Interval International

Does anyone have personal experience with Interval International? Have your experiences been good?

II is one of numerous "exchange companies", others of which include RCI (the biggest by far) Dial an Exchange, Trading Places International, etc. I'm an II member, but have only occasionally used their exchange services.

One VERY desirable feature of II (to me) is the fact that with II you can search for something you want to exchange into BEFORE actually depositing a week. With RCI, by direct comparison, you can only search for an exchange AFTER you deposit a week --- and then hope (often quite futilely) that you can get something decent in exchange for your deposited week. And once you deposit with RCI, you cannot "undo" that decision and retrieve the week. That's a "one way street" when you FIRST give up a week to RCI but then maybe get nothing of comparable interest or value in return....

I'm not marketing II here --- and their affiliated resorts are certainly fewer in number than RCI's, by far. I'm just pointing out one very specific and (to me, at least) a critically important "night and day" difference between II practices and RCI practices. With II, you don't have to give up anything until or unless you see something which you want to exchange your week for. Seems fair. With RCI, it's deposit a week first and then hope --- with the odds NOT necessarily in your favor.

Annual membership fees in II are comparable to RCI, exchange fees are just slightly less with II. The BIG difference is the ability to SEARCH FIRST with II.........

RedWeek.com has just launched our own exchange program. Check it out!

Marty

ken1193 wrote:

II is one of numerous "exchange companies", others of which include RCI (the biggest by far) Dial an Exchange, Trading Places International, etc. I'm an II member, but have only occasionally used their exchange services.

One VERY desirable feature of II (to me) is the fact that with II you can search for something you want to exchange into BEFORE actually depositing a week. With RCI, by direct comparison, you can only search for an exchange AFTER you deposit a week --- and then hope (often quite futilely) that you can get something decent in exchange for your deposited week. And once you deposit with RCI, you cannot "undo" that decision and retrieve the week. That's a "one way street" when you FIRST give up a week to RCI but then maybe get nothing of comparable interest or value in return....

I'm not marketing II here --- and their affiliated resorts are certainly fewer in number than RCI's, by far. I'm just pointing out one very specific and (to me, at least) a critically important "night and day" difference between II practices and RCI practices. With II, you don't have to give up anything until or unless you see something which you want to exchange your week for. Seems fair. With RCI, it's deposit a week first and then hope --- with the odds NOT necessarily in your favor.

Annual membership fees in II are comparable to RCI, exchange fees are just slightly less with II. The BIG difference is the ability to SEARCH FIRST with II.........

Had nothing but one problem after another with interval take martys advice checkout redweeks exchange progams.

ronaldl l stated: >> Had nothing but one problem after another with interval take martys advice checkout redweeks exchange progams. << --------------------------------------------------------------------- My own personal experience with II has been good, but as with so much in life, "....your mileage may vary".

The new RedWeek exchange program (like II, and NOT like RCI) allows the user to "search inventory first, before depositing". This is a fair and appropriate practice and I applaud RedWeek adopting it right from the outset. I certainly hope to use the RedWeek exchange program myself in the future. The problem right now with the (admittedly brand new) Red Week program is that the "available inventory" is very limited in BOTH quantity AND quality (in my personal opinion). Over time, that situation will likely improve. In the meantime, ANY alternative to RCI is nonetheless a welcome one and I wish the RedWeek program success.

ken1193 wrote:

II is one of numerous "exchange companies", others of which include RCI (the biggest by far) Dial an Exchange, Trading Places International, etc. I'm an II member, but have only occasionally used their exchange services.

One VERY desirable feature of II (to me) is the fact that with II you can search for something you want to exchange into BEFORE actually depositing a week. With RCI, by direct comparison, you can only search for an exchange AFTER you deposit a week --- and then hope (often quite futilely) that you can get something decent in exchange for your deposited week. And once you deposit with RCI, you cannot "undo" that decision and retrieve the week. That's a "one way street" when you FIRST give up a week to RCI but then maybe get nothing of comparable interest or value in return....

I'm not marketing II here --- and their affiliated resorts are certainly fewer in number than RCI's, by far. I'm just pointing out one very specific and (to me, at least) a critically important "night and day" difference between II practices and RCI practices. With II, you don't have to give up anything until or unless you see something which you want to exchange your week for. Seems fair. With RCI, it's deposit a week first and then hope --- with the odds NOT necessarily in your favor.

Annual membership fees in II are comparable to RCI, exchange fees are just slightly less with II. The BIG difference is the ability to SEARCH FIRST with II.........

=======

Actually, if you phone RCI they WILL search for what you want before you deposit a week. If they have it, you can then deposit, pay the fee, and make an immediate exchange. However, if they do not have what you want on hand and you want them to make an "on going search" for what you are seeking, then you do have to deposit. This puts you at the head of the line should others be calling in to request the same thing.

If you are talking specifically about on line searches via the RCI website, then you do indeed need to have something on deposit which the site can use in determining what is available to you.

We are II members also, but have not used them except for a air ticket once. Maybe we'll give them a try in 2008. MD

I've had very good luck with II for over a decade now. Keep in mind that there are some times at some places that are very difficult to trade into. Before joining, I would check their online directory to see if they have resorts where you want to go.

ken1193 wrote:

II is one of numerous "exchange companies", others of which include RCI (the biggest by far) Dial an Exchange, Trading Places International, etc. I'm an II member, but have only occasionally used their exchange services.

One VERY desirable feature of II (to me) is the fact that with II you can search for something you want to exchange into BEFORE actually depositing a week. With RCI, by direct comparison, you can only search for an exchange AFTER you deposit a week --- and then hope (often quite futilely) that you can get something decent in exchange for your deposited week. And once you deposit with RCI, you cannot "undo" that decision and retrieve the week. That's a "one way street" when you FIRST give up a week to RCI but then maybe get nothing of comparable interest or value in return....

I'm not marketing II here --- and their affiliated resorts are certainly fewer in number than RCI's, by far. I'm just pointing out one very specific and (to me, at least) a critically important "night and day" difference between II practices and RCI practices. With II, you don't have to give up anything until or unless you see something which you want to exchange your week for. Seems fair. With RCI, it's deposit a week first and then hope --- with the odds NOT necessarily in your favor.

Annual membership fees in II are comparable to RCI, exchange fees are just slightly less with II. The BIG difference is the ability to SEARCH FIRST with II.........

I think overall II has nicer resorts to choose from too. RCI has alot of junk. We are not happy with RCI but it comes with our Fairfield membership so we are not going to pay extra to II. I would definitly prefer to stay on an II property.

annec15 wrote:

ken1193 wrote:

II is one of numerous "exchange companies", others of which include RCI (the biggest by far) Dial an Exchange, Trading Places International, etc. I'm an II member, but have only occasionally used their exchange services.

One VERY desirable feature of II (to me) is the fact that with II you can search for something you want to exchange into BEFORE actually depositing a week. With RCI, by direct comparison, you can only search for an exchange AFTER you deposit a week --- and then hope (often quite futilely) that you can get something decent in exchange for your deposited week. And once you deposit with RCI, you cannot "undo" that decision and retrieve the week. That's a "one way street" when you FIRST give up a week to RCI but then maybe get nothing of comparable interest or value in return....

I'm not marketing II here --- and their affiliated resorts are certainly fewer in number than RCI's, by far. I'm just pointing out one very specific and (to me, at least) a critically important "night and day" difference between II practices and RCI practices. With II, you don't have to give up anything until or unless you see something which you want to exchange your week for. Seems fair. With RCI, it's deposit a week first and then hope --- with the odds NOT necessarily in your favor.

Annual membership fees in II are comparable to RCI, exchange fees are just slightly less with II. The BIG difference is the ability to SEARCH FIRST with II.........

I think overall II has nicer resorts to choose from too. RCI has alot of junk. We are not happy with RCI but it comes with our Fairfield membership so we are not going to pay extra to II. I would definitly prefer to stay on an II property.

=========

RCI has lots of Gold Crown and Silver Crown properties but sometimes I've been glad for the unrated resorts which happen to be exactly where I need to be! MD

interval international has taken a turn for the darkside! i will be cutting my ties as much as i can from them. it seems now that when you request an exchange you have to pick three dates for the exchange. you have no idea which one will be available first- they will notify you be e-mail.

the problem is that you have only 24 hours to stop them from booking you into a date that may not work for you months from now. even a hotel will give you more time and control of your travel plans. after investing lots of money in a timeshare and getting the kind of treatment that both timeshare companies and rci and II are now giving us owners. i would never, never buy into this pea shell game again! i will be using redweek and ebay and any other means that i can for trades. i think they are trying to make life rough so that you will consider the points - none sense - system.

herman43 wrote:

i will be using redweek and ebay and any other means that i can for trades.

E-bay does not have an exchange program. RedWeek used to but it has recently been absorbed by Dial-an-Exchange (daelive.com).

If you're fed up with RCI and II (you're definitely not alone), there are some other smaller independent exchange companies like Dial-an-Exchange, Trading Places International, and Platinum Interchange.

Also, Timeshare Users Group (aka TUG; tug2.net) has a program for members to do direct exchanges with each other. The upside: exchanges are free and you do not have to deposit your week first. The downside: the chances of finding another member matching your exact criteria are minimal; but there's no risk or cost.