Interval Exchange

[SamS]

My wife and I were doing some "retirement fantasizing" over the weekend, looking at DVC exchanges and thinking about cruising. Contrary to a post last week about cruising on points not being such a bad deal, it doesn't look like a reasonable use of points to us. The "three-tiered" interval exchange point schedule, on the other hand, does look like a reasonable point value. We were looking at one bedroom, because there will generally just be the two of us on these trips. At first I thought that there had to be a catch, perhaps X number of points per person per day, instead of per day, but it appears that the schedule is for the room, not per person. I realize that in most cases there will not be a kitchenette like in the DVC studios, but all-in-all, these exchanges look quite attractive. Concierge exchanges, on the other hand, seem pretty "pricey". Are we missing something?

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by SamS
At first I thought that there had to be a catch, perhaps X number of points per person per day, instead of per day, but it appears that the schedule is for the room, not per person. I realize that in most cases there will not be a kitchenette like in the DVC studios, but all-in-all, these exchanges look quite attractive. Concierge exchanges, on the other hand, seem pretty "pricey". Are we missing something?

The point values are for a 7-night stay in whatever size unit is indicated.

Actually, in most cases, a 1BR will have a full kitchen, just like at a DVC resort. There are exceptions, such as Marriott's Ocean Club in Maui, Marriott's Beach Club in Kauai, and Marriott's Custom House in Boston, where there are limited kitchens — but those three would be really great trades if you could get them with the values shown on the DVC World Passport Collection chart.

The catch is that there are a lot more II members trying to exchange into the most desrable locations than there are owners at those locations deposting their weeks with II. And at branded collections (such as Marriott, Starwood, Four Seasons, and Hyatt), owners at other resorts within those collections have a priority over others. So it takes lots of advance planning and some luck.

I agree that the Concierge Collection is "pricey," but it can be an option if you have surplus points and you're going someplace where you might otherwise spend many hundreds of dollars per night.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Another catch is that a fair number of the II properties on the WPC list have only 2BR rooms.

 

[SamS]

As I said in my original post, it's just the two of us at home (son is grown and has his own family). Two bedrooms will be great when we get old, and can't stand to sleep together anymore! LOL!

 

[Dean]

I feel II exchanges are the best other option for DVC. Still, 160-270 points ($1600-2700 value) can be pretty high for many of the options. Others are worth every penny. Each resort and exchange option must be evaluated on their own merrit.

Unfortunately most DVC members never get well versed on the ins and outs of the II exchange system and integral knowledge is paramount to long term success and to avoiding disappointments.

 

[SamS]

I'm new to DVC, and still learning. My wife and I have no immediate plans for use of II exchanges, but may in several years, certainly when retirment becomes a reality. What about others on this forum? What experiences have you had with II exchanges? Which did you believe to be good values? Which were, in your opinion, not worth the number of points you had to use? We are particularly interested in one-room accomodations. (We intend to take our son & family with us to WDW on a regular basis, but for the most part, will be making plans for just the two of us outside the DVC properties.

 

[WolfpackFan]

I also have a question about II exchanges. We would like to exchange, at some point, with a resort somewhere "out west". I know this is kind of nebulus - but we live on the east coast and even though we have been to California, we've never been to any of the States such as Arizona, Colorado, Montana, etc. We have in mind going somewhere and stay a week and kind of use it as a base of operations to sitesee in the surrounding area. Our main interest is wanting to see some pretty mountains, etc. and see some "western" stuff. Does anyone have any experiences exchanging with any II resorts that our "out west".

Thanks <- hoping folks don't laugh too hard at my post

 

[SamS]

My wife and I have done three western trips, one with our son, and two as a couple, but both were camping trips in or near the national parks. The west is fabulous, but I know virtually nothing about resorts "out there" except for the hotels in the National Parks (which are fabulous, but not part of the II exchange or Concierge Collection to my knowledge). I share the previous poster's curiousity about "western" properties.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by WolfpackFan
I also have a question about II exchanges. We would like to exchange, at some point, with a resort somewhere "out west". I know this is kind of nebulus - but we live on the east coast and even though we have been to California, we've never been to any of the States such as Arizona, Colorado, Montana, etc. We have in mind going somewhere and stay a week and kind of use it as a base of operations to sitesee in the surrounding area. Our main interest is wanting to see some pretty mountains, etc. and see some "western" stuff. Does anyone have any experiences exchanging with any II resorts that our "out west".

Thanks <- hoping folks don't laugh too hard at my post

How about CO with one of the Marriott's, St. James or maybe Franz Klammer Lodge. Or the Marriott's in Utah. Or Club Intrawest at Whistler. Maybe Marriott's Newport Coast south of Disney land. Or the Four Seasons in CA. Just had someone offer me a direct exchange for a 2 BR there for next 4 July but don't think I can travel that far then. Branson MO comes to mind as does Hershey. AZ has several top resorts as well. There are many options depending on what you want.

 

[SamS]

Just bumping this up to see if any others have had II exchange experiences they would like to share with us.