Using Hotel Exchange in Interval International

[WDW Traveler]

I have a question about Interval International's Hotel Exchange.

My Step FIL has only used it once and it didn't go well (he booked a hotel in Mexico for his Stepson - come to find out, it was an all-inclusive and that part was NOT included with the points exchange so stepson ended up paying for everything else and it was unexpected - BUT that was partially his fault for not researching too.)

But anyhow!

Between my husband and I and my in-laws (2 contracts in only their name, 2 contracts they added our names to and Blue Card eligible) we have 118 2021 Banked points that are going to expire on November 30th of this year. Trips have already been taken and/or planned for this year and no one will be able to use the points before they expire.

We are going to Lake George, NY next year for a long weekend and talked to my in laws and figured they could transfer the expiring points into Interval International for us to use for a hotel in July 2024 rather than them expiring. (We know it's not a good use of points, but renting doesn't interest them (they are 83 & 81), and they have always used them as they see fit - WDW and cruises). FIL called Member Services today and they told him that he COULD NOT transfer the points into Interval to use for the Hotel Exchange with trip dates next year. He was told that if he transferred points today and left them there, he was only allowed to use the Vacation Exchange in the future. Is this correct?

What would be the point of Interval International if you HAVE to use the Vacation Exchange unless you are ready right now to book a hotel? (Our dates aren't even available to book, they are only showing dates through late June - we need mid-July) We only need a few hotel nights, not a weeks' vacation.

If we make a Hotel Exchange reservation BEFORE the points expire in November, for July 2024 - can we do that? What are our options at this point?

Does anyone have more knowledge on this? I will do some digging to see what I can find, but it's a little disappointing that you can't transfer the points before they expire and use them for both Hotel and Vacation Exchange for the additional couple of years they add.

Thank you!

 

[Brian Noble]

Interval isn't really a hotel booking platform. The hotel exchanges exist, but are usually not very good deals, and have to be "paid for" by renting out exchange inventory. It's also not just DVC owners; no Interval members can use existing deposits for hotel exchanges. From the Hotel Exchange FAQ;

• With the exception of accommodations that are provided on behalf of members by their home resort, hotel exchanges must be placed using the Request First exchange method and are only available as instant confirmations. Existing member deposits, late deposits, and open weeks within 90 days from check-in are ineligible for hotel exchange.
  

If you are willing to do it, you'd be much better off renting a DVC stay booked with your points, and using those proceeds to pay for the hotel you want.

 

[WDW Traveler]

Interval isn't really a hotel booking platform. The hotel exchanges exist, but are usually not very good deals, and have to be "paid for" by renting out exchange inventory. It's also not just DVC owners; no Interval members can use existing deposits for hotel exchanges. From the Hotel Exchange FAQ;

• With the exception of accommodations that are provided on behalf of members by their home resort, hotel exchanges must be placed using the Request First exchange method and are only available as instant confirmations. Existing member deposits, late deposits, and open weeks within 90 days from check-in are ineligible for hotel exchange.
  

If you are willing to do it, you'd be much better off renting a DVC stay booked with your points, and using those proceeds to pay for the hotel you want.

Thank you for this explanation. I guess we didn't really know the ins and outs of Interval since it was never something my in-laws used, and they only added us to their deeds last year. So learning something new all the time.

 

[CarolynFH]

Thank you for this explanation. I guess we didn't really know the ins and outs of Interval since it was never something my in-laws used, and they only added us to their deeds last year. So learning something new all the time.

Well, DVC has been back with II for only a year or so, thus even us oldies don't know much about using it with our DVC points! It's different from RCI, too.