RCIReviews of rci.com

I think it's very unethical that RCI is charging to extend weeks that are expiring in the middle of Covid 19 pandemic! The "shelter in place" order prohibits any travel. Their lame argument is that we've had 3 years to use it. However, we travel every year with RCI, so we're not hoarding our weeks (didn't travel as much when the kids were too little). Shame on RCI. At least there are other deposit options for the future.

I had a reservation for Golden Sands Island Residence club in Malta between 12 and 19 May 2020. Because of the current COVID 19 situation this was cancelled on 30 April 2020. As I had 20 trading points for this vacation expiring at the end of June I fully expected RCI to extend this period to allow me to book for a further holiday later this year or next. RCI stated that this could be done but only for an additional payment of £77.00 [half the usual payment apparently]. I explained that this felt like a penalty as there is no way I could use the 20 points by the end of June in the current COVID 19 circumstances. I have been a member with RCI since 1998 [22 years] and in that time have only been to my home resort for 3 of these. The other years I have exchanged through RCI, paying of course the fee to RCI to exchange. I find RCI's "money grabbing" attitude, particularly in the current situation, absolutely shocking. Despite various further communications RCI will not change their position, leaving me with no choice but to cancel my RCI subscription when it is next due [currently £59] and not pay any further exchange fees [currently £181 per year] each I change time. Clearly RCI are prepared to forgo these future losses and displease loyal customers all for the sake of a bit of goodwill in extending the trading points period. I suspect I am not alone in my view of RCI's current position. RCI's rely below is typically standard and effectively meaningless. Here is true their e-mailed response direct to me; " We regret your continued disappointment but would reiterate that, for the reasons outlined in our previous responses, we are unable to extend the week expiring in June free of charge but our half-price extension offer remains at your disposal. While we note your reference to discontinuing your annual membership renewal direct debit later this year, we would respectfully remind you that, in order to exchange any weeks deposited on your RCI account (either the expiring week you wish to extend or indeed the 2021 week you have deposited), it will be necessary for your membership to be up to date with the dates of any exchange(s) you book, whether you renew by direct debit or through another means" Typical RCI, my advice is don't touch them with a bargepole.

I booked a weeks holiday as an exchange using points and paying a booking fee of £219 (including booking protection). The holiday was cancelled due to the current travel ban. I approached RCI for a refund of the booking fee however they tell me they are holding this on my account and that I have till the 31st October to book a new holiday and that if I don’t I will loose not only the fee but also the points used for the exchange. This holiday was the first opportunity we had to book following my wife being diagnosed with cancer and being given the approval of her Consultant to travel as her condition became controlled. How do we know when travel will be possible and to do so safely given my wife’s condition. I do not believe it to be morally correct that RCI treats its members so callously given that holidays have been cancelled by the governments Lockdown. Please refund my booking fee. Member ID: 6687-02625

Every time I called about my cancellation I got a different answer and they kept pushing it off (telling me it would get better). Now they are they are keeping even more of my money. The whole way this was handled seems like a giant corporate scam. They are handling this the exact opposite way other reputable companies are handling this. Never book with or join them.

My week booked for the beginning of April and was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. RCI informed me that they were holding a credit of $239 that I could use to re-book. When I tried to re-book they wouldn't do anything without my paying another year's membership of $124. My membership ended at the end of April. Now, I couldn't have re-booked because everything was still shutdown at that time so basically I lost the week I booked. Then they tell you you have to re-book a date within six months or you lose the $239 in exchange/transfer fees they are holding but they won't reimburse you that money. UPDATE: On the morning of May 12th I was contacted by RCI and they refunded me the fee. They also kept my membership going for the year but after this experience, starting with booking, I don't think I'll be using it.

I’ve been a member of RCI for over 25 years. In the past I’ve had little to complain about and have managed to get all the exchange’s I’ve wanted with little or no complaints. However on this occasion I had 4 weeks booked in Florida booked with my RCI points which have been cancelled due to the corona virus pandemic. Because it was a weeks resort I was booking into I had to pay for some of the exchange’s and points protection. We also paid money to carry over points. I’m dissatisfied because In light of the fact that the exchange’s had to be cancelled for the coronavirus outbreak, RCI policy has been to keep my fees and offered vouchers. In addition because 70000 + of my points had already been extended (and that extension paid for to RCI) they would now expire at the end of this year as I cannot extend again. I would have expected RCI to have extended these points due to the current issue preventing me using them now. Every other company I have dealt with has fully refunded me and in one case where I also was using a points system refunded all my points with no expiration date. When I rang RCI I was expecting something similar but instead I have been offered vouchers which I’m not sure I’ll get to use and been told I’ll have further fees to pay at the end of the year to extend yet more of the points not used on this trip over and above the 70000+ that they say I’ll lose regardless. I’m extremely disappointed with RCI and feel that I’m completely out of pocket due to their policy. The points I’m losing have already cost me money for my own timeshare maintenance and the annual fee I’ve paid to RCI. I feel the only one getting off light with this and delivering poor service is RCI John Darby

Turns out RCI's Club 365 is a fraudulent hoax. If you purchased their Club365 Travel Program, you will be angry when you find out what I'm about to tell you. When you click on the "Getaways" benefit button, or on the "Preferred" inventory, the site will redirect you to a website called My Web Rez, (look at the URL bar). This is a 3rd party website that is completely open to the public. Thats right.... you didnt have to pay upwards of 2 thousand dollars for RCI TheClub365, you can simply access it directly without paying. Try it your self. In actuality, any RCI members who paid THOUSANDS for their membership should be angry. I agree that not ALL the inventory is there, but a LARGE portion is.... and you DONT have to pay any fees to join. Class-action lawsuit against RCI anyone? In case you are unaware, Club365 is a "trial" travel program launched by RCI in 2017. Its intent is to give members such as myself a trial of their benefits using the "Savings Dollars" you may already be familiar with. As I've discovered, Memberships cost between $800-$4000 ( I paid about $2000). Why such a large difference in price? because RCI offers this program to their large network of resorts to sell and maintains little or no product uniformity, so basically sales people sale it for whatever price they think they can get. (RCI doesnt really care as long as they get their cut $$$, and complaints are kept to a minimum). Unfortunatelly most travel programs are sold to seniors, which is why many havent discovered this fact that they can simply type in the URL directly, NOT have to login, and they are able to make reservations on a 3rd party website. I'd post the link directly here, but I am afraid that it will be blocked as SPAM. SO if you have a Club365 membership, please click on the 2 benefits I previously mentioned, and SAVE the URL bars. To PROVE what I am telling you, you can go on a separate computer, and go to those URLs... you will se that you can still access them, (anyone can), and book without having to login. So they are selling a program that is free, and open to the public. Isn't that fraud?? Shame on you RCI.

Because of the Coronavirus everything (the country) is shutdown. I asked RCI if I can get my credit extended for this reason. They said that I would need to pay a fee for extending the credit which is to expire in July. Very disappointing that RCI is not taking into consideration the extenuating circumstances that currently exist, (COVID-19!)