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Warning on II ePlus: You may have only 6 months, not one year, to do a retrade

JudyS

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I recently booked an exchange using II's ePlus trade. The check-in date on my original trade is November 16, 2013. It turns out I won't be using this November 16, 2013 exchange. When I booked and purchased ePlus, II's website said I would have until November 16, 2014 (a year from my original check-in date) to complete any retrades that I wanted to do. This sounded great because I figured I could just pick up a last-minute trade in fall 2014 to Orlando.

Well, it turns out I only have about six months, not one year, to retrade. The reason is, I am canceling during the Flexchange window (less than 59 days out.) I thought I could just cancel my current trade, and then use ePlus to retrade when I was ready to book something else during the Flexchange window. So, I figured I'd cancel my November 16, 2013 week now, then next August or September I would book something within the 59-window for October 2014 in Orlando. But, it turns out it doesn't work that way. Instead, I have to retrade now for something within the 59-day window. That is, I must book something now for no later than mid-January 2014. I can do a maximum of three retrades, all for no more than 59 days out, so the furthest out I can use my ePlus retrade is around May 2014. This is six months from my original check-in, even though it says right on the "Eplus retrade" button in my account that I have until November 2104 to do a retrade.

There is nothing about this 6-month restriction in the ePlus Retrade FAQs, but page 18 of the 61-page II's User's Guide:
When the Member requests an E-Plus retrade 59 days to 24 hours prior to the first date of occupancy of the Confirmation or, if applicable, initial retrade, the Member may only select from accommodations that have occupancy dates commencing up to 60 days after the first date of occupancy of the Confirmation or previously issued retrade. Any subsequent retrade request may only be for Host Accommodations with occupancy dates 60 days or less prior to the first date of occupancy of the current retrade.

If ones does the math, then yes, page 18 of the T&C implies that if one cancels one's initial confirmation less than 59 days out, then one will have only three 59-day periods -- a total of about six months -- in which to use ePlus retrade. But I am angry about this, because there is nothing about it in the FAQ. Everything else explicitly says you have a year to do a retrade, including page 17 of the T&C:
E-Plus may be used to secure up to three (3) retrades of the Member’s Host Accommodations and/or vacation periods, at any time up to 12 months after the first date of occupancy of the Host Accommodations of the original Confirmation (the “E-Plus Usage Window”). Once established, the E-Plus Usage Window does not change upon any subsequent retrade.

What I really need to fix this problem is a CS rep who will do an override on the 59-day limitation. Any retrade for next September would allow me to get the re-trade I want for next October/Early November. Even a dumpy studio in the middle of the lowest-demand hurricane zone would do, as long as it let me set up a retrade before my November 16, 2013 check-in date. But, the CS rep I spoke said she couldn't do an override of the 59-day restriction. I don't know if overrides aren't allowed on ePlus retrades, or if this particular person just didn't have authority to do one.

By the way, reading page 18 of the T&C, it sounds like the ePlus retrade rules allow a way to get around the 59-day Flexchange restriction on a late deposit. The T&C claim you could, for example:
1) deposit a November 24 2013 week today
2) trade it for mid-January, 2014
3) buy ePlus
4) immediate retrade your January 2014 exchange for a March 2014 exchange (because March is 59 days or less from your current exchange)
5) immediate retrade your March 2014 exchange for a May 2014 exchange (because May is 59 days or less from your 2nd exchange)
6) immediate retrade your May 2014 exchange for a July 2014 exchange
(because July is 59 days or less from your 3rd exchange).
Volia! You've just traded a late deposit for something almost 8 months out! I'm not sure if II's computers would let you do this or not. But, it they go by page 18 of their own T&C, they should permit this.
 
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tschwa2

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Yes it is deceptive, it was discussed here in late September. I discovered it within the first week when I booked a LM Virginia Beach, a week away not worrying about the 24 hr to cancel because I thought, oh well with eplus even if I can't make it work I will still have a year to use. I ended up not using at all and knowing I couldn't use anything in the next 6 months let it go to waste.
 
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dioxide45

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I am thinking that the biggest benefit to come out of EPlus is the ability to retrade online.

EPlus sounds great in theory, but the 60 day restriction sure does cause a lot of issues for last minute cancellations. Not sure if you work around trick would work, but it may be worth a shot. Do you have anything else to lose?
 

JudyS

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I am thinking that the biggest benefit to come out of EPlus is the ability to retrade online.

EPlus sounds great in theory, but the 60 day restriction sure does cause a lot of issues for last minute cancellations. Not sure if you work around trick would work, but it may be worth a shot. Do you have anything else to lose?
Nope, nothing to lose. I don't currently have a use for this week now that it can only be used in the next six months.

However, I tried the work-around trick to extend the booking window of my late-deposit week and it failed. The T&C *says* you can retrade up to 59 days out from one's current check-in date. The II CS rep I spoke to on the phone also said I could retrade up to 59 days from my current check-in date -- since my check-in date is 11/16/3013, she said I could check in up to 1/14/2014.(And she was rather snooty about it, too, "No, you don't have just 59 days from today to make a reservation -- you have 67 days.") And in fact, when I clicked on the e-Plus retrade button, I initially got a message saying I could search for anything with a check-in date up to 1/14/2014. But when I tried to search for something for 1/14/2014, it said I could only book weeks with check-in dates up to 1/07/2014.

I then selected something with a check in date of 1/04/2014, and did my e-Plus retrade. Then I tried retrading again. Now, II said I could book anything up to 03/04/2014, but when I tried to search, it limited me to weeks with check-ins of 1/07/2014 or sooner.

So, here's how II is interpreting the rules: II prominently says you have a year from your original check-in to use your e-plus retrade, but if you cancel less than 60 days out, you only have about 6 months from your original check-in to re-trade, not one year as advertised. II says that their (hard to find and hard to understand) T&Cs are adequate disclosure of this six-month limitation. *BUT* when the very same T&Cs say that e-plus retrade can be used to extend the check-in window of a late deposit, II refuses to allow this. Heads we win; tails you lose. I am not a happy camper right now, but I don't know if there is some way to pursue this.

By the way, I don't know what happens if you cancel within 60 days, but started with a regular deposit, not a late (Flexchange) deposit. Maybe, with a regular deposit, you could retrade today for something for 1/04/2014, and then do a second retrade today for 3/04/2014, and then re-trade again today for something up to 5/02/2014. I don't know, but someone should try this.
 
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Saintsfanfl

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Nope, nothing to lose. I don't currently have a use for this week now that it can only be used in the next six months.

However, I tried the work-around trick to extend the booking window of my late-deposit week and it failed. The T&C *says* you can retrade up to 59 days out from one's current check-in date. The II CS rep I spoke to on the phone also said I could retrade up to 59 days from my current check-in date -- since my check-in date is 11/16/3013, she said I could check in up to 1/14/2014.(And she was rather snooty about it, too, "No, you don't have just 59 days from today to make a reservation -- you have 67 days.") And in fact, when I clicked on the e-Plus retrade button, I initially got a message saying I could search for anything with a check-in date up to 1/14/2014. But when I tried to search for something for 1/14/2014, it said I could only book weeks with check-in dates up to 1/07/2014.

I then selected something with a check in date of 1/04/2014, and did my e-Plus retrade. Then I tried retrading again. Now, II said I could book anything up to 03/04/2014, but when I tried to search, it limited me to weeks with check-ins of 1/07/2014 or sooner.

So, here's how II is interpreting the rules: II prominently says you have a year from your original check-in to use your e-plus retrade, but if you cancel less than 60 days out, you only have about 6 months from your original check-in to re-trade, not one year as advertised. II says that their (hard to find and hard to understand) T&Cs are adequate disclosure of this six-month limitation. *BUT* when the very same T&Cs say that e-plus retrade can be used to extend the check-in window of a late deposit, II refuses to allow this. Heads we win; tails you lose. I am not a happy camper right now, but I don't know if there is some way to pursue this.

By the way, I don't know what happens if you cancel within 60 days, but started with a regular deposit, not a late (Flexchange) deposit. Maybe, with a regular deposit, you could retrade today for something for 1/04/2014, and then do a second retrade today for 3/04/2014, and then re-trade again today for something up to 5/02/2014. I don't know, but someone should try this.

I started with a regular deposit, and then I passed the 60 day mark. My original check-in day was 11/24/13. I could do an e-plus search for anything up to 1/22/14. I triggered the first retrade yesterday for a 1/11/14 check-in. Today I am able to do a retrade for anything up to 3/11/14.
 
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