RCI and Bluegreen Vacations Renew Partnership

The worldwide leader in vacation exchange membership, RCI, and Bluegreen Vacations have renewed their ongoing partnership. Bluegreen Vacations operate over 60 vacation resorts throughout the US, which will continue to be part of the RCI programme and exchange network. Bluegreen resorts are located across the United States and Caribbean in destinations including Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Aspen, Las Vegas and New York City.

Famous Rhodes, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Bluegreen Vacations said: “Bluegreen is a company built on the strength of its long-term relationships, as such we are very excited about the renewal of this enduring partnership with RCI, which provides a unique value to our growing Bluegreen Vacation Club Membership.”

RCI is the only vacation exchange provider that Bluegreen has entered into a contract with to allow owners to exchange their membership. As the exclusive exchange provider for Bluegreen Vacations, RCI offers Bluegreen members access to more than 4,300 properties in 100 countries. It also allows RCI members to exchange for stays at Bluegreen Vacations properties. Bluegreen do have some very exclusive properties on offer, for example, The Manhattan Club, a boutique hotel located next to Times Square in Manhattan.

The RCI Points program provides subscribing members with a flexible way to exchange their vacation time for time at other resorts around the world. Your vacation week is assigned a Point value, depending on a range of factors, including – Supply and demand at that resort and the season in which you own. In recent years, RCI have become the focus of angry consumers. The vast majority of complaints received are not necessarily about a specific timeshare resort at all, but rather the RCI timeshare exchange program. RCI Customers must pay an annual fee, but are also charged large hidden fees and ridiculous exchange rates for using their services. The basic premise behind the RCI timeshare exchange service is, by paying an annual membership fee, consumers can trade their timeshare to other members with other timeshare resorts around the world. The RCI timeshare program sounds like a low-risk opportunity to make some use out of a likely unwanted timeshare.

However, members have complained that the fraudulent tactics of timeshare companies are present in the RCI membership scheme also. Customers are locked into RCI and forced to pay large hidden fees, just like their timeshare contracts. Immense fees are also added on for each exchange, especially for heavily sought weeks and locations. Members often find they do not have enough points to visit the resorts they want to stay at the dates they wish to holiday.

Here are just some of the RCI reviews on Tripadvisor.com:

“If you are retired and very versatile with your dates, RCI might work. But if you want to have a say in where and when you can go, I wouldn’t bother”.

“Availability with RCI became unbearable some years ago and the combined membership and exchange fees made membership worthless to me”.

“I’ve been an RCI member for going on 25 years and they’ve become a joke in recent years. I used to look forward to trading my weeks (two) and going off to new locations and different adventures every year but it’s nearly impossible to find a decent exchange anymore”.

People who enter into Timeshare agreements often find it difficult to keep up with the mounting maintenance fees and simply cannot afford it any longer. They may also find that the Timeshare no longer suits their needs and simply want to end the contract. There are too many individuals who are willing to take advantage of Timeshare owners and offer fake products, along with Timeshare exit schemes. Before agreeing to any Timeshare termination or exit procedure with an individual or company, seek independent advice and fully research any company you are thinking of working with.

It is also important to remember that purchasing a Timeshare should NEVER be viewed as a financial investment. Timeshare is an investment in lifestyle, in future holidays and family time together. There is almost no resale value to a Timeshare.

The mis-selling of holiday products is, sadly, common practice within the holiday industry and these type of crimes often go unreported by the most vulnerable in our society and criminal convictions are few and far between.

If you have purchased a Lifestyle / Concierge Service, a Timeshare or a ‘Holiday Points’ based product from a resort or company and feel unhappy with the service, or feel you have been mis-sold this product, please get in touch with us to discuss how we may be able to help you with a possible Timeshare Termination.