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Re: trading power (by KC):

adahiscout has asked, quoted verbatim:

>> Not sure I understand how giving a week to RCI would convert it to points. << =======================================

IF (and ONLY if) a RCI member has BOTH a "weeks" ownership somewhere AND a "points" resort ownership somewhere (RCI affiliation is obviously required ifor each resort), then that owner can opt to "deposit" an owned "week" as "Points for Deposit". In one of the VERY few things which RCI actually does in an upfront and transparent manner, the RCI "points" values required to reserve a week are openly published in a grid table. Points required to reserve a week obviously vary according to geograhic location, season, and size of unit sought. As always, availabilty not guaranteed.

In short, a RCI "weeks" owner who also has a RCI "points" account can CHOOSE between depositing their week as a "week" (with its RCI trading power then being anyone's guess, since RCI won't reveal it) OR instead, depositing that week as "points for deposit", with the point value of that deposit being very clearly known right up front and the point value required to exchange elsewhere also being known right up front.

This flexibility is why some RCI weeks members (including me, after getting some very good input from Mike1536 last year --- thanks again, Mike!) have looked for and acquired a low cost RCI "points" ownership / account, in order to make better use of owned "weeks" of unknown (i.e., not disclosed by RCI) trading value. In my own personal experience, as well as thousands of others, there has been a downward spiral in "week for week" trading success with RCI, particularly in recent years, even with the exact same units being deposited at the same maximum time in advance seeking the exact same things in exchange. The RCI well has gone mostly dry, at least for what I (and many others) have accomplished in the past, but can no longer achieve. I won't speculate whether this change has anything to do with RCI's burgeoning "rental business" to non-members in recent years --- which currently has RCI in court as defendant in a lawsuit (Murillo vs. RCI). I'll leave any determinations on that matter to the court.

Personally, I will NEVER again deposit a "week" with RCI, unless as "points for deposit". I'll use it, rent it out, exchange through RedWeek, or deposit for RCI points, but I will never again deposit a week with RCI as a "week", not knowing what the RCI "man behind the curtain" has determined and assigned as the "trading power" of that week (and RCI will never reveal it).

Sorry to be long winded, but I wanted my reply and explanation to be as clear as possible, including both direct experience and, admittedly, personal opinion.

It also warrants mentioning that there are MANY different "point" systems in the timeshare world, and NONE of them have ANY particular relationship or meaning whatsoever in regard or comparison to any other one. Each "points system" is unique and self contained within its own system in both "currency" and reservation procedures (Marriott, Fairfield, Worldmark, RCI --- the list goes on and on).