Need Hawaii Help-Dean?

[westjones]

OH! I see now. The 'exchange' lets you get a week for about 150 points, but the nightly rate hotels take a lot more points (but are easier to get).

OK, I will have to give this a lot more thought and research. We are looking at the summer of 2007 (I know, that sounds far away, but that is our 25th wedding anniversary AND I want to plan around it with our points for the next couple of years making sure we have enough).

Thanks for the information, I am going to keep researching this so I understand it better. Maybe someone will be doing this in the next year and will share their experiences with the group.

DJ

 

[deerh]

OK, I will have to give this a lot more thought and research. We are looking at the summer of 2007 (I know, that sounds far away, but that is our 25th wedding anniversary AND I want to plan around it with our points for the next couple of years making sure we have enough).

By:Westjones


Hey, Our 25th anniversary is next year, 2005, and we are planning a Hawaii vacation as well.
So far I have requested two 1 BR units OR a 2BR unit for the following in Maui ONLY: (for now, may expand to Hawaii)

Westin, Marriott, Sands of Kahana. I put in for them for June 3, 05-July 21, 05. We will see what they come up with with a 7 week time span! I hope our chances are good, don't know yet.
We want 2BR unit for other couples is why we went that route.

DeerH

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by deerh
By:Westjones


Hey, Our 25th anniversary is next year, 2005, and we are planning a Hawaii vacation as well.
So far I have requested two 1 BR units OR a 2BR unit for the following in Maui ONLY: (for now, may expand to Hawaii)

Westin, Marriott, Sands of Kahana. I put in for them for June 3, 05-July 21, 05. We will see what they come up with with a 7 week time span! I hope our chances are good, don't know yet.
We want 2BR unit for other couples is why we went that route.

DeerH

Why not the Embassy and Papakea as both are likely as good or better than SOK?

 

[deerh]

Sorry, I did leave out the Embassy as well. Have not added Papakea yet, will try to add that one as well. Thanks Dean!
Deerh

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by deerh
Sorry, I did leave out the Embassy as well. Have not added Papakea yet, will try to add that one as well. Thanks Dean!
Deerh

The Papakea and SOK are a little below the others but if I were going to consider SOK, I would the Papakea as well. And depending on the makeup of the group, one might consider One Napili Way as well. Namely for a laid back crowd that just wanted to relax and didn't have active kids.

 

[deerh]

Dean, More Questions for you!

1. When should I 'Give up' the search on Hawaii? What is the stopping point-Jan of 05, or Feb, or earlier.
2. Also, when I am shopping my "plan B' of NO exchange, ala AAA package, etc the fine print says any cancellation will cost $45/person. IF I take the kids this is $180! OUCH, even if I buy the insurance, that is $49/person, still out $200 or so. Any suggestions on "plan B"?

Or, any other thoughts you might give this? I KNOW it is early yet, just trying to get my apples in the cart so to speak!
Thanks!
DeerH

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by deerh
Dean, More Questions for you!

1. When should I 'Give up' the search on Hawaii? What is the stopping point-Jan of 05, or Feb, or earlier.
2. Also, when I am shopping my "plan B' of NO exchange, ala AAA package, etc the fine print says any cancellation will cost $45/person. IF I take the kids this is $180! OUCH, even if I buy the insurance, that is $49/person, still out $200 or so. Any suggestions on "plan B"?

Or, any other thoughts you might give this? I KNOW it is early yet, just trying to get my apples in the cart so to speak!
Thanks!
DeerH

Personally, I'd try to put myself in a position where I could wait until say 5-7 days before the trip to give up. You can always book directly with many hotels and condo rental companies. The cancellation policies will vary but many of the condos will still let you cancel fairly late without penalty, I think many are 30 days but some are much less. The extra charge is imposed by AAA, it's the fallout of the airlines cuting their comissions. You can usually book with the same hotels directly, get the AAA rate and have cancellation dates 3-5 days before travel. I don't know what Delta's and AA travel companies or on line like Expedia are doing in this area.

As I noted earlier, getting your air is likely more important than anything else and should likely drive the deal for most people.

 

[Smurf]

Reading everyone's replies -
Had to add my 2 cents:
Today added 2 more weeks and 3 more resorts to our Exchange for September 2005 with Member Services - have now the MAUI Marriott, Sands of Kahana, the Westin, Kaanapali Keys and the Embassy.
Hopefully it will go through -- doing research I discovered the Maui Marathon is September 2005, and a Taste of Lahaina is on in September - brings lots of tourism to the island!
I'm starting to feel the pressure!