I really wished I would have done my research before switching from RB to VIP so soon. I did not realize that the $20/1000 VIP redemption thing pertained to points exchange (I don't know why I didn't realize this lol). I just listened to the crowd saying "If you rake 1K a month then you get better value switching to VIP and being a black VIP"). Well, check this:
As a rakeback player, you get 35% +6.5% for VIP points. But here's the catch--it's not really 6.5%, it's actually 13% for black and 14.3% for black elite. In other words, if you stay as a RB player for an extended period of time, your hoarded VIP points will increase in value by 2 or 2.25 whenever you finally do make the switch. I just exchanged a little over 7K points for a little over $150. If I would have stayed as a RB player for a few more months (or however long), I could have exchanged a ****ton more for that higher value. This makes the value of RB either 48% or 49.3%, which is second only to black elite, amirite?
So, to put it succinctly, Ebes was kind of right ITT when he said that exchanging points after switching from RB to VIP IS manipulating the system. I just wish I would have realized this and been able to manipulate it more than I did...