How many RCI points to stay in Disney Saratoga Springs Resort

[Jkarrows]

As long as you put in an ongoing request and follow the website for RCI as well AND you're OK with any DVC resort (esp OKW & SSR), a 1 BR & 7 nights starting on a Fri, Sat or Sun; I'd say your chances are far greater than 50% if you put in the request now and likely still above 50% for a 2 BR. The reason you need to follow the website as well is that generally RCI won't match a points side deposit to an ongoing search until it filters over to the weeks side. I'm not sure any variations that might apply for HGVC though. I'm curious, when you posted initially were you still within your ?10 day cancelation window? If so and had you provided more info, we might have been able to help you further. If you're looking at Disney and non Disney trips and HGVC resorts (not counting affiliates) works for you then you're still likely in a very good situation. IMO owning a good non DVC timeshare to use for Disney and non Disney as a single ownership is far less of a compromise than trying to buy DVC and use it for non DVC options as well for those looking to do a substantial amount of both. Once you get to a week a year for non DVC, often owning both is the best option.

Problem was you only get 5 days to cancel with HGVC.

 

[Jkarrows]

You were not mis-sold. You CAN use your Hilton points to exchange into DVC using RCI. That is a true statement, not a mis-statement.Your problem is you don't have the vaguest idea how RCI works. Once you do your homework and learn the system, I think you'll be pleased. But you have to know what you are doing. If you don't invest the time and effort to educate yourself, you are doomed to remain "not happy." Go to TUG, learn how RCI works (especially the differences between RCI Weeks and Points, and how to do an ongoing search in RCI Weeks), set up an ongoing search as Dean has suggested twice above, and you'll be fine.

So calling RCI and speaking to someone was a waste of time, your saying that if I visit TUG which I have done, it will be different to what RCI are telling me?

Your telling me that when I call reservations at RCI and the lady tells me I can not book for two years will be different?

We'll I for one are not convinced but I am looking.

Thanks

 

[JimMIA]

So calling RCI and speaking to someone was a waste of time, your saying that if I visit TUG which I have done, it will be different to what RCI are telling me?

Your telling me that when I call reservations at RCI and the lady tells me I can not book for two years will be different?

We'll I for one are not convinced but I am looking.

Thanks

The problem is not what they are telling you -- either the Hilton timeshare sales people, or RCI.

When the RCI people told you "no DVC availability," that was correct...but irrelevant. The fact that there is no availability the instant you check does not mean there won't be an hour, or a week, or six months from now. That is NOT how the system works; availability is very fluid and literally changes minute by minute.

The problem is you don't understand the system, so you only hear "no availability" and you go straight to "Not happy!"

But you don't hear both RCI and Dean telling you the way to get a DVC exchange is via an Ongoing Search.

There is NEVER DVC availability two years out. There is no DVC availability ONE year out, even for DVC owners within the DVC system! DVC only books reservations 11 months out for home-resort owners. At seven months, non-home DVC owners can book.

No availability gets deposited into RCI unless a DVC owner uses RCI to exchange OUT of DVC. Generally -- in order to give their owners an opportunity at the inventory first, RCI deposits are not made until about 7 months prior to arrival date. If you join TUG and follow the Sightings board, you will see those bulk deposits hitting, and you will also see that they are gone within hours -- often within minutes -- because they are gobbled up by Ongoing Searches.

So the strategy is to use RCI's excellent Ongoing Search feature in RCI Weeks. You submit your requests, and when DVC finally deposits those units are compared against the existing Ongoing Searches. Searches are fulfilled on a first submitted, first filled basis -- which is why Dean is telling to get your search started a year out. Starting early gives you priority over someone who submits their request after you.

I believe Hilton allows you to use both RCI Weeks and Points. There is no ongoing search feature in Points, so you have to watch the Sightings board closely -- or better yet, check the Points inventory several times a day when seven months rolls around. Deposits tend to show up in Points first, so using both frequent checks in Points and an Ongoing Search (or more than one) in Weeks gives you the best chance of success.

RCI is a good system, and you will probably have good results exchanging into DVC. But you really have to go to school and learn the system.

 

[chalee94]

Your telling me that when I call reservations at RCI and the lady tells me I can not book for two years will be different?

it's a timeshare not a hotel. booking one is a totally different animal than booking the other. that is something that you should have put together before you ever bought a timeshare. it doesn't sound like you have put in enough homework...

of course, you cannot "book" a DVC resort over a year out through RCI. DVC has not even deposited anything in that time period yet...so of course you cannot book it through RCI if DVC has not deposited any inventory with them yet.

the only time you can ever book anything by calling up RCI is based on whatever inventory is left over. if i put in an ongoing search for DVC, i will match and that room will be gone before you call RCI to try to book it...it will never show up in online inventory for you to book. you have got to learn how to put in an ongoing search if you want to book DVC through RCI. (at least, this is true if you are dealing with the RCI weeks side.)

sometimes there are a handful of leftovers that make it through the ongoing searches and hit the website inventory but even that rarely lasts a day (when it does hit RCI's leftover inventory, it shows up on TUG's sightings board - which is only available to paid members - but that is not a great plan for trying to book DVC.)

you're going to have to plan ahead and think more like a timeshare owner and less like a hotel guest.

 

[Jkarrows]

The problem is not what they are telling you -- either the Hilton timeshare sales people, or RCI. When the RCI people told you "no DVC availability," that was correct...but irrelevant. The fact that there is no availability the instant you check does not mean there won't be an hour, or a week, or six months from now. That is NOT how the system works; availability is very fluid and literally changes minute by minute. The problem is you don't understand the system, so you only hear "no availability" and you go straight to "Not happy!" But you don't hear both RCI and Dean telling you the way to get a DVC exchange is via an Ongoing Search. There is NEVER DVC availability two years out. There is no DVC availability ONE year out, even for DVC owners within the DVC system! DVC only books reservations 11 months out for home-resort owners. At seven months, non-home DVC owners can book. No availability gets deposited into RCI unless a DVC owner uses RCI to exchange OUT of DVC. Generally -- in order to give their owners an opportunity at the inventory first, RCI deposits are not made until about 7 months prior to arrival date. If you join TUG and follow the Sightings board, you will see those bulk deposits hitting, and you will also see that they are gone within hours -- often within minutes -- because they are gobbled up by Ongoing Searches. So the strategy is to use RCI's excellent Ongoing Search feature in RCI Weeks. You submit your requests, and when DVC finally deposits those units are compared against the existing Ongoing Searches. Searches are fulfilled on a first submitted, first filled basis -- which is why Dean is telling to get your search started a year out. Starting early gives you priority over someone who submits their request after you. I believe Hilton allows you to use both RCI Weeks and Points. There is no ongoing search feature in Points, so you have to watch the Sightings board closely -- or better yet, check the Points inventory several times a day when seven months rolls around. Deposits tend to show up in Points first, so using both frequent checks in Points and an Ongoing Search (or more than one) in Weeks gives you the best chance of success. RCI is a good system, and you will probably have good results exchanging into DVC. But you really have to go to school and learn the system.

Thanks for the reply, many points you raise is not how it was sold to us, we are on points.

 

[JimMIA]

Thanks for the reply, many points you raise is not how it was sold to us, we are on points.

Right -- your timeshare interest is represented by HGVC points, but that doesn't mean you can only trade in the RCI Points System. For example, I own Wyndham points, but I can only exchange in the RCI Weeks System. I believe Hilton points may be used in both the RCI Points System and the RCI Weeks System.

Hopefully, someone who owns Hilton can clarify that for you, but I believe you can use both systems. Some timeshares exchange with one system, but not the other, so it does matter.

The other thing you need to find out is whether Hilton trades in RCI on a fixed points grid or by TPU. If you're on a fixed grid, ALL Hilton owners will pay the same number of points for a given size unit in a particular locality during the same season -- no matter which specific resort you get, or which Hilton resort you are using to exchange.

Wyndham exchanges on a fixed point grid, so I pay the same number of points for an exchange regardless of which WDW DVC resort I exchange into.

 

[Dean]

Problem was you only get 5 days to cancel with HGVC.

It depends on where you were when you bought. For FL it's 10 days but it varies. It is 5 days for some states. But it's a state law issue, not necessarily a HGVC issue unless they chose to make it longer than required by state law. DVC used to be 15 days when state law was 10 days.

So calling RCI and speaking to someone was a waste of time, your saying that if I visit TUG which I have done, it will be different to what RCI are telling me?

Your telling me that when I call reservations at RCI and the lady tells me I can not book for two years will be different?

We'll I for one are not convinced but I am looking.

Thanks

What you have to get a grasp on is current availability vs future availability and how you can access it. For the good stuff it's ALMOST never just sitting there for you to reserve. RCI is really 2 exchange companies, weeks and points. Some have access to one side and some the other and a few directly to both. From a DVC standpoint you get more inventory through the points side but you can't access that inventory until 10 months out (or less if the resort system deposits later like DVC) and usually not from an ongoing search. Weeks OTOH allows access up to 2 yrs out (or when it's available) for direct members and many (but not all) members through a mini system such as Bluegreen, DVC, Wyndham, Hilton, etc. To be successful with RCI you've got to plan ahead, learn the system, put in ongoing searches by paying the fee and for points resorts, be willing to put in the effort 10 months to the day for most and ongoing for some like DVC.

I'm not that well versed in RCI but I also believe it accesses both RCI points and RCI weeks similar to Bluegreen and DVC. There is an extensive set of info on TUG in the free advice section as it relates to HGVC.

 

[Jkarrows]

Right -- your timeshare interest is represented by HGVC points, but that doesn't mean you can only trade in the RCI Points System. For example, I own Wyndham points, but I can only exchange in the RCI Weeks System. I believe Hilton points may be used in both the RCI Points System and the RCI Weeks System. Hopefully, someone who owns Hilton can clarify that for you, but I believe you can use both systems. Some timeshares exchange with one system, but not the other, so it does matter. The other thing you need to find out is whether Hilton trades in RCI on a fixed points grid or by TPU. If you're on a fixed grid, ALL Hilton owners will pay the same number of points for a given size unit in a particular locality during the same season -- no matter which specific resort you get, or which Hilton resort you are using to exchange. Wyndham exchanges on a fixed point grid, so I pay the same number of points for an exchange regardless of which WDW DVC resort I exchange into.

We are able to use both I have found out.

Yes we appear to also be on a fixed point grid for disney so I have been told.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Jkarrows]

It depends on where you were when you bought. For FL it's 10 days but it varies. It is 5 days for some states. But it's a state law issue, not necessarily a HGVC issue unless they chose to make it longer than required by state law. DVC used to be 15 days when state law was 10 days. What you have to get a grasp on is current availability vs future availability and how you can access it. For the good stuff it's ALMOST never just sitting there for you to reserve. RCI is really 2 exchange companies, weeks and points. Some have access to one side and some the other and a few directly to both. From a DVC standpoint you get more inventory through the points side but you can't access that inventory until 10 months out (or less if the resort system deposits later like DVC) and usually not from an ongoing search. Weeks OTOH allows access up to 2 yrs out (or when it's available) for direct members and many (but not all) members through a mini system such as Bluegreen, DVC, Wyndham, Hilton, etc. To be successful with RCI you've got to plan ahead, learn the system, put in ongoing searches by paying the fee and for points resorts, be willing to put in the effort 10 months to the day for most and ongoing for some like DVC. I'm not that well versed in RCI but I also believe it accesses both RCI points and RCI weeks similar to Bluegreen and DVC. There is an extensive set of info on TUG in the free advice section as it relates to HGVC.

Ok can someone please help me with how you work the ongoing search system I hear a lot, a link to how it works or advice would be great.

I am looking to book October 2015 as it's my 20th wedding anniversary and I am looking to have as a spires to my wife our wedding vowels renewed again, I need to book two weeks, how can I do this for Saratoga springs?

Thanks.

 

[Brian Noble]

Here's the starting point for understanding this: the difference between booking a hotel and completing a timeshare exchange.

In a hotel-style setup, all of the room inventory is available from the start. When the booking window for a particular time opens, all the available rooms are available to book. Over time, as guests book rooms, fewer and fewer "empty" rooms are available until the hotel is sold out. At that point, you won't get a room unless someone else cancels first.

Exchange works differently. DVC has to retain their available rooms for DVC Members, because the Members "own" the rooms. They don't give inventory to RCI until a DVC Member *first* decides that they want to stay in some other RCI-affiliated resort rather than one of the DVC resorts. At that point, DVC places a room that is "equivalent" to the one the Member wants into RCI's "space bank." When that happens, that room is made available to other RCI Members to book.

So, unlike a hotel system, an exchange system can always get more inventory over time. Just because there is nothing there now, that doesn't mean that there won't be anything later.

That's a very over-simplified view of how this all works. Spending time on TUG and reading, reading, reading, will help you learn lots of the subtleties that help make the difference between a successful exchange and an unsuccessful one. That's a process that just takes time.

But, in the meantime, here are the basics. DVC tends to deposit inventory to RCI between 5 and 7 months prior to check-in. So, the earliest you should expect to see anything would be March 2015. DVC deposits almost all of its time in 7-day chunks, checking in on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. DVC deposits time only after owners have had a reasonable chance of booking things themselves, and so times/resorts/unit-sizes/views that are very popular internally are very difficult to obtain via exchange. October is a very popular time for DVC owners. BCV and BWV are the most popular resorts during that time. OKW and SSR are the most likely to be deposited. Studios are the most popular unit size, followed by 2BRs, and then 1BRs. 3BR units are almost never deposited; you can safely ignore them.

There are two pools of inventory that DVC can deposit to: Points and Weeks. As an HGVC owner, both pools are available to you. There is a fixed grid for HGVC points to exchange into either pool at RCI---you can find out specific point values on TUG (I do not own HGVC). Inventory that is deposited to Weeks is matched to ongoing searches first, and only the leftovers make it to the online/call-in system for "on demand" booking. Ongoing searches are fulfilled in a first-come first-served order, so searches placed earlier have priority over searches placed later. Points inventory goes directly to the online/call-in system, and does not match to ongoing searches. DVC units in either pool go very very fast, once deposited.

To maximize your chances, you want to be as flexible as possible about unit size, dates, and resorts. It sounds like you have two specific weeks in mind, but if it is possible, I would include three weeks: the week before, containing, and after your actual anniversary date, hoping to get any two consecutively. Note that if your anniversary date's week also includes Columbus Day, you may have to be even more flexible, as that is the single most popular week in October for DVC Members.

My strategy would be: Place two ongoing searches ASAP. One for the first and second weeks, matching any resort and any unit size. The second for the second and third weeks, matching any resort and any unit size. When you get a match, you can decide whether or not you want to limit the resort that the second search is looking for to be at the same resort. My advice: don't do this. The hassle of changing resorts is worth the increase in odds of getting the second week.

Because these only match Weeks inventory, you will also need to be looking for Points inventory manually. So, starting about 7 months and one week prior to check in, get in the habit of checking the RCI site several times a day, until you either get both weeks, or you are about 4 months out, at which point it will be time to make other plans. You might catch Points inventory that way, but you might also miss it---there is a certain amount of luck involved.

Bottom line: exchange is a tricky business, and requires some time invested to learn how to use it properly. For many, it becomes something of a hobby, but that hobby can be rewarding. For example, we've got a very highly-rated 3BR unit within easy walking distance of the beach at Hilton Head for the week including July 4th in '15, and I'm now starting to plan a couple weeks in Hawaii for summer '16.

 

[JimMIA]

Ok can someone please help me with how you work the ongoing search system I hear a lot, a link to how it works or advice would be great.

I can't give you specific instructions because HGVC may do it differently than I am used to doing with Wyndham. Hilton may have specific member services people who work exclusively with RCI reservations. If they do, those people will be a priceless resource for all your exchange questions.

The first thing to do is, obviously, be sure that your RCI account is set up and fully functional.

The next thing (and I don't know the answer) is to find out whether you can do an ongoing search without having deposited points into RCI. Some systems can; others can't. If you must deposit first, you will have to deposit enough points to book your reservations. Once you deposit points, they will be valid for stays up to two years from date of deposit.

Rather than try to give you an erroneous step-by-step, I'll describe the things you will need to know and/or make decisions about.

• Dates -- In your search, you will specify the dates you are searching for. The broader the range of dates you use, the better your chance for success -- BUT you are looking for two consecutive weeks, and that will require two separate ongoing searches. Which, in turn, will mean two exchange fees and two $95 fees paid to DVC at checkin.
• Resort -- the best way to avoid errors is to use the RCI resort code for the resort you want. The DVC codes are listed in Post #7 on page one of this thread. SSR is DV06.
• Size Unit -- studio, 1 BR, 2 BR, or 3 BR. Depending on your points grid, the points cost may be the same for studio and 1 BR. If it's just you and your wife, I would definitely request a 1 BR. Not many studios show up for exchanges; 1 BRs are plentiful and MUCH, MUCH better accommodations.

You will enter your ongoing search online -- and then you wait patiently. For October 2015, nothing is going to happen until about March 2015. Start checking the Sightings Board on TUG in mid-February to get a feel for how things are going.

When you get a match, you will be notified by RCI by phone call or email (or both). You go to the RCI website and see the results of your search. You can either hold the reservation, decline the reservation, or confirm the reservation. My advice is to place the reservation on Hold immediately and then see how it really fits your plans before you confirm it. You have 48 hours to decide, I believe.

I need to book two weeks, how can I do this for Saratoga springs?

Personally, I would do one week at a DVC resort and one at a Hilton resort.

The primary reason I say that is spending two weeks at SSR is going to require two ongoing searches and two sets of fees, in addition to the underlying points cost of the exchange. Having those two exchanges match perfectly will require perfect results on two searches. Perfection occurring twice is not unthinkable or impossible, but it is stretching your luck.

(If your search results don't match precisely, it's not the end of the world. For example, if your first week was a Sunday checkin and the second week was a Saturday checkin, you would have a one-day overlap. You would simply use six nights the first week and all seven the second week -- you don't have to use all nights, but you do have to check in as scheduled. If you got a Friday checkin followed by a Sunday check in, you would have to spend Saturday night somewhere in a hotel.)

But if you only spend one week at DVC, now you have much more latitude for a range of dates in your search criteria. You are not trying to match up two consecutive weeks, so you can use a broader range for your search and then just book Hilton normally for the other week. You might even want to stay at a Hilton near Universal, near Sea World -- or maybe even one on a nice Florida beach somewhere.

The other reason I'd do a split stay is to check out one or more Hilton resorts. You may find you like the Hilton accommodations better, and they will certainly be cheaper and easier to reserve for future visits.

 

[JimMIA]

Brian's response above is more concise and understandable than any explanation I have ever read about timeshare exchanges.

The man should be a college professor!

 

[Jkarrows]

I can't give you specific instructions because HGVC may do it differently than I am used to doing with Wyndham. Hilton may have specific member services people who work exclusively with RCI reservations. If they do, those people will be a priceless resource for all your exchange questions. The first thing to do is, obviously, be sure that your RCI account is set up and fully functional. The next thing (and I don't know the answer) is to find out whether you can do an ongoing search without having deposited points into RCI. Some systems can; others can't. If you must deposit first, you will have to deposit enough points to book your reservations. Once you deposit points, they will be valid for stays up to two years from date of deposit. Rather than try to give you an erroneous step-by-step, I'll describe the things you will need to know and/or make decisions about. [*]Dates -- In your search, you will specify the dates you are searching for. The broader the range of dates you use, the better your chance for success -- BUT you are looking for two consecutive weeks, and that will require two separate ongoing searches. Which, in turn, will mean two exchange fees and two $95 fees paid to DVC at checkin. [*]Resort -- the best way to avoid errors is to use the RCI resort code for the resort you want. The DVC codes are listed in Post #7 on page one of this thread. SSR is DV06.[*]Size Unit -- studio, 1 BR, 2 BR, or 3 BR. Depending on your points grid, the points cost may be the same for studio and 1 BR. If it's just you and your wife, I would definitely request a 1 BR. Not many studios show up for exchanges; 1 BRs are plentiful and MUCH, MUCH better accommodations. You will enter your ongoing search online -- and then you wait patiently. For October 2015, nothing is going to happen until about March 2015. Start checking the Sightings Board on TUG in mid-February to get a feel for how things are going. When you get a match, you will be notified by RCI by phone call or email (or both). You go to the RCI website and see the results of your search. You can either hold the reservation, decline the reservation, or confirm the reservation. My advice is to place the reservation on Hold immediately and then see how it really fits your plans before you confirm it. You have 48 hours to decide, I believe.Personally, I would do one week at a DVC resort and one at a Hilton resort. The primary reason I say that is spending two weeks at SSR is going to require two ongoing searches and two sets of fees, in addition to the underlying points cost of the exchange. Having those two exchanges match perfectly will require perfect results on two searches. Perfection occurring twice is not unthinkable or impossible, but it is stretching your luck. (If your search results don't match precisely, it's not the end of the world. For example, if your first week was a Sunday checkin and the second week was a Saturday checkin, you would have a one-day overlap. You would simply use six nights the first week and all seven the second week -- you don't have to use all nights, but you do have to check in as scheduled. If you got a Friday checkin followed by a Sunday check in, you would have to spend Saturday night somewhere in a hotel.) But if you only spend one week at DVC, now you have much more latitude for a range of dates in your search criteria. You are not trying to match up two consecutive weeks, so you can use a broader range for your search and then just book Hilton normally for the other week. You might even want to stay at a Hilton near Universal, near Sea World -- or maybe even one on a nice Florida beach somewhere. The other reason I'd do a split stay is to check out one or more Hilton resorts. You may find you like the Hilton accommodations better, and they will certainly be cheaper and easier to reserve for future visits.

Thank you for taking the time to reply in such depth. Thank you.

 

[JimMIA]

One other thing about RCI matches. If you decline, your ongoing search is reinstated with exactly the same priority it had originally. You don't lose a thing by declining a match.

The same is true if you change your search criteria somewhere along the way -- for example, a change of resort, dates, or villa size. You keep the same first-come, first-served priority from the original date of your search; you lose nothing by modifying your search.

 

[Dean]

Ok can someone please help me with how you work the ongoing search system I hear a lot, a link to how it works or advice would be great.

I am looking to book October 2015 as it's my 20th wedding anniversary and I am looking to have as a spires to my wife our wedding vowels renewed again, I need to book two weeks, how can I do this for Saratoga springs?

Thanks.

You really need to find someone who has HGVC specifics. for 2 weeks you'll have to 2 book 1 week at a time. there's a small chance you could book 2 weeks under RCI's points. i'd get on TUG and search for trading with Hilton. There may be Yahoo lists or similar for such groups as well.

 

[kneedeep]

Just wanted to mention that we are HGVC owners and have successfully traded into DVC properties 3 times since purchasing our membership. Once was at BLT in July 2012 then again at BLT during spring break in March 2014, and most recently at BWV for the week of July 4th 2014. Each time we set up an ongoing search request for several DVC properties about 9-10 months out and got a match around 7 months out.
Good luck, OP!

 

[JimMIA]

Jkarrows - you need to go back to the TUG DVC board and read the very detailed post from rfc0001 to your thread there.

They are an HGVC owner who has exchanged into DVC successfully EIGHT times.

They are also DVC owners who offer an interesting comparison between the two systems.