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[Q=adahiscout] Types of ownership summary: 1. Own Fixed unit and week. Can use same unit (or same size) at same resort every year. Some must be used during contracted week; others "float" and can be reserved in your "season" or any lower use "season" but not in a higher "season". If your resort is part of a group, you may be able to make an "internal exchange" within that group for a relatively low fee or none. Resorts usually have a connection with one or more exchange companies. If you are a member, you can exchange your week for a week somewhere else via RCI Weeks, II, etc. External exchanges should be requested as far ahead as possible if you want fairly specific dates or locations. The more popular the desired time and location, the farther ahead you must request. ( Not all dreams come true.) If you cannot use your week during your use year, deposit it with your exchange company to extend its life for two years and have something already on hand when you need to make a trade. 2. Own time in a certain size unit and resort (or "Undivided Interest is a building) which is represented by the number of POINTS required to rent weeks in that resort group. You can break up your weeks into smaller units and use them at different times of year. The same accommodations cost fewer points in off season than busy season, so you can stay longer. You can stay longer in a smaller unit or choose a larger unit for a shorter time. If this is part of a resort chain, you can usually exchange into sister resorts for no extra fee or a relativey low fee. You may still reserve a full week and give it to an exchange company such as RCI Weeks to secure locations outside your group. Points are like dollars. Allocate them as you please during your Use Year. You may even be able to use them for cruises, care rentals, etc. Be aware that points from different resorts are like coinage from different countries. For example, a 2 Bedroom in the Bluegreen chain is worth 9,000 points during the same week that it is 154,000 points at Fairfield/Wyndham Resorts. This does NOT mean that one really "costs" more in dollars and cents or that one resort is "better" than the other. (That's why we need to identify whose points we are talking about in any discussion involving numbers.) The cost is about the same whether you buy a hamburger for $3.00 or 30 pesos. 3. RCI Points. This program seems especially popular with resorts which are not part of a large group that can exchange internally. RCI assigns point value to what you own in exchange for your week or weeks so that you can exchange more flexably as in #2 above. There is an exchange fee. You can, of course, still use your weeks at your own resort. Not all RCI related resorts are "Points Resorts"; some still accept only 7 day stays. (Anybody with personal experience using RCI Points is invited to correct or clarify this! I sat through the spiel but didn't buy.) Fairfield/Wyndham has a program which works pretty much like RCI Points. The exchange fees are lower than normal full week RCI exchanges though the options are fewer. What they call RCI Nightly Stays uses pretty much the same point system as FF/W. There are dozens of resort groups and hundreds of seperate resorts, all trying to come up with the most workable plan they can to encourage ownership. The timeshare industry has moved gradually from an emphasis on fixed weeks to floating weeks to point systems but there are variations, pluses, and pitfalls in each. Learn all you can about yours to get the most out of it. Don't yell at the operators. They can't change the rules or give you what is not available. And remember, Timesharing is an investment in a life style choice, not a "for profit" investment. MD[/Q] RCI does assign point values to weeks resorts.that doesn't mean that if you own a week you can convert it for points.I own both a weeks and a points resort. best of both worlds! because I own a points resort I can convert my 2 bdr red week into 60,500 points if I want to in January of each for a fee of $26.00. between both resorts I have in exess of 100,000 points. couple that with the fact that if your flexible and can go within 45 days or less an exchange can be anywhere between 6500 & 9500 points. so for the same maintance fee I'm paying for two weeks I'm getting up to 8 or 9 vacations instead of 2. I do pay the exchange fee of $164.00 per exchange. this only works if your exchanging into a weeks resort. In case your wondering how I have the time to vacation so much I'm retired. hope this helps !