Posted by: tom E-Mail: jtrek@warwick.net
Date Posted: July 23, 1998 at 18:59 MDT

Well Tuggers, where do I begin. I will never forget the phone conversation I had with a RCI Vacation Counselor today. Let me explain. On Tuesday of this week, I received confirmation that my RCI account was established and I was ready to go. You see, I had recently decided to purchase a 1br unit, floating red time at what I now consider to be the absolute best bargain, hidden jewel of a timeshare. You want low maint/tax fees, you got it. You want incredible trading power, you got it. You want low purchase price, you got it. After receiving my membership number, on Tuesday evening I decided to play with RCI on-line (for those having trouble accessing/using this site, download/use Netscape Navigator 3.01 Gold with Windows 95). Keep in mind that with my new purchase came 2 weeks: one 98 use week and one 99 use week. At this time, only the 98 use week is in the bank. The check-in date of this banked week is week 32 (Aug 7th). Now, based on my perusing these boards daily and reading how extremely important it is to bank early with RCI, I was not expecting to get anything at all. I mean the use week is about 2 weeks away. Now, the seller of this week has been adamant about the trading power of this resort. He even coined a cute phrase: "Trades like a tiger!" Once again, I was skeptical until I saw what I was able to exchange into for this year and more importantly, next summer. Hawaii, no problem. I was offered 1br and 2br units at GC and non-GC resorts. England in the summer, no problem - ie Walton Hall, etc. Get this, Swallowtail and Spicebush for next August! I cant wait to see what the 99 banked week will bring up since it will have been banked for 1 year. I searched for Allen House and nothing came up. I thought this was due more to a lack of availability than my trading power. This was confirmed by the RCI vacation counselor this morning. Southern California, no problem. Folks, do you see a pattern here. If availability permits, I am able to exchange into every highly demanded area with no problems. Needless to say, I was on cloud nine especially after hearing so many horror stories about waiting 2 years for a Hawaii exchange with no results. I was so ecstatic, I could barely sleep. This morning, I called RCI to confirm that everything is ok with my account - ie name, address, phone number, etc. While I had this person on the phone, I was asking him/her about my trading power. This person stated he/she spoke with another new owner last week who wanted to know the same thing. She was able to tell me that if there was availability in a specific area, I would have no problem getting it. She was hysterical. Especially since that banked week has only a 2 week window. Hawaii, no problem, California, no problem. San Francisco, no problem. Manhattan club, no problem. In his/her 10 years at RCI, they have never seen anything like it. When I told him/her the low purchase price and the low maint/tax fee, I thought I heard him/her faint. Gang, if you are looking for the best kept secret in timesharing, I have the resort for you. Its in South Africa and is called Dikhololo (RCI #1999). If anyone is interested in purchasing, please email me. The above info is 100% legit! Thanks Tom