# Proof that Marriott is off the mark (Better?) about II Trades drying up



## 4Reliefnow (Apr 21, 2012)

Post your trades here.  My trades have been great and continue to be great.  I read over and over that the "High Pressure"  sales pitch used to push you into buying DC points is that you will never get a good trade on II again.  Scream it from the rooftops "II is alive and well" and the DC salesman is lying to you about the ability to trade(among other lies)

My trades 
Into                 Date    Traded unit     When Traded
Canyon Villas-2b     2/25/12  MCV Nov/11  April 2011 
Desert Springs-2b    2/11/12  MGV 2/12     Aug 2011
Playa Andaluza 2-b   10/7/12  MGV 2/12     Dec 2011  - Gold
Royal Sands 2-b       12/15/12 MGV 2/11    Feb 2012
Ocean Pointe 2-b      2/28/13  MCV 3/13    Mar 2012
SurfWatch 3B           4/14/13  MCV  8/11   Apr 2012  - Gold for a silver

All my trades have been using 2 bedrooms, until now.  Working with a 1br and lock-off separately to see how I do. 

Is there a sticky or how you doin' trading post that has a long list of trades?


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## MabelP (Apr 21, 2012)

Summitt Watch 1Bedroom for ShadowbRidge 1bedroom February 16, 2013 Presidents Week
Barony Beach 2Bedroom for Ocean Pointr Ocean Front 2Bedroom March 30, 2013 Easter
Both 12 months out.


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## dioxide45 (Apr 21, 2012)

What the sales reps fail to mention is that for every week that doesn't go to II because it goes to DC, there is also one less week that is in II vying for exchange inventory. Sure prime weeks in some locations will be difficult trades in II, they were in the past also.


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## jin (Apr 21, 2012)

We got a 2 br Phuket beach end of June for my gv (gold) studio, and 2br manor club at Easter for my shadow ridge studio (gold), and 2br barony beach in aug for my shadow ridge 1br (gold) amongst many other great trades post dv...


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## enma (Apr 21, 2012)

I have been very happy with my recent trades. Some of them are upgrades and some of them equal trades. I don't except always to get an upgrade, I am happy with equal trades since I am still getting what I want. And all the XYZs and getaways in addition to trades. I continue to be very happy with Interval even though I joined DC but at this point I don't see myself ever converting my weeks to points.
Recent trades - Grande Vista 1 br to 2 br Beach Place Towers, Grande Vista studio to 2 br Sabal Palms, Grande Vista studio to 1 br Maui Ocean Club.


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## mlfrancis (Apr 22, 2012)

*great trade!*

OceanWatch (April gold week) for the Westin Princeville on Kauai, May 12-19, 2013.  Could have used SurfWatch or Aruba Surf Club, had to decide which to give up next year.  

Now we can spend 2 weeks on Kauai - Princeville followed by our all-time favorite, Waiohai Beach Club. 

I agree, II is alive and well!  Got this trade 10 days ago, it's rare to see a Westin property in II.


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## jjluhman (Apr 22, 2012)

2Br Plat Ocean Pointe for 2Br Plat Beachplace Towers Jan 2012 - I did use Florida Club for this booking though.
2Br Plat Ocean Pointe for 2Br Plat Harbour Club at Harbour Town Hilton Head 4th of July week 2012!
I have an ongoing search with a Gold Ocean Pointe for Crystal Shores for Oct/Nov of this year.  I know this is a tough one to get so I am crossing my fingers.
I have another ongoing search for Aruba Surf or Ocean for April 2013.  

I will update when/if the ongoing requests are filled.


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## jlr10 (Apr 22, 2012)

We just came back from Maui Ocean Club, obtained with our summer DSVII week.  They tried to get just to go to the presentation because II was no longer providing any good trades, didn't we agree?  We looked at her and said "Well, we are here on an exchange, and have always gotten an exchange where we wanted to go..."  The standard answer to that is "Well, you were just very lucky!"  Our answer "We always are."


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## TravlinDuo (Apr 22, 2012)

We've been very happy with our post DC exchanges; using both pending requests & finding an immediate exchange on II.  Here's what we've been able to exchange into:

Studio Premier Plat Lakeshore Reserve for 1BR Harborside at Atlantis (Jan 2012) – 7 mos wait

2BR Premier Plat Lakeshore Reserve for 2BR K’Olina (Jan 2013) – 12 mos wait

1BR Gold Grand Vista for 3BR Grand Vista (Oct 2011) – self II search; immediate exchange (Halloween visit to see the Mouse; coupled with another exchange week into Cypress Harbor)

Studio Gold Grand Vista for 2BR Branson (Dec 2011) – self II search; immediate exchange (wanted to see what Christmas season was like in Branson; not what we expected based on the TV commercials)

1 BR Gold Grand Vista for 2 BR Ford’s Colony (Dec 2012) – self II search; immediate exchange (love Williamsburg & wanted to see area during the Christmas season)

Studio Gold Grand Vista for 2BR Barony Beach (April 2012) – self II search; immediate exchange (added this week to an April 2012 week at Lakeshore)

1BR Gold Grand Vista for 2BR St Kitts (Sept 2012) – self II search; immediate exchange (coupled with another week exchange to St Kitts; realizing chance of hurricane season)

Studio Gold Grand Vista for 2BR Cypress Harbor (Oct 2011) – self II search; immediate exchange (coupled with another “Halloween visit to the Mouse” week exchange into Orlando)

1BR Gold Grand Vista for 2BR Lakeshore Reserve (April 2012) – self II search; immediate exchange

Studio Gold Grand Vista for 2BR St Kitts (Sept 2012) – self II search; immediate exchange

2BR Premium Plat Lakeshore Reserve - deposited with II Nov 2011 for pending exchange requests

Haven’t yet done anything with our 2013 weeks.


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## BocaBoy (Apr 22, 2012)

I have no horse in this race and don't know whether trades are now more difficult or not, but I find it curious that repeatedly since the introduction of the DC program, quite a few owners have complained on TUG that II trades are now much more difficult.  Here is a poster who accuses Marriott of "lying" (the "proof" is 6 successful trades) because he/she was told essentially the same thing by Marriott.  That seems pretty strong.  Were the other TUG posters also "lying"?  I think not.  I think everyone is just expressing their opinions.  Maybe there is an anti-Marriott agenda here?


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## kds4 (Apr 22, 2012)

Using the Studio side of our MGV 3BR L/O, I have been able to see multiple dates to trade back in to Grande Vista for a 3BR unit, as well as several 2BR open weeks at Harbour Lakes.

3BR for a Studio ... If that is what dried up trades look like.

Forget the plum trades. Bring on the prunes!!!


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## brigechols (Apr 22, 2012)

BocaBoy said:


> Maybe there is an anti-Marriott agenda here?



I read the original post in this thread as countering the tall tales told by Marriott sales people. That is not an anti-Marriott agenda.


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## Former Cruiser (Apr 23, 2012)

I expect to continue to get good trades as I'm going to do "Request First" from now on.  They can't have my Oceanwatch Platinum week until they give me what I want.  We commonly look for weeks that are somewhere between end of April and middle of May.  It shouldn't be that hard, but they're not getting my week until I get what I want.


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## curbysplace (Apr 23, 2012)

Our 2010 1 bdrm fixed week 47 Streamside Birch on deposit with II nabbed a 1 bdrm Maui Ocean Club for the last week of January 2012.  It earlier pulled a 2 bdrm Phuket week for January but we held out for Maui.  Our request took about two and a half to three months to come through.


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## jdunn1 (Apr 23, 2012)

I think the Marriott prefernce has become much stronger in II within the last year.  If I have noticed any negative difference in II, it is that studios are now blocked from seeing most two bedrooms or larger except in flex or in off season.  Even seeing one bedrooms with a studio is getting harder.  I'm hoping this is only true when searching on-line inventory and that studios are pulling much better via ongoing searches.

Although, last year I had a few ongoing searches with my platinum marriott studio for the Carolina Marriott properties and nothing matched -- so I am thinking that studios aren't pulling so well in II, even with ongoing searches.

I'll be sure to post my 2013 exchanges, when they happen.  Wish I had more Marriott weeks!!!


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## Old Hickory (Apr 23, 2012)

brigechols said:


> I read the original post in this thread as countering the tall tales told by Marriott sales people. That is not an anti-Marriott agenda.



The subject line clearly states that "Marriott is lying" so it's a bad choice of words...


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## Quilter (Apr 23, 2012)

"Tall tales" or "lying" ... either one really isn't the focus of the thread.  The point 4relief seemed to be working toward was to get a list of positive trades.  Positive news helps temper the slant that gets flowing in the other direction.

Back in the day of weeks being sold we did a tour at St. Kitts.  We were told "you'll never be able to trade into here. . .".  Maybe that was stretching the truth


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## dioxide45 (Apr 23, 2012)

Quilter said:


> "Tall tales" or "lying" ... either one really isn't the focus of the thread.  The point 4relief seemed to be working toward was to get a list of positive trades.  Positive news helps temper the slant that gets flowing in the other direction.
> 
> Back in the day of weeks being sold we did a tour at St. Kitts.  We were told "you'll never be able to trade into here. . .".  Maybe that was stretching the truth



We were told at an Orlando presentation that we would never be able to trade in to Lakeshore Reserve. "They don't want the II rif raff over there". That wasn't a stretch of the truth, it was an outright lie. We have traded in to there twice now. Don't know any other way to put it.

We were told a smilar thing at Ocean Watch last week, that II would be drying up. Will it turn out to be a lie? Probably so.


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## BocaBoy (Apr 23, 2012)

brigechols said:


> I read the original post in this thread as countering the tall tales told by Marriott sales people. That is not an anti-Marriott agenda.



My point was simply this:  Why is Marriott "lying" when TUG members who have expressed the same opinion are not?  That point holds up whether what the Marriott sales person said was true or not.


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## 4Reliefnow (Apr 23, 2012)

*You Guys can trade like a Baseball GM (better than most)*

I am humbled by the list of trades reported here.  I apologize for using the word "Lying" in my title.  Thank you, Thank you, thank you all for the wonderful list of trades, and some ideas of how you executed...self search or request first.


My real objective is to bring out to the open some of the abilities to trade, how are the rookies gonna know to find Maui, Westin, Phuket if they don't even know to ask.  How you gonna turn a Jul 31-Aug 7 Phoenix week into Gold (Surfwatch 3 BR April) without a lesson.  How can you stretch a studio into a 3br unless TUGGERS teach you that "Hey all the got is 2br and 3br on Hilton Head. 

I love what you guys do to educate other time sharers and make the game better for us owners and renter.  Please don't let my jab at Marriott Pressure Sales about II Trades distract you from sharing. (Or, even bragging a little)

Hurray on all the great trades you've done and cheers to the next big catch.


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## Quilter (Apr 23, 2012)

Very cool 4Relief.

My trades last year and this have made me satisfied enough to still be a fan of II.  Without logging into my account I can remember some of the details.  

2bd Manor club Plat. for this past Easter week in April at Barony Beach.

1bd. Plat. for 2br. oceanWatch 4/20/12 but I retraded it to 2 bd. SurfWatch week before Easter (II reps still referred to it as Easter).

Plat. studio for 2 bd. Cypress Harbour 3/4/12

xYZ to 2bd. harbour lake 2/25/12

OP plat. Studio to 3 bd. Cadillac MI but retraded to 2 bd Traverse City MI in Jan.

2 bd MCV summer week to 3 bd. Bay Harbor, MI 9/26/12, prime leaf peeping week


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## 4Reliefnow (Apr 27, 2012)

*On the other Hand - DC Request Not Available*

I had a phone call from someone looking to rent my extra DC Points (strange but true....cannot use all my timeshare this year).  I needed to make the reservation for him because the purchase includes my 800 enrollment points.

Didn't they tell you that if you buy DC Points, you will get that super hard to exchange week you wanted?  Well I called last night to reserve 2br at Aruba Surf Club GV and it was sold out.  Sold out for my dates in January, Sold out for 7 of 9 weeks in Jan and Feb in GV and most of the OV weeks as well.

   I would really be bawling if I bought DC points with the dream of going to Aruba.  And this is paying the sticker price in DC Points, not like I could trade a 1br silver HHI for Gold.

Just more proof that Marriott might be off the mark when they say DC reservations will be the only way to go and II is nearly dead.


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## RBERR1 (Apr 27, 2012)

4Reliefnow said:


> I had a phone call from someone looking to rent my extra DC Points (strange but true....cannot use all my timeshare this year).  I needed to make the reservation for him because the purchase includes my 800 enrollment points.
> 
> Didn't they tell you that if you buy DC Points, you will get that super hard to exchange week you wanted?  Well I called last night to reserve 2br at Aruba Surf Club GV and it was sold out.  Sold out for my dates in January, Sold out for 7 of 9 weeks in Jan and Feb in GV and most of the OV weeks as well.
> 
> ...



I think it depends on what and when you are looking for. My last couple of trades II has come up bust but DC got me in when and where I wanted to go.  It did cost slightly more as I had to rent a small amt of points to cover skim but I think sometimes you will hit home runs in either systems and sometimes you will strike out.


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## JPrisco (Apr 27, 2012)

I am looking for a DC reservation in Aruba next Feb/Mar.
Nothing at the Ocean Club and there are some scattered at Surf Club. 
I am surprised since I check as soon as they are 'open'.  Maybe not enough Ocean Club people chose to deposit their weeks for DC points?
Probably would have been better to try for a trade in II, but I already opted for the points.  Live and learn.


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## m61376 (Apr 27, 2012)

JPrisco said:


> I am looking for a DC reservation in Aruba next Feb/Mar.
> Nothing at the Ocean Club and there are some scattered at Surf Club.
> I am surprised since I check as soon as they are 'open'.  Maybe not enough Ocean Club people chose to deposit their weeks for DC points?
> Probably would have been better to try for a trade in II, but I already opted for the points.  Live and learn.



I am not surprised- there is a relatively poor point allocation for Aruba resorts, and esp. Platinum (but even Gold) owners are much better off renting their weeks or trading in II or privately then exchanging for points. Conversely, points are a good bargain there, and at the other Caribbean resorts, for the exchanger; not so good for the owners but a good deal for someone looking to go there.


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## Nickfromct (Apr 27, 2012)

Traded Thanksgiving week studio at Beach place for 2 br. at NCV for September 9-16

Traded 1 Br thanksgiving week at Beach Place for 1 Br. Casa Dorado in Cabo for January 2013.


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## billymach4 (Apr 27, 2012)

Excellent!


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## abg1688 (Apr 27, 2012)

Traded studio lock off at Aruba SC week 34 to 1br at Marriott breckinridge week 51.  Last year we traded our 2 br SC week 33 to 2br at mountainside week 50.


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## Luckybee (Apr 28, 2012)

m61376 said:


> I am not surprised- there is a relatively poor point allocation for Aruba resorts, and esp. Platinum (but even Gold) owners are much better off renting their weeks or trading in II or privately then exchanging for points. Conversely, points are a good bargain there, and at the other Caribbean resorts, for the exchanger; not so good for the owners but a good deal for someone looking to go there.



Absolutely correct ! We have a fairly large group of friends that we've met over the years through our ownership at the OC. Some trade more often than others, some choose to use their home property always. None of us seem to think we'll join DC since it provides simply no benefit for us because of the poor point allocation given to Aruba (meaning to the owner to turn in points).
Unlike many other destinations I think there are a great number of Aruba owners who only own Aruba so that they wont have the ability to add the points to their other point allocations.
On a personal note I keep reading and reading Tug given d-day coming in June thinking that I dont wish to miss the boat but then I start asking myself what would I ever use DC for ? Everytime I think perhaps we should join I go back and look at the point chart and find that there is nowhere we'd be able to go that we actually do go for the points we'd get for our 1 bdrm weeks. I'd prefer when trading to go outside of Marriott than get 4 or 5 days for a week. As an example...we didnt use our weeks last year....I banked them with I.I and was able to get a full week in a 1 bdrm back at the OC for one of them for the end of Nov this year so that our friends could join us when we're going for our usual 2 wks. With the second week we've booked a week in St. Maarten for next year at Oyster Pond also in a 1 bdrm which is an I.I gold leaf resort and looks lovely. For 14 nights I'm getting 14 nights. Why would I trade through DC when the most we could get on a similiar basis would be 9 or perhaps 10 nights for the point allocation we'd be given(unless of course we wanted to do Orlando ) ?


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## ilene13 (Apr 28, 2012)

Luckybee said:


> Absolutely correct ! We have a fairly large group of friends that we've met over the years through our ownership at the OC. Some trade more often than others, some choose to use their home property always. None of us seem to think we'll join DC since it provides simply no benefit for us because of the poor point allocation given to Aruba (meaning to the owner to turn in points).
> Unlike many other destinations I think there are a great number of Aruba owners who only own Aruba so that they wont have the ability to add the points to their other point allocations.
> On a personal note I keep reading and reading Tug given d-day coming in June thinking that I dont wish to miss the boat but then I start asking myself what would I ever use DC for ? Everytime I think perhaps we should join I go back and look at the point chart and find that there is nowhere we'd be able to go that we actually do go for the points we'd get for our 1 bdrm weeks. I'd prefer when trading to go outside of Marriott than get 4 or 5 days for a week. As an example...we didnt use our weeks last year....I banked them with I.I and was able to get a full week in a 1 bdrm back at the OC for one of them for the end of Nov this year so that our friends could join us when we're going for our usual 2 wks. With the second week we've booked a week in St. Maarten for next year at Oyster Pond also in a 1 bdrm which is an I.I gold leaf resort and looks lovely. For 14 nights I'm getting 14 nights. Why would I trade through DC when the most we could get on a similiar basis would be 9 or perhaps 10 nights for the point allocation we'd be given(unless of course we wanted to do Orlando ) ?



We absolutely agree with you.  We always use our Aruba weeks.  We own three, use two and usually rent the other one.  We also own a platinum three bedroom week at Surfwatch. Our 4 platinum weeks would never give us 4 platinum weeks in the DC  program.  Like you I keep looking at the charts but I do not think we will join.


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## Cmore (Apr 28, 2012)

Regarding the DC, this has been covered extensively in other threads, so I don't mean to pile on again. But, the comparison given is not really accurate IMO.

By joining the DC, you gain options and if you own multiple Marriott weeks, you also very likely will spend less on trading fees, lock offs, etc.  because this is covered in the annual DC fee for enrolled weeks.

You still can use your weeks trading just as you do now, but can also access the DC inventory if you so choose to and trade via points, you are not locked into either system.  You choose each year. 

Many have joined just to save on annual trading costs, and have no intent of taking points. Others like me are finding the flexiblity of points use very appealing for their personal circumstances.


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## ilene13 (Apr 28, 2012)

Cmore said:


> Regarding the DC, this has been covered extensively in other threads, so I don't mean to pile on again. But, the comparison given is not really accurate IMO.
> 
> By joining the DC, you gain options and if you own multiple Marriott weeks, you also very likely will spend less on trading fees, lock offs, etc.  because this is covered in the annual DC fee for enrolled weeks.
> 
> ...



Not everyone would save on fees.  It would actually cost us more as we do not own lockoffs and we would need a second II account.


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## Cmore (Apr 28, 2012)

ilene13 said:


> Not everyone would save on fees.  It would actually cost us more as we do not own lockoffs and we would need a second II account.



Ilene,
I was mostly responding to the the last two posts commenting about the loss of days by joining the DC.  Which is only the case if you choose to use the DC in that method.  If you choose to deposit and trade its equivalent.

Certainly everyone's individual circumstances vary so whether or not a particular person would "save" depends on how someone currently uses their weeks.   Perhaps I should have stated that joining the DC provides a financial incentive to many multiple legacy week owners, besides added flexibility.  Sorry if my statement did not fit your circumstances.  

I wish you happy vacations


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## m61376 (Apr 28, 2012)

As the June "deadline" approaches, I think those who haven't yet joined have to consider several factors:
-as posted above, will the fee savings from locking off and trading compensate for the annual cost and the enrollment fee over time, hopefully resulting in a savings?
-does your current usage and resort point allocation allow for near equivalent trading (number of days and unit size) and/or is the added flexibility of DC reservations worth the added cost in downgrading of number of days and/or unit size?
-are your weeks resale or developer purchased? This may not be a factor, but we should not overlook the fact that resale weeks are being offered an opportunity to be basically grandfathered and put on equal footing with developer weeks. Will Marriott institute changes in their internal trading system in the future that will be beneficial to DC members continuing to trade in weeks? Will there ultimately be a benefit to being an enrolled legacy week owner even if you continue to use weeks rather than converting to points, and will Marriott continue to welcome pre- June 2010 resale owners?
-As Luckybee pointed out, sometimes it is very nice to be able to get an extra week to invite friends or family. As I explained above, those resorts that were given poor point allocation relative to rental costs are conversely a relative bargain to reserve with points. Being a DC member allows one to rent points from others, which can be an interesting way to supplement one's ownership, without ever needing to convert one's week(s) to points. I can rent enough points to reserve a studio in Aruba, for example, for a quarter of the rack rate to reserve the unit or a room at the Marriott hotel on Marriott.com, and even using owner discounts the savings would be substantial. If I was even to do it one time the savings would offset the fee to join. 

I give GregT a lot of credit for bringing this up several months back, and for me at least, it may be the most compelling reason to join. Like many of us, family dynamics change over time, and sometimes you just need an extra bedroom or studio unit.


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## Luckybee (Apr 29, 2012)

ilene13 said:


> Not everyone would save on fees.  It would actually cost us more as we do not own lockoffs and we would need a second II account.



Lol...we wouldnt save either...we have 2-1 bdrm weeks....we've owned since I think 1998...we've only traded 3x's(twice at the last minute because of medical issues)...and we've always been able to get a week for a week...we've had I.I membership on and off throughout that time ...in other words sometimes we renew...sometimes we dont if we're sure we're not trading for awhile!

Interestingly also DC wouldnt give us options to use points in a manner that would work for us either even without considering the poor point allotment. We almost always use our timeshares end of Nov/beginning of Dec....as I understand one has to decide whether to use points by Sept of the previous year....we'd therefore be giving up our weeks before we would know if something we wanted was available....seems to me to be less options than a request first trade for us !


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## Luckybee (Apr 29, 2012)

m61376 said:


> As Luckybee pointed out, sometimes it is very nice to be able to get an extra week to invite friends or family. As I explained above, those resorts that were given poor point allocation relative to rental costs are conversely a relative bargain to reserve with points. Being a DC member allows one to rent points from others, which can be an interesting way to supplement one's ownership, without ever needing to convert one's week(s) to points. I can rent enough points to reserve a studio in Aruba, for example, for a quarter of the rack rate to reserve the unit or a room at the Marriott hotel on Marriott.com, and even using owner discounts the savings would be substantial. If I was even to do it one time the savings would offset the fee to join.



Honestly not a reason for us to join either....we only ended up giving the week as a gift to friends because we know what our travel plans are for the next 2 years and given that we have about 6 non timeshare holidays(along with our weeks usage) in mind we didnt expect to be able to use the week...so it was a good time for us to be generous


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## 4Reliefnow (Apr 30, 2012)

*Please stick with the program.....Is trading still working for you*

The decision to join DC or not is certainly a big conversation here on TUG.  But, Please join one of those threads.  I am hoping to hear about good trades here.
mostly Marriott for Marriott, but, any great trade to show weeks are still a wonderful thing.


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## Steve A (Apr 30, 2012)

Just traded my Bronze 2013 Barony for April 6, 2013 at the Barony. Now that may not impress many, but April in SC is substantially better than April in Wisconsin. I could have traded it also for a two-bedroom in the middle of April at Desert Springs I or for Newport Coast in early April. January 11/12 for some reason worked much better in getting trades than the week before and the January weeks after. 

OTOH, I used my 800 points and my Marriott Grand Chateau to get 10 days in January, which appears to be very off season, at the Kauai Beach Club. A one-bedroom (with two baths) OV. So that seemed to work for me OK. Again, anytime in January in Hawaii is better than anytime in January in Wisconsin. 

Wife is very impressed. After 35 years of marriage still managing to impress one's spouse is a wonderment.

And, BTW, we will be at the Aruba Ocean Club for two weeks June-July. One week will be with the week we own; the other week will be with a Barony Silver. This is not the first time we have used the Silver to get a one-bedroom in Gold season at the Ocean Club.


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## stslc (May 1, 2012)

Mountainside Gold 1br for Newport Spring Break 2011
Mountainside Gold Studio for Mountainside 2br July 2011
Mountainside Gold Studio for Marbella 3br for Easter week this year. 2012
Mountainside Gold 1br for Newport next Easter 2013
Pretty happy with my Gold Mountainside so far.


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## ScubaKat (May 4, 2012)

New to Marriott so I have no idea what II trades were like prior to DC.. here are our trades that I had posted before.. LOVE IT!

Marriott's Harbour Lake
MHZ
Unit: TOMV (1 bedroom)
Week: 1

Confirmed To:
Marriott's Oceana Palms • MVO
Unit: TBOV (2 bedrooms)
Week: 47 Thanksgiving

____________
Supplemental Week • MHZ
Unit: TOMV (1 bedroom)
Week: 7

Confirmed To:
Marriott's OceanWatch Villas@Grand Dunes • MOW
Unit: TWOS (2 bedrooms)
Week: 34 Labour Day
______________

Marriott's Harbour Lake
MHZ
Unit: TOMV (1 bedroom)
Week: 10

Confirmed To:
Marriott's Aruba Surf Club • MSU
Unit: HZZAD (2 bedrooms)
Week: 27 4th of July
_______________

Marriott's Harbour Lake
MHZ
Unit: TOMV (1 bedroom)
Week: 52

Confirmed To:
Marriott's Frenchman's Cove • MFC
Unit: TOVI (2 bedrooms)
Week: 21 Memorial Day

------------------

Marriott's Harbour Lake
MHZ
Unit: TOGV (Efficiency)
Week: 7

Confirmed To:
Marriott's Ocean Pointe • MPB
Unit: HZZAO (3 bedrooms)
Week: 3
________________

Marriott's Harbour Lake
MHZ
Unit: TOGV (Efficiency)
Week: 27

Confirmed To:
Marriott's OceanWatch Villas@Grand Dunes • MOW
Unit: TBOV (2 bedrooms)
Week: 39


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## Nickfromct (May 4, 2012)

Wow! Those trades are awesome! Well done. 



ScubaKat said:


> New to Marriott so I have no idea what II trades were like prior to DC.. here are our trades that I had posted before.. LOVE IT!
> 
> Marriott's Harbour Lake
> MHZ
> ...


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## dioxide45 (May 4, 2012)

Seems similar to what was out there before. Getting the *shoulder* holiday weeks seems to be fairly easy. I say shoulder because where and when you are traveling these are not the high peak holidays.

I am thinking you are using a Platinum MHZ? We have a gold and have a similar experience. Though we usually only travel over Memorial Week and then our others are more off season, we own gold.



ScubaKat said:


> New to Marriott so I have no idea what II trades were like prior to DC.. here are our trades that I had posted before.. LOVE IT!
> 
> Marriott's Harbour Lake
> MHZ
> ...


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## ScubaKat (May 5, 2012)

Yes, we are trading with a platinum week..  have been really happy with trades so far.. we like going off seasons when the weather is still nice and low crowds..  combing it with holidays means I get to stretch our my vacation days for more travel..   Not looking forward to being tied to a school schedule!



dioxide45 said:


> Seems similar to what was out there before. Getting the *shoulder* holiday weeks seems to be fairly easy. I say shoulder because where and when you are traveling these are not the high peak holidays.
> 
> I am thinking you are using a Platinum MHZ? We have a gold and have a similar experience. Though we usually only travel over Memorial Week and then our others are more off season, we own gold.


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## dioxide45 (May 5, 2012)

ScubaKat said:


> Yes, we are trading with a platinum week..  have been really happy with trades so far.. we like going off seasons when the weather is still nice and low crowds..  combing it with holidays means I get to stretch our my vacation days for more travel..   Not looking forward to being tied to a school schedule!



I agree, we are in the same position. We love the low crowds of off season and working a holiday in to a vacation week means we only have to take four vacation days out of work instead of five.

Though now we are at the point where we get almost five weeks of paid time off and working a holiday in to a vacation week isn't as big of a priority for us now, so we look even more off season. Means even less crowds and better prices on travel.


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## Big Matt (May 5, 2012)

Do yourself a favor and see what you can get with Getaways instead of trading.  You may find that you can get weeks in these shoulder seasons for around $500 or even less.  Just a thought.



ScubaKat said:


> Yes, we are trading with a platinum week..  have been really happy with trades so far.. we like going off seasons when the weather is still nice and low crowds..  combing it with holidays means I get to stretch our my vacation days for more travel..   Not looking forward to being tied to a school schedule!


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## dioxide45 (May 5, 2012)

Big Matt said:


> Do yourself a favor and see what you can get with Getaways instead of trading.  You may find that you can get weeks in these shoulder seasons for around $500 or even less.  Just a thought.



We actually bought a second week (Harbour Lake) instead of relying on getaways. Getaways are good for places like Orlando, Vegas, or Palms Springs. However, we have found that exchange inventory is far more plentiful than getaway inventory. While we can find some inventory in getaway for Ocean Pointe, we have been far more successful getting a week there through exchange than getaway. Prices can also fluctuate wildly in getaways. Since we have been able to use only one side of our lock off to get a 2BR at Ocean Pointe, it has worked out cheaper than getaways.

We had a similar experience with Surfwatch and Ocean Watch. Neither was available in getaway for when we wanted to travel, but they were easy exchanges with only one half of our lock off unit.

There is far more availability in exchange than in getaway and I don't have to try to "time the market" to try and get the best price for a getaway. Our price is fixed when using our week to get an exchange.


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## ScubaKat (May 5, 2012)

We had looked a bit in getaways but the prices just don't come close to around $500 for when we want to travel...  We have a 2 bedroom Aruba Surf Club Oceanside for 4th of July week which costs us roughly $500MF + $169 Trade + even if I count the whole II membership $96 = $765 for the week..  No availability in getaways.. Redweek rentals are charging $1900 - $2800 from garden view to ocean front..  

From that trade we also received a XYZ into Grande Vista in March..   



Big Matt said:


> Do yourself a favor and see what you can get with Getaways instead of trading.  You may find that you can get weeks in these shoulder seasons for around $500 or even less.  Just a thought.


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## dioxide45 (May 5, 2012)

ScubaKat said:


> We had looked a bit in getaways but the prices just don't come close to around $500 for when we want to travel...  We have a 2 bedroom Aruba Surf Club Oceanside for 4th of July week which costs us roughly $500MF + $169 Trade + even if I count the whole II membership $96 = $765 for the week..  No availability in getaways.. Redweek rentals are charging $1900 - $2800 from garden view to ocean front..
> 
> From that trade we also received a XYZ into Grande Vista in March..



This is how we looked at it when we added our gold Harbour Lake. the MF at the time was about $900. At that time DC wasn't introduced so we still had to pay all the fees.

$900 + $89 (II membership at the time) + $75 (lock off fee at the time) + $99 + $99 (M to M exchange fee at the time).

That worked out to $1,262 and gave us two weeks for $631 per week. We could get at the time getaways in Orlando 2BRs for about $500, so we would still book those, but getting a 2BR at Ocean Pointe for that price in getaway either wasn't available or was more than $630. So we opted to buy the second week. Exchange inventory is far more plentiful and we can place requests in exchange where you have to keep checking for getaways and watching for the best price. Buying the second unit helped to stabilize our cost per week.

Of course, after enrollment our yearly costs go down once we have recouped that enrollment fee.


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## 4Reliefnow (May 10, 2012)

*New Trade and New valuation method*

I got a new II Exchange...Platinum Canyon Villas Studio traded to Gold Ocean Watch 2BR.  I don't know how to tell if I  can get an Ocean View instead of the Garden.

Valuation method
Canyon Villas Platinum Studio 1,950 points
Ocean Watch Gold 2BR GV 2,675  OV  2,900

We kind of have a feeling that we got a good trade when we upgrade resorts or upgrade room size.  Is the point chart a way to quantify?

Or maybe I am just happy sometime when I trade a Platinum 2br I don't want for a Platinum 2br I do want and the desired week.


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## Nickfromct (May 13, 2012)

While other husbands were pampering their wives on Mother's Day, I was able to slip into II and trade a 1 br. Gold BeachPlace unit for a 2br at Aruba Surf Club for next May.


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## DCBoy (May 13, 2012)

Just out of curiosity, what Beachplace week did you trade?


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## jjluhman (May 13, 2012)

My ongoing search with a Plat Ocean Pointe matched to a Platinum Aruba Surf Club for next April.  It was a Monday check in so I cancelled it.  The next day my Gold Ocean Pointe week matched to the same week.  I cancelled that one too.  
Since we are still almost a year out I am holding out for a better check in day.  I wish that you could specify that online with ongoing searches.  My bad for not noticing that Aruba had Monday check ins.  I had II change my request when I called.  I was pretty excited that I received a match this far in advance.  I don't think that I have ever received a trade this far in advance - and I have been trading for 10+ years!


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## suzannesimon (May 13, 2012)

I finally converted my 3 BR FC last week to points and got a 3 BR at MGC.  This was my first point conversion.  I could have made this trade easily on II but I figured out just in time that if I converted to points, I would still have over 1000 points left over for another trip.  Conversely, if I want to go to Aruba, I'll try II because I won't have enough points from one unit to get the trade.  I'm discovering the points work well  if you are downtrading season or location.


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## Nickfromct (May 13, 2012)

DCBoy said:


> Just out of curiosity, what Beachplace week did you trade?



The week starting 5/12/13


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## linmcginn (May 14, 2012)

Exchanged platinum NCV for Marriott Crystal Shores ocean front April 22-29, 2012.


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## budnj (May 16, 2012)

*Our exchanges*

Locked off Aruba Surf Club (July 2011 reservations), traded lockoff for 2 br at Lakeshore Reserve May 2-9, 2012.
Traded 1 br for 2br at Aruba Surf Club Dec 3-10, 2012.


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