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RCI fee changes as per 7/1 both weeks and points.

Cyberc

Cyberc

TUG Member
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Location
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Yet another round of fees to be increased by RCI.

RCI® Weeks Fees United States effective July 1, 2018
The following information details the various fees that are associated with your membership benefits, and shows if the fee is lower online, compared to booking with an RCI Vacation Guide over the phone.

Exchange Vacations
USD
Exchange Fee - RCI Cruise (Deposit Trading Power of 7) $149
Managing your Deposits

USD
Deposit Extension - 1 Month $44
Deposit Extension - 3 Months $84
Deposit Extension - 6 Months $114
Deposit Extension - 12 Months $134
Combine Deposit Fee - 12 Month expiration $134
Combine Deposit Fee - 24 Month expiration. $184
Managing your Exchange Vacations USD
Guest Certificate $84
RCI fees are subject to change at RCI's sole discretion. For complete details of RCI® subscribing



RCI® Points Fees United States effective July 1, 2018
As an RCI Points Subscribing Member, you have access to many member-only benefits! The following information details the various fees that are associated with your membership benefits, and shows if the fee is lower online, compared to if you book via an RCI Guide.

Usually on an annual basis, you will also pay a maintenance fee, which is used toward the operation and upkeep of the resort at which you own. This is not a fee which is collected by RCI - you pay your resort directly.



Exchange Vacations USD (Call Center/RCI.com)
RCI Points Reservation 14 nights + $288
RCI Points Reservation: 7+ Nights $209
RCI Points Reservation 6 nights $199
RCI Points Reservation: 5 Nights. $179
RCI Points Reservation 4 nights $139
RCI Points Reservation: 3 Nights $109
RCI Points Reservation 2 nights $79
RCI Points Reservation: 1 Nights $59
Cruise Exchange - 20,000 Points $149
Managing Your Points USD
Points for Deposit Fee. $49
Miscellaneous Fees USD
Guest Certificates $84
 
At least they didn’t jack up the regular exchange fee as it seems to remain the same. At least for 1 week / 7 days.
 
Looks to me like all RCI Points Exchange fees are going up $10. Points for deposit fee I believe is currently $26...going up to $49. Just ridiculous...
 
I have been an RCI member for nearly 20 years. This will be my last year. Not only do the fees keep going up but it is harder and harder to get a decent exchange. They have served me well. Lots of memorable vacations over the years.
 
They are their own worst enemy here. Keep raising fees without improving the user experience, causing people to stop using/depositing with them, which causes trades to get harder - it's a vicious circle. Exchanging is a crapshoot with any company but at least Interval has kept their fees lower (although they are inching closer to RCI levels). Interval has eplus which I add to every trade as cheap insurance, and their platinum levels add actual value which I definitely didn't find with RCI.

I am out of RCI after our tradewinds trip this fall. I just let 6 tpu's expire in May and I will lose another 5 in the fall but it wasn't enough to use for a trade that worked for us, and it was too small of a number to pay to combine.
 
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I have been an RCI member since 1984. My plan has been to let my membership expire in June next year. I randomly get surveys from RCI. "Would you recommend RCI?" On a scale of 1-10. Asks why I chose my answer of 1. My answer is always because of the ever-escalating and additional fees. $84 for a guest certificate is more than the exchange fee once was. This is a major "junk" fee.

I have no more deposits or points to use up, just exchanges that I have previously made that will be used up before the expiration. I have always benefited greatly as an RCI user; however, I doubt the "average" user works the system the way that I have for 34 years. I could be wrong. :shrug: All things change. I'm looking forward to a different way of vacationing after I leave RCI. It's been a "way of life" for a long time, but I see other opportunities out there that I would like to try and experience. I've read of Tuggers before me making this decision and none of them seem to have regretted it.

This latest round of increases supports one of my main reasons for letting my membership drop. I see it as an opportunity to explore new things.

Bye, RCI. :hi:
 
My membership expires in 2020 and I will not renew either unless something changes drastically to benefit BOTH members and investors (yes I’m also a shareholder).
 
Egret1986 said:
I have been an RCI member since 1984. My plan has been to let my membership expire in June next year. I randomly get surveys from RCI. "Would you recommend RCI?" On a scale of 1-10. Asks why I chose my answer of 1. My answer is always because of the ever-escalating and additional fees. $84 for a guest certificate is more than the exchange fee once was. This is a major "junk" fee.

I have no more deposits or points to use up, just exchanges that I have previously made that will be used up before the expiration. I have always benefited greatly as an RCI user; however, I doubt the "average" user works the system the way that I have for 34 years. I could be wrong. :shrug: All things change. I'm looking forward to a different way of vacationing after I leave RCI. It's been a "way of life" for a long time, but I see other opportunities out there that I would like to try and experience. I've read of Tuggers before me making this decision and none of them seem to have regretted it.

This latest round of increases supports one of my main reasons for letting my membership drop. I see it as an opportunity to explore new things.

Bye, RCI. :hi:
Click to expand...
I was wondering what I can do with 3 exchange value. Most resorts you need 4 minimum to go to all inclusive resorts. Is there a market for these?
Thanks,
Steve
 
My RCI membership expires this month, and I will not be renewing. My Grand Pacific week exchanges well internally through GPX, and WorldMark is in a class by itself. I haven’t needed or used RCI in a long time. I still laugh at the double-entendre meaning of their slogan: “Your vacation means the world - to us!” I’ll just bet it does!

Dave
 
I have not belonged to RCI in years and survived. I simply use the weeks I own and rent other places I want to go! Once in a while, but rarely, I use a small independent exchange company for a trade. What a concept!
 
Unbelievable
They intend to run this TPU ship into the ground.

Funny thing is that they waived the RCI exchange fee for us DVC members if we give them our points so it seems they are going after the good stuff but most DVC members use points brokers instead.

I wonder if they are doing any sort of thing or thinking of doing it with the other big mini systems. Maybe this is a coming trend.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I stopped depositing my weeks with them and am trying to use up my last TPUs. BUT....I will keep my membership with them because I find the best value with them comes in the form of Extra Vacations, for the region I live in (New England). I struggle to use TPUs when the EVs are much more cost effective.
 
mdurette said:
I stopped depositing my weeks with them and am trying to use up my last TPUs. BUT....I will keep my membership with them because I find the best value with them comes in the form of Extra Vacations, for the region I live in (New England). I struggle to use TPUs when the EVs are much more cost effective.
Click to expand...

True but since so many of the developers have free portal RCI memberships now, you can just use the free ones for the same perks or even better since you can book nightly units thru some of them like DVC and HGVC ala RCI points style.
Nightly discounts available.
I haven’t tried it yet but I know it’s out there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
mpumilia said:
I have not belonged to RCI in years and survived. I simply use the weeks I own and rent other places I want to go! Once in a while, but rarely, I use a small independent exchange company for a trade. What a concept!
Click to expand...

Probably the smaller the trading company, the fewer options (and potentially lower quality). How do you overcome that problem?
 
DannyTS said:
Probably the smaller the trading company, the fewer options (and potentially lower quality). How do you overcome that problem?
Click to expand...

Even the smaller companies like SFX, DAE, Trading places/VRIexchange and platinum interchange all have free accounts.

Just join up and watch for their rentals.
I have snagged cheaper than RCI and II last minute stuff from both DAE and SFX for $100 or less if you can check in that day or in a day or two.

Further out the last minute rentals are sometimes comparable to what you get in the big 2 but trading places has some inventory at $297 that is a few months out.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
DannyTS said:
Probably the smaller the trading company, the fewer options (and potentially lower quality). How do you overcome that problem?
Click to expand...

Yes, less options for sure. But because I hardly ever trade- when I do I have low expectations to start with. I never trade my 2 fixed weeks and only consider trading the 1 floater which is always different each year and preassigned by the resort like 20 years out so I always know when it will be. But we almost always use our floater now that our son is an adult as we like the off seasons at our home resort. The thing is, if worse comes to worse and we don't see anything we would want on the small exchange company websites (of which I only have the free memberships so it is really limited),we just use the floater we own. I never deposit the floater first- which a couple of them allow. If I find what I might like, I then call and give them my week for the exchange.

If we can't use our floater or fixed weeks- which has never happened thankfully- I would try to rent them out or trade/swap with another owner maybe (through the resorts' owners intranet or Facebook page or TUG)- but I take out travelers/cancellation insurance every year to cover the maintenance fees just in case.
 
chriskre said:
Even the smaller companies like SFX, DAE, Trading places/VRIexchange and platinum interchange all have free accounts.

Just join up and watch for their rentals.
I have snagged cheaper than RCI and II last minute stuff from both DAE and SFX for $100 or less if you can check in that day or in a day or two.

Further out the last minute rentals are sometimes comparable to what you get in the big 2 but trading places has some inventory at $297 that is a few months out.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I have just bought all of my weeks so my exchange experience is zero at this moment. I will soon have access to both RCI and II, corporate accounts. Because one will be through HGVC and the other one Vistana and both have their internal trading, i do not feel that the exchange companies add a lot of value after paying all the exchange fees. I would personally rather trade directly with other owners of high end resorts in order to avoid the fee.
 
I joined RCI some 25 years ago and had success using them for Exchanges for a number of years but when it became apparent that there was no end to their price increases I dropped my Membership and changed my TS operation to one of owning and using six Fixed Week/Fixed Unit Weeks in places I enjoyed returning to every year.

George
 
DannyTS said:
I have just bought all of my weeks so my exchange experience is zero at this moment. I will soon have access to both RCI and II, corporate accounts. Because one will be through HGVC and the other one Vistana and both have their internal trading, i do not feel that the exchange companies add a lot of value after paying all the exchange fees. I would personally rather trade directly with other owners of high end resorts in order to avoid the fee.
Click to expand...

Well that plan is difficult and requires trust and a lot of work.

I am not saying it’s impossible as I have traded with a few TUGgers right here that I met, but you don’t always agree on what is equitable.

HGVC thru the RCI portal sees all points and weeks inventory so you are covered there with the free account. Not sure if Starwood since I don’t own there but I do see some of their inventory in both systems although things are bound to change now that Marriott swallowed up both Starwood and Interval international.


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Only reaffirms my Love/Hate relationship with RCI. More Hate than Love these days. There is NO WAY, they can justify increasing their rates at every chance they get. Glitchy website, no added values for the rate hike, keep asking them to add a "wheelchair accessible" filter. NOTHING!!
 
I will keep using RCI.... I only have Grandview at Las Vegas and I don't think it trades in other companies.... when you look at everything else I guess its life..... when was the last time you got a NEW car for less then the last time you bought it??? how about postage stamps.... I am not trying to start a fight here... and everyone has the right to NOT use RCI.... but I will continue in doing so:) I have never had problems getting trades through them and actually even after paying the MF's and RCI fees its still ALOT cheaper to do it this way..... just my 2 cents worth.... Dave.... I LOVE Time Sharing!!! :banana::banana:
 
Magic1962 said:
I will keep using RCI.... I only have Grandview at Las Vegas and I don't think it trades in other companies.... when you look at everything else I guess its life..... when was the last time you got a NEW car for less then the last time you bought it??? how about postage stamps.... I am not trying to start a fight here... and everyone has the right to NOT use RCI.... but I will continue in doing so:) I have never had problems getting trades through them and actually even after paying the MF's and RCI fees its still ALOT cheaper to do it this way..... just my 2 cents worth.... Dave.... I LOVE Time Sharing!!! :banana::banana:
Click to expand...

Happy to hear RCI works for you. I have one timeshare that I love that is only part of RCI so I will probably stay a member reluctantly.

I am trying to see if I can get RCI to work better for me.

I am putting ogs far far in advance. I also will try using for last minute as that is where the deals are. Recently I was able to go to Disney for 10 tpu’s.
 
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