Why RCI Does NOT work for me

[chellej]

The other night I couldn't sleep and got to thinking about all the RCI exchanges I have made. I have had some really nice exchanges, most of them booked 18-24 months in advance. And then I got to thinking about all the great exchanges that I made and then for one reason or another Had to Cancel. These include:

Crane Beach Resort - Barbados
Fitzpatrick Castle - Ireland
The Galleon Resort - Key West
Carpediem Assissi - Italy
Schloss Grubhoff (2 units) Austria
Regattas of Abaco - Bahamas
Blue Marine Residences - Italy
Paniolo Greens - Hawaii
Calini Beach Club - Florida
RHC @ Los Tules - Puerto Vallarta
Kilconqhar Castle - Scotland
Morritt Tortuga Club - Grand Cayman
Pines at Meadow Ridge - Colorado
Silverleaf's Hill Country - Texas
Inverness by the Sea -Texas
Ram's Horn Village - Colorado
Embassey Vacation Resort -Maui (2 weeks)

Total cancellation fees: $2131. Heck I could buy another timeshare for that. I was able to reuse the weeks - I think I only lost one deposit but by comparison, I think I have only cancelled one exchange made through Interval.

Bottom line - most of the really great exchanges with RCI are too far in advance for my lifestyle. I was also amazed how much the exchane fees have increased in the last few years. Up from $124 in 2002 to $169 today - I think that is outrageous.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Why did you have to cancel all those weeks?

I have also had to cancel and pay another exchange fee several times. Once our daughter insisted that her winter break ended earlier than I thought it did, so I had to move a Vistana reservation from the later week to the one before. Turned out she was wrong and the week would have been just fine for her and her now husband to return to school. So I wasted that exchange fee for nothing.

When I had to change our reservation at Cypress Harbour for January of this year, I asked an II rep if she could just change it by ONE DAY, but she said she could not do it. I emailed II and told them we have been members for almost 26 years and how much we loved the exchanges and the value we receive for our membership, then I asked if they would consider switching that date. A little shmoozing always helps, though I didn't lie at all. Bottomline, they did it for us, without charge. I like being able to get a response that is positive, which RCI so rarely does.

 

[chellej]

I took care of my mom the last year of her life & couldn't really travel so that was one year of exchanges. We went from being self employed to working for someone else and now have limited vacation time - that was a couple more exchanges. And the Europe exchanges I planned for my son's graduation trip & then he decided he didn't really want to go to europe after all.

I tend to try and book vacations at least 2 weeks at a time. If you are buying airfare for 5, it only makes sense.

But at least for us, a lot can change in 18 months.

 

[tashamen]

Bottom line - most of the really great exchanges with RCI are too far in advance for my lifestyle.

This is one of the main reasons we no longer trade with RCI, but only with II. Six to 9 months out for us is a long-planning time frame! And II seems to accommodate those of us with the shorter planning horizon pretty well.

 

[BevL]

Funny how different strokes for different folks. I like the quality of II resorts but because I tend to plan 18 to 24 months ahead, it's hard to juggle an II request with RCI requests. I've never cancelled or not used an exchange, although I have had a few I've given to family or friends to use.

 

[Elli]

I usually bought the cancellation insurance through RCI when the rates were still reasonable, as we also book about 18 months in advance. I've only had to cancel once as my husband needed surgery, so I did get the exchange fee back plus the week.

 

[philemer]

RCI works for me because I can plan 12>24 months in advance and luckily, unlike chellej, we have had no family health issues to cause cancellations. That day may come as our parents age. I love the fact that RCI has so much inventory 12>24 months out. II doesn't. I am moving some of my weeks to TPI however. They have lots of HI inventory.

Phil

 

[Carolinian]

If you use ff miles and want to go during popular times, you simply have to have your exchanges confirmed before the window opens for ff air ticket reservations which is 11 months out. Any system (like RCI Points) that won't let you confirm at least 11 months out is totally useless.

 

["Roger"]

The OP's message hardly comes as a surprise. I know that I have posted this before, but when I was first looking into buying, the second most common complaint I heard about timesharing (after having been told you could trade red for red) was that timesharing forces you to plan you vacation too far in advance. Numerous, numerous people said that they just couldn't do it. Amidst this, they complained bitterly that they gave up a high quality red week only to find blue weeks available when they went to trade.

A few resorts have tried to address this problem by reserving some of their units for owners. TUGGERs (who seem to be unusual in being able to plan in advance) have complained how unfair this is. (Unfair? -- that owners can get the full value of their timeshare?) Likewise, RCI appears to have heard about this in that they put a ten month maximum on their Points program (for external exchanges) with inventory often lasting much, much longer.

Finally, the ff argument cuts both ways. You don't know how many times people have complained that they got a Hawaiian exchange, but then could not get ff tickets for the dates of the exchange. In this case, it is harder to get the ff tickets you want than the units that you want. So, in this case, you would be better off (it would be less risky) first getting your ff tickets and then going for the exchange. In other areas, the opposite is true. There is no set pattern as to which is better. It varies from place to place.

 

[tashamen]

In this case, it is harder to get the ff tickets you want than the units that you want. So, in this case, you would be better off (it would be less risky) first getting your ff tickets and then going for the exchange.

I have found this to be true for the Caribbean. We have gone to Barbados and SXM on FF tickets, which I got before putting in the ts request. And in both cases got the FF tickets about 6 to 7 months out and still got the exchanges too (one with RCI and the other with II). We will be trying this with Curacao for next year too.

 

[JanT]

Well, today I love RCI. :whoopie: I used a One Plus One week to snag a 2 BR, Grand Master Suite complete with private mini pool at the Grand Mayan Riviera in September. Yes, this is hurricane season but I'm willing to take a chance. It was only $199 and I'm willing to lose that if it becomes necessary. It means keeping my Windjammer St. Lucia week for other trades.

I've always gotten the trades I've asked for through RCI so continue to be happy with them. But, I recognize they have their problems, too.

 

[Carolinian]

That would often work for locations like that with a lot of timeshare availibility but would be risky for places with less timeshare like St. Johns or St. Lucia. For high season it would be riskier than hurricane season, when you could probaby find both timeshare and ticket availibility on a shorter term.

I have found this to be true for the Caribbean. We have gone to Barbados and SXM on FF tickets, which I got before putting in the ts request. And in both cases got the FF tickets about 6 to 7 months out and still got the exchanges too (one with RCI and the other with II). We will be trying this with Curacao for next year too.

 

[BocaBum99]

I have always wondered how many people would plan 18-24 months in advance of checkin if they never heard of timesharing?

Those of you who do it now, would you still do it that far in advance if you didn't know about timesharing?

 

[happybaby]

We can't plan that far in advance due to my husband's work. He turns in his vacation requests the middle of December and we have to take what he is assigned.

Last year tho, and this coming May we did specify we have vacation plans so he did receive those weeks for vacation, but it is also off season.

If we had a summer unit on hold and confirmed it , we would be taking a chance of him getting that specific week off. Not sure if the company would work with him if those plans in "high" season were confirmed

 

[Floridaski]

Both II and RCI work if you plan ahead

I personally like to plan ahead, to me it is part of the vacation process. I enjoy thinking about where I want to go and what I want to plan. We own both II and RCI and use both to our advantage. I could understand that if you were not a "planner" by nature, then timeshare would not be your best bang for the buck. I am already thinking about our 2009 ski trip, since our 2008 trip has been planned for a year. I am now just a few days away from that magic 331 day window for frequent flyer. I would not have a problem booking FF tickets before a RCI or II match, since I have had very good results with both programs. They do work if you "work the system" but you have to plan and that is difficult for some folks. But, I am they type of person who prebooks a SUV for Colorado months in advance. We got a full size SUV for 8 days out of Denver for $292.00 dollars - I just love to get the most value for my money and pre-planning is how I can justify the big bucks it takes for an annual ski vacation.

 

[short]

Frequent flyer miles have to be earned too.

If you use ff miles and want to go during popular times, you simply have to have your exchanges confirmed before the window opens for ff air ticket reservations which is 11 months out. Any system (like RCI Points) that won't let you confirm at least 11 months out is totally useless.

Every FF mile has to be earned. Unless someone travels tons for business or has a small business where they charge a lot on a credit card most leisure travelers take a long time to earn enough miles for a trip. That means most travelers are probobly buying tickets and the best sales on tickets is at 30 to 60 days out from travel. Its also not a bad time to shop for FF tickets. I got a first class ff ticket on Delta LAX to HNL the first week in January this year at 30 days out. I could have gotten 7 first class ff tickets on the flight we wanted. Instead my daughter and I bought 2 coach tickets for $300 each so we could earn miles so we could fly my DH first at a future date.

For some planning early works, for others planning late works. Each to there own.

Short

 

["Roger"]

It is not just that some people plan ahead, other do not. Some people (quite a few) have work commitments that will not allow them to stake out certain days for vacation a year or more in advance.

 

[Dani]

I have always wondered how many people would plan 18-24 months in advance of checkin if they never heard of timesharing?

Those of you who do it now, would you still do it that far in advance if you didn't know about timesharing?

Not at all. When not planning a timeshare vacation, I usually plan just a few months out. The frequent flier issue is a real one though. It's tough getting tickets at the last minute.

I have found that both II and RCI work best for me when I plan ahead. I tend to place on-going searches when I am looking for a particualr vacation. It's true though, I have occasionally had to cancel an exchange or two which is a pain.

 

[bnoble]

I generally plan about one year in advance for the "big" vacations. Sometimes only nine months. Never less than six. This was true before timeshare. After timeshare, I have started to look earlier.

My leisure trips are often not with FF miles, because it is an inefficient use of them; I figure the flight needs to cost at least $0.01/FF-mile before FF miles pay off. For most domestic leisure trips, that means $250 is the magic number. As long as I'm not flying cross-country, that's pretty easy to beat on a cash basis. This summer we have trips to Maine and Colorado for $160 and $221 per person round trip, respectively, though that $160 is via BOS rather than PWM, so I'm cheating there. But, summertime FF tickets to PWM have been few and far between, so I finally gave up.

Cross-country trips, or trips to places that aren't really "tourist" destinations are much better uses of miles; they are harder to get under that magic number.

 

[barndweller]

We have always planned vacations 2 or even 3 years ahead for many reasons. When we were younger we had to block time in & around all our children's activities, our social commitments & our work schedules. And a big part of travel for us is the planning, researching & anticipation. And that was long before timeshare entered the equation.

Now that we are semi-retired, we can be more spontanious but I am finding it very difficult to back off & wait for the great last minute exchanges that show up. I end up cancelling & retrading at additional expense because I find something more appealing. And I think as time goes on we will do more driving trips as the expense & hassle of flying sometimes just doesn't seem worth the effort. FF tickets don't even play a part in my vacation planning. It took me about 6 years to earn enough for 2 domestic tickets! And we are going back to our original way of vacationing..road trips, only now with a timeshare week somewhere along the way. There are lots of places we want to go where we don't want to spend an entire week or where there are no timeshares.

So II actually fits my exchange needs at this point a lot better than RCI. And the independents even more so since many don't have inventory beyond 12 months anyway.

 

[geekette]

Since we never really vacationed before timeshares, it's hard to say (I don't count time off work to move or paint the house as "vacationing"). Usually our 'vacations' would be trips to attend weddings, so we'd have some lead time, but normally not a year.

My job is reasonably flexible, tho I am the only one that does what I do, so I can go most any time, but I have to leave a phone number (tho my extensive documentation has so far saved me from being disturbed on vacation ). I prefer road trips, and always will, because that's how I grew up, plus, flying is expensive, the schedules are out of my control, and I'm limited in what I can take. Most importantly, I can't ask the pilot to divert course to go see what that interesting rock formation over there is.

Now that I have Bonus Time available, I'm taking more impromptu trips and I expect that will continue as time goes by. I would probably still try a year or two in advance for Family Christmas, but for trying to put together a family reunion, it likely would not be possible to get everyone else to plan that far ahead, so prob'ly 6 months would be It and I'd still be hoping to not have empty units.

Unless it's some "must have" trip (that I have not yet had), I don't have to plan all that far ahead, but I like to. When the job gets stressful, it's a lot of fun to have a trip to look forward to, and being able to busy myself at home with trip details gets my mind off the job.

The other factors in my favor are that I don't have kids and I don't require The Very Best accomodations. I will continue to use RCI (membership paid with my ownership fees) but have been moving to the independents mostly for lower exchange fees.

 

[Carol C]

Shell I feel your pain. If I kept a list I'd probably get sick to my stomach thinking of all the cancellation fees I've paid for health issues and job change issues. What's most sickening is that we all know with those kinds of great exchanges, the second we give it back to RCI and pay them $ for the privilege of getting those weeks back from us...they'll rent 'em out on some internet site like SkyAuction. RCI's cancellation fees are way too high, considering they don't even own or manage the resorts and won't suffer any loss. It borders on criminal to charge such a high cancellation fee when they're in reality just a broker for inventory they don't even *own* and don't even share any risk on! :annoyed:

 

[timeos2]

Bottom line - most of the really great exchanges with RCI are too far in advance

Interval also requires way too much lead time for 90 per cent or more of the traveling public. Fortunately most points systems - including RCI's - cuts the time to no more than 10 months. It is one of the great features of points. We have had no problems coordinating ff miles & points. We just go for the tough one first.

 

[Rent_Share]

Off Topic

The frequent flier issue is a real one though. It's tough getting tickets at the last minute

I am a Continetal nONE PASS member, they release a little inventory at 11 months, most of the reward seat do not open up until around 30 - 60 days from the fight date

 

[krniethamer]

I am already thinking about our 2009 ski trip, since our 2008 trip has been planned for a year.

Floridaski,

I assume from your post that you have had success trading for ski weeks in Colorado. Would you mind sharing what you are using to trade and what properties/weeks you are getting.

I have heard/read that one can buy an inexpensive off season week at a high quality property and trade back into your home resort. Since you're trading within your home resort you get priority. For example buy a Hyatt Florida Keys and trade for a ski week at the Hyatt in Breckenridge or Beaver Creek, or buy an shoulder/summr season at Grand Timber Lodge and trade back in for a ski week. Do you or anyone else reading this have any experience with this.