Instead of purchasing a fixed or floating week timeshare, RCI offers you the ability to become an R.C.I. points member. As an RCI points program participant you become a member of the RCI travel vacation club, which gives you access to the RCI network’s 3,700 points-affiliated resorts world wide. The points system offers a lot more flexibility than the older fixed-week model for timesharing, and is rapidly becoming a more popular option for those interested in purchasing timeshare. The points system is pretty simple to understand and use, once the basic concepts are broken down. Usually the first question with regards to using a points system is - Where can RCI timeshare points be used?

RCI allows you to use your points in the following ways:

• Stays at your home resort - even though you have points that allow you to go to another resort in the points system, you always have the option to stay at your home resort. FYI, this is also the resort to which you will be paying your annual maintenance fees.
• Vacation at international and domestic RCI points resorts - the RCI website states there are about 3,700 points timeshare properties.
• Booking airline tickets to and from selected cities - I believe there are certain blackout dates for this.
• Rental car costs may be offset or paid for with points.
• RCI-affiliated cruises - plan on about 50,000 points for this type of exchange and not all cruise lines/destinations are available.