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No longer a blind trade for seasons?

WinniWoman

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I just exchanged a "white" week (mid Oct) for a "pink" week (which trading places calls red) (early Sept) and was charged a $50 upgrade, making my exchange the same price almost as RCI's. ($199) and that was with a $20 break that I got for having a lot of trouble with the exchange. Very long story and all I can say is I was on the phone literally for a total combined two hours over 2 days to try to get this exchange, which still isn't confirmed yet.

Last time I traded with Trading places I exchanged a mid Oct week- for a mid Sept week and was not charged an upgrade fee. I didn't know they started using red, white and blue.
 

tschwa2

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Fyi RCI is now $230 for exchanges plus the annual membership fee. TPI has had upgrade fees for seasons for at least 2 years.
 

WinniWoman

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Fyi RCI is now $230 for exchanges plus the annual membership fee. TPI has had upgrade fees for seasons for at least 2 years.

All I know is I exchanged week 43- 10/25/15 check in- white- for week 37-9/13/15- on 9/1/15 and was not charged an upgrade fee.

Now I am exchanging a week 42 in 2018 for a 9/7/18 check in and am being charged the fee. I have to rethink using them next time because RTX charges $117 and Platinum charges $129. DAE is up to $179 and upgrades are only for bigger units. In 2014 I exchanged through DAE- not Trading Places- week 44 Smuggs 2 bedroom for a one bedroom at South Mountain for week 38. No season upgrade fees with them.

This time was just so bent on getting the exchange out of principle I remained persistent. Smuggs should confirm I am an owner in good standing and up to date with current maintenance fees and that should be the end of it. But pissed about the season upgrade fee.

They tell me maintenance fees have to be paid for the deposited week. Well- I do not pay maintenance fees a year in advance. Don't even know what the fee will be by then as they go up every year. As it is, we are not billed for the off season week until like 2 months before. If I want to travel that same year it is right down to the wire with trying to deposit and get an exchange! What- I am going to pay the maintenance fee in July, deposit the week and then try to get a Sept. exchange? Yes- as I posted above it can happen and did work for me in 2015, but I assumed it was just pure luck. This time I wanted to make sure I could get something ahead of time; if not I would just use our Smuggs week in Oct., but really preferred something else a bit earlier in New England.

I call my resort and they say they fill in the verification form that I am an owner and in good standing and all that and it will be fine and they would not reject the deposit so I called TP back and explain that Smuggs does things a bit differently than other resorts and they agree to let me do the exchange pending the verification. Long story...But it just keeps getting worse and they only then after all the aggravation tell me about the upgrade fee for the season. After everything I just pay it out of exhaustion. Ugh!

And so this is why I even posted on the other thread about exchanging for a smaller unit- how we should be given credit for that! Here I am now paying $1171.00(my maintenance fee plus the exchange fee) for a one bedroom silver crown giving them my two bedroom gold crown. Ok- yes- it is a month earlier in New England and should be much nicer weather- but, come on! This is another reason why I rarely exchange and will not pay a fee to join ANY exchange company. I could rent privately or from Home Away and get a larger place and all that.
 
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tschwa2

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All I know is I exchanged week 43- 10/25/15 check in- white- for week 37-9/13/15- on 9/1/15 and was not charged an upgrade fee.
I think you squeaked by with a white for white last year.
I deposited a week 38 2 bedroom in Myrtle Beach last year. It started on 9/19/15 and is considered white. Another thing that annoys me about tpi is the size is not only bedroom but sleeping capacity so my 2 bedroom is listed as a sleep 6 but if I trade into lets say a Williamsburg 2br that only has 2br sleeps 8 I am also charged an upgrade fee.
 

tschwa2

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If it were a simple upgrade in season, I really don't have any problem with a $50 or perhaps even a $100 fee. If I am giving up a September Ocean view 2br at an Ocean front resort in Myrtle Beach I would have no problem paying to upgrade to something similar 30-45 days earlier. It is much harder and annoying when you are upgrading those 30-45 days but exchanging into a lower rated 1 br resort that is a few blocks from the ocean- smaller pool and no lazy river and still having to pay the same upgrade fee. I had put in an ongoing request last year for 2016 but nothing matched. I probably have a 50/50 shot at letting it expire unused. This was a try at tpi and like most of the independents I have tried it is largely unsuccessful.
 

WinniWoman

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I think you squeaked by with a white for white last year.
I deposited a week 38 2 bedroom in Myrtle Beach last year. It started on 9/19/15 and is considered white. Another thing that annoys me about tpi is the size is not only bedroom but sleeping capacity so my 2 bedroom is listed as a sleep 6 but if I trade into lets say a Williamsburg 2br that only has 2br sleeps 8 I am also charged an upgrade fee.

Yes- and with my 2 bedroom that sleeps 8 they say they can only list it as sleeps 6! That makes me nuts! DAE does not do that. They list it as 2 bedroom sleeps 8.

And to me a 9/13 check in in New England is no white week. That is at least a pink. Especially since they are now telling me 9/7 check in is red.
 
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WinniWoman

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If it were a simple upgrade in season, I really don't have any problem with a $50 or perhaps even a $100 fee. If I am giving up a September Ocean view 2br at an Ocean front resort in Myrtle Beach I would have no problem paying to upgrade to something similar 30-45 days earlier. It is much harder and annoying when you are upgrading those 30-45 days but exchanging into a lower rated 1 br resort that is a few blocks from the ocean- smaller pool and no lazy river and still having to pay the same upgrade fee. I had put in an ongoing request last year for 2016 but nothing matched. I probably have a 50/50 shot at letting it expire unused. This was a try at tpi and like most of the independents I have tried it is largely unsuccessful.

Exactly. That is what I'm talking about. The two times in the past I have used the Independents (DAE and Trading Places) I have been happy. DAE was easier. This is only my third time exchanging with an Independent and if it all gets confirmed ok- my persistence paid off- kind of. But I had to go through hell to make it work- if it ends up working out, which I will find out on Tuesday since they are closed this entire weekend for the holiday. Actually with the work and time I had to put into it because of errors on their part they should be paying me or giving me a free exchange. LOL! For starters, the first rep. deposited a week for a resort I don't even own at that had a similar name to the one I am depositing combined with the one I am exchanging into. LOL! Obviously it got denied!

And then they started in with your 2018 maintenance fees have to be paid first! That's when I went on the war path. Ha! Ha! Then they said the week I wanted was gone when it was supposedly put on hold by the first rep. I can go on and on...they were getting the years wrong-it became a challenge I was intent on winning. I should have just said screw it- I'll exchange through somewhere else- I have plenty of time, but then I became hell bent on the fact that there was no reason for the exchange not to go through and I was going to get it, damn it!! LOL!
 

chellej

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I just had a similar disappointing experience with TPI. I saw a July week at Island Park. Called and ask that they put it on hold and that I was exchanging my Sept Island park week for it. Well Trading Places manages Island park so you would think that the verification time would be pretty quick. That was Friday. Wednesday I finally get confirmation that my week was verified and same thing, the week had been released and picked up by someone else. I was really upset and the rep stated that they have to wait until the week is verified by the resort.....ARRGGGHHH.. I said but it only had to be verified by you. Oh well that is a different department. I then got another rep and I told her that I would not have deposited my week, only if they were going to hold the July week. She at least was able to give my week back to me. It was a very frustrating experience
 

chellej

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So round two...Monday a saw a July 21st week at island park so I deposited imy week AGAIN and put the week on hold pending verification. So the week is verified and I call today and the rep put the wrong week on hold....put a week at lake travis. Very frustrating
 

WinniWoman

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So round two...Monday a saw a July 21st week at island park so I deposited imy week AGAIN and put the week on hold pending verification. So the week is verified and I call today and the rep put the wrong week on hold....put a week at lake travis. Very frustrating

OMG! That is like what happened to me, but with my deposit! The rep. had put in Smugglers Cove in Fla. as my home resort week instead of Smugglers Notch! Naturally it was not verified!

What the heck is going on at TPI?!
 

Sugarcubesea

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Good to know, I will not be using TPI
 

WinniWoman

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I will say that after being very persistent on my part I got the exchange. I was proactive and called my home resort to be on the lookout for the verification form. I did not have to prepay my 2018 maintenance fee as Smuggs does things differently. I was on top of TPI like a fly on- well- you know. Seems I am all set- have the confirmation and everything- but it was a lot of work and aggravation.

Did not have this the last time I traded through them.
 

silentg

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mpumilia, Have you ever done an exchange thru TUG? We started doing this last June and so far have enjoyed the internal exchanging with other TUG members. We went to Hawaii, and Fort Lauderdale and have a Cape Cod and Austin Texas exchange coming up in September. Lot less hassle than going thru exchange company. And no added cost. I'm happy you got the exchange you wanted. But all the hassle makes it stressful. We still have RCI and II and have used TRading Places , DAE. However, we are having much success with TUG exchanges!
 

WinniWoman

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I
mpumilia, Have you ever done an exchange thru TUG? We started doing this last June and so far have enjoyed the internal exchanging with other TUG members. We went to Hawaii, and Fort Lauderdale and have a Cape Cod and Austin Texas exchange coming up in September. Lot less hassle than going thru exchange company. And no added cost. I'm happy you got the exchange you wanted. But all the hassle makes it stressful. We still have RCI and II and have used TRading Places , DAE. However, we are having much success with TUG exchanges!

I actually have not only because we always use our fixed prime weeks at our home resorts and only once in a rare while exchange our floater weeks, and those are the very off season white weeks. I figured it would be hard to exchange a white week for a red/pink type week with someone, which is what we generally do.

But good to know that the TUG exchanges work well.
 

chellej

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Trading Places finally came through with a July week at Island Park with an ongoing search. I still have to call and sort out my bonus week, I have a prime membership and am supposed to get a bonus week with each deposit and it usually posts automatically but this time it didn't
 
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