3 Years of II Platinum Free - Good Deal?

[swazzie]

I got a surprising letter from II in the mail yesterday, stating that I'll get 3 years of II Platinum (a $654 value) if I deposit my week with them before 2/14/16. Has anyone else gotten this letter? I paid for a year of II and RCI when I first bought my eligible unit (Massanutten Mountainside Villas prime week) a few years ago to see which company I would use more; I ended up not using II at all so the membership lapsed. On the other hand, I upgraded my RCI Points membership to Platinum and just renewed it for 3 years last month. However, I've never deposited the unit with either company.

I'm tempted to take them up on the offer since I'm planning a trip to HI in 2017 but I'm not sure that my unit would be worth much with II (I know it isn't with RCI). It would suck to deposit it and find that I wouldn't be able to get a Marriott or Starwood (or other suitable) unit since it won't have that preference. On the RCI side I'm hoping to book Hilton units during next year's bulk deposit.

Is it worth depositing the week just to get the II Platinum at no additional cost?

 

[tschwa2]

Platinum in II is primarily beneficial for the free guest certificates (which sounds like you won't be using) and discounts on getaway (rental weeks). Not sure if you would be using those. It doesn't really help in other ways.

How open are you in your Hawaii planning? I think a 1br which you may be able to upgrade fairly last minute with e plus is doable. If you are ultimately hoping for a 2 br than Marriott would have a better chance.

 

[swazzie]

Thanks for your reply; I've bought a discounted getaway and guest certificate before with RCI, so that may be something I use with II. It wouldn't be used enough that I would pay for continued II Platinum membership after 3 years, though.

Right now I'm kind of open on the HI planning (1st two weeks of April, any 2-week period from mid-June to mid-August or between Christmas and New Years, which is extremely unlikely). I was looking at the two islands where there are Hilton resorts for this trip, but this II opportunity may definitely change where we go.

The unit I'd be depositing is 2BR unit so I'd ideally like that in return, but I understand that can be hard to come by given my dealings with DVC thru RCI. The letter doesn't mention whether my 2016 deposit or a later year needs to be deposited--I'm able to deposit one of two weeks in 2016 or just one week in 2017. I don't know how long I can trade past the check-in date of the deposit, so I'm weighing the options there.

I'll look into that as well as other II features like the E-Plus you mentioned.

 

[tschwa2]

You will have 2 years from the check in date of your deposit to complete the exchange. If you add eplus (which is $49 more than the exchange) you get up to 3 free retrades that can go out as far as 1 year from your original exchange date.

(1st two weeks of April, any 2-week period from mid-June to mid-August or between Christmas and New Years, which is extremely unlikely).

If these are the dates you are looking for, I don't think you should bother with II. You will have a better chance with Hilton as long as they don't change their deposit patterns. Starwood isn't going to deposit anything during any of those time periods. Marriott is going to have some but most units larger than a studio are probably going to be taken by Marriott owners during priority and/or will be deposited very late.

If you were open to May (maybe early June) and September and October, your $500 MF non Starwood or Marriott deposit may have a chance at a $1200-$2400 MF Starwood or Marriott 1 or 2 br Hawaii unit.

 

[swazzie]

Hmmm...thanks for the insight. I'm not surprised at how tough it is to find a desired week thru either RCI or II and I'm prepared for that challenge.

Given your info I could add late October-early November to the list as my kids have some school days off during that time. As for the week to deposit, it looks like I can deposit one of the 2016 weeks and book until 2018 so that'll cover the 3 year II membership. E-Plus also looks useful though I'm not sold on it yet. I'm leaning towards depositing a week and starting an OGS once I learn more about the system and my travel plans.

 

[DeniseM]

The inventory you see online is just the left-overs, after all ongoing searches have been filled.

Ongoing Searches are like wait listing, and the best exchanges are snagged behind the scenes with OGS, and never make it to the online inventory.

The best practice is to put in a broad OGS, as early as possible.

 

[swazzie]

Yep; I'm familiar with the OGS concept--had two in for well over a year for my Disney trip earlier this year. Glad to hear it exists and is similar on the II side. II doesn't appear as transparent as RCI when it comes to trading power, though, given last week's thread below, hence my hesitation in taking the deal.

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233624

 

[DeniseM]

Platinum won't have any impact on your trading power, so don't do it unless you can put the other perks to good use.

Because Starwood and Marriott are with II, it used to be the best Exchange Company for Hawaii, but we don't see as many Starwood deposits these days.

 

[glmyers]

I got a surprising letter from II in the mail yesterday, stating that I'll get 3 years of II Platinum (a $654 value) if I deposit my week with them before 2/14/16. Has anyone else gotten this letter? I paid for a year of II and RCI when I first bought my eligible unit (Massanutten Mountainside Villas prime week) a few years ago to see which company I would use more; I ended up not using II at all so the membership lapsed. On the other hand, I upgraded my RCI Points membership to Platinum and just renewed it for 3 years last month. However, I've never deposited the unit with either company.

I'm tempted to take them up on the offer since I'm planning a trip to HI in 2017 but I'm not sure that my unit would be worth much with II (I know it isn't with RCI). It would suck to deposit it and find that I wouldn't be able to get a Marriott or Starwood (or other suitable) unit since it won't have that preference. On the RCI side I'm hoping to book Hilton units during next year's bulk deposit.

Is it worth depositing the week just to get the II Platinum at no additional cost?

I received similar offers of inducement for deposit of my weeks at the Jockey Club in Las Vegas over the past twenty-five years. I took the offers when I was likely to deposit eventually anyway. I would not deposit just to get the "deal," but neither would I turn down the deal if it fit my existing plans.

I found over the years trading power on II varies significantly with time of deposit. II will accept a deposit right up to the date of the week, but that same week deposited more than a year in advance will provide much better exchange opportunities. II is not "transparent" about trading power because II uses a relative power system based on current trends rather than fixed numbers.

 

[harveyhaddixfan]

I'd be careful if you have something in RCI points. I bought a week in 2010 that was in Points but didn't open an account and have it transferred to me. Once that time lapsed of it not in RCI, I would have to go back through the developer to get it back in points. That wasn't an option so I deeded it back to the resort and bought one there that was still in points.

 

[JudyS]

I got a surprising letter from II in the mail yesterday, stating that I'll get 3 years of II Platinum (a $654 value) if I deposit my week with them before 2/14/16. ...

So, the offer is you'd have to pay the regular II annual fee, and then you'd get a free upgrade to Platinum for three years? If they would also make the basic II membership free, then it would be a *real* deal!

 

[swazzie]

I'd be careful if you have something in RCI points. I bought a week in 2010 that was in Points but didn't open an account and have it transferred to me. Once that time lapsed of it not in RCI, I would have to go back through the developer to get it back in points. That wasn't an option so I deeded it back to the resort and bought one there that was still in points.

The unit that I may deposit with II is not an RCI Points unit and I won't deposit it with RCI Weeks due to the low TPU rating. I own other timeshares that I use with my RCI Points account.

 

[swazzie]

So, the offer is you'd have to pay the regular II annual fee, and then you'd get a free upgrade to Platinum for three years? If they would also make the basic II membership free, then it would be a *real* deal!

The offer is that the Basic and Platinum will be paid for 3 years if I deposit a week. It appears to be targeted so I was wondering if anyone else here got it, too.

 

[swazzie]

I received similar offers of inducement for deposit of my weeks at the Jockey Club in Las Vegas over the past twenty-five years. I took the offers when I was likely to deposit eventually anyway. I would not deposit just to get the "deal," but neither would I turn down the deal if it fit my existing plans.

Glad to see someone else has gotten an offer like this before. I'm still thinking if this will fit my existing plans.

 

[JudyS]

The offer is that the Basic and Platinum will be paid for 3 years if I deposit a week. It appears to be targeted so I was wondering if anyone else here got it, too.

That's an impressive offer. (I don't know anything about your chances of getting the exchange you want, though.)