RCI Timeshare Exchange

The RCI timeshare exchange is the largest network for trading timeshare time. As a member you deposit the week or points you own and book a stay at another affiliated resort, for an annual membership fee plus a separate fee on each exchange. The figures here are approximate, so confirm current rates with RCI.

What is RCI?

RCI, short for Resort Condominiums International, runs the largest timeshare exchange network. It connects owners at RCI, the largest timeshare exchange network, with roughly 4,000 to 4,300 affiliated resorts in about 100 countries. Because so many resorts are affiliated, RCI is the network many owners are enrolled in through their home resort, often without choosing it directly. It is one of the two networks that dominate timeshare exchange, alongside Interval International.

How does the RCI timeshare exchange work?

You join as a member, then either deposit a week you own or make your points available, and request a stay at another affiliated resort within availability. Each confirmed trade carries an exchange fee. RCI runs two systems, Weeks and Points, and the one you use depends on how your home resort sells ownership. Points generally allow more flexible, varied stays, while Weeks map more directly onto a traditional one-week trade. Our guide to points versus weeks explains the difference in full.

What does RCI cost, and how big is the network?

RCI charges an annual membership plus a fee for each exchange, and a premium tier can cost considerably more. The figures below are approximate and change often, so always confirm the current rates with RCI before you rely on them.

Last verified: 2026-06-18. Source: RCI (official site; confirm current rates here) (2026)

What other RCI fees are there beyond membership and exchange?

The annual membership and the per-exchange fee are only the two largest costs. Several smaller fees apply to specific transactions, so what RCI actually costs you depends on how you book. The amounts below are approximate and change often, so confirm the current figures with RCI before you rely on them.

• Guest certificate, about $109. When the person staying is not you, RCI requires a guest certificate so the reservation can be issued in the guest's name. It is charged on top of the normal exchange fee.
• Exchange Plus, about $399 to $1,599. Exchange Plus lets you book a wider set of stays that are not standard exchanges, drawing on your trading power or points plus a fee that varies with the destination, the dates, the unit size, and the length of stay.
• Combining or extending deposits. You can merge two deposits into one, or extend a deposit or points that would otherwise expire, each for a separate fee. Extending is the least efficient way to hold value, so use it only when you have no better option.
• Trading Power Protection and Points Protection. These optional add-ons lock in the value of a deposited week, or return your points to your account, if you later cancel or change a confirmed booking. They cost extra and pay off only if you actually need to cancel.

A paid premium tier, RCI Platinum, sits above the standard membership and discounts several of these charges, including 25% off guest certificates. Whether it is worth the extra annual cost depends on how many exchanges and guest stays you book in a year.

RCI Weeks versus RCI Points

RCI Weeks is built around trading a specific week for another week elsewhere, which suits owners of a traditional fixed or floating week. RCI Points converts ownership into an annual points balance you spend across the network on stays of different lengths and sizes, which suits owners who want more flexibility. The two carry different annual membership rates, and your home resort usually determines which one you are in. Neither removes the underlying annual maintenance fee on your own timeshare.

How do you deposit a week with RCI?

If you own a fixed or floating week, you trade it by depositing it into the RCI pool before you book anything. You cannot deposit until you have paid the maintenance fee on your home resort for that week. Once deposited, the week is assigned a Deposit Trading Power based on supply and demand: a week at a high-demand resort in a popular season carries more trading power than a quiet off-season week, and that value sets what you can exchange into.

When you deposit matters as much as what you deposit. RCI advises depositing two years to nine months ahead of your week's start date to receive the full trading power available to it, and a week banked late is worth less. You deposit by signing in at rci.com and using the Manage My Deposits area of your account, or by calling an RCI guide. Depending on the timing, you can then book an exchange from one year before your week's start date through two years after it, a travel window of up to three years.

How do you save, borrow, or bank RCI Points?

RCI Points work from an annual allocation tied to a Use Year rather than a single deposited week, and the system lets you move points across years:

• Saving (rollover). Points you do not use are carried into the next year automatically at the end of your Use Year, with no fee as long as you used at least some points that year. Saved points stay usable for a limited number of years.
• Borrowing. You can pull points forward from your next Use Year into the current one at no charge, as long as you have paid your RCI dues through that next year. The option appears at checkout when your booking is eligible.
• Extending. Points that would otherwise expire can sometimes be extended, but that carries a fee, so it is the least efficient way to hold on to them.

Your available balance is a combination of this year's remaining points, saved points from the previous two years, and points borrowed from next year, which is what gives Points members more booking flexibility than a single fixed week.

Is the RCI timeshare exchange worth it?

RCI is worth the cost only if you will actually use it. Owners who travel to different affiliated resorts most years, and who can book popular dates well ahead, get real flexibility for the membership and exchange fees. Owners who return to the same resort, or who rarely travel, may pay for a membership they do not use. Weigh the fees against your real travel habits, and remember they sit on top of the full cost of owning a timeshare. To see how RCI stacks up against the other network, read RCI versus Interval International.

Sources

Reviewed by Reid Calloway. Primary source: RCI (rci.com), the official network, for its membership, exchange, guest-certificate, and Exchange Plus fees, including the RCI help pages on member fees, guest-certificate cost, and Exchange Plus, plus the pages on depositing a week and on saving, borrowing, and extending Points. The membership, exchange-fee, add-on-fee, resort, and country figures are approximate and change frequently, so confirm current rates and rules directly with RCI. Cross-checked against reputable timeshare fee trackers, 2025 to 2026. Last reviewed July 2026.