WEEKS owners - FACTS/QUESTIONS - new RCI Program

[timeos2]

Hopefully this will cut down on lock off deposits
We always want 2 bedroom units and only own 2 bedroom units.

We often find units where we want to go but always one bedrooms. lack of two bedroom units has always bothered me. Its the worst with Marriott in II.

If the points values are the same more two bedroom units should get deposited. Because you can still get two weeks of vacation with the bigger point value and you want have to pay lock off fees.

100% agreement on this! The idea of timeshare was always larger, full units rather than small limited studios/basic hotel rooms. We expect two bedroom or larger (or at the very least a true 1 bedroom and full features) within the restrictions of a given area. The trend, as you point out especially bad with II/Marriott, to split an otherwise great resort/unit into tiny, limited feature units does not meet what we put in or expect to get out. Because of that renting, where again you can tweak things down to the exact unit/view/size/date/etc AND save money over many trades, becomes much me attractive. Hopefully by putting the value out there regardless of how it is "split" we can get back to what timeshare is supposed to be.

 

[DocPepsi]

WEEKS owners - OPINIONS - new RCI Program

Wouldn't the 'Trade Value' and 'Trade Power' in aggregate have to basically be equal? Otherwise, there would be a huge imbalance in terms of equity correct?

I mean if you treat this as a free-market economy, if you give people more Money (Trade Power) than the value of the goods (Trade Value) then the entire economic system is at a fault.

 

[Dunk]

I know this is supposed to happen this weekend....but my SA week which I have had on deposit for a year or so, just dropped from seeing 140,000 available exchanges to 42,000. I can no longer see any DVC or Manhatten Club,
Houses at Summer Bay, Bay Club......I could see them all yesterday.

I now only see 3 resorts in Hawaii....

This sucks

 

[bellesgirl]

My numbers are changing too but in a different way. A unit that was stronger now shows less availability than a previously weaker unit. Not huge differences, but still peculiar. Monday should be interesting.

 

[Liz Wolf-Spada]

What if we have no current weeks deposited with RCI? How will this help us to decide where to get the best trades for our weeks?
Liz

 

[miamidan]

i really want to book some vacations but, am waiting til monday. Want to see if there is other stuff out there have not been seeing or if there is potential "change back" opportunities!

 

[famy27]

Does anyone know what will happen with generic Wyndham deposits? I have several right now (and no visibles...grr), so I can't search anything at all. I am hoping that as of Monday, I'll see the value of the 28,0000 and 70,000 point studio weeks and will be able to search accordingly. Or will generics still not be searchable?

 

[bailey]

What would you pay if you had to use 2 weeks in order to get the exchange? 2 exchange fees or one?

 

[dundey]

I know this is supposed to happen this weekend....but my SA week which I have had on deposit for a year or so, just dropped from seeing 140,000 available exchanges to 42,000. I can no longer see any DVC or Manhatten Club,
Houses at Summer Bay, Bay Club......I could see them all yesterday.

I now only see 3 resorts in Hawaii....

This sucks

Was that a 2010 - world cup time deposit? If so, I've seen the same thing.
My 2010 Glenmore Sands week was seeing 132,000 the last time I checked on Tuesday and is now at 68,000. Lower than my Lehigh Resort Club July week, which has NEVER been the case.
This is not making me happy.

 

[MichaelColey]

RCI.com login is down for the ugprade, but they have a couple videos up to tell people about the changes. Nothing new, except this one gem:

This is a new Deposit Calculator. From what I can read on the screen, you can select any resort and either a unit number or room type and week number or check-in date and see the trading power that the deposit would get.

 

[ajmace]

RCi.com down now - does it reopen 5am Monday in England?

I am looking forward to checking that I am still able to do the same exchanges as I was yesterday. This is the assurance given by RCI that trading power remains the same but you will now be able to see it.

Am I right in thinking the new site should be open in England at 5 am on Monday November 15th? If so I'll get up early to see that everything is as promised!

 

[crazyhorse]

Yes that`s what the email from RCI told me. I live in England.

quote:

Our call centre will be closed on the following days;

Friday 12th November 2010
Saturday 13th November 2010

Also, RCI.com will be unavailable between the following times:

From: 5:00am - Friday 12th November 2010
To: 5:00am - Monday 15th November

If we get up early we can see it before our American cousins, but not before our friends in Australia. If you know someone over there they could give us a link to click on for their site which might give us a head start.
Or just select the country at the top of the RCI website perhaps?

Don`t take all of this as a fact!!

 

[bnoble]

Does anyone know what will happen with generic Wyndham deposits?

Not conclusively. At least one person was told that "pre-change" deposits will still be treated as special cases (i.e. not visible, must call), but that "post-change" deposits will (a) always be visible but (b) have different crossover point values. Several people were told that Wyndham would send us something "this week" with the details, but here we are on Friday and I don't know of anyone who has gotten anything.

So given the notorious unreliability of the phone reps, I think we'll just have to wait and see what happens on Monday.

 

[Tommart]

RCI Points Video

RCI.com login is down for the ugprade, but they have a couple videos up to tell people about the changes. Nothing new, except this one gem: <a new Deposit Calculator.>......

Well I watched the two videos--one for Weeks and one for Points programs. I didn't realize that there was also a change involving the Points program.

I agree I learned nothing significant in watching the Weeks video.

I then watched the Points video. I'm not a Points member so I don't fully understand it. I watched 2-3 minutes of hype with no content on current changes. Then the video dedicated about 5 seconds to this weekend's change. RCI will make it easier for Points members to search for Weeks units.

If RCI is making it easier for Points members to select Weeks deposits, it concerns me if they do not make it easier for Weeks members to select Points deposits. This is a potential negative of this weekend's change.

Watch the Points Video on RCI.com. Do you have the same concern?

Tom

 

[Carolinian]

You are spot on with your observation as to the relationship between Points and Weeks. Right now, Points members have access to all Weeks inventory from non-Points resorts, but Weeks members have no access whatsoever to Points inventory unless RCI decides to toss some weeks into the mix. This one-sided arrangement is inherently unfair to Weeks and weeks to be made mutual - either each can access all of the other at a fair rate of exchange or there is a fire wall where each system can only trade within itself.

Well I watched the two videos--one for Weeks and one for Points programs. I didn't realize that there was also a change involving the Points program.

I agree I learned nothing significant in watching the Weeks video.

I then watched the Points video. I'm not a Points member so I don't fully understand it. I watched 2-3 minutes of hype with no content on current changes. Then the video dedicated about 5 seconds to this weekend's change. RCI will make it easier for Points members to search for Weeks units.

If RCI is making it easier for Points members to select Weeks deposits, it concerns me if they do not make it easier for Weeks members to select Points deposits. This is a potential negative of this weekend's change.

Watch the Points Video on RCI.com. Do you have the same concern?

Tom

 

[miamidan]

Carolina,

I am a weeks member and on the surface it appears that what you say is right. They can cross over into "our" system but, I can't imagine there is not a reconciliation between the two systems. South Beach resort in Myrtle beach and Crown Park in Gatlinburg were sold only as points. There was never a week owner sold there yet I regularly saw that on weeks. Lake Geneva in Wisconsin was the same way.

Also if I remmeber correctly the 'crossover" grids were updated several years ago to demand a much higher number of points to access the weeks inventory.

just trying to be like Fox News "Fair and balanced"

 

[MichaelColey]

It looks like the Fee Schedule has been updated. The fee to combine will be $99, either online or over the phone.

 

[JudyS]

It looks like the Fee Schedule has been updated. The fee to combine will be $99, either online or over the phone.

Good catch! Let's hope we only have to pay one combining charge, no matter how many weeks one is combining (i.e., it one combines a 5 point and a 10 point and another 5 point, let's hope that's one combining $99 fee, not $198 in combining fees.)

 

[Carolinian]

Does anyone know why they are charging Canadians higher fees? When the loony was 70 or 80% of the USD that made sense. When they are virtually at par it does not.

It looks like the Fee Schedule has been updated. The fee to combine will be $99, either online or over the phone.

 

[Carolinian]

They claim to have a reconciliation method but are very evasive about it. Direct questions on the subject on the old Ask Madge (RCI Rep) section on TUG were evaded or ignored. However there was an unofficial RCI person who posted as Anon on a European timeshare board. He was what he said he was because the site owner did not want to allow him to post saying he worked for RCI unless he could show evidence of it. The site owner tested Anon by asking a series of very specific questions about his own RCI account that could only have been answered by someone with access to RCI's computers and Anon came back with all the right answers. In any event, when Anon was asked how they swapped weeks between the systems, he said they usually did not replace weeks taken out of the Weeks system for Points members with anything. What you are seeing might be developer deposits or they might be something that RCI had too much of and shifted to a place where they could offload it.

Carolina,

I am a weeks member and on the surface it appears that what you say is right. They can cross over into "our" system but, I can't imagine there is not a reconciliation between the two systems. South Beach resort in Myrtle beach and Crown Park in Gatlinburg were sold only as points. There was never a week owner sold there yet I regularly saw that on weeks. Lake Geneva in Wisconsin was the same way.

Also if I remmeber correctly the 'crossover" grids were updated several years ago to demand a much higher number of points to access the weeks inventory.

just trying to be like Fox News "Fair and balanced"

 

["Roger"]

... Right now, Points members have access to all Weeks inventory from non-Points resorts, but Weeks members have no access whatsoever to Points inventory unless RCI decides to toss some weeks into the mix. This one-sided arrangement is inherently unfair to Weeks and weeks to be made mutual - either each can access all of the other at a fair rate of exchange or there is a fire wall where each system can only trade within itself.

What Carolinian fails to mention is that this same arrangement exists for all of the hotel and mini-systems with all of the exchange companies. Is Marriott (Hyatt) going to give II members the same access to their inventory as owners(or put up a fire wall preventing anyone in II from having access to any of the Marriott or Hyatt inventory)? Should ther be no more access for RCI members to Disney, Hyatt, VRI? Would Carolinian militate for a firewall between Haspimag and DAE?

Fortunately, none of this is going to happen.

 

[jjmanthei05]

Does anyone know why they are charging Canadians higher fees? When the loony was 70 or 80% of the USD that made since. When they are virtually at par it does not.

Because RCI hates Canadians?

Jason

 

[BevL]

Does anyone know why they are charging Canadians higher fees? When the loony was 70 or 80% of the USD that made since. When they are virtually at par it does not.

That's been a common complaint from when I opened my account over 10 years ago.

When "Madge" was on the boards, the question was posed and we got RCI doublespeak about market conditions and that there are many factors that weigh in, blah, blah, blah.

Basically that's how it is, always has been and will continue to be.

 

[Bourne]

It looks like the Fee Schedule has been updated. The fee to combine will be $99, either online or over the phone.

If you go through the whole points video, it seems the search capability for points is being upgraded to kinda match weeks


And thou shalth read the whole thread before posting... this info was already posted by Tommart

 

[johnstp]

I'm as confused as I've ever been.

If I'm an RCI Points member, does this have any impact on me? Points are Points, right? My "trading power" is basically determined by the number of Points I own, yes?

My head hurts.