RCI - May need to use cancelled points due to virus

[LoveMickey]

Hello Folks,

we may have to cancel our up coming trip due to the virus.

someone told me that my points (2019) could be put into RCI.

never having any experience with RCI, I’m at a loss on this subject.

i did think of a scenario that I could use the RCI points, but cannot seem to find out if this would work. Here’s my scenario:

we are cruising Alaska from Vancouver in August (hoping this will happen). Is there some place I could stay using RCI points for the two days pre-cruise? Would love to stay at a hotel near the port.

any insight on this is greatly appreciated

 

[ldo]

you can also post on tug2.net, like disboards for timeshare (RCI) people.

 

[CarolynFH]

Hello Folks,

we may have to cancel our up coming trip due to the virus.

someone told me that my points (2019) could be put into RCI.

never having any experience with RCI, I’m at a loss on this subject.

i did think of a scenario that I could use the RCI points, but cannot seem to find out if this would work. Here’s my scenario:

we are cruising Alaska from Vancouver in August (hoping this will happen). Is there some place I could stay using RCI points for the two days pre-cruise? Would love to stay at a hotel near the port.

any insight on this is greatly appreciated

you can also post on tug2.net, like disboards for timeshare (RCI) people.

This is the link for the TUG Exchanging Timeshares board. Many experienced RCI exchangers there. https://tugbbs.com/forums/forums/exchanging-timeshares.12/

However keep in mind that not all RCI resorts are available through DVC, so you may get recommendations that aren't feasible. Here's the link to the DVC page re using RCI - https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/destinations/list/world-rci/rci/

 

[bwvBound]

Start playing with the RCI booking tool offered directly through your DVC Member website login. Once you are on the RCI site, start running searches for the area you want ... and then, if there is sufficient inventory, filter that for date. Right now, I see one property in Vancouver but the last check-in date offered is early May.

Edited to add: RCI works best with large, sweeping parameters:

• I want to go anywhere in CA, AZ or NV in November. (large geography; short period)
• I want to go anywhere Florida, Atlantic Beaches, in 2021. (smaller geography; large period)

Personally, I'd give your chance of finding two specific nights, during cruise season, in Vancouver roughly 2% chance of success. But do search! Set up an ongoing search (like DVC's waitlist) once you have a better feel for the goal. Might be worthwhile setting up a search for "Vancouver, any resort, for <dates>." See what is offered? Good luck!

 

[LoveMickey]

Thank you all

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You can check for yourself as to what RCI resorts are available to use your DVC points at. Sign into your DVC acct. under the Plan a Trip tab there is a dropdown and you will see down toward the bottom "How to Book RCI" click there and it will take you to the the RCI page where you can book a RCI room. Keep in mind RCI is not like DVC where any type of room is available to book. RCI rooms are available to book when an RCI member decides to rent out their timeshare and it will appear on the booking page. Also keep in mind a lot of RCI resorts require a weeks long stay checking in on a Sat. There are a few that do nightly but nightly is usually a minimum of 2 nights. There are also other fee's you have to pay usually a small dollar amount to a few hundred dollars for each type of fee. Such as a check in fee, cleaning fee's and amenity fee's. It all depends on the resort you stay at. In Aug the closest thing to Vancouver that is available to book is Lake Placid Lodge(#2895) but it requires you stay there for a week and has a check in day of Sun - Sun. And a daily resort fee of $15.00

 

[LoveMickey]

Shelly, thanks for the info. I'm only looking for 2 pre-cruise nights. It was just a thought. Anyway, things may change now that WDW is closed until further notice. Just hoping that my use of banked points, don't go back into the year they came from

 

[gharter]

You can check for yourself as to what RCI resorts are available to use your DVC points at. Sign into your DVC acct. under the Plan a Trip tab there is a dropdown and you will see down toward the bottom "How to Book RCI" click there and it will take you to the the RCI page where you can book a RCI room. Keep in mind RCI is not like DVC where any type of room is available to book. RCI rooms are available to book when an RCI member decides to rent out their timeshare and it will appear on the booking page. Also keep in mind a lot of RCI resorts require a weeks long stay checking in on a Sat. There are a few that do nightly but nightly is usually a minimum of 2 nights. There are also other fee's you have to pay usually a small dollar amount to a few hundred dollars for each type of fee. Such as a check in fee, cleaning fee's and amenity fee's. It all depends on the resort you stay at. In Aug the closest thing to Vancouver that is available to book is Lake Placid Lodge(#2895) but it requires you stay there for a week and has a check in day of Sun - Sun. And a daily resort fee of $15.00

Thanks. As many others are finding , we have points that will now expire and cannot bank them. RCI looks to be about the only viable options, but wasn't sure how to get there.

 

[gharter]

Still could not figure out how to get my points banked with RCI. I looked in DVC and RCI online.
Turns out you can't do it yourself. Called DVC and they said they have to do it for you. Takes about 48 hours for the points to show up. Must be done in blocks of 10 points. Our June UY points now expire with RCI Dec 2022. Hopefully we can find something there to do with them. At least we have options now.

 

[Simba's Mom]

One thing I can't figure out is how to know how much a booking "costs"-I mean how many points to stay at X resort orY resort for a week? Or can you book any of these resorts for 3-4 days, and if so, how do you know which ones, and again how many points does it cost? And is there a fee just for the transferring the RCI system? Frankly, we might be interested in using some of our points for an RCI stay some time-some of the resorts look interesting.

 

[KingRichard]

If point expire in weeks then how does RCI use them?

 

[bwvBound]

One thing I can't figure out is how to know how much a booking "costs"-I mean how many points to stay at X resort orY resort for a week? Or can you book any of these resorts for 3-4 days, and if so, how do you know which ones, and again how many points does it cost? And is there a fee just for the transferring the RCI system? Frankly, we might be interested in using some of our points for an RCI stay some time-some of the resorts look interesting.

There is, currently, no fee to transfer or to book an RCI reservation using DVC points. That said, read the fine print for any given exchange as the resort might charge fees to their inbound guest.

Most resorts in RCI will require a full week stay; some allow nightly stays.

As for learning the values of exchanges ("how many points?") and the availability, go out and run some searches! Log into your DVC member account online and navigate, from there, to RCI. The more searches you run, the better you will understand the system, gain a "feel" for inventory, gain a "feel" for point values, etc. Go search! Even if you don't want a trip right now, go search!

 

[CarolynFH]

One thing I can't figure out is how to know how much a booking "costs"-I mean how many points to stay at X resort orY resort for a week? Or can you book any of these resorts for 3-4 days, and if so, how do you know which ones, and again how many points does it cost? And is there a fee just for the transferring the RCI system? Frankly, we might be interested in using some of our points for an RCI stay some time-some of the resorts look interesting.

If you log into your DVC Member website and click on Book RCI (under Plan a Vacation) you can get answers to many of your questions. Here is the points chart, but you'd have to check the individual resort to find out what specific dates are found in the Low, Mid or High seasons because they vary by resort (ski resorts have High season in winter, Low in summer, Hawaii resorts are usually High season all year, etc.): https://cdn1.parksmedia.wdprapps.di...ci/rci/2019-2020-Web-RCI-Pt-chts-Final_v2.pdf. Note there are three pages of points charts!

 

[Brian Noble]

If point expire in weeks then how does RCI use them?

Depends on the system. Most mini-systems work speculatively, with some feedback for adjustment. In this model, the management company has an idea of how many points will (eventually) be deposited by the end of the use year. As the year unfolds, the management company chooses what and when to deposit, with the expectation that they will get things mostly right and the books will be more or less balanced when the end of the year rolls around. If they are off, the deposit rate is adjusted going forward to balance the books.

Wyndham works this way, for example: they allow owners to deposit right up to the last day of their use year, but deposits (roughly) monthly based on expectations. They also structure their deposits in a way that tends to keep the most in-demand inventory available for owners, while depositing things that are less likely to be used internally. DVC also does something pretty similar. However, if I remember correctly, DVC requires deposits more than 45 days prior to the end of your UY for full use of the deposit, and at least 14 days before the end of the year to deposit at all.

 

[Simba's Mom]

As for learning the values of exchanges ("how many points?") and the availability, go out and run some searches! Log into your DVC member account online and navigate, from there, to RCI. The more searches you run, the better you will understand the system, gain a "feel" for inventory, gain a "feel" for point values, etc. Go search! Even if you don't want a trip right now, go search!

Great idea, thanks! I've got plenty of free time on my hands right now. Might be kind of fun to do some dreaming.