rickandcindy23]

What did they say the points fee was for?

What resort is this?

 

[ronparise]

This sounds like RCI's annual membership fee

You will have an annual fee for your rci membership. an exchange fee each time you "spend" some points and of course your annual maintenance fee to the resort.

Unfortunately you have to pay to play this game, and there are a lot "toll booths"

 

[forrestbrooke]

Georgian Manor Resort

The resort is Georgian Manor in Collingwood. We were not told about any maintenance fees - we were under the impression that the points were to any resort we choose - so why maintenance fees? Also, we were not told that there would be a fee each time we used points! We also were not told about any yearly membership fee! Ughh! What have I done?? Is there any way to get out of this contract?

 

[ronparise]

The way this thing works is that you own realestate; in your case a week at Georgian Manor in Collingwood.

You paid to buy that real estate and now you and the rest of the owners there, need to pay to operate and maintain it. You also need to put away some reserves for things like a new roof when its needed. These operation and maintenance, and reserve dollars are what we refer to as maintenance fees..and yes they have to be paid

For those times that you dont want to vacation at your resort there are exchange companies that lots of timeshare owners use. You can deposit your week with these companies and in turn use a different week at a different property that has been deposited by someone else. In your case your resort has chosen to affiliate with the exchange company called RCI points. (RCI has another side to their company called RCI weeks.)

The way it works with RCI points is that your week has been assigned a certain number of points and you use your points as currency to make reservations at other resorts

Now RCI dosent do this exchange work for us timeshare owners for free. They charge for their services. We pay an annual membership fee, and we pay for each exchange

so thats my summary of the charges you face as a timeshare owner and member odf the RCI points system for exchanges

1) the cost to buy your timeshare
2) the cost to maintain your timeshare
3) the cost to be a member of an exchange system
4) the cost to make an exchange

Understand that when you exchange you will be staying in someone elses unit. They have paid for that unit and they have paid their annual maintenance fees, just like you pay yours


Regarding getting out of your contract....are you within the rescision period set by law for your State? (or rather the state wher you signed the contract)

 

[forrestbrooke]

Thanks for your response!

Hi Ron,
What is this rescision period? How do I find out whether I'm still within it? We just bought in August of 2011.

 

[ronparise]

rescision periods vary by state....in Florida (my home) its 10 days, other states are different. But I dont think any state is 5 months.

I think you are one of us now...a timeshare owner. You need to figure out how to best use what you own. One example is that in RCI points there are often reservations you can make for as little as 7500 points. These are last minute things but represent good value (your 30000 points would get you 4 of these weeks a year)....RCI has another program called "last call" where you can make a reservation for under $300 and not use any of your points

 

[stanleyu]

Our TS company (VRI) charges a fee to deposit the unit into RCI points. This fee is charged every three years, as the transfer to points is done three years at a time. This fee is separate from and in addition to the annual TS owber's fee and the RCI membership fees.

 

[Alexandria's Finest]

Pro's and Con's

This sounds like RCI's annual membership fee

You will have an annual fee for your rci membership. an exchange fee each time you "spend" some points and of course your annual maintenance fee to the resort.

Unfortunately you have to pay to play this game, and there are a lot "toll booths"

The trade off between RCI or Wyndham memberships for example is that RCI hits you harder at the toll booths while RCI properties generally have lower maintenance costs (per point purchasing power).

For an 175,000 point property in both RCI and Wyndham the maintenance costs are roughly equal but 175,000 points in RCI is roughly 2 times the rewards hotel stays (8,000 vs. 19,000) points. Wyndham requires hotel bookings 60 days in advance, another barrier to using their system. Then you also have last minute vacations and extra vacation perks as an RCI points member as a unique advantage.

If looks like if your interest is purely vacationing on a budget RCI is the way to go, while Wyndham is more economical for timeshare renting. RCI properties are technically not allowed to be rented though you can go the guest fee route ($59 dollars).

 

[skimble]

Our TS company (VRI) charges a fee to deposit the unit into RCI points. This fee is charged every three years, as the transfer to points is done three years at a time. This fee is separate from and in addition to the annual TS owber's fee and the RCI membership fees.

It is my understanding that VRI has imposed this fee on many of the resorts they manage. It was $89 every three years for my Winner's Circle. As soon as I got that bill, I called to complain, and they waived it. My father tried the same thing, and they refused to waive it. Go figure.
He could be referring to the cleaning fee... the RCI membership fee... the exchange fee. And some resorts even charge a Resort Fee! Sheesh! This stuff adds up! Easy to understand the buyer's remorse.
Add it up...
I don't know what membership costs at this time...
$89 for membership
$189 for exchange
$75 for cleaning fee. (Wyndhams)
Add in a guest certificate or insurance, and holy cow! It's over $400 in fees.
Gotta wonder why we do this.