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The earlier in the year you deposit, the higher the trading power value will be. All tradable units in RCI’s inventory are given a point value, known as Exchange Trading Power. That value will be the “currency” that you will use to exchange for a week at another property. Resorts Condominiums International launched in 1974 and introduced a new way for owners to get the most out of their timeshare.
Of course, there is no reason to rush buying a timeshare, as it is a buyer’s market. But if you’ve already done this necessary work and are looking to make the savviest purchase out there, I’ve got you. Bougainvillas Barbados resort in 2021 for my birthday with our RCI Membership. Even the locals love this family-owned and operated resort located next to Sandals. Share the gift of new memories in all-new places with Guest Certificates.
How to Exchange
Owners can exchange their traditional week at their home resort for a week somewhere else with an RCI Weeks membership. Similar to points membership, RCI Weeks is also a subscription-based program where fees are due each year to continue the use of service. Don’t forget, members have the option to buy a subscription up to five years in advance to save money in the future. There is a slight discount for purchasing ahead of time or bulking your subscription membership.
But don’t feel too bad, because the conversion and value you got for your points were really poor anyway. But getting back to RCI, there are three, and only three, tiers of resorts. If a salesperson is telling you that there is a list of RCI Platinum resorts, they are wrong.
Getting Started with RCI? Check out My Free Tutorial Series Walking You Through the Tips and Tricks
Am I slightly bothered that I’ll never exchange into Marriott’s or Westin’s? If you’re looking for more information on RCI, you’ve come to the right place. As a happy timeshare owner of 16 years, I believe that an RCI membership is one of the key ingredients to making the most out of your timeshare ownership.
If you own a week-based timeshare and join RCI, you will have an RCI Weeks membership. A week is typically a 7-night reservation, with check-in generally falling on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. For years, exchanges were strictly week-for-week at a similar resort, but RCI uses a new system now. They use TPU, trade power units, as a way to establish a value for each week in their inventory. Resort popularity, season, member rating, location of the unit, and unit size all affect the timeshare’s trade power. When you deposit your current week into the system, it is assigned a TPU value.
RESORTS & OFFERS
Mia's past experience is diverse, with a history of interning at UCF's own literary magazine, blog writing for local nonprofits and making weekly op-ed pieces for The Odyssey. She has lived in Orlando, Florida for 21 years and enjoys hiking, spending time at her local lake and being with her family. The fee to reactivate your RCI membership is $49.In the event your membership is canceled, call RCI to discuss your options.
RCI reserves the right to change fees at any time at their own discretion. Since owners use their timeshares year after year, RCI gives the option to purchase your membership for future years at a discount. By subscribing ahead of time, you won’t have to revisit your subscription year after year. Because you’ll use your trading power and you’ll pay the same or even more money than booking the cruise the “usual” way.
What is the General Concept of how RCI works?
RCI is a vacation exchange company created for timeshare owners to get the most out of their timeshare interests. With an RCI membership, owners can deposit and exchange their timeshare points or weeks to stay at other resorts in the network. If you are interested in all of the perks and benefits of RCI, you must own a timeshare with an affiliated RCI resort.
The easiest way to learn how to deposit your vacation time is to call an RCI Travel Guide. The RCI website includes RCI TV where you can find user-friendly video tutorials explaining different aspects of the exchange process. For new members of RCI that are interested in renewing, you can do so at a discounted cost. RCI Weeks members can also upgrade their memberships up to ten years and save even more.
For example, if you wanted to take a weekend getaway and then use your remaining days elsewhere a few months later, you hypothetically could. I tried to do this type of search, but because I don’t own this particular type of timeshare, I could not search the inventory this way. With Interval, if you own a lower-tiered timeshare, you won’t see the most high-end exchanges, like Disney Vacation Club resorts for example. And if you own a top tier timeshare, you won’t see the value exchanges either. If you want to book things outside of this standard “mold” you have to call into the II hotline.
Just like the all-inclusive resorts 99% of the time, it is not a good use of RCI. The best use of an RCI membership and your trading current points is to book “regular” resorts. That is where the real value is in timesharing and timeshare exchanging. Just to be clear – You don’t need to be an RCI Platinum Member to make an ongoing search request; you just have to pay your exchange fee upfront. You may start to get a sense why, when you search for certain RCI resorts in the inventory, it’s not there.
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