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Survey: II platinum - what benefits do you find of use?

seema

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What benefits of II Platinum membership do you find most useful? I just bought the membership for 2 years - now I have to use it.
 

Saintsfanfl

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Cheaper upgrade fees, cheaper getaways, and free guest certificates. If you barely use any of those three it pays for itself. I have little use for the other fluff.
 

seema

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What do you mean by "cheaper upgrade" fees? I did not realize that II can allow an upgrade on an exchange request? - are you saying that if I deposit a 1 bedroom unit to II, I can request (for a fee?) an upgrade to a 2 bedroom unit?
 

klpca

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You can't request an upgrade, but if you are doing an instant exchange, the upgrade fees are half if you are platinum. I have platinum and it's kind of a no brainer between the upgrade fee discount and the free guest certificates.
 

seema

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You can't request an upgrade, but if you are doing an instant exchange, the upgrade fees are half if you are platinum. I have platinum and it's kind of a no brainer between the upgrade fee discount and the free guest certificates.


Still confused by what you are saying. I have never heard of the term "instant exchange or "upgrade fees".

Are you talking about flex change - within 59 days of arrival?

Or are you referring to the platinum promotions (that is now on), for getting getaways at a major discount (over and above the usual $50 dollars discount compared to a regular II member, or compared to $25 to a Gold II member).

So in which context are you talking about "an upgrade"?
 

tschwa2

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If you exchange into a larger unit than the one you deposited, II now charges an "upgrade fee". This is $99 (or $59 if you have platinum) per size upgrade (studio to 1br, 1br to 2br, 2br to 3br, etc) The exchange could be during an instant exchange during flex change or otherwise. It could also be a match for an ongoing request where you request the same size but match to a larger unit. II will call you to pay the upgrade fee before confirming the exchange.
 

seema

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So if I have a good trading power unit (in my case a 2 bedroom unit at Marriott Ko Olina Oahu Hawaii- floating week) and I can exchange automatically without asking for it, into a 3 bedroom Marriott unit at a lower demand destination, or a 4 bedroom Westgate unit in Orlando, I would have pay this upgrade fee?

Let us say that I trade a studio unit (from my Ko Olina unit, which can be locked off from the 1 bedroom part of the 2 b.r. unit) to a unit at Marriott Newport Beach. If I understand correctly, those 2 bedroom units are the only units available at that Newport Beach resort, and one can not lock off (unlike my own resort) at that 2 bedroom unit. Do I pay the upgrade fee?

PS-with a desirable unit like mine, am I allowed up front to request an "upgrade" up front?
 

tschwa2

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Yes. If you are trading a 2 br Marriott Hawaii into an off season no name resort in January in Missouri, you would have to pay an upgrade fee on top of the exchange fee. This would be $99 for a regular member or $59 for a platinum. If you were exchanging a studio into the same 3 br off season no name resort you would have to pay 3 times the upgrade fee ($99X3=$298 or $59X3=$177 for platinum).

You can only set up an ongoing request for a unit of the same size. If you have enough exchange power for a larger unit and one becomes available, II will attempt to call you to see if you want to pay the fee to confirm. If they can't get in touch with you in 24 hours they will pass it on to the next person in line for the exchange.
 

dioxide45

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If you exchange into a larger unit than the one you deposited, II now charges an "upgrade fee". This is $99 (or $59 if you have platinum) per size upgrade (studio to 1br, 1br to 2br, 2br to 3br, etc) The exchange could be during an instant exchange during flex change or otherwise. It could also be a match for an ongoing request where you request the same size but match to a larger unit. II will call you to pay the upgrade fee before confirming the exchange.
Of course, during flex, there are no upgrade fees.
 

Saintsfanfl

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Of course, during flex, there are no upgrade fees.

One strategy I used recently on two units is to make the exchanges with 2BR units and add e-plus. Then when inside 60 days I used studios and retraded the 2BR units for something else down the road.
 
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