# Difficulties with Platinum Interchange



## exco (Jul 2, 2014)

We have not had much success with Platinum Exchange in the past 3 years. Currently, we have an active search request that was submitted for Minnesota/Wisconsin since Oct. 2013.  From our past experiences with RCI and Dial An Exchange, we did not anticipate that it would be difficult to get a second consecutive Minnesota week from Platinum Interchange. Our Platinum Interchange deposit is going to expire this year.  We want to use our expiring deposit for the active search we have with Platinum Interchange. To our amazement, Platinum Interchange has been unable to find anything for 9 months. After several months of waiting and hand wringing, finally the exchange counselor consented to let us place a special request last month to try to find some resorts in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area. Today she informed us, "It looks like this area can only be acquired through RCI.", and asked us to search for other locations. 

We are very disappointed and anxious at this point.  We feel Platinum Interchange should have communicated to us much earlier in the process that it was highly unlikely they would be able to successfully fulfill our request.   We already have confirmed a Minnesota week via Dial An Exchange.  Our original plan was to combine the Platinum Interchange week with our existing Dial an Exchange week for a two consecutive week vacation.  Not only has Platinum Interchange's failure screwed up our vacation plans (we cannot take 2 consecutive weeks vacation), but also we are left with very little exchange options (The Platinum Interchange Away list has very low inventory before our week expires).  Please help!


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## csxjohn (Jul 2, 2014)

exco said:


> ...   Our original plan was to combine the Platinum Interchange week with our existing Dial an Exchange week for a two consecutive week vacation.  Not only has Platinum Interchange's failure screwed up our vacation plans (we cannot take 2 consecutive weeks vacation), but also we are left with very little exchange options (The Platinum Interchange Away list has very low inventory before our week expires).  Please help!




It is very well known that the smaller exchange companies like DAE and PI have a very small inventory compared to RCI and II.

If no PI owners deposit a week where you want to go, how is that the fault of the exchange company?

Don't get me wrong, I feel bad that you can't get the vacation you want but when dealing with these smaller companies you cannot assume a match and you certainly shouldn't blame PI for not being able to match your request.

Would it be unreasonable to try to get the second week in a different location somewhere between your current ressie and home?

We frequently do that, take an exchange we really want and try to piggy back a week somewhere else.


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## chriskre (Jul 3, 2014)

When did you want your week confirmed for?
I deposited a Christmas Mountain in PI last year and I know others do too.


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## ronandjoan (Jul 3, 2014)

Sorry to hear of your problems with Platinum as we have had many many successful exchanges with them, and yes,even in Wisconsin!  I see there are  units there available now for 2014 , but perhaps you wanted a specific date, which is difficult sometimes even for RCI to fulfill. The Midwest is often hard to get anyway...

Of course, there are places where they have more inventory than others; they manage several resorts and would have much more inventory at those places.

Sometimes you need to extend the deposit date as is sometimes necessary with all the exchange companies.

Good luck.


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## presley (Jul 3, 2014)

exco said:


> To our amazement, Platinum Interchange has been unable to find anything for 9 months. After several months of waiting and hand wringing, finally the exchange counselor consented to let us place a special request last month to try to find some resorts in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area. Today she informed us, "It looks like this area can only be acquired through RCI.", and asked us to search for other locations.



I don't really understand this part.  You had a request for an exchange for 9 months and then they allowed you to place a request for the same thing?  I can't figure out what happened here.  

ETA:  Now that I have looked at their current inventory, I think you meant they would look for Minnesota?  They currently have 4 weeks in Wisconsin.


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## exco (Jul 8, 2014)

csxjohn said:


> If no PI owners deposit a week where you want to go, how is that the fault of the exchange company?



Platinum interchange should have been more straightforward with us at the beginning of the search process. By leading us to believe that there was a good chance to get a successful match, many months have been wasted that we could have used for making alternate plans.  Everyone knows it gets very difficult to find any reasonable alternative within 2 months of the travel date.



csxjohn said:


> Would it be unreasonable to try to get the second week in a different location somewhere between your current ressie and home?



Yes.  We will be flying there.  We will be there for a family reunion.  We need a resort not too far away from where the other family members are staying.  



presley said:


> I don't really understand this part.  You had a request for an exchange for 9 months and then they allowed you to place a request for the same thing?  I can't figure out what happened here.



Our understanding of the difference between a “normal” request and a “special” request is that a special request is obtained by PI contacting the resorts directly to try to acquire a week from the resort excess inventory.  A normal request if fulfilled by member deposits.  

After 3 years, we have observed that Dial an Exchange’s inventory is larger than Platinum Interchange’s.  At this point, we regret we did not deposit this week with DAE.  We would have been able to exchange to somewhere we wanted to go without the exchange fee (my week qualified for the DAE PrimeTime promotion).   I hope that by sharing my experience I can help others.


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## Gophesjo (Jul 8, 2014)

I find both Platinum and DAE to provide great service at a great price.  Are they Cadillac dealers who always offer the best service/product?  No - that is not what they purport to be or why I use them.  It seems to me that you are expecting Cadillac Service and quality from a Chevy dealer, which is just not terribly realistic.  (I know you didn't ask for my opinion, but you did publicly disparage a business that has served me quite well, and which I thus want to defend.)


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## ronandjoan (Jul 9, 2014)

Gophesjo said:


> I find both Platinum and DAE to provide great service at a great price.  Are they Cadillac dealers who always offer the best service/product?  No - that is not what they purport to be or why I use them.  It seems to me that you are expecting Cadillac Service and quality from a Chevy dealer, which is just not terribly realistic.  (I know you didn't ask for my opinion, but you did publicly disparage a business that has served me quite well, and which I thus want to defend.)



Ditto!  Our experience also!


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## Platinum Interchange (Jul 9, 2014)

Platinum Interchange makes every effort to fill requests, but we never promise a week unless we already have it available and can fill the request. We remind everyone that exchanges are always based on availability and unless the week is deposited with us we can never guarantee your request will be filled. This is particularly true of Minnesota. We do get some deposits from Wisconsin, (Telemark, Timbers at Christmas Mountain), but only very rarely from Minnesota and only through owner deposits. All our vacation counselors are aware of this, and there is no advantage to making a promise we cannot keep.  We take pride in our customer service and work very hard at filling your requests. Sometimes we just do not get the week you are looking for. Steven McMains, Reservations Manager, Platinum Interchange


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## Platinum Interchange (Jul 9, 2014)

I want to thank everyone for their kind words and support. PI does try its best to fill every request we receive. I am very proud of my great team of Vacation Counselors, all of whom truly enjoy the interaction with "their" owners and work very hard to provide the best customer service possible. - Steven McMains, Reservations Manager, Platinum Interchange


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