RCI Reviews: What Is RCI and How Does It Work?

RCI, which stands for Resort Condominiums International, came into existence almost 50 years ago and has been a vital part of the timeshare industry since its earliest days. While many customers and members believe RCI timeshare is a thing, as though RCI is the owner of timeshare resorts, in fact, RCI exists solely to give timeshare owners the ability to exchange their timeshare to visit thousands of other resorts across the globe. RCI does not own or operate any timeshare resorts.

Even though millions of happy customers travel to exciting destinations with RCI every year, you may find some negative reviews online. Are these negative comments the work of jealous rivals, or are they legit? Let's take a look at some RCI reviews and facts to find out the truth.

Facts About RCI

Christel De Haan and her husband Jon started RCI in 1974. Over the next 20 years, the company grew by leaps and bounds. The De Haan's eventually sold RCI to Cendant, in 1996, which spun off as a part of Wyndham Worldwide, and is now part of Wyndham Destinations. After selling RCI, Christel founded and operated the philanthropic charity Christel House until her death in 2020. RCI continues to be one Christel House’s top supporters.

Through the years, RCI has grown and adapted according to its members' needs adding an increasing variety of products to its portfolio. By virtue of its subscribing member base, RCI provides access to 4,000 affiliated resorts worldwide. In this sense, RCI is similar to the modern-day concepts of ridesharing and AirBnB. When you buy a timeshare, you're given the option to join RCI as a matter of course. Some resorts may include the cost of your membership in their purchase price. You are not obligated to join RCI at any stage of your timeshare journey.

If you're happy to vacation during your set week and/or return to your same resort location(s) every year you needn't join RCI at all. Yet, many timeshare owners start to crave a little variety after a few years visiting the same resorts and that's where RCI comes in. By means of an RCI membership, timeshare owners can 'deposit' their weeks and exchange them out for a different destination.

This pool of deposited weeks is then available for other members to use.

RCI satisfies this need to expand your vacation options and charges very little for the privilege. It's especially beneficial to members who want to travel overseas every few years since exchange fees are far lower than the cost associated with renting accommodation.

Kauai

"Christmas in Princeville, Kauai, 2018 !! Kenny and I are native Bostonians living in Los Angeles. Last year we made the sunny and sane choice to head West for the holidays instead of back East - and started a new family tradition!"

Orlando, Florida

"Had the best vacation ever with my family in Orlando. Thank you RCI, our condo was fantastic!"

Common Questions About RCI

Peak dates and locations can sometimes be a challenge to secure, since there is such a high demand for these resorts/dates. It's important to remember that RCI does not have access to every week in these resorts. It relies on its members to deposit their weeks into the communal pool, so that others may use them. If you want to book a week in a high demand area during peak season, you're going to need to plan ahead.

High-demand properties can fly off the shelves as fast as they're deposited into the pool. To get access to these sought-after vacations, you must enquire early and if what you want is not available you can set up an Ongoing Search. RCI’s Ongoing Search allows members to submit the date and location, and even room size they are looking for and then the RCI system will check inventory 24/7 until it finds a match. When a space is found RCI will put it on hold for the member for about 48 hours, and will notify the member to review and give them first dibs to book.

It pays to flexible when you're enquiring about available space too. If you keep an open mind, you could end up enjoying a fantastic vacation at a new place you would have never discovered.

RCI is transparent about all the fees associated with membership. Annual subscription costs for weeks members are under $100 per year. Generally, membership denotes a subscription to RCI magazine; RCI program benefits are generally obtained via this subscription. The weeks exchange fees start at around $239 dollars for a week's vacation anywhere in the world. So that's $338 for a week's vacation this year. The average rate for hotels in the USA is $125.55 per day. Plus, RCI comes with many exclusive member benefits, which may include savings on cruises, hotels, activities and car rentals. Once you use up your vacation exchange you can also rent directly from RCI, using their Extra Vacations or Last Call programs for as little as $239 for an entire week.

For full a full list of pricing and RCI fees please see the links below:

RCI Points fees: https://www.rci.com/pre-rci-en_US/help/forms-and-fees/pow-member-fees-us.html

RCI Weeks fees: https://www.rci.com/pre-rci-en_US/help/forms-and-fees/wow-member-fees-us.html 

Like any club membership worldwide, if you don't pay for a particular year, your membership simply lapses. When you are ready Weeks members can reinstate their membership $49, and Points members, for $300.

RCI sends millions of families on vacation every year and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, RCI is also an active member of ARDA, the official watchdog of timeshare industry in the US. At the 2019 ARDA awards, the company achieved excellence in five categories. RCI has been also been awarded Best Place to Work many times over.

RCI is a standup company who has been in business for over 45 years, has millions of satisfied customers among many other impressive achievements. So what about the negative reviews online? Every company has some negative reviews, and it pays to remember that people are more likely to complain than they are to heap praise on a business. Always balance your sources of information so you are understanding the full picture. Also make sure the source of the information is from real RCI customers, as there are dozens of fraudulent timeshare exitcompanies with negative things to say to lure in and scam timeshare owners.

RCI is the largest timeshare exchange company worldwide. More families trust travel with RCI than all other timeshare exchange companies combined. RCI is also part of Wyndham Destinations, the largest timeshare company globally, which is traded on the NYSE as WYND.

RCI has been around for nearly 50 years, and is a highly trusted, extremely reputable and highly awarded company.

Some of RCI’s Accolades include:

GREAT PLACE TO WORK AWARDS

If you'd like to join the happy band of vacationers that make up the vast majority of RCI members, you can learn more about RCI membership. When you join RCI, you'll receive regular updates on specials, new resorts, and industry information, so it's a good choice if you want to keep your vacation options open. Who knows before long you, too, could be adding your say to the many positive RCI Reviews out there.

Please note: All pricing and fees are accurate as of September 2020.

Lake Tahoe

"We drove from Central Washington to Lake Tahoe, which is where we met so many years ago before we married. We love to go back to our old stomping grounds and remember our humble beginnings."

Grand Canyon

"It was my wife's dream to hike the Grand Canyon. But when I saw the red rock of Sedona, I was hooked! We will definitely be vacationing here again!"

Get the Full Picture

Before you judge any business based on a few negative online reviews, find some positive write-ups about them. It's always a good idea to gain a balanced overview before you make your decision. Here are additional sources of real RCI member reviews and testimonials. As you will see RCI members love to share about their RCI experiences:

In the above testimonials you will find that RCI members enjoy