Value of RCI Trading Share

[pmdpmk3]

I need to decide if I should be an RCI member by end of year so I can transfer my travelsmart points into RCI which would give me 30 trading power but transfer $250 and membership $99 + booking fee when use it so not sure if it's worth it. What is approximate value range of 1 trading power?? (I'm not RCI member so can't even look up possible lodging and power required), also I'd rather do 3-4 days rather then 7 but not sure how much of that is available.

 

[Bailey#1]

This will only give you a hypothetical answer to your question. I say this because nothing is concrete in the rci world.

30 tpu's will get you a week in a 2 bedroom at a decent resort lets say (Sheraton Vistana Orlando). So in this case your 30 TPU's would be worth about $40 a point hypothetically.
If you are paying, to join RCI $250 plus $99 + $239(rci booking fee) then you will pay about $588 for that reservation. (not including any MF's you paid for your travelsmart points).

Decent resorts I fine, run between 25-30 points depending on location and season. RCI membership will includes last minute vacation deals that are pretty good. So in your case, if you are planning a vacation in the next 12 months than it may be worth it. But make sure you are getting 30 TPU's for your trade.

 

[moonstone]

Also, once you join RCI you have access to the discounted Extra Vacations and Last Calls. Those are weeks that you pay for but they don't require the use of any of your points. They are usually weeks that would otherwise sit empty but the resort likes to get something for it, rather than it sit empty. They usually wont be Gold Crown, or high demand areas, or peak time. We have recently had a week on the beach in FL in a nice place for less than $300. -that's less than $45/night -you cant even get a motel room for that! There are no limit to those weeks and we have purchased three 2 bedroom units at once and had an extended family vacation with each 'family' having their own unit on 3 different occasions.


~Diane

 

[TheHolleys87]

I need to decide if I should be an RCI member by end of year so I can transfer my travelsmart points into RCI which would give me 30 trading power but transfer $250 and membership $99 + booking fee when use it so not sure if it's worth it. What is approximate value range of 1 trading power?? (I'm not RCI member so can't even look up possible lodging and power required), also I'd rather do 3-4 days rather then 7 but not sure how much of that is available.

Just to let you know some specifics, for 29 TPUs we reserved a week in June at Historic Crags Lodge, Estes Park, and for 28 TPUs we'll be at Paniolo Greens on the Big Island of Hawaii in July. 17 TPUs is getting us a November week at Silver Lake in Orlando, 7 an end of October week at Massanutten's Shenandoah Villas, and 13 is paying for a week at the Wyndham in Taos. You can look those resorts up in the RCI directory to decide whether those TPU costs would be worth it to you. That's in addition to the exchange fees, of course.

 

[SteelerGal]

In RCI, your trade value decreases as you get closer to your check in date. So you have to deposit early. Because of this I don’t always deposit my week but actually use it. However I do take advantage of extra vacations. We usually go to the Desert since it’s local and cheaper than a hotel. $500 or less for a 2bdrm is a steal for my family.

 

[pmdpmk3]

I will get full 30 trading power and can even do 45 if I don’t roll over my extra points so I think I’m going to buy 3 yr Rcq membership so have time to use them. I don’t own typical timeshare as I got travelsmart membership at Royalton resort (which I love) so no specific week to trade just need to transfer or roll over points by 31st. If I dont have enough trading power I was told I can’t buy it but could I buy trading power from tug member then I guess I’d have to pay to combine it with my points?

 

[pmdpmk3]

Just to let you know some specifics, for 29 TPUs we reserved a week in June at Historic Crags Lodge, Estes Park, and for 28 TPUs we'll be at Paniolo Greens on the Big Island of Hawaii in July. 17 TPUs is getting us a November week at Silver Lake in Orlando, 7 an end of October week at Massanutten's Shenandoah Villas, and 13 is paying for a week at the Wyndham in Taos. You can look those resorts up in the RCI directory to decide whether those TPU costs would be worth it to you. That's in addition to the exchange fees, of course.

Thanks so so much for all that I’ll research costs and if worth it tomorrow when I’ll have access to computer