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I agree with several points, good and bad. The landscape is changing, not for the betterment of us owners BUT... (someone asked for specifics) 1. Deposit at least year in advance 2. Own High quality resorts in demanded locations 3. Request early (14 mo +) 4. Use the website and place ongoing searches. (Rmember my ongoing search means as soon as the deposit occurs I get it, thus the online pool and the phone people never see it!) 5. Be flexible with resort selection and time frames. (more weeks and resorts) 6. School vacation and holiday times are VERY HARD to get! Many or most owners use or rent highly desirable weeks and NEVER deposit them. 7. Buy where you want to go and never pay a exchange fee or membership fee. 8. Don't expect to trade a '70's Buick for a new Ferrari, it ain't going to happen. 9. If you own less than red time, don't expect red time exchanges. Those people paid more for a reason! 10. Gold Crown doesn't mean that much. ALWAYS do your own due diligence when exchanging. Check out the resort on reviews here, tripadvisor.com, etc. and make an informed decision. 11. Remember most owners can or will deposit: a. one year in advance (so don't think you will get the exchange at 18mo., sometimes happens, but rare) b. when they get their maintenance fee bill (often at the end of the year) and decide they are not going to their home resort. (Thus, my ongoing requests are always in MINIMUM 12-14 months before travel and even MORE if the end of the year is approaching) 12. If the person you talk to at RCI seems like a bozo HANG UP and call back, even immediately, and talk to someone else. (Sometimes, when I don't use the web site, I go through 3 or 4 reps before I get someone who knows more than I do and can get my questions answered.) I have used the above to exchange 1BR lockoff portions to Hawaii Gold Crown 2BR (4 times), to beach front GC/SC 3BR (2 x), to Hilton GC 3BR Orlando, SoCal costal 2BR GC (twice), etc. and often in prime season, although I try to avoid them when I can. (Yes folks I got those and others with 1BR deposits!) Your exchange power (and thus exchanges available) is determined by: 1. resort reviews (all quality measures considered: rating (stars, crowns etc), condition, amenities, cleanliness, activities, etc) 2. demand and supply (too much supply in Orlando, even for the demand) 3. season (see supply and demand) 4. SIZE (like for like) (Despite the above examples, I think size upgrades are the exception for most) 5. deposit time - earlier is better, especially with RCI (the 12 month cutoff seems to be VERY significant) 6. A few other factors no one will reveal (Nor will they reveal the relative weighting of any factors - so to keep us guessing- I mean... it is proprietary!) Those are the specifics that I can provide that let me be happy with RCI. Yes, I am ticked about the skimming off for rentals and other things, but that is why I filled out the claim form for the class action settlement against RCI and am going to get the benefits from that too! I also use II the same way and have been happy with them too! (both have their strengths) Good Luck in all your exchanges. Ron