•      Always deposit your week into RCI two years in advance. This gives you more “Power” when you withdraw a week. This is assuming you’ve decided not to vacation at your home resort.
  
  
•      When calling RCI to make your vacation plans it is best not to pick a specific resort but to choose an area or a region you wish to visit. This way there will be more availability for you from which to choose. Example: don’t say you want to go to resort ABC in the Bahamas. Tell them you want to go to a resort in the Bahamas and ask them to tell you what’s available?
  
  
•      Don’t be afraid to talk extensively to the RCI counselor. That’s what they are there for. Ask questions like: is this a family resort?, or:is there a nightlife available nearby?, or: are there tourist attractions nearby?, or: how is the fishing in the area?. They can probably tell you all this and much more.
  
  
•      Ask the counselor what kinds of beds are in the unit. This can be especially important. You don’t want to go on vacation with another couple, for example, only to find out that the second bedroom has twin beds. Ask in advance

•      Ask the counselor anything you want to know that might make your vacation more enjoyable. You will be amazed at the extent of the information they have. Example: If you enjoy making margarita’s in the evening you might want to know if the unit has a blender. They will probably know. If you are concerned about medical care while at the resort you might want to know how far the nearest hospital is. Ask the counselor. If the counselor doesn’t know, call the resort.
  
  
•      Once you and the vacation counselor have picked out an available resort, ask him to put it on hold for 24 hours without confirming the reservation. This way it will give you time to do a bit more research.
  
  
•      Within that twenty-four hours you should call the resort itself and ask someone there about the resort and the surrounding area and anything else that you want to know.
  
  
•      Make a friend of that person you talk to at the resort. When you get there they can usually be counted on to be especially attentive to you.
  
  
•      Because you will most likely be staying in a very comfortable condo or villa or cabin, and not a small hotel room (where you can’t wait to get out), you will find yourself spending a lot more time in the unit. Thus, make sure that the kids, if they are vacationing with you, take along their traveling games and books and such.

•      When calling the resort ask if the units have VCR’s. The kids may want to bring their Nintendo or Sega sets. You may want to bring some movies. If not, the resorts usually rent them (many times at no charge).
  
  
•      If you are going into cold country such as a ski resort, most units will have a fireplace. Immediately upon your check-in you should ask your new friend or any one there to help you arrange delivery of a week's worth of firewood. It is much more convenient and less expensive than carrying bundles of wood from the nearby stores. It also messes up your car.
  
  
•      Upon arriving at the resort try to plan where you will be eating your meals. This way you can go to the local supermarket only once or twice during the week. Figure out how many meals you will be eating out and how many you will be eating in your unit. This way you will not overbuy food, which is the most common mistake people make.

•      Grab some ketchup packs from your local McDonalds as well as some sugar packs, mustard, salt, etc. and take them with you in a small bag. This way you wont have to buy a whole bottle of ketchup or mustard, etc., and end up leaving 90% of it in the fridge when you leave the resort for your trip home.
  
  
•      Upon checking in to the resort, immediately get the schedule of events for the week that the resort hosts. We have never been to a resort that did not host some kind of “Meet your neighbor event”. Some are only coffee and bagels or cake. Others are full meals at no cost. Most will have stuff for the kids planned during the week. They will usually have guided day trips scheduled to local areas of interest. Larger resorts will usually have more stuff planned if you'd like to take advantage. Smaller resorts may not have many things planned but check anyway. This way you can plan your week and not miss anything you really want to do.
  
  
•      Don’t over pack. Remember that most units will have washer/dryers in them or within close proximity. Plan on washing a load or two mid week so you can pack only half the clothes. Take a small supply of clothes detergent and dryer sheets with you so you don’t end up buying a whole box of each and end up schlepping them home or throwing them away.
  
  
•      Many of these units are made available to RCI members as “Instant Escape” weeks. Simply put…you can call RCI anytime you feel the need for some extra vacation time and grab one of these extra weeks. The closer you are to the week you want to vacation the cheaper RCI charges for it. Example: If you ask for an Instant Escape, two bedroom, to Orlando, Florida about a year in advance, they may have one but it might cost you $499 for the week. Not bad considering what an equivalent unit would cost in a hotel. But if you called within 45 days of that week and got the same unit it would probably cost you only $199. And if you called within ten days of the check-in date, the unit may be even less ($169 or even less).
  
  
•      RCI offers “Getaway Weekends” too. Just like the Escape weeks, if you call within 45 days of a weekend that you would like to take, you can get a great unit at a great resort, at incredibly low prices. For these weekends, again, the closer to the weekend you call for it the cheaper it gets. If you call 45 days in advance it might cost you $199 for the weekend; a great price for three days and three nights in a fully equipped condo.  But if you call only two days in advance it might only cost you $99 or even less.
  
  
•      You must understand that these Instant Escape weeks or weekends are units that RCI feels they might not fill with trades. It is simply a matter of luck and availability, but there is not a weekend that goes by that you can’t find a getaway. If you have the flexibility to vacation on short notice and are also flexible as to where you go you can take advantage of this great feature RCI offers to its members.

If you are a beginner to timeshare you may not know this…but you should take advantage of it!

•      Once you are a member of RCI (the trading company) you can take advantage of their “Escape” program. You see, many resorts have weeks that go unused for many reasons. An example of this is the developer that is currently selling units in a completed building but has several, if not many units unsold. Well, typically he would try to rent them out himself but many times he cannot rent all he has for a particular week. Well, RCI will take those weeks and make them available to their members for use as additional vacation time, cheap.
  
  
•      You can rent out these additional weeks up to a year in advance if they are made available that far in advance. The closer the time gets to the week you want to vacation, more units magically appear on the “Escape” list. The reason for this is twofold. First, in its policy of Fair Trades, RCI keeps units available closed to those members who's banked units are not powerful enough to be able to trade for them. However, when you get to a period of exactly 45 days prior to your week of travel, that hold back policy is set aside. Now anything left in the bank for that week is made available to anyone, no matter how lousy a trading unit they deposited. And second, stuff happens to people that screw up their vacation plans which naturally creates cancellations. Many of them are virtually last minute.