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RCI vs. Interval International

B

Billatmcs

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
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Location
San Francisco Bay Area
I recently acquired a Worldmark ownership through ebay and am considering joining RCI or II, but I had a few questions:
1. What is the best (or appropriate) program to join on RCI ... Weeks or Points
2. Do either one of these programs provide the capability of doing mid-week, short term vacation?
3. In terms of quality and quantity, which program is best?

I am particularly interested in doing mid-week vacations, Monday through Thursday... Do either of these programs permit this type of booking? I have been told by another Worldmark owner that they only provide units on a weekly basis.

Thanks for any assistance...
 
I am pretty new to WM myself. But I already have a RCI account so I linked it to my WM membership. As far as I can tell, there is no partial week using WM points. I also paid to join II with WM. If you pay to upgrade to II gold or platinum level, you can do partial week. You can see the actual point value required for partial weeks even before you upgrade your membership.
 
I don't think a II membership will do what you want it to. The inventory that is available for less than a full week is mostly in areas where there is more supply than demand, and during the off-season. It's very limited.
 
I agree with Denise on the inventory. You really do not have to upgrade your membership until you find the "Short Stay Exchange". Anyone can see the inventory.
 
Using WM for anything less than a week is not possible in RCI, unless you buy retail and have access to RCI points. So, using your ebay WM contract for any kind of short stay in RCI is not an option.

Using II, a shortstay may be an option, but don’t get your hopes up for a name brand resort, especially during anything less than way off season. The choices are very limited for breaking up a week in II. It is an option, but you have to be more than flexible and lucky, and almost 100% of the time, I think you will be disappointed. Now, if you are okay with mud weeks (those spring weeks in the mountains when you can’t ski or hike) or winter weeks in say Williamsburg or Virginia Beach, then you may be very happy with short stays in II.

About WM and how it works in II or RCI for full week exchanges, RCI is the system to join if you want to actually be matched with a resort via an ongoing request. I get matches in RCI for ongoing searches to Myrtle Beach in the summer, DVC, and the other top resorts in RCI all the time. In Interval, I can see great exchanges in the on-line inventory but I have never once (in nearly two years) been matched with a resort via an ongoing request. Interval has very restrictive preference periods for say Marriott and Starwood owners. It is really tough, probably even impossible to get a prime exchange via an ongoing request in Interval. In RCI, you will be successful a lot at getting a prime exchange via an ongoing request. WM owners do best in Interval during flex time and instant on-line matches.

Hope that helps. WM is GREAT! There is nothing better to own for getting the best of the best RCI exchanges. For Interval exchanges, you really have to watch on-line inventory like a hawk and be able to book something yourself – and you will never get a summer beach week at the Marriott’s in the Carolinas or a 2 bedroom in one of the Marriott’s or Hyatt’s or other top brand resorts during ski season via an ongoing request. Hawaii is also out of the question for the top brands in Interval for anything other than flex time or lucking out and finding something yourself in the on-line inventory.

In other words, you can basically ask for any exchange you want in RCI (within reason) and wait a couple months and get exactly what you want. In Interval, almost all the top trades are out of question and you can never count on Interval to find an exchange for you, people who do best in Interval do so by finding their own exchanges. Been my experience, at least.
 
I am also a WM owner and belong to both RCI and II. I see nothing of interest in RCI and will probably drop it. I have gotten really good exchanges (Marriott and Four Seasons) with low season deposits in II. They are cheaper and easier to use as well.

For the best info on exchanging with WM, go to the worldmark owners forum at www.wmowners.com where you can read up on the pros and cons of both systems, and get advise on how to get the exchange you want.

Choose the system you want on where you want to exchange into and which system has what you want. You can check their directories online. The bottom line for short stays is they don't work well on exchanges. The choices of resorts available are really limited so it isn't a reason to go with one system or the other. You can't get into RCI Points via a WM resale. You are more likely to get a week at the last minute at a price that makes it very doable for just 3-4 days and then leave early. II's XYZ program results in an additional week at the cost of an exchange fee ($169 for phone in??) so at that price, not staying for the full week makes sense.

WM is a little different animal on exchanges so your best bet is to read up at www.wmowners.com to learn how to make the most of it.

Sue
 
Billatmcs said:
I recently acquired a Worldmark ownership through ebay and am considering joining RCI or II, but I had a few questions:
1. What is the best (or appropriate) program to join on RCI ... Weeks or Points
2. Do either one of these programs provide the capability of doing mid-week, short term vacation?
3. In terms of quality and quantity, which program is best?

I am particularly interested in doing mid-week vacations, Monday through Thursday... Do either of these programs permit this type of booking? I have been told by another Worldmark owner that they only provide units on a weekly basis.

Thanks for any assistance...
Click to expand...

There really aren’t that many WM owners on this site. Most that post here are talking about Wyndham Resorts, which are completely different than WM. The only connection is that Wyndham is the developer for both clubs and they share a very limited amount of units. They both operate under very different rules. I would suggest that if you want to learn how to better use your WM ownership that you visit WWW.WMOWNERS.COM. This is a site specifically set up for WM owners.

We have been WM owners since 1995 and love the club. I can’t say I feel the same way about our developer Wyndham. We initially were RCI members and later joined II. RCI was our preferred exchange company until Cendant purchased them. We have dropped RCI and are reasonably happy with II although they are starting to copy some of RCI’s practices that we dislike. I really feel RCI has come to mean, “Rent a Condo International”.

If you bought resale you can’t join RCI points so short term stays with RCI won’t work for you. II does have a short-term stay program but availability is limited. Unless you want to stay off-season or accept lower quality resorts I think you will be disappointed.

With either exchange company you need to make sure the resorts or locations you want to vacation are available with that exchange company. In some areas II has better and more choices while in another geographical area RCI would be a better choice. For us II has better selections and better resorts in areas we prefer to vacation.

We get excellent trades with II and the ongoing request have worked very well for us. You can’t search for a unit larger that the unit you deposit, however if the resort only has 2 bedroom units you can request it and if it matches you get it. We have received 2-bedroom units this was while using a 1-bedroom deposit; you just have to check that smallest unit you will accept is a 1-bedroom unit.

We have had a low season 6000 credit WM unit match that allowed us to stay Hyatt’s Windward Point in Key West during the last part of November. Have matched Many Marriott’s during the shoulder season.
 
Thanks for the replies...

I appreciate the replies and they helped me better understand the WM points program and the related exchange companies. I am still learning, but this helps a lot.
...bill
 
Don't discount the "alternative" exchange companies either. Many of them you can join for free. DAE, SFX, Trading Places. With them, you can reserve a high value trading week through WM and then deposit it . With SFX-you might earn as many as 5 "lifestyle weeks" that can be booked last minute for a price that supports a short stay. (checking in late or out early during your desired timeframe) Other than that, WM bonus time is fabulous if you want mid week, off season travel without using your credits. As stated previously, WWW.WMOWNERS.COM is the place to learn about maximizing your purchase. Good luck!
 
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