Trying To Understand Bonus Weeks.

[escanoe]

Correct, 2 carry over and 2 new ones awarded. This is through RCI points Vacation Village Premier account. The certificates allow me to book from 2-180 days out which means the inventory is wider than just the Last Call list. The exchange fee is $199 using the certificate or to book a regular exchange to a non-Vacation Village resort. With VV Premier if I do an "internal exchange" (to another VV Resort) the exchange fee is $119. There have been cases where there's been discounts on the number of points required for a VV resort (once it was an 80% discount) and still paid the $119 fee. I also get a discount on Guest Certificates as well.

VV Premiere sounds good to me. Discounted exchange fees and the longer window for certificates being solid benefits. I just don’t see the benefits being enough to justify a developer purchase in my case.

 

[jbiza]

I think these Bonus Weeks are the best thing about owning VV. It makes it very easy to get very high value out of your MF. I already own at Parkway and just purchased a triennial at Grandview. For some, the booking window may make it difficult to use them, but if you are flexible about a few of the specifics, you can get fantastic deals!

Agreed.

Also, there's good value in the fact that VV weeks often are available for only 4700 points (+ exchange fee), for short notice travel.

 

[AwayWeGo]

I just found out today that RCI Platinum 10% discount on reservations does not apply to Bonus Weeks.

Who knew ?

The way I found out was by making a Bonus Week reservation for Vacation Village At Parkway for check-in early next month. (We already had a reservation for Star Island, but it turns out our granddaughters will be bringing along so many friends to join in on their Orlando vacation with us that we'll need added accommodations. Fortunately Star Island & Vacation Village At Parkway are only a few miles apart, so we don't expect any trouble with getting the whole bunch together at 1 resort pool or the other.)

Not getting 10% off won't break the bank. Still, every little bit helps, & a Platinum discount would be nice.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Update: I typed up top that Bonus Weeks are shown among available offers every time I log on at RCI Dot Com.

That was true at the time, & for several weeks afterward.

By the middle of August 2021, it was no longer true.

The Bonus Week "certificate" which I had grown accustomed to seeing either expired or got used & thus was no longer shown after I made an August 2021 reservation.

With hardly any points to draw on, my current options for RCI reservations are limited to Extra Vacation Getaways & Last Calls & 7 Nights For 10,000 Points & Below.

All those are good, but they all have disadvantages.

Extra Vacation Getaways aren't exactly bargains.

Even though Last Calls & 7 Nights For 10,000 Points & Below are big bargains, they are only available for check-in within the next 6 weeks or so, whereas we don't plan on going to timeshares again till January 2022.

Bonus Weeks, if they show up again some time (as I expect they will, once the Vacation Village timeshare chain issues a new "certificate") will likewise be available only for check-in within a similar 45-day period. Basically, those weeks are like Last Calls, except a bit cheaper. Also, there's no RCI Platinum discount for Bonus Week reservations, the way there is with Last Calls & Extra Vacation Getaways.

At an RCI-101 orientation I attended at 1 of the timeshare resorts, the discussion of Bonus Week certificates mentioned the need to cite a number printed on the certificate when making a Bonus Week reservation by telephone. The RCI person went into some detail about where to find that number on the physical certificate, as though the certificate is a piece of paper given to the RCI member upon purchasing at an RCI-affiliated timeshare, or a paper that gets mailed to the RCI member.

In all our years of owning points units 1st at Vacation Village At Parkway & more recently at Grandview At Las Vegas, we have never even seen a Bonus Week certificate in the form of a piece of paper. Nor have we seen a Bonus Week certificate number on anything sent to us via email or shown on the RCI Points website when we log in. Yet we have received email informing us that a Bonus Week certificate has been issued, & until mid-August 2021 we saw lots of units available for Bonus Week reservations on the RCI website.

When we did make Bonus Week reservations, we did it via the RCI website. The reservation process was basically the same as making a reservation via Last Call & did not involve citing any certificate numbers. That is to say, we've been informed that we had a Bonus Week certificate & we've made Bonus Week reservations accordingly, but we've never seen an actual certificate in any form, with or without numbers. Go figure.

I expect that 1 of these days soon, maybe by Thanksgiving, we'll be informed via email that a new certificate has been issued, & that Bonus Week offerings will show up once again on the Offers section of the RCI web site. If so, we'll take advantage of the bargains if any fit our January 2022 criteria. If not, we'll make do with Last Calls & Extra Vacation Getaways.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Sn0wbird]

VV Premiere sounds good to me. Discounted exchange fees and the longer window for certificates being solid benefits. I just don’t see the benefits being enough to justify a developer purchase in my case.

How much did they quote you?

 

[escanoe]

RCI Weeks currently charges a $159 weekly exchange fee for all VV deposits trading into VV properties.

 

[Sn0wbird]

Correct, 2 carry over and 2 new ones awarded. This is through RCI points Vacation Village Premier account. The certificates allow me to book from 2-180 days out which means the inventory is wider than just the Last Call list. The exchange fee is $199 using the certificate or to book a regular exchange to a non-Vacation Village resort. With VV Premier if I do an "internal exchange" (to another VV Resort) the exchange fee is $119. There have been cases where there's been discounts on the number of points required for a VV resort (once it was an 80% discount) and still paid the $119 fee. I also get a discount on Guest Certificates as well.

I'm curious to know if you were able to get prime weeks for the 2-180 days certificate? The reason I asked becasue I went to an "owner" update at Massanutten today and was offered ~120000 additional points EOY, plus 1 2-180 days certificate every year which allows me to book any 4br, any week, that available in RCI. I said no and later got called in the office, they offered an additional ~50000 points annually on top of the original offer. I turned down the offer, but wondering if the 2-180 days certificate is worth it?

 

[rboesl]

I have such a large amount of points I've never used one of those certificates. But, I have on occasion checked the inventory. It doesn't seem to be much better than the 45-90 day inventory. Just a wider window to book them.

 

[escanoe]

... plus 1 2-180 days certificate every year which allows me to book any 4br, any week.

My salesweasel BS detector is going off full volume on that one.

What you are buying is not enough points to "book any 4BR any week" in RCI. It would not even be enough points to do that in Massanutten at Woodstone or Regal Vistas.

Why would the free certificate they are giving you have more trading power than the underlying deed they are selling?

My guess is that it will match "any 4BR, any week for off season excessive inventory that they make available to those using certificates."

I have both 90 day and 180-day VV certificates and have never used one. Anytime I have calculated, using one has cost more than using TPUs and paying an internal VV exchange rate. (My calculation might be different if I only had a points account.)

I would say the certificates might be nice to have in some circumstances. But they are certainly not worth paying retail for. Especially when it appears we get free 90 day certificates when buying resale.

 

[tschwa2]

The bonus certs are good for inventory that is 7 or fewer tpu's. The 180 day cert just let you book them earlier. If you only have rci points and no weeks account it could be beneficial as the points inventory may be still full price and not reduced but it is still very low demand inventory that is bookable with the certs.

 

[escanoe]

I would really like to have a Gold Card as much time and money as I spend at Massanutten. However, I have yet to do any math that would justify making a developer purchase to have one.

Another observation I will make on Massanutten/VV is as fees increase (as they have in recent years) if you intend to use your trading power to stay in VV properties, there can be big advantages to trading in TPUs versus points.

With recent increases, an internal VV exchange in TPUs is $159 per week. However, If you book a week using a points account using the normal process (and the only way to get highly discounted weeks) it is a $289 exchange fee.

I basically own my VV properties that are in points exclusively to trade outside of VV properties and try to own enough in TPUs for my VV stays.

 

[Sn0wbird]

I would really like to have a Gold Card as much time and money as I spend at Massanutten. However, I have yet to do any math that would justify making a developer purchase to have one.



Another observation I will make on Massanutten/VV is as fees increase (as they have in recent years) if you intend to use your trading power to stay in VV properties, there can be big advantages to trading in TPUs versus points.



With recent increases, an internal VV exchange in TPUs is $159 per week. However, If you book a week using a points account using the normal process (and the only way to get highly discounted weeks) it is a $289 exchange fee.



I basically own my VV properties that are in points exclusively to trade outside of VV properties and try to own enough in TPUs for my VV stays.

I purchased the ski lift tickets from the owner's website and able to redeem them at the self check-in kiosk no problem. I haven't done any other activities. The self check-in kiosk at the ski booths are super convenient and fast if you purchased your tickets online.

 

[escanoe]

I purchased the ski lift tickets from the owner's website and able to redeem them at the self check-in kiosk no problem. I haven't done any other activities. The self check-in kiosk at the ski booths are super convenient and fast if you purchased your tickets online.

I bought the special value ski season pass (which a gold card discount cannot be applied toward). I have bought individual lift tickets in the past.

The main value of the Gold Card to me would be year-round access to the facilities without having to stay at the resort.

The 20% discounting I would enjoy on various things would be nice, but never come close to justifying a developer purchase.

 

[noreenkate]

My salesweasel BS detector is going off full volume on that one.

What you are buying is not enough points to "book any 4BR any week" in RCI. It would not even be enough points to do that in Massanutten at Woodstone or Regal Vistas.

Why would the free certificate they are giving you have more trading power than the underlying deed they are selling?

My guess is that it will match "any 4BR, any week for off season excessive inventory that they make available to those using certificates."

I have both 90 day and 180-day VV certificates and have never used one. Anytime I have calculated, using one has cost more than using TPUs and paying an internal VV exchange rate. (My calculation might be different if I only had a points account.)

I would say the certificates might be nice to have in some circumstances. But they are certainly not worth paying retail for. Especially when it appears we get free 90 day certificates when buying resale.

The resale certificates I get with Williamsburg have come in pretty handy- my son travels for work and between those and last calls he has gotten far better rates than the local hotels…

 

[rboesl]

With recent increases, an internal VV exchange in TPUs is $159 per week. However, If you book a week using a points account using the normal process (and the only way to get highly discounted weeks) it is a $289 exchange fee.

I am purely VV points. I have made internal VV exchanges using points and only paid a $159 exchange fee.

 

[escanoe]

I am purely VV points. I have made internal VV exchanges using points and only paid a $159 exchange fee.

That is because of your Premiere Status from making a VV developer purchase, right? I don't believe a points customer can get that from resale, but anyone trading in RCI Weeks (resale or not) can get the $159 exchange fee.

is vacation village plus worth it?

anybody that actually had upgraded their unit to V.V.+ program ? i own a few weeks in different resorts of their network , i do a very well use of their 45 days certificates ,so i was told by the sales people that with vv+ that goes up to 90 days inventory , but they will not show me what it...

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