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II response to COVID-19

samara64

TUG Member
Joined
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Messages
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Location
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Dear Valued Member,

As we monitor coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact to our members, associates, and communities, please know your safety and well-being are of the utmost importance to us. We are closely following the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) travel guidelines as well as their recommendations on the steps to help prevent the spread of the virus.

We understand the uncertainty you may be experiencing with this situation, and encourage you to:
  • Follow the CDC travel updates. You may also want to visit the U.S. State Department website or the World Health Organization for more information.
  • Take appropriate steps as outlined by health authorities to safeguard your health and that of your family.
  • For specific questions about actions being taken by particular resorts or travel providers in response to the coronavirus, please visit their website or contact them directly.
If you’ve booked a vacation with Interval for travel that begins within the next 30 days and have questions, please contact:
  • 1-800-INTERVAL (1-800-468-3782) for Exchange, Getaways and Accommodation Certificates.
  • 1-800-622-1540 for Cruises and all other travel.
As you continue to make your future travel plans with Interval, we recommend purchasing E-Plus for exchanges. E-Plus offers the added flexibility to retrade a confirmed exchange for any reason up to three times for a different destination, resort, unit size, or travel date.

We will continue to monitor this evolving situation and remain dedicated to being your resource for all your travel needs.

Thank you for your membership.
mail

Jeanette Marbert
President
Interval International
 
Dear Valued Member,

As we monitor coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact to our members, associates, and communities, please know your safety and well-being are of the utmost importance to us. We are closely following the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) travel guidelines as well as their recommendations on the steps to help prevent the spread of the virus.

We understand the uncertainty you may be experiencing with this situation, and encourage you to:
  • Follow the CDC travel updates. You may also want to visit the U.S. State Department website or the World Health Organization for more information.
  • Take appropriate steps as outlined by health authorities to safeguard your health and that of your family.
  • For specific questions about actions being taken by particular resorts or travel providers in response to the coronavirus, please visit their website or contact them directly.
If you’ve booked a vacation with Interval for travel that begins within the next 30 days and have questions, please contact:
  • 1-800-INTERVAL (1-800-468-3782) for Exchange, Getaways and Accommodation Certificates.
  • 1-800-622-1540 for Cruises and all other travel.
As you continue to make your future travel plans with Interval, we recommend purchasing E-Plus for exchanges. E-Plus offers the added flexibility to retrade a confirmed exchange for any reason up to three times for a different destination, resort, unit size, or travel date.

We will continue to monitor this evolving situation and remain dedicated to being your resource for all your travel needs.

Thank you for your membership.
mail

Jeanette Marbert
President
Interval International
Nice of them to offer no official alternative, but take time to plug their insurance.
 
I personally am not expecting any business to take the brunt of my losses due to the coronavirus. This is affecting everyone, consumers and businesses. We all have to share the burden.
 
New email from Interval [meanwhile radio silence from RCI]

EXCHANGES:
  • For all exchanges with check-in dates through April 30, 2020, members may change their destination and/or travel date without incurring an additional exchange fee. Travel must be completed by December 31, 2020. If you prefer more time to travel, we can provide you with our standard fee-based replacement-week certificate, which is good for one year.
  • For all exchanges with a check-in date after April 30, 2020, our standard exchange cancellation policies apply. We commit that we will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as necessary.
  • Members who make exchanges between March 14, 2020, and April 30, 2020, will have the option to retrade to another available destination and/or date if your plans change — without incurring an additional exchange fee.
 
I just saw the new letter and will call in. The 30 day window is too restrictive because we can’t get a 2bdrm in the 30 day window.
 
So my week will have expired by December 2020. I have a week reserved at Marriott’s Fairway Villas for April 26-May 3rd. What happens if I cancel the trip?
 
So my week will have expired by December 2020. I have a week reserved at Marriott’s Fairway Villas for April 26-May 3rd. What happens if I cancel the trip?
typically a replacement week is good for 1 year from the date you made the cancellation. If you are within flex then the replacement week is only good during flex. I would think you can cancel what you have now, and book something for late December and then when you are still outside of flex cancel that and get a replacement good for one year. You would have to pay the exchange fee on the replacement week.
 
I have been on hold for a little over 30 minutes with interval at this point.
 
I have been on hold for a little over 30 minutes with interval at this point.

Let us know what happens. I have a week coming up in April at MFC I sadly have to cancel. I want to see what options there are.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Including hold the call took 1hour and 13 minutes to Interval. She did have to put a supervisor override to get me out of flexchange. The trip was for March 28 that I was trading out of. I wanted Thanksgiving week Sun-Sun, at Grand Vista, I was using a Marriott exchange. I could see availability with other weeks. The best she could do was Friday to Friday checking out the day after Thanksgiving. Because it has the supervisor override I am not sure if it will allow me to cancel for an unrestricted replacement week if need be. I will probably be waiting to August or September to make that decision.

I did have an eplus trade remaining, it did use my last eplus retrade. Even if I didn't have eplus I think the result would have been the same.
 
Thank you for the update!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I was on hold for 45 minutes. Then it took the rep another 45 minutes to learn the policy. They FINALLY canceled my April 26th week and deposited a certificate into my account. It is supposedly good till March 2021.

Right now, when I select the cert it says I have to extend It. Wait I never asked for an extension! Huh? What did they do?

The rep said to give it awhile and eventually the cert will be good to March 2021 without payment.
 
Including hold the call took 1hour and 13 minutes to Interval. She did have to put a supervisor override to get me out of flexchange. The trip was for March 28 that I was trading out of. I wanted Thanksgiving week Sun-Sun, at Grand Vista, I was using a Marriott exchange. I could see availability with other weeks. The best she could do was Friday to Friday checking out the day after Thanksgiving. Because it has the supervisor override I am not sure if it will allow me to cancel for an unrestricted replacement week if need be. I will probably be waiting to August or September to make that decision.

I did have an eplus trade remaining, it did use my last eplus retrade. Even if I didn't have eplus I think the result would have been the same.
Thanks for the info. It appears we have no choice but to call in as trying to re-trade online restricts you to flexchange.
 
Thanks for the info. It appears we have no choice but to call in as trying to re-trade online restricts you to flexchange.
Yes. It would be nice if they could program the waiver with their own parameters so we could do it without calling in.
 
What got me was the rep I had at II really was not able to do anything by herself. In fact, she really had no clue how this whole thing worked. At first she told me my week didn’t qualify since it was April 26. I told her that the email said April 30th. It took 10 more minutes for her to check it out. But she tried to help me under very difficult conditions and I appreciate that. Who knows if I’ll ever get a free replacement week. I’m just glad I’m not going.
 
I have a check in at Marriott Grand Ocean for this coming Saturday. I will likely wait a couple of day and then call in.
 
I called and got through after half and hour. Since the AC was already deposited, there was nothing anyone could do supposedly. I have escalate since I the restrictive timeframe prevents me from booking 2bdrm. I wish I would have pushed the issue to have the week booked on Friday when there was availability ar a local resort. I have learned my lesson and will purchase E Plus going forward.
 
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What number did you guys call? When I call, they say they are closed today and it hangs up on me.
 
So is the new policy a replacement (bonus) week good until the end of Dec. without a 30 or flexchange restriction?
 
Called yesterday morning. Cancelled an upcoming stay in late April 2020. Got an AC that is good through Dec 31 2020. Same unit size as my deposit. No 30 day restriction on the AC.
 
I wouldn't mind a drive-to location. I think I am going to look at that with my cancelled week. A drive-to location that sounds appealing to me is Hyatt in San Antonio. I could visit my sister for a week. She would enjoy staying with us. It's probably going to be my plan.

Our cruise was supposed to start 4/19. That was a Mediterranean cruise out of Rome, then they changed to Barcelona, then they changed to another port. Now ports are closed, so it's just a cruise and not many stops. We are going to get our money back.
 
I contacted Mark via the tug email and ended up with a great solution. I had an exchange and an AC exchange for the first 2 weeks of April. The offer by II was to move the weeks to something by the end of the year, but my schedule is already pretty full. So I suggested, and got, the following:
Oct exchange was moved via one of my 2 remaining eplus retrades to a Dec 2021 week (eplus limitation on the Oct week was Dec 19, 2021). I looked through the inventory and found an available week (actually had 2 of them) and Mark was able to make one of them work. The week used to book my April exchange was then used to book the Oct week. So that exchange is the same, but just with a different underlying week.
I also had a back up suggestion of some Victoria weeks in case the above option didn't work. Mark was able to rebook my AC week into one of those. The alternative was a certificate to book something within 30 days, but the chances of me being able to use it by the end of the year are pretty slim so I think this is a win.

At the end of the day, the April exchange is now the Oct exchange and I have another week booked Dec 2021 that will give me time to find something next year. The AC for April is now booked for Thanksgiving in Victoria. I believe the key to getting the best option you can is to have ideas ready when you contact II, in whichever form it is. Look through the inventory and have some ideas to offer.

I am more than happy with the end result and give kudos to both Mark and II for their flexibility under difficult circumstances.

Sue
 
Just held for 48 minutes and I was cut off. It is an April 4 week so I have time.
 
So if I need to change a week that begins 4/18/20, and I purchased ePlus which says 2 of 3 trades remain, expiration date of 4/2021; Because it’s now within 59 days, are my 2 remaining trades for up to 59 days each, or is it the 4/2021 expiration date?
 
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