With points does trading power mean anything?

[Rontraveler56]

I bought at a weeks resort many years ago and paid a lot of money to get into the points world as the resort was going over to points. So far it has worked ok. However, I own two more week resorts. One of them is a Gold Crown (Lawrence Welk Resort) that deposits as 62,000 points. The maintenance is $715. Here is my question: I have come to the realization that if I could purchase a cheap week (say in South Africa for $1,900) that has a maintenance of only $380/year, and if it is a Red week 3 BR which deposits as 53,500 points, why would I not do that? I could net $9,000 for Lawrence Welk and put $7,500 in my pocket. Is there something I am missing? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JimJ]

Would probably work now, but no guarantee of what the future may bring.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Points Are Points.

Is there something I am missing?

That's about the size of it -- I don't think you're missing anything.

A tricky feature about those overseas timeshares is the relative value of money in the country where the timeshare is located relative to the country where you live & pay your bills. Those South African timeshares, for example, were bigger bargains a few years back than they are today because of shifting currency values.

Also, others have pointed out there's no guarantee that RCI will keep Points For Deposit going indefinitely -- although others see in that $26 that RCI gets for each instance of Points For Deposit a sign that RCI intends to keep Points For Deposit going for a long time.

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

 

[PerryM]

Trading power is the price of something

Trading power is the name of the game in a Point system – it’s all about trading power.

However, the trading power used in a traditional week system is a vague footnote somewhere and you must guess what it really means.

Trading power in a point system is open to inspection to both sides of the transaction – 1) The owner depositing the usage for points 2) the person with points in their account shopping for usage.

I contend that there really is but ONE trading power – rental rates. Take a look here at Resort2Resort and you will see a well run exchange company that took about 1 week to set up and get running.

R2R is based upon rental rates of each unit for each day of the year. Pick a resort and it will tell you the rental rate, which is the number of points, you get when depositing or claiming the unit. Is there a more fair system? I sure can’t think of one.

RCI picked some numbers, probably from the Timeshare Fairy, and those are the numbers they use. I suspect they make some sense but I view the RCI Points system as a high school project that became an exchange company. RCI should have used rental rates and there would be no problem.

Points are just a currency that the exchange company creates and as long as both sides know what the price is for a unit then there is no need for secret trading power numbers.

Conclusion:
What's in your wallet? Well its full of trading power.

 

[JoeMO]

Points = Known Trading Power

I know that the RCI points system seems arbitrary and inconsistent but at least you know your trading power going in.

I think that in a weeks system some people get more than they put in (deposit), some get less and some must get nothing. Just look at all the complaints on other posts from people that can't get an even exchange. You also have those who seem to regularly trade up.

I know that some of the complaints about the point system are valid but it is more fair because everybody knows the value of everything going in. I know some resorts charge so much to convert that it borders on extortion, but I am puzzled as to why more people don't want to use points. The weeks way of hopefully being able to trade for something of equal or greater value would be frustrating to me and I would always wonder if I could have gotten a better deal if I tried a different trade.

Maybe I am just the kind of person who prefers known quantities instead of a roll of the dice. The flaws and inconsistencies of the points system are fairly transparent and not cloaked like the weeks system. IMHO - "A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush".

 

[Rontraveler56]

Thanks everyone for replying. Alan, you mention that there's no guarantee that RCI will keep Points For Deposit going indefinitely. By that are you talking about that when you are in the point system and you have a weeks resort, that you may not always have the ability to deposit it into points, rather than weeks? In any event, I own in a points resort in Florida that I paid the high price to convert to points. So now, the other weeks resorts I own I can deposit them into points if I want to. I have just learned that once a weeks resort becomes a points resort (like one that I own), that unless you pay the very high price to convert to points for that resort, you will only be able to then deposit your week into weeks, no longer having the ability to deposit it into points? Is that what you are talking about also? - Ron

 

[rickandcindy23]

RCI takes away our benefits all the time. We used to be able to deposit our weeks resorts into points for free, but now it costs. Exchange fee for a week in points was $79, but now that is $99. Tonight I was unable to book a Hawaii week for 9,000 points. It was sitting there in weeks, with a check-in date less than two weeks out, but I would have to pay 80,000 points to get it. What happened to that benefit? No warning, nothing! I didn't really want the week, but unless their system is totally messed up, it looks like those low points vacations the salespeople are always talking about are going, going, gone!

 

[AwayWeGo]

Conversion Is The Name Of The Game.

I have just learned that once a weeks resort becomes a points resort (like one that I own), that unless you pay the very high price to convert to points for that resort, you will only be able to then deposit your week into weeks, no longer having the ability to deposit it into points? Is that what you are talking about also? - Ron

You are correct, sir -- only way to get points for a week at a points timeshare is via conversion, which could be semi-expensive, dpending on how much the resort decides to charge its weeks owners to convert their weeks. It's just 1 more way RCI has of nudging us all toward joining up with RCI Points. So it goes.

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

 

[AwayWeGo]

What Good Is RCI Points Without "Instant Exchange" ?

Tonight I was unable to book a Hawaii week for 9,000 points. It was sitting there in weeks, with a check-in date less than two weeks out, but I would have to pay 80,000 points to get it. What happened to that benefit? No warning, nothing! I didn't really want the week, but unless their system is totally messed up, it looks like those low points vacations the salespeople are always talking about are going, going, gone!

Whoa, that's a shocker. Did you call'm up and ask for it at 9,000 points on Instant Exchange ? RCI's Internet operation is notoriously glitchy. It would rumble the foundation of whether RCI Points is worth it if Instant Exchange became a sometimes thing, now you see it & now you don't.

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

 

["Roger"]

.... So now, the other weeks resorts I own I can deposit them into points if I want to. I have just learned that once a weeks resort becomes a points resort (like one that I own), that unless you pay the very high price to convert to points for that resort, you will only be able to then deposit your week into weeks, no longer having the ability to deposit it into points? Is that what you are talking about also? - Ron

Just to be sure that you meant "also". This is what Madge has said about the very existence of the Points for Deposit program...


"...Points-for-Deposit was initiated as a promotional benefit to help grow the RCI Points program when it was new. It was not intended to be a permanent benefit of RCI Points membership..."