JohnGypsy
Needs giraffe at window every morning.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2018
Ok, so, per my other thread -- I (along with many others) may soon be in a scenario where one of the few options to do something with some DVC points without losing them completely may be to convert them to RCI. So, I'm trying to learn more about how to do that -- without having to call Member Services so that others with more pressing issues can get through.
I haven't seen much of this in the past because the normal response is that it doesn't make financial sense to do this -- so just don't. But, that only works when you can do something else with your points, of course.
So -- can someone give some guidance on how this is supposed to work? Can I book any RCI? Or does it have to show up on the list of Destinations under the "World Collection - RCI" on the DVC site? I'm having trouble trying to get things to line up. I'll give you an example:
I log into the DVC site and go to the "World Collection - RCI" section and say that I just want to see things in the Caribbean. Just for grins, I search for the first match that is in the Bahamas and it shows "Bluewater At Guanahani Village" on New Providence Island and says that they have rooms from 80 points per week. (Note that I want less than that -- I only want like 3-4 nights.) So, let's say I want to look into reserving that location...
I then go to the section that links you over to RCI's site. I click through and now I'm at RCI. I go to "RCI Vacation Search" at the top and put in "bluewater" as the keyword. It finds some weird place in Texas. I go back and put in "Guanahani" in the keyword box -- and it finds nothing.
Ok, let's try another way. I try clicking on the map. I click on the Bahamas and it says that it has 6 locations there -- 3 of them on New Providence Island -- and none of them are that hotel.
So, am I doing something wrong? Or did I just get unlucky and randomly pick a location that is listed on the DVC site as an option, but is no longer part of RCI or something?
I did just check the 3 that are on the map at RCI and those DO show up on the DVC side, so maybe it was just a fluke...
So, I pick one of those instead just to take a look. And I see that I can search for weeks. But I'm supposed to be able to do days too, right? Is there any way to search for availability for certain days? Or do I have to do that by calling DVC Member Services?
Also, is it correct that if I do make this exchange and book via RCI with DVC points for, say, October -- but then I later decide that that doesn't work for me -- then I can reschedule for something else at RCI as long as I do it by the end of next year? Whatever points I exchanged just sit there at RCI and I can continue to use them to book something else in that timeframe, right?
Can I exchange however many points I want? Or only those that fit the reservation that I make at the time of the exchange? In other words, say that I have 75 DVC points that I'm going to lose, so I want to convert them to RCI. And I find like a 4 night stay that is going to cost me 65 RCI points. Can I still transfer in the full 75 with hopes of using them later? Or would I need to find something that takes as close to 75 as I can get to make the exchange (and then I could cancel that and have the full 75 just sitting in the RCI account)?
And, finally, my understanding is that, if I make this exchange and it works out and I book an RCI stay, my total costs are just the $95 exchange fee, correct? I don't pay any taxes or resort fees to RCI when I actually stay. Is that accurate? Or maybe varies by location?
Sorry for all the questions -- I appreciate the guidance on this. Completely new to us since normally I'm also one of the ones just going "Don't do it! There are better options to get the same thing for less!" But, in this case, we might be very limited. Just trying to salvage what I can. Thanks!
I haven't seen much of this in the past because the normal response is that it doesn't make financial sense to do this -- so just don't. But, that only works when you can do something else with your points, of course.
So -- can someone give some guidance on how this is supposed to work? Can I book any RCI? Or does it have to show up on the list of Destinations under the "World Collection - RCI" on the DVC site? I'm having trouble trying to get things to line up. I'll give you an example:
I log into the DVC site and go to the "World Collection - RCI" section and say that I just want to see things in the Caribbean. Just for grins, I search for the first match that is in the Bahamas and it shows "Bluewater At Guanahani Village" on New Providence Island and says that they have rooms from 80 points per week. (Note that I want less than that -- I only want like 3-4 nights.) So, let's say I want to look into reserving that location...
I then go to the section that links you over to RCI's site. I click through and now I'm at RCI. I go to "RCI Vacation Search" at the top and put in "bluewater" as the keyword. It finds some weird place in Texas. I go back and put in "Guanahani" in the keyword box -- and it finds nothing.
Ok, let's try another way. I try clicking on the map. I click on the Bahamas and it says that it has 6 locations there -- 3 of them on New Providence Island -- and none of them are that hotel.
So, am I doing something wrong? Or did I just get unlucky and randomly pick a location that is listed on the DVC site as an option, but is no longer part of RCI or something?
I did just check the 3 that are on the map at RCI and those DO show up on the DVC side, so maybe it was just a fluke...
So, I pick one of those instead just to take a look. And I see that I can search for weeks. But I'm supposed to be able to do days too, right? Is there any way to search for availability for certain days? Or do I have to do that by calling DVC Member Services?
Also, is it correct that if I do make this exchange and book via RCI with DVC points for, say, October -- but then I later decide that that doesn't work for me -- then I can reschedule for something else at RCI as long as I do it by the end of next year? Whatever points I exchanged just sit there at RCI and I can continue to use them to book something else in that timeframe, right?
Can I exchange however many points I want? Or only those that fit the reservation that I make at the time of the exchange? In other words, say that I have 75 DVC points that I'm going to lose, so I want to convert them to RCI. And I find like a 4 night stay that is going to cost me 65 RCI points. Can I still transfer in the full 75 with hopes of using them later? Or would I need to find something that takes as close to 75 as I can get to make the exchange (and then I could cancel that and have the full 75 just sitting in the RCI account)?
And, finally, my understanding is that, if I make this exchange and it works out and I book an RCI stay, my total costs are just the $95 exchange fee, correct? I don't pay any taxes or resort fees to RCI when I actually stay. Is that accurate? Or maybe varies by location?
Sorry for all the questions -- I appreciate the guidance on this. Completely new to us since normally I'm also one of the ones just going "Don't do it! There are better options to get the same thing for less!" But, in this case, we might be very limited. Just trying to salvage what I can. Thanks!
