Trading for non-Disney properties?

[jellymoon]

Forgot to ask with my other question:

How difficult is it to use your points to do non-Disney travel through Interval? Is there a travel calculator for non-Disney resorts (for example in Hawaii, Europe, California, etc.?) Do the points generally go farther or shorter at a Disney vs. non-Disney Interval resort?

Thanks!
Jelly

 

[Dean]

That's a pretty broad question but I'll try to give you a fairly concise answer and you can expand from there if need be. Assume OKW Adventure, Dream or Magic season for exchanges for the same size unit as you are requesting.

As for being difficult, that depends. If you want what everyone else does at the same time they want it, things can be tough. Also, most II matches come in a between 2 and 6 months before travel, especially for MX and the Caribbean. You can put in for what you want and then see what happens. It's best to make a back up plan.

Direct exchanges with other timeshare owners can be a great way to supplement your options and can be investigated simultaneously with an exchange request through DVC-II. While you will get a comparable unit in terms of size, there are few resorts that compare to DVC. Maybe 35 or so total with most being Marriott's, Royals, Hyatt's, Four Seasons and the like. You will always do better using your points through DVC directly but it's nice to have alternatives.

 

[AnnK]

Dean,
If a person owns at two resorts, BWV and OKW can they choose to use their OKW points since the point values are lower and trade those? Let's say you want to trade for GV during Dream season, can you use your OKW points and trade for a 3-bdrm elsewhere? I haven't traded out yet, but I am considering it and I was just wondering how it works with DVC.

 

[CarolMN]

My understanding is that MS tells you how many points will be required for your requested trade before you have to accept or reject it. You can tell MS whether you want the points to come from your OKW contract or your BWV contract or a combination.

MS doesn't necessarily "trade" a room from one of the resorts that you own. MS selects the least expensive room that will meet the requirments for the trade. Frequently this will be a room at OKW or HHI and it will be in the "off-season".

HTH.

 

[AnnK]

Thanks Carol!
So I guess the best thing to do is call MS to find out how many points it will cost.

 

[Lisa P.]

...can you use your OKW points and trade for a 3-bdrm elsewhere?

Can you trade DVC 3BRs??? I've never seen that anyone has reported doing this... only once saw that someone was granted an upgrade (traded a 2BR and received a 3BR because that's what was available). Anyone know???

 

[Dean]

DVC does not trade 3 BR units by rule. It could be done as a private exchange or through an independent company. Why would anyone want to give up that many points though.