Has anyone used the Passport Collection

[mpusateri]

I called to try to use this and it does not sound like it works very well if you ever want to go anywhere popular at a popular time of the year. I called to try to go to HAwaii or Sanibel and thye tell me I have to go on a waitlist and see if anyone turns in any points. I would assume I will not find out for a while and then you are in danger of not having a backup plan if it falls through as well as not being able to book airline tickets early.

Is this as bad as I think or is it not so bad?

 

[Dean]

This is timeshare trading and it's foreign to most DVC members. You have to plan well ahead, be flexible and have a backup plan. You could certainly reserve at week at a DVC resort as backup including VB or HH for a beach option. It does make it difficult to use FF miles in many cases. Just remember that the chances of the really good stuff sitting in the bank with II is very slim. The only way to get the best options is with an ongoing search.

 

[rocketriter]

There are a couple of ways to make a trade within the II/DVC system. One is to watch your member newsletter for trades that are immediately available. There aren't very many at one time and they're variable in quality, but if you ask for one you make an instant match and there's no uncertainty. The other is to put in for several resorts and a range of dates, basically casting a wide net and waiting to see what fish swims into it. The process is much different from placing a reservation at a resort or at DVC itself. Basically you're swapping with other timeshare owners around the world, so the places that are available change constantly.