RCI Points Partners questions

[EAM]

Is RCI Points Partners worth it or do you end up spending more on maintenance fees, RCI fees, etc. than you would if you used cash for airlines, cruises, etc.? How are points converted to travel dollars? What are the pitfalls?

Can you used RCI Points to pay for the balance on a cruise you have already booked via a cruise company or travel agent?

 

[Passepartout]

I have never seen anything one can use RCI Points on that is worth the discount after subtracting the MF cost of the points. The exception here is that one can use the discount on up to 4 cruise cabins, thus multiplying the value of the discount, but how often do you book 4 cabins?

I don't see how one could use Points to pay down a balance on an already booked cruise, as Points Partners are not blanket credit towards any cruise, but simply a discount on 'selected' cruises on certain cruise lines.

In short, use Points for Timeshare stays, and cash (or credit card miles) to negotiate discounts on other travel.

Jm

 

[EAM]

I have never seen anything one can use RCI Points on that is worth the discount after subtracting the MF cost of the points. The exception here is that one can use the discount on up to 4 cruise cabins, thus multiplying the value of the discount, but how often do you book 4 cabins?

I don't see how one could use Points to pay down a balance on an already booked cruise, as Points Partners are not blanket credit towards any cruise, but simply a discount on 'selected' cruises on certain cruise lines.

In short, use Points for Timeshare stays, and cash (or credit card miles) to negotiate discounts on other travel.

Jm

Thanks, that's the answer I expected. The page at the link below confirms what I already suspected; you pay more in maintenance fees than you get back in discounts towards travel.
http://www.rci.com/docs/MarketingOffers/Block1_3_5_6_7_8_9_10/NorthAmerica/en_US/PVSS.pdf

 

[Seaport104]

Is RCI Points Partners worth it or do you end up spending more on maintenance fees, RCI fees, etc. than you would if you used cash for airlines, cruises, etc.? How are points converted to travel dollars? What are the pitfalls?

Can you used RCI Points to pay for the balance on a cruise you have already booked via a cruise company or travel agent?

I don't know about cruises but you can apply your points to air, hotel and attractions and you receive .008 per point with a maximum of 50% (If platinum) of your annual allotment that can be used towards these categories. For example, 50,000 RCI points = $400 credit.

Whether is makes sense to use towards those items depends on your maintenance fee per point.

 

[harveyhaddixfan]

This is exactly what I've figured out. They don't give higher discounts for using more points. Everything I have checked out has been $.008 per point. The prices on hotels and airlines seem to be what you would get on another booking site. I figure my points cost me about $.0095 and I get 132,000 per year (69k annual, 126k EOY). Right now I have 19,000 points for the 2014 use year that could get me down to $50-75 (including the $25 fee to redeem points) for 2 nights at a decent hotel. I wouldn't be too upset about using some points like this when they would otherwise go unused.

I don't know about cruises but you can apply your points to air, hotel and attractions and you receive .008 per point with a maximum of 50% (If platinum) of your annual allotment that can be used towards these categories. For example, 50,000 RCI points = $400 credit.

Whether is makes sense to use towards those items depends on your maintenance fee per point.

 

[Seaport104]

This is exactly what I've figured out. They don't give higher discounts for using more points. Everything I have checked out has been $.008 per point. The prices on hotels and airlines seem to be what you would get on another booking site. I figure my points cost me about $.0095 and I get 132,000 per year (69k annual, 126k EOY). Right now I have 19,000 points for the 2014 use year that could get me down to $50-75 (including the $25 fee to redeem points) for 2 nights at a decent hotel. I wouldn't be too upset about using some points like this when they would otherwise go unused.

I just remembered this summer I used pints towards universal studios multi day tickets and the points redeemed for a penny a point

 

[Insert_Username]

Occasionally Useful

The value of the RCI Points Partner program also depends on how many points you are allotted per year and whether you'll be able to use them all to reserve timeshare units.

This year I exchanged 28,235 points (plus $25) for an airline ticket that would have cost me $227. Technically, this is not a good bargain...but I get a lot of points each year and I can only afford to go on so many vacations. Since I would bank these points anyway (and eventually lose them), I was happy to save $202 on an airline ticket.

I use the Points Partner program to book one airline ticket per year, but I've never used it for any other exchanges. Most of the options really don't seem worth it.