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II disappointment

AnnaO

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This was my first exchange (we always used our own units) and I am hugely disappointed with II. I could not go this month, due to covid, but the rest of the family, much younger and not at the same risk level still went. I tried to add my son's name on the certificate to make sure they can check in. II requested $69 for a guest certificate. What guest? It's still my family that was going there to begin with. I had already paid for 2 years of gold II membership + the cost of the exchange. Why would II want more money from me for the simple reason that I cannot go due to covid while the rest of my family is going? That feels like gouging and complete irresponsiveness to the hardships we all endure during the pandemic. The entire travel industry is making accommodations for travelers, but II refuses to show a simple gesture to members?! Paid members?! I will not renew my II membership.
 
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Is it just your name on the account? If you have a spouse, and their name is on the account and they go, then you wouldn't need a guest cert. But if the person/people checking in are not on the account that booked the exchange, yes, both II and RCI require a guest certificate.

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AnnaO

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Is it just your name on the account? If you have a spouse, and their name is on the account and they go, then you wouldn't need a guest cert. But if the person/people checking in are not on the account that booked the exchange, yes, both II and RCI require a guest certificate.

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You missed my point. No accommodations for the pandemic for paying members.
 

GrayFal

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If you had Platinum membership, the guest certificate would be free.
As @Shankilicious stated, only the people listed as owners can check in to an II exchange. It is not your owned week where you would simply call the resort or fill a form out online telling them who is coming. . On my II account, my husband, my daughter and I are listed as owners. Anyone else would need a guest cert.

I didn’t miss your point either. Just trying to help you understand the rules that you agreed to when you joined the exchange company.
 

Patri

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You missed my point. No accommodations for the pandemic for paying members.
Could you call a resort and say your son will be checking in first? Not say you aren’t coming at all. For the future.
 

DannyTS

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As GreyFal mentioned, the platinum membership comes with (5) free certificates. Sometimes you can get a 50% discount so it becomes cheaper than full price gold. Maybe you can ask them if you can upgrade retroactively and if they can refund the fee you paid.

Their revenue is down, they already had to deal with an increased volume of customer service for changes and cancellations. I understand you are upset about paying the fee but I do not see why in these circumstances they would make exceptions that would hurt them financially which would inevitably lead to increases of other charges. The certificate is not related to the pandemic and I would expect to pay the same for one, the same like I expect to pay more or less the same for everything else I buy daily. By the way, RCI is more expensive and it does not even include free certificates with the platinum membership.
 

AnnaO

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Could you call a resort and say your son will be checking in first? Not say you aren’t coming at all. For the future.
Haha, that's what we should have done. But if it's that easy, who pays for those certificates and why. It's a dubious charge to begin with, since the exchange rules require that the exchange is for personal use exclusively. But the lack of compassion and inability to accommodate impacted members makes it completely unpalatable to me. Clearly this exchange lifestyle is not for me.
 

AnnaO

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Their revenue is down, they already had to deal with an increased volume of customer service for changes and cancellations. I understand you are upset about paying the fee but I do not see why in these circumstances they would make exceptions that would hurt them financially which would inevitably lead to increases of other charges. The certificate is not related to the pandemic and I would expect to pay the same for one, the same like I expect to pay more or less the same for everything else I buy daily. By the way, RCI is more expensive and it does not even include free certificates with the platinum membership.
Airlines lost a lot more revenue and they still wave the change fees. It's called compassion.
 

dioxide45

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Airlines lost a lot more revenue and they still wave the change fees. It's called compassion.
Airlines are also getting billions of dollars in government COVID relief money. I am not so sure that II is getting the same.
 

CPNY

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Haha, that's what we should have done. But if it's that easy, who pays for those certificates and why. It's a dubious charge to begin with, since the exchange rules require that the exchange is for personal use exclusively. But the lack of compassion and inability to accommodate impacted members makes it completely unpalatable to me. Clearly this exchange lifestyle is not for me.
It’s a charge that has always been there. The first mistake was paying for gold membership and not platinum. Getting the free GC’s and lower getaway prices most times pays for the platinum membership.
 

klpca

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II was pretty accommodating during the pandemic actually. Last year they were allowing cancellations and giving people certificates for later use. I thought it was a nice gesture.

I agree with the options offered by others so that you don't have to purchase a guest certificate - which I agree, is a ridiculous charge. It's been there forever and it just a cash grab, imo. Afterall, you go online and do it yourself. But it is there in the T&C, so then it's all about understanding the rules and figuring out a way to minimize your cash outlay when exchanging. At this point I think that you just need to chalk this up as another cost of covid.
 

stevio99

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You can get your gold membership money back by telling them you want a pro-rated refund. They have to give it to you, its in their terms and conditions. Keep in mind the refund applies to gold and NOT for platinum (!). They frequently "forget" to process the refund, so hound them until they do.
 
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