My tip is that we look for a time that is off season in the place we want to go. For example I was able to get an exchange on the Big Island in HI in Oct. I had booked it July of the same year which is pretty close to the travel date for getting a trade in high demand places. Now granted, there were not a lot of choices with that short time frame. The leads to the second tip, don’t be picky about the resort you trade into. When I was looking to book that trip, I selected , show me all units available in Oct to Nov on the Big Island.
I used the same stradegy to book a week in Orlando with a week my brother had that he was not going to use. Most family’s vacation in the summer, so Oct Nov is great time to vacation.
You have double the points we do, so should not be a problem finding a unit.
That being said, if you want to go to a specific resort at a specific time, then you will have to book it much farther out, like a year or more.
Also, we don’t need a resort that has a lot of amenities. We go places to get out and see the place. If you are the type that just stays at the resort all week and want a place that has a lot of stuff. Then the choices will narrow. We have usually received a 2 bedroom unit even though ours is 1 bedroom. And they have been nice places. They gave us a large 2 bedroom right on the beach in Cancun because the place was not full in Oct.
Good luck