WEEKS owners - FACTS/QUESTIONS - new RCI Program

[timeos2]

Weeks are credits - pointrs are points

I had another search that matched and I was sent a notice informing me. When I look at my account it tells me how many points (for lack of a better term) it would take to confirm the unit. As far as I can tell, you cannot search for more points than you have in the week. I think you would have to combine first if you need something stronger - but I don't know that for sure because my week had sufficient points.

Just a suggestion that to keep things clear we can continue to call RCI Points "points" while the new system -RCI Weeks/aka points lite - could be called "credits". Hopefully that way everyone knows which system is being referred to.

 

[Maple_Leaf]

There's only so much supply and demand impact on trading power

However, when I go week by week through a specific resort, I see clearly that these numbers are NOT computed on a week by week basis. They are valued in bands and valuation bands (a different issue than trading bands) mean overaveraging, just like in RCI Points and even more so in the crossover grids. For example in the new Points Lite, on the OBX, one of those valuation bands, in which every week is assigned exactly the same value is weeks 11 to 21 inclusive. Now a week 21 on the OBX is substantially more desirable than a blue week 11. Yet RCI's Points Lite (''Weeks'') assigns them and even week in between exactly the same value. The weeks at the junctions of those bands also are disjointed as to value. Is a week 25 really worth 80% more than a week 24, while week 24 and 23 are worth the same thing? Horsehockey!

Tuggers can run through your own resorts to find the valuation bands there.

I'm seeing the same thing in Ontario cottage country. Weeks 26, 27 and 31 are the strongest summer weeks because of the long holiday weekends, however, they appear to be banded together with all other summer weeks at the same trading power level.

 

[Maple_Leaf]

Is exchange priority at the SAME RESORT gone?

It will suck if exchange priority within the same resort group is gone.

I have traded my pink VV @ Parkway for Summer VV @ Berkshires and Massanutten in the past and getting some value out of this. I don't have a VV @ Parkway deposit to actually check that priority to pull any week within VV Group is now gone.

I have always used the exchange priority within the same resort to trade from a pink (early) September week to a red July week in Ontario cottage country. I've done it successfully for 7 consecutive summers. Is this strategy kaput under Points Lite?

 

[WinniWoman]

RCI New System One More Time

I am sorry if this question was already asked, but there are just so many posts to go through! Can you tell what your specific week is worth BEFORE you bank it AND can you see what would be available and what they are worth BEFORE you bank your week?

 

[shar]

internal exchange through RCI new program

It appears to me that there is now limited internal exchange available through RCI new system. I have not added this to the prior discussion as it is ten pages long and just to many for me to read with most before the new system in place.

I own a week that at top exchange is worth 27 credits. If I place this week in the space bank when maintenance fees are due then I receive only only 24 or 25 credits. Before I could trade this space banked week for any week at my resort if available no matter when the deposit was done. It appears to me that now I will need more points to get a week in the same time period. So I am forced to deposit and pay maintenance fees early to get RCI full points for that period of time. Also forces me to decide if I want to use the week or deposit it on RCI 's schedule and not mine. Example July week is 27 credits and if not deposited to get maximum points I will no longer be able to trade a week for another July week. If I deposit July week then want to trade for February week then I do not have enough points ever from one week. Before I could trade a July week and get a Feb week if available,but not now in this system. If I trade a July week and get a May week then I will receive credits back. If I deposit my July week when maintenance fees are due, then I will have to trade back into resort during a period which is not as demanded as my week. (have 24 credits but now need 27 for same week)Seems to me that the internal trading within your own resort as managed by RCI has definitely taken a hit here.

Shar

 

[PeelBoy]

Life of Combining Points

I know there are 1 thread about facts, 1 about opinions, and I remember 1 about strategies. I don't know where to ask, so decide to raise my question here.

I own:

1. a lock off, which is a good trader and will give me 64 points.
1. a pink week, which will give me 15 points.
2. a points program which if I deposit with RCI, will give me 30-40 points.

Therefore, if combining all for a fee of $99 (or whatever amount for Canadians), I will have 110-120 points every year.

1. If I combine all deposits for year 2012 to obtain say 110 points, I will have 2 years from the date of combining to use, not from the date of unit usage.

2. If I have say 40 points left from 2012 and in 2013, can I combine the 110 points in 2013 with 40 points in 2012? Sounds like I can.

3. If yes to 2, will I have 150 points to use within 2 years from 2013? Or, 40 2012 points will expire in 2014 and 110 2013 points will expire in 2015.

4. If I have 150 points to use within 2 years from 2013, I don't have to worry about expiry, since every time I combine, I will give the new combined points a life of 2 years. Am I right or wrong?

 

[Becky]

I wondered the same thing. We bought at resorts so we would have the internal trading priority within the resort or common managed resorts. We don't now. This is one of the negative points about RCI's new weeks.

 

[Maple_Leaf]

Michael, don't get too excited...

I went back through some of my confirmed exchanges to check to see how my pre-upgrade trades had been. Although I can only see what the trading powers for the intervals are now, not what trading power my deposit had and what trading power the exchanged unit was when I did the exchange, I think it's safe to assume that they wouldn't have changed all that much. All of these were fairly recent.

In one, I appear to have traded down (20->17). I'm actually okay with this one, because I traded within the same resort, going from a 1BR in a peak season to a 3BR in an off season. For all the others, I appear to have traded up, sometimes substantially (27->29, 25->29, 23->29, 19->29, 23->29 and 13->17). The 19->29 was exchanging from a 1BR in Branson with a partial kitchen on a holiday week to a 2BR DVC unit during Spring Break.

I think this clearly shows that we WERE able to trade up before, where now it takes combining to trade up.

While trading up for free is nice (and I certainly took advantage of it), I think I prefer the way it is now. I don't mind paying what for what I get. I still get a tremendous value. And combining, I'm able to get much better quality, more consistently.

I think you are correct in assuming the Deposit Credit for your deposit has not changed substantially since you made those trades, however, I believe the Exchange Credit of the units you exchanged for is a more volatile number, e.g. time dependent, since a deposit has a finite shelf life. The 2BR DVC you traded for probably was valued at the time of the exchange for less than 29.

 

[jlwquilter]

I know there are 1 thread about facts, 1 about opinions, and I remember 1 about strategies. I don't know where to ask, so decide to raise my question here.

I own:

1. a lock off, which is a good trader and will give me 64 points.
1. a pink week, which will give me 15 points.
2. a points program which if I deposit with RCI, will give me 30-40 points.

Therefore, if combining all for a fee of $99 (or whatever amount for Canadians), I will have 110-120 points every year.

1. If I combine all deposits for year 2012 to obtain say 110 points, I will have 2 years from the date of combining to use, not from the date of unit usage. YES. The combine date trumps the usual expiry date.

2. If I have say 40 points left from 2012 and in 2013, can I combine the 110 points in 2013 with 40 points in 2012? Sounds like I can. YES. As long as you combine while credits are "live" you can combine any year on deposit with any other year on deposit and the new expiry date will be 2 years from the combine date. This is a way to "borrow" from future years or extend credits that you don't have time/desire to use within what would have been their normal use period.

3. If yes to 2, will I have 150 points to use within 2 years from 2013? Or, 40 2012 points will expire in 2014 and 110 2013 points will expire in 2015. It's 2 years from the combine date for the whole ball of combined credits.

4. If I have 150 points to use within 2 years from 2013, I don't have to worry about expiry, since every time I combine, I will give the new combined points a life of 2 years. Am I right or wrong? Your are right.

Of course this is how it works now and things may change not only in the distant future but in the near future as RCI sees where they made mistakes and need to close holes.

 

[jlwquilter]

You'll have to hunt this down a bit to get the exact info but:

I read that if you place on ongoing search then the internal preference thing kicks in. Someone had called their resort and the resort called RCI and that was the answer given.

 

[DocPepsi]

A CSR had mentioned something similar to me. Basically, your priority is only in place when a new timeshare is deposited - RCI will automatically go through all the ongoing searches, and those who are part of an internal preference that have the ongoing search open the longest will get the new unit. Once something 'passes through' all the ongoing searches, and is open to everyone (including Rentals), then that internal preference no longer is a factor.

 

[MichaelColey]

I was concerned that at my home resort (Smuggs) I was not able to see any weeks with trade value above that of my float weeks. Clearly this would be a major change since I have often traded back into Smuggs with lesser value (color) weeks.

I called Smuggs owner services, who in turn called their RCI contact. Here is what I was told – “One will not see any weeks of higher trade value by doing a “quick search”, but when an Ongoing Search is initiated there is functionality built into the system that does give owners some sort of priority when trading back into their home resort”.

I have not tested this yet, but am curious to see if anyone is able to verify this.

I have always used the exchange priority within the same resort to trade from a pink (early) September week to a red July week in Ontario cottage country. I've done it successfully for 7 consecutive summers. Is this strategy kaput under Points Lite?

You'll have to hunt this down a bit to get the exact info but:

I read that if you place on ongoing search then the internal preference thing kicks in. Someone had called their resort and the resort called RCI and that was the answer given.

A CSR had mentioned something similar to me. Basically, your priority is only in place when a new timeshare is deposited - RCI will automatically go through all the ongoing searches, and those who are part of an internal preference that have the ongoing search open the longest will get the new unit. Once something 'passes through' all the ongoing searches, and is open to everyone (including Rentals), then that internal preference no longer is a factor.

This has been my observation as well. Previously, home group (and resort) preference would let you exchange into weeks that took a higher trading power than what your deposit had. (I have a screen print of what I could see the day before the downtime for the upgrade, and I could only see about half as much after the new site came online.) Now, it sounds like you don't get more trading power, but you can "jump the line" in ongoing searches instead. I liked it better the other way.

 

[rhonda]

Grand Pacific Resorts own 5-6 different places. I wonder if the 'internal' priority given those owners will work as it has in the past and how this new value system will work with that???

I've been wondering the same thing this week. I figured I'd bring up the question next spring at the GPP annual meeting. Now, in my opinion, is too early to ask. I'm hoping my next March/April things will be sufficiently stable to get a credible answer.

 

[pbenham]

Internal Exchange through RCI new program

A source at RCI told me the following - I can confirm that there is a priority for internal exchanges only during an Ongoing Search and only if you have the correct trading power. In other words, first you have to have enough trading power, then it matches to internal members over non-internal members.

My reply was the following - By saying "you have to have the correct trading power" does that mean that one merely jumps ahead in the queue? In the past I have traded back into Smuggs several times, using lesser colored weeks, and I always booked several months in advance (nothing last minute). How did that occur based on your explanation?

Here is his response - You're right, in the past it didn't check if you had enough Trading Power for internal exchanges. I was saying that now it does.

It seems that I will no longer be able trade into my home resort during prime season, using a single float week. :annoyed:

I have set up an Ongoing Search to test this scenario. I am not very optimistic...

 

[MichaelColey]

Here is his response - You're right, in the past it didn't check if you had enough Trading Power for internal exchanges. I was saying that now it does.

It's not that it didn't check the trading power before. It did. It just gave a "boost". You could only trade up within the group so far.

Before the upgrade, I was able to confirm that there was one home group deposit that my lowest trader from within the group couldn't see. (A higher trader in the group could see it.) Many of the units I could see with those traders wasn't visible to an even higher trader from a different group.

 

[Miss Marty]

Combining Deposits

Example:

Nov 15th
or
Nov 30th


When you combine your RCI ts deposits
You get to extend your time by 2 years

Now that a few of you have made that decision

Can you tell us if the new expiration
you received is

2 years from that date/day
2 years til the end of month

 

[MichaelColey]

It's 2 years from the end of the month, like any other deposit.

 

[krmlaw]

where do i find weeks i have deposited with no searches against them?

do i still click search for a vacation then the blue strip at top to open the weeks up?

my resort was going to deposit 2 weeks for me, and i just dont know where to look for them now!

thanks!

 

[krmlaw]

and can anyone get into their ongoing searches now?

 

[travelguy]

and can anyone get into their ongoing searches now?

I have two ongoing searches and I have not been able to get into them or even see them since the RCI "dark period" during the points lite website update.

I get the spinner either immediately or after one of my two searches shows (behind the spinner).

 

[krmlaw]

yep me too - cant get in - its a pain

 

[MichaelColey]

do i still click search for a vacation then the blue strip at top to open the weeks up?

my resort was going to deposit 2 weeks for me, and i just dont know where to look for them now!

Several places:

1) Search and then change the search options.
2) Go to My Account and click View Trading Power Statement.
3) Go to Manage Your Deposits. (You might have to expand the "Deposits Not Eligible to Combine" to see the ones with ongoing searches.)

 

[FrmrVacGuide]

I wonder what this change will mean on some other RCI programs and practices.


4) VEP filters. While the upward filter always made some sense, the downward one was always assinine. Hopefully these have now disappeared but some of the findings on availibility that some have posted have suggested they may still be in place.

I signed up just to explain this to you. I used to read your posts when I was employed at RCI, simply to understand the mindset of some of the members I spoke to who seemed chronically unhappy.

The reason for having the downward filter might seem simplistic, but if you had to take phone calls on the weekend at RCI, you would understand after one or two shifts. They do it to prevent owners of Gold Crown properties calling in to complain about their units. You would be amazed at the number of people who don't do any research on the unit they are booking. If I had a dollar for every time I saw or heard of a member freaking out about the Banyan Club in Oahu, I would be a richer man. The reviews are quite frank, and most vacation guides will do anything possible to steer members from that resort.

It is for those situations that RCI has the trade down "block" in place. It creates too many problems, wastes phone time, and makes members unhappy.

 

[bellesgirl]

...
It is for those situations that RCI has the trade down "block" in place. It creates too many problems, wastes phone time, and makes members unhappy.

Now that there is more transparency, wouldn't it be apparent to people that they are trading down? If your resort had 40 credits and the one you get costs 6, wouldn't that be a clue? I know that I have been annoyed with the VEP filter in the past, but I have not noticed it so much recently. Has it been relaxed?

 

[FrmrVacGuide]

Now that there is more transparency, wouldn't it be apparent to people that they are trading down? If your resort had 40 credits and the one you get costs 6, wouldn't that be a clue? I know that I have been annoyed with the VEP filter in the past, but I have not noticed it so much recently. Has it been relaxed?

I don't work there anymore, and haven't had a chance to ask friends that still work there about that particular piece of the new system. I'm still trying to figure out what to deposit for myself. We own through Blue Green, and their website is more frustrating than RCI's.

I wouldn't be surprised if they went either way on the filter. You would think that people would have been able to figure it out before, as RCI never removed negative reviews of resorts on the website. We complained about the old reviews for Summer Bay in Vegas that were discussing the resort before it was bought by a different company and renovated that were still up. Of course, it did mean that members didn't want it as much, so employees were able to get a great place to stay when they wanted to go to Vegas.