II E-Plus vs. Retrade

[2rebecca]

I've been purchasing E-Plus for the last several. When it was under $60 it made sense to use it as 1) an inexpensive way to upgrade to a better room or resort at our vacation destination and 2) as a form of quasi-insurance. The price increase ($89) last year has made it a less attractive option. I have a couple more days to decide whether I want to purchase it for my latest exchange. So, I'm debating on spending $89 on something I may not use, or spending nothing now and using the retrade option in the future if something unforeseeable comes up and I need to cancel. I've never used the retrade option. Are there any disadvantages to using it? I read through the buyer's guide and it looks like both E-Plus & Retrade work the same when it comes to exchanging in the 59-day and 7-day windows. Are there any other differences besides E-Plus comes with 3 retrades and Retrade is just one? Do they both have the same trading power?

 

[VacationForever]

Based on my memory, ePlus's expiration for the last ePlus trade is one year from the very first trade. Re-Trade does not alter the expiration date, and takes on the original deposit date + 2 years. Trading power should be the same, as it is dependent on the deposit. Obviously, retrade is alot more expensive.

 

[dioxide45]

I've been purchasing E-Plus for the last several. When it was under $60 it made sense to use it as 1) an inexpensive way to upgrade to a better room or resort at our vacation destination and 2) as a form of quasi-insurance. The price increase ($89) last year has made it a less attractive option. I have a couple more days to decide whether I want to purchase it for my latest exchange. So, I'm debating on spending $89 on something I may not use, or spending nothing now and using the retrade option in the future if something unforeseeable comes up and I need to cancel. I've never used the retrade option. Are there any disadvantages to using it? I read through the buyer's guide and it looks like both E-Plus & Retrade work the same when it comes to exchanging in the 59-day and 7-day windows. Are there any other differences besides E-Plus comes with 3 retrades and Retrade is just one? Do they both have the same trading power?

Retrading works differently in the 59 day window. With a retrade you can only see out 59 days from the current date where with Eplus you can see out 59 days past the checkin date of your current exchange. Outside of that, the decision is really to determine is the cost worth the risk. If you own enrolled Marriott weeks, then there isn't much risk other than the 59 day issue I noted earlier.

 

[Venter]

I'm not sure about my next statement but I think once you retrade you can actually bue Eplus on your retrade.

 

[TheHappyWanderer]

I'm not sure about my next statement but I think once you retrade you can actually bue Eplus on your retrade.

Can anyone confirm if that's true? If I don't buy E-Plus on the original exchange, then later pay $229 for a retrade, do I have 5 days to buy E-Plus on that full price retrade?

 

[dioxide45]

Can anyone confirm if that's true? If I don't buy E-Plus on the original exchange, then later pay $229 for a retrade, do I have 5 days to buy E-Plus on that full price retrade?

Yes, this is correct. Whenever we do a retrade we see the option to add Eplus.

 

[2rebecca]

Based on my memory, ePlus's expiration for the last ePlus trade is one year from the very first trade. Re-Trade does not alter the expiration date, and takes on the original deposit date + 2 years. Trading power should be the same, as it is dependent on the deposit. Obviously, retrade is alot more expensive.

Interesting. I thought I read in the buyer guide that it was one year from the day of cancellation of the original exchange. That seemed odd which prompted me to post here! If what you're saying is true, it might not make much difference in my case. My deposit had a check-in day of 5/7/23, so it doesn't expire until 5/7/25. My confirmation has a check-in 6/9/24. If I purchase e-Plus my latest retrade would be 6/9/25 and if I do a retrade the latest check-in date would revert to 5/7/25. So, e-Plus would give me an extra month of possible trades. Did I summarize that correctly? If so, that might be worth purchasing ePlus since it would get me a few extra weeks during the kids' summer break, should I need to use it.

Retrading works differently in the 59 day window. With a retrade you can only see out 59 days from the current date where with Eplus you can see out 59 days past the checkin date of your current exchange. Outside of that, the decision is really to determine is the cost worth the risk. If you own enrolled Marriott weeks, then there isn't much risk other than the 59 day issue I noted earlier.

Well, no wonder there are always so many questions about the 59-day window. It would be too easy if it all worked the same! LOL! I don't own Marriott.

Thanks everyone for all the help!

 

[VacationForever]

Interesting. I thought I read in the buyer guide that it was one year from the day of cancellation of the original exchange. That seemed odd which prompted me to post here! If what you're saying is true, it might not make much difference in my case. My deposit had a check-in day of 5/7/23, so it doesn't expire until 5/7/25. My confirmation has a check-in 6/9/24. If I purchase e-Plus my latest retrade would be 6/9/25 and if I do a retrade the latest check-in date would revert to 5/7/25. So, e-Plus would give me an extra month of possible trades. Did I summarize that correctly? If so, that might be worth purchasing ePlus since it would get me a few extra weeks during the kids' summer break, should I need to use it.

Thanks everyone for all the help!

That is from my understanding and memory. In fact if you had initially traded into a May 2025 and you add an ePlus, it would have extended trading until May 2026.

Cancellation is a different ball game. Cancellation gives you a replacement certificate/week which is good for one year.

 

[klpca]

Can't you add an ongoing search on a retrade? I have only done a retrade once or twice and it has been a few years so I am a bit unsure, but if you can that is a plus for the retrade option. With eplus you are doing manual searches. And no doubt, there is some drop in trade power with eplus. (Anecdotally, not officially, but trade tests show the reduction).

 

[VacationForever]

Can't you add an ongoing search on a retrade? I have only done a retrade once or twice and it has been a few years so I am a bit unsure, but if you can that is a plus for the retrade option. With eplus you are doing manual searches. And no doubt, there is some drop in trade power with eplus. (Anecdotally, not officially, but trade tests show the reduction).

You cannot add an ongoing search on a retrade. You can do it on a replacement certificate, where you cancel your exchanged week.

 

[dioxide45]

Can't you add an ongoing search on a retrade? I have only done a retrade once or twice and it has been a few years so I am a bit unsure, but if you can that is a plus for the retrade option. With eplus you are doing manual searches. And no doubt, there is some drop in trade power with eplus. (Anecdotally, not officially, but trade tests show the reduction).

Some people have reported potential drops in trade power and certainly the best weeks get scooped up via ongoing searches. Most of those trade power drop reports are somewhat anecdotal. We also have seen where calling and talking to a rep may get better results. They may be able to see more than what you can see online and they can also often Eplus retrade out of the 59 day window.

 

[klpca]

Some people have reported potential drops in trade power and certainly the best weeks get scooped up via ongoing searches. Most of those trade power drop reports are somewhat anecdotal. We also have seen where calling and talking to a rep may get better results. They may be able to see more than what you can see online and they can also often Eplus retrade out of the 59 day window.

Good to know that calling may help. I can usually see almost everything with eplus, but sometimes I may only see 2 out of 4 week available, or only see studios when 1 bedroom units are available.

 

[klpca]

You cannot add an ongoing search on a retrade. You can do it on a replacement certificate, where you cancel your exchanged week.

Now that you mention it, it was a replacement week where I saw it.

 

[2rebecca]

Again, thank you all for the information! It has been helpful! One more question..what is the difference between a retrade and replacement week? Is a retrade immediate and the replacement week is when you know you don't want the confirmed exchange, but you are not ready to commit to a new location? So, one is immediate and the other gives you time to search for something else and place a request? Are there any known differences in trade power between the two? Is the replacement week restricted like an AC?