Expensive to Start Exchanging!

[siesta]

You can look outside your membership range but if you try to confirm an instant exchange, you will need to renew you membership before it will allow the exchange to be made.

This makes sense: if confirming exchnage past current membership, they require you to extend membership. but michael saying he was unable to search past the timeframe of his membership doesn't, unless it was an ongoing search request and not instant exchange inventory.

 

[DeniseM]

This makes sense: if confirming exchnage past current membership, they require you to extend membership. but michael saying he was unable to search past the timeframe of his membership doesn't.

He was referring to "on-going searches." You can't request an on-going search outside of your membership time frame.

 

[siesta]

He was referring to "on-going searches." You can't request an on-going search outside of your membership time frame.

really? You can assume he meant that, but reading his first post analytically, that does not seem to be definitive.

"When I realized I could only search within that year, I ponied up another $356 for a 5 year extension of my account."

Its not till the next line where he then mentions setting up ongoing searches, which may or may not have anything to do with what he was referring to before.

 

[DeniseM]

Since you can do online searches outside your membership, but you can't do ongoing-searches, the only logical answer is that he was referring to on-going searches.

 

[siesta]

Since you can do online searches outside your membership, but you can't do ongoing-searches, the only logical answer is that he was referring to on-going searches.

"No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical." - Niels Bohr

 

[jdunn1]

Interval is so different from RCI, it's hard to understand without using each system for a while. With RCI a great deal of weight is put on how long you have been waiting for an exchange, and there are no internal trade preference peirods. With II, it doesn't matter how long you have been waiting for an exchange is someone wants the same trade as you do and that person had a better deposit, they will get the trade over you every time.

I've been in II for just over two years with Marriott and just under two years with Worldmark, though it feels like much longer since trades are so far and few between in II.

As a Marriott owner, I really appreciate the trade prefernce we get. As a Worldmark owner, I hate the Marriott and Starwood preference. It is almost impossible to get a ski week in anything other than a studio and it is 100% impossible to get a Carolina summer beach week, and I would immagine a summer NCV week is out of the question, too. My experience has been just plain aweful waiting and hoping a trade request will come through in Interval for a Marriott and Starwood week. With that said, I am always looking for a summer week or a holiday week of some kind. I would immagine other weeks are less difficult, but II will leave you high and dry for an exchange 8 out of 10 times, if you let them.

With Worldmark, I have done all but one exchange by finding it on my own in the on-line inventory. The one exception for me was a presidents day week exchange for Marriott's Mountain Valley that I got this past February. I got that exchange almost exactly 12 months out and it was a studio. No luck trying to get a one bedroom.

Using my WorldMark account this year, I got a couple Marriott matches in II exactly 12 months before check-in date. These were both holiday week matches, but in not prime Marriott resorts (Mountain Valley presidents day week studio) and (Legends Edge Easter week). I didn't confirm the Legend's Edge week because the resort is not on the ocean and I was concerned the ocean would be cold the first week of April.

My experience in II this year when using WorldMark to exchange for Marriott has been this: If I am going to get a match I get the confirmation exactly 12 months before check-in. If my exchange request is even 11 months before check-in, I have missed the boat already on any possible exchange. Kind of wierd, I know. I even tried for an Easter exchange into Hilton Head this year within flex time (my exchange was started over a year ago) and I never got a match despite there beeing several matching weeks within 60 days of checkin that I could see with my Marriott account.

When using II with my Marriott weeks, it is an entirely different and much better experience. Most times you will get a match in Interval if you are exchanging like size units. You get matches at all times, not just 12 months out. I got matched with my Easter 2012 Hilton Head week in July of 2011 using a Marriott deposit. I had the same search request going in II using my WorldMark points and that exchange never happened, not even in flex time.

Interval and RCI are just so different. In RCI you can have a bunch of garbage weeks, and combine them and then get on a waiting list and you can get the best weeks RCI has to offer. With II, nothing could be further from the truth. If you do not have a name brand resort in Interval, I just do not see how you can get Marriott and Starwood and Hyatt weeks via an ongoing search unless you are looking for Orlando or Vegas or the desert or way off season weeks at some the of the beach resorts.

 

[travelguy]

Exchanging works VERY well for me on RCI (where my typical total cost per exchange is well under half of what it would cost to own there) and I'm sure it'll work out just about as good at II.

It's just the UPFRONT costs that I'm pointing out. I'm four months into my II membership, have sunk over $900 (and four deposited weeks), and haven't received my first exchange yet.

Give me a couple years, and I'm sure I'll be as ecstatic about exchanging on II as I am on RCI.

No doubt you WILL be ecstatic about exchanging on II.

I'm doing just the opposite as you - I have justed gotten title to my CMV UDI but have been using II for several decades to exchange the other timeshares that I own (about 4 wks per year in II alone). Can't wait to get the stockpile of weeks setup for trades in II.

I also try for very specific, high end resorts way in advance for semi-specific dates and have a pretty good "hit" rate in II. I setup ongoing exchanges in RCI, II, SFX and HGVC/RCI and then cancel the others when one hits. Be patient and your investment in II should pay off.

 

[Bourne]

Interval is so different from RCI, it's hard to understand without using each system for a while. With RCI a great deal of weight is put on how long you have been waiting for an exchange, and there are no internal trade preference peirods. With II, it doesn't matter how long you have been waiting for an exchange is someone wants the same trade as you do and that person had a better deposit, they will get the trade over you every time.
...
...
....
Interval and RCI are just so different. In RCI you can have a bunch of garbage weeks, and combine them and then get on a waiting list and you can get the best weeks RCI has to offer. With II, nothing could be further from the truth. If you do not have a name brand resort in Interval, I just do not see how you can get Marriott and Starwood and Hyatt weeks via an ongoing search unless you are looking for Orlando or Vegas or the desert or way off season weeks at some the of the beach resorts.

RCI used to be same like II until last year. Wyndham/Shell/Diamond etc internal priorities existed.

To me, the new changes create an equitable playing field as well as the fact that nothing is hidden anymore. Many may call the current system flawed but you cannot ignore that fact that it is nore open now.

 

[MichaelColey]

He was referring to "on-going searches." You can't request an on-going search outside of your membership time frame.

really? You can assume he meant that, but reading his first post analytically, that does not seem to be definitive.

"When I realized I could only search within that year, I ponied up another $356 for a 5 year extension of my account."

Sorry for the confusion. I was talking about ongoing searches.

With II, it doesn't matter how long you have been waiting for an exchange is someone wants the same trade as you do and that person had a better deposit, they will get the trade over you every time.

Not necessarily what works best for me, but in a week-for-week system, that is certainly the most fair way to do it. Thanks for the insight!

 

[WinniWoman]

Donita Glitch operates DVU, Donita's Vacations Unlimited. She owned the company that Dial an Exchange bought out here in the US. She had a no compete clause for a few years and is finally getting back in the business.

I used her before she sold to DAE and while she was with them. She's very knowledgeable about the business and has been doing it for some time now. You get very personalized service with her.

http://www.donita.com/


VRI*ety is the exchange arm of Vacation Resorts International, or VRI. If you own at a resort managed by VRI you are a member with no charge. You can deposit your non VRI resorts with them also.




http://www.vrietyexchange.com/

If you'd like to get a VRI property to start exchanging there, I have one in the TUGG classifieds for free . PM me for details if you're interested. Once you're a member you can deposit any of your weeks with them and use their "Hot Deals." You need to sign in to see the hot deals.

Thanks for the info. As for a VRI property- no thanks. I use my 2 timeshare weeks every year now at my home resort and rent for extra vacations.

 

[jdunn1]

I never knew this. Thanks.

...and Michael, I meant to add that if you can take a studio or even two studios, you can get those more frequently in II, even for prime Marriott weeks. Most Marriott owners want one bedrooms or larger so if you find a resort that offers lock offs, the studios can usually be had outside of the preference period. Larger units are really tough for many locations, but not studios. I also think you should land your Marriott Vegas week. That resort has lots of availability in II outside of holidy weeks, and even then holiday weeks do happen.

RCI used to be same like II until last year. Wyndham/Shell/Diamond etc internal priorities existed.

To me, the new changes create an equitable playing field as well as the fact that nothing is hidden anymore. Many may call the current system flawed but you cannot ignore that fact that it is nore open now.

 

[Bourne]

Miss the good old days when a 1br crappy branson could pull a 3br Waterside in peak summer
or
a 42K Wyndham deposit could pull Aug Wyn Ocean Blvd..

it was good while it lasted..

I am assuming this was the reason why Shell left RCI for II. They wanted the internal preference intact. It helps developers as they can sell off season weeks touting internal preference.

 

[MuranoJo]

If I bought only where I wanted to go, I'd be overpaying by a large margin. Even after factoring in II membership fees and exchange fees, I've paid a small fraction of what maintenance fees were for the units I've traded into. To the extent you're willing to travel at off-peak times, the "buy where you want to go" advice is far overdone.

+1. At this stage in our lives, we like to explore. You know, you can go 'all over the world' and visit any timeshare in the RCI Directory. :hysterical:

If a favorite location is within driving proximity, we'd probably take our travel trailer.

IMO, the ideal is a location you like to go to, AND one that is an 'event' or holiday week that exchanges well and rents for more than your m/f.

 

[chriskre]

If you know what you are doing, you can trade in for a tiny fraction of the cost of owning at the high dollar resorts.

Denise is right. There is a learning curve in II but I'm sure you'll have no problem mastering that and you'll be telling us all about those great trades.

No doubt you WILL be ecstatic about exchanging on II.

I'm doing just the opposite as you - I have justed gotten title to my CMV UDI but have been using II for several decades to exchange the other timeshares that I own (about 4 wks per year in II alone). Can't wait to get the stockpile of weeks setup for trades in II.

I also try for very specific, high end resorts way in advance for semi-specific dates and have a pretty good "hit" rate in II. I setup ongoing exchanges in RCI, II, SFX and HGVC/RCI and then cancel the others when one hits. Be patient and your investment in II should pay off.

It's surprising what nice weeks you will see with a CMV white week. I think you need to do your own searching though as I'm not sure how good those ongoing searches do. I see lots of goodies for next year but I can't plan that far ahead. Still plenty of Marriotts to choose from including bigger units.

I've spent $902 with them since I joined 4 months ago, and haven't got a single exchange yet..................
I know my ongoing expenses will be much more in line with what I actually exchange, but those upfront expenses sure add up.

Look at it as an educational expense. You can probably write an ebook with all you're gonna learn for that $900 course and if you average it out over 5 years it's really not that much considering all the great places you're gonna go to.

 

[Carolinian]

RCI used to be same like II until last year. Wyndham/Shell/Diamond etc internal priorities existed.

To me, the new changes create an equitable playing field as well as the fact that nothing is hidden anymore. Many may call the current system flawed but you cannot ignore that fact that it is nore open now.

I have wondered if the European preference survived. It used to be that RCI ringfenced some of their better European inventory that was only availible to European members. I remember back when I switched my RCI account from North America to Europe, and suddenly there was quite a bit of better inventory availilbe that I had not been able to see before.

From some comments on another site, it appeared that preference may have survived.

There are good and bad aspects of the new system, and you have indeed identified one of the few good aspects of it in deleting developer preferences. However, this is countered by RCI overpointing some favored developers, so they just find a different way to put their thumb on the scales for their friends.

 

[Carolinian]

As others have said, this is why I like the Club Wyndham Points system:
No Exchange Fees; No Insurance Fees; Partial week reservations; Plenty of nice resorts; Better resort availability within the Club Wyndham system (and at closer-in times) than in the external exchange systems

For avaibilitiy in the UK this summer, UKRE will beat your Club Wyndham, RCI, or DAE, and probably all of them combined. From what I see on another site from an II insider who posts there, I strongly suspect that II would be also on that list.

 

[Carolinian]

I worked with Donita Cilch when she was at DAE - great lady with great timeshare connections. Unfortunately, she is not doing much at the moment on European exchanges.

Donita Glitch operates DVU, Donita's Vacations Unlimited. She owned the company that Dial an Exchange bought out here in the US. She had a no compete clause for a few years and is finally getting back in the business.

I used her before she sold to DAE and while she was with them. She's very knowledgeable about the business and has been doing it for some time now. You get very personalized service with her.

http://www.donita.com/


VRI*ety is the exchange arm of Vacation Resorts International, or VRI. If you own at a resort managed by VRI you are a member with no charge. You can deposit your non VRI resorts with them also.

http://www.vrietyexchange.com/

If you'd like to get a VRI property to start exchanging there, I have one in the TUGG classifieds for free . PM me for details if you're interested. Once you're a member you can deposit any of your weeks with them and use their "Hot Deals." You need to sign in to see the hot deals.

 

[MichaelColey]

I meant to add that if you can take a studio or even two studios, you can get those more frequently in II, even for prime Marriott weeks. Most Marriott owners want one bedrooms or larger so if you find a resort that offers lock offs, the studios can usually be had outside of the preference period. Larger units are really tough for many locations, but not studios. I also think you should land your Marriott Vegas week. That resort has lots of availability in II outside of holidy weeks, and even then holiday weeks do happen.

I never stay in a studio, unless it's somewhere (like NYC) where that's the only option. 2BR or larger for us.

I think the Vegas Marriott will be the easiest for me to get, but I think NCV and MVF (off season) are both pretty good odds as well. Harborside at Atlantis is the only longshot.

And if I get all three of those, the $900 I sunk so far will be well worth it.

 

[Margariet]

I have wondered if the European preference survived. It used to be that RCI ringfenced some of their better European inventory that was only availible to European members. I remember back when I switched my RCI account from North America to Europe, and suddenly there was quite a bit of better inventory availilbe that I had not been able to see before.

From some comments on another site, it appeared that preference may have survived.

There are good and bad aspects of the new system, and you have indeed identified one of the few good aspects of it in deleting developer preferences. However, this is countered by RCI overpointing some favored developers, so they just find a different way to put their thumb on the scales for their friends.

Nowadays it's more the other way around. Not all timeshare developers show all their property to the non-American market. Like Hilton who rather prefers American buyers and is not very keen on giving too much inventory to Europeans. The European market is much harder to get into when it comes to timeshare. Eurpean customers are reluctant to buy timeshare and are hard bargain hunters.

 

[JeffW]

... It's just the UPFRONT costs that I'm pointing out. I'm four months into my II membership, have sunk over $900 (and four deposited weeks), and haven't received my first exchange yet.

Give me a couple years, and I'm sure I'll be as ecstatic about exchanging on II as I am on RCI.

So how is this any different from the timeshare purchase itself? Even if it's from a $1 purchase (though many people have paid 4-5 digits), there's transfer and other fees, than your first annual maintenance. Combined, I'm sure more than $900, getting you nothing more than the potential to travel.

I'm not saying the costs don't add up. But if just your Harbourside exchange comes through, you can total the m/f for the unit you used for the exchange, and all the fees you've mentioned in this thread, and likely come out ahead compared to if you paid for a rental of the unit.

Jeff

 

[Mel]

Interval is so different from RCI, it's hard to understand without using each system for a while. With RCI a great deal of weight is put on how long you have been waiting for an exchange, and there are no internal trade preference peirods. With II, it doesn't matter how long you have been waiting for an exchange is someone wants the same trade as you do and that person had a better deposit, they will get the trade over you every time.

I like RCI's system far better. The oldest request with adequate trade power always gets the exchange. Under the current system, if the the TPU required is 18, and there are 10 requests, the oldest request with at least 18 TPU gets it. If someone with 17 TPU requested it 2 years out, they don't get it because they don't have enough. If someone with 60 TPU (or a combined deposit with even more) requested yesterday, they don't get it because others with at least 18 requested before them. Otherwise there would be a real imbalance because owners of multiple weeks would be encouraged to combine everything for a high enough TPU to move to the front of the line. Under II's system, someone with just enough trade power (the equivalent of a true like for like exchange) is contantly being cut in line by those with more trade power. Add request first to the mix, and it hardly seems reasonable.

So how is this any different from the timeshare purchase itself? Even if it's from a $1 purchase (though many people have paid 4-5 digits), there's transfer and other fees, than your first annual maintenance. Combined, I'm sure more than $900, getting you nothing more than the potential to travel.

I'm not saying the costs don't add up. But if just your Harbourside exchange comes through, you can total the m/f for the unit you used for the exchange, and all the fees you've mentioned in this thread, and likely come out ahead compared to if you paid for a rental of the unit.

Also, most new owners (those who would be starting up with either company) might renew for several years, but are not likely to be paying multiple exchange fees right away. The problem isn't so much an issue of start-up cost as that Michael is jumping in with multiple trades, so is in effect paying multiple start-up costs, but in the end gets to divide that renewal cost among those multiple exchanges. Neither of the big exchange companies are particularly cost-effective for those who only own one week.

 

[MichaelColey]

So how is this any different from the timeshare purchase itself? Even if it's from a $1 purchase (though many people have paid 4-5 digits), there's transfer and other fees, than your first annual maintenance. Combined, I'm sure more than $900, getting you nothing more than the potential to travel.

It's not much different. But in comparison with just sticking with RCI (which I'm already utilizing and will continue to utilize), it's entirely incremental costs. I could have deposited those four units in RCI and set up ongoing searches at no upfront cost (with the current promotion, or $189 max the way RCI normally works).

In any case, I think I'll get good value out of II and that the extra flexibility, options and resort quality will be worth the extra expense.

 

[JeffW]

I guess I never saw the "request first" fees as being a big deal. When I'm seriously searching for an exchange, best case is you'd find a match immediately. In this case, you're basically ready to part with your money right away. So paying and not having an exchange immediately, just part of the process.

I don't know how others book trips, but there have been times I've booked airline tickets first while waiting for an exchange to come through (I know, risky). In that case, already having made a committment on the air tickets, a couple hundred dollars charged to a credit card for the ongoing search isn't a major inconvenience.

Jeff

 

[Saintsfanfl]

I guess I never saw the "request first" fees as being a big deal. When I'm seriously searching for an exchange, best case is you'd find a match immediately. In this case, you're basically ready to part with your money right away. So paying and not having an exchange immediately, just part of the process.

I don't know how others book trips, but there have been times I've booked airline tickets first while waiting for an exchange to come through (I know, risky). In that case, already having made a committment on the air tickets, a couple hundred dollars charged to a credit card for the ongoing search isn't a major inconvenience.

Jeff

I didn't realize you had to pay up front for an exchange request. I won't be doing it much because I am more interested in trying to up the size of my room rather than trying to book a prime week. What happens if you do not end up exchanging? Do you get a refund or credit?

 

[DeniseM]

I didn't realize you had to pay up front for an exchange request. I won't be doing it much because I am more interested in trying to up the size of my room rather than trying to book a prime week. What happens if you do not end up exchanging? Do you get a refund or credit?

Yes, with both RCI and II, you have to pay the exchange fee upfront, to put in an on-going request - but not to search for an instant online exchange.

You can get a refund if you don't get the exchange.