I'm trying to get caught up after a brief TUG hiatus and just saw this thread. I may not be the only one who posted such a thread, but I did post a thread about the GPX ongoing search. Maybe I just got a new employee when I called in, but they took all my info and as far as I could tell when I called back to check on it all they did was search at the time I originally called. No ongoing anything. I haven't bothered trying again. I just search the online availability a lot if I'm looking for something. At least I know something is happening even if the results are negative.
I have also noticed that availability has dropped, at least what I might be interested in booking. But, I also know that I have exchanged my spring CI week for winter/early spring in Hawaii four times and I have two weeks in Maui next March. These were 1 for 1 exchanges and I couldn't touch any of them in RCI with the 29-30 TPUs my week gets. Well, maybe the Maui which is at Valley Isle. But I don't think I could get Hanalei Bay Resort, Wyndham Kona Hawaiian, or The Modern Honolulu for the TPUs my week generates.
But lately the Hawaii availability has been almost entirely Kauai, and most of that is Kauai Beach Villas. Diamond resorts are still listed as affiliates but I'm not seeing as many. And I was searching a lot last year since I had two weeks that were expiring March of this year and couldn't be renewed. I did limit my search to the US, but otherwise I didn't put any restrictions on it. By November I had just about decided on one week in Sedona and one in Santa Fe in March when the two adjacent weeks popped up for The Modern Honolulu.
I usually start searching at the one year point. GPX opens up availability for an entire month on the first of that month. So, if you are searching for the end of August 2020, you can start searching on August 1, 2019. At least that's the way it has looked to me in the past. But, I also keep checking if I don't find something at the 1 year point. The GPX cancellation protection is not expensive and I suspect people make reservations they aren't sure of and later cancel. Or maybe some people are making late deposits. Like I do...
So, like other exchange companies, there are pluses and minuses. The GPX exchange fees have been going up as if they are trying to keep up with RCI. If you want to go to places on the west coast you may have a lot of choices. I'll probably check GPX first if I want another Hawaii exchange.