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Re: What is the value of an RCI point? (by Mike N.):

mackf4 wrote:

Thanks, everybody, for your input! You've been very helpful! (sorry for my late response - I've been out of town).

georget81 -

You are absolutely correct about the dangers of buying via eBay. I got excited about one of the auctions there last week ... until I looked at the listing closely and discovered that the property in question wasn't deeded. Unfortunately, resale is my only option for timeshare ownership, as the prices from the resorts themselves are way out of my league (I recently survived a sales presentation at an Orlando resort, which got me interested in pursuing this idea). I'll try to be very careful on eBay.

Are the annual dues for RCI really $115? Their website says $99, but I wouldn't count on that being up to date. I assume that members only need to pay their dues in years that they intend to use RCI's services, or are you locked in permanently, no matter what?

ken1193 -

You are right: mike1536 is very wise and generous, and the employees at RCI seem oddly uninformed. After sending my email complaining about how I'm not able to see the point values for the resorts, an RCI rep wrote back and explained that I only need to hit the link that says "See RCI points value" link. There is no such link!!!!

mike1536 -

Thanks so much for looking stuff up and giving me some basis for comparison. And thanks for your offer to look up specific resorts, seasons, etc for me!

I don't have anything specific in mind, but I will (in most cases):

1. Rent a studio, as I have no kids & my husband seldom accompanies me on trips.

2. Be perfectly satisfied to stay in a standard level resort. I've been a budget traveler for the past 15+ years - which means sleeping in the back of my rental car, in $5 per night hostels with no fans/working toilets, and once in a treehouse in Guatemala ($3/night). Anything is an improvement on what I've been doing, and now that I've hit the big 3-zero, I'm slowing down and ready to pay for air conditioning.

3. Book for days rather than weeks, as I often move quickly from town to town trying to see a whole country in one vacation.

From what you've reported, it sounds like I will be able to stretch my points to accomodate the 3 or 4 trips I take each year (even if it means staying at a resort only the last few days of my vacation to recuperate), but I will probably need 70,000+ points to do this. Thanks for giving me some perspective!

One more question for you (pretty please): I will be going to Hawaii (Oahu) on a scuba trip the first week of December. If I buy into a timeshare deal soon, is there any chance of being able to book accomodations through RCI on such short notice? Does anybody have difficulty finding availablity through RCI? I know with frequent flyer miles I've got to book 10 months in advance to get anything international.

Thanks again! Mack

============== Another advantage for short-notice vacations is that you can reserve any 'weeks' resort (based on availability) within 45 days of check-in for 7500 points.

Be aware that each reservation even for one or two days in going to result in an exchange fee being charged by RCI (ranges from $39 for one night to $124 for seven nights). I've also been charged a cleaning fee by the resort since I did not check-out on a normal check-out day. This extra charge was not listed on any confirmation from RCI. To RCI's credit, they did refund my exchange fee when I voiced my displeasure. These extra charges may not make a 1 or 2 day exchange very economical.

Also, Ken very clearly outlined the reservation windows in another thread (Timeshare Points vs. Weeks)