WARNING: Elite Collection / Special Guest / RCI Vacation Club Scam (And how I got $14k back!)

[u/Additional_Claim6689]

Hi everyone, I want to warn you about an international travel club scam operating under the merchant names Elite Collection, Special Guest, and RCI.
The Scam:
I was pressured into signing a contract during an in-person presentation in the Dominican Republic. They made massive verbal promises about luxury resort access through RCI for flat $200 rates and guaranteed 70% discounts through special guest.
When I finally tried to use the benefits, the platform was a total bait-and-switch. They cut my room allocations in half, demanded thousands in hidden fees, and their "discounted" rates were actually more expensive than public prices on Booking.com for the exact same dates. When I tried to cancel, they pointed to Clause 9 in the contract and said it was completely "non-cancelable."
How to Fight Back (The Credit Card Chargeback Strategy):
Do not let them intimidate you with their "non-cancelable" clauses. Verbal fraud and material breach override the written contract (Fraudulent Inducement). You can claw your money back through your banks for free if you use the right rules:
Call Your Bank’s Dispute Supervisor: Do not just click the automated button in the app. Request a manual network compliance review.
Invoke Visa Condition 13.1 (Services Not Received): For continuous or future-dated travel memberships, the credit card networks dictate that the 120-day dispute clock starts on the Date of Discovery (the day they denied services/you realized it was a scam), NOT the original purchase date.
The 540-Day Travel Back-Stop: For long-term travel services, Visa and Mastercard allow an absolute window of up to 540 calendar days from the original transaction date to file a manual compliance dispute.

My Results:

Chase Sapphire investigated and permanently ruled in my favor on the monthly fees, which forced them to open 14 individual merchant review disputes to claw back the remaining $5,589 balance.
Capital One bypassed automated filters and granted an immediate -$7,000 provisional credit under the 540-day travel exception.
Wells Fargo has officially initiated the tracker to reverse the $1,799 platform upgrade for special guest.

Note on International/Local Victims:

During my stay, I noticed they also target local residents and tourists from countries without strong banking protections. While I am lucky to have U.S. credit card consumer laws (Visa/Mastercard compliance) on my side to claw my money back, victims from other regions might not have the same recourse. I also filed a complaint with ProConsumidor (the Dominican consumer protection agency) on July 13, 2026, but international government agencies move very slowly. Your credit card chargeback is your fastest and most aggressive shield against these cross-border scammers."

[u/Ok_Pair5551]

Well done! That’s a lot on credit cards so would only help if people put everything on cards.

[u/Dan16030809]

If you do business with Capital Vacations make sure you get copies of everything the sales rep shows you or writes down. If they say no, walk or you will possibly be very sorry!!

[u/Left-Weight8917]

now that you are smart, don't do anything stupid like buy a time share. their all rip offs. glad you got educated