Maximizing your timeshare exchanges

By Jerry Nisker, Orange, California

[This article previously appeared in TimeSharing Today magazine.]

We have all heard someone say “I can never get anything I want” when talking about attempting to trade their timeshare. I purchased my first timeshare 15 years ago, and like most people I had no idea how to use it as a trade. Again, like most people, I joined RCI and began to ask questions in order to understand how to maximize my ability to trade for those places I really wanted to travel.

Over the years, I have learned some very valuable tips from the RCI counselors that have helped me to enjoy timesharing rather than complaining that I can’t get a trade. Since I have both “week” and “points” resorts, I have listed a few of these tips below to help you get the most out of your trading:

Weeks

1. Bank your week as early as possible. I always bank two of my weeks two years in advance. This helps to maximize your trading power.

2. Request a trade as early as possible and be flexible with both places and dates. By going someplace just one week on either side of prime time, you increase the possibility of getting what you want. I once traded a one bedroom unit, for a three bedroom, three bath Gold Crown resort on a golf course in Hilton Head, SC by going “off season.” In addition, this resort allowed RCI members to play golf free. Regular green fees were $125.

3. If you do not have a Gold Crown unit, you can still trade for one if you are willing to go many place during the “off season,” or if you are willing to trade a two bedroom unit for a one bedroom unit.

4. Ask the RCI counselor to recommend a way for you to get the trade you want. I have found that the counselors have a way of manipulating their system in order to be helpful.

5. If the trade you want is not available when you first call, continue to call day after day. For various reasons, people cancel their vacations, which allow RCI to place those units back in the trading pool. Don’t give up.

One other very interesting item; during one conversation with an RCI counselor, I mentioned that I was giving some thought to replacing all of my non Gold Crown units with Gold Crown units. He told me not to do that, which surprised me. He went on to explain that although RCI is a “like for like” system, they would prefer to trade their customers up rather than down. The reason for this is that when they give a Gold Crown owner a non Gold Crown unit, they receive complaints that it was not the same quality as the unit they gave up. In other words, RCI would rather give us a better unit and avoid the complaints, plus it makes it more likely that we will trade in the future. Most of my trades were to Gold Crown resorts from non Gold Crown resorts.

Points

The great thing about points is that if you have enough of them. you don’t have to be concerned with Gold Crown, Red Week, Prime Season or anything else. Points are points, regardless of where your home resort may be. There are, however, a few tips that can be very helpful:

1. If you are attempting to trade for someplace other than your home resort, do it 10 months in advance. For example, if you want to go to Hawaii, at 10 months out the selection of Gold Crown units are extremely good.

2. Just as with weeks, consider going “off season” because it will require fewer points.

3. Consider going for a shorter period of time than a full week, as you will use less points.

4. Avoid weekends, as Friday and Saturday represent 40% of the total points for the week.

5. If you don’t have enough points for a particular resort, borrow them from your coming “use year.”

6. Call or check the RCI website daily. New weeks are put into the system every day. If one is not available today, it may be available tomorrow or next week.

7. If a “points” resort is not available, ask the RCI counselor to check the “weeks” resorts. The thing to keep in mind is that if you trade points for a weeks resort, you must book for the entire week.

8. Use the last minute 9000 point deals. If you can take a vacation within the next 45 days, call RCI for these incredible opportunities. I booked a two bedroom, 2 bath unit in downtown Sedona at a Gold Crown resort for 9000 points for the an entire week.

9. If you find that you never seem to have enough points, purchase the most inexpensive unit that is already in the points system. Do not over pay for a timeshare and then pay a separate charge to put it into points. I know of one situation where you can purchase a timeshare for only $850 that gives 25,000 points per year. Shop around!

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