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We decided to put our two weeks into the DC back in December and, so far we've done all right with our exchanges and the reservation using the Bonus points. We've traded our two bedroom March master suite at Grand Chateau for a two bedroom March week at Desert Springs Villa's II, we've used out bonus points in the DC for 4 nights in a one bedroom Oct. stay at Willow Ridge in Branson and, we were just confirmed the other morning from our March one bedroom lock-off unit at Grand Chateau in Vegas into a May one bedroom unit at Custom House in Boston.
There are a couple of qualifiers to these exchanges/reservations.
1. I had to call to get the points reservations. I don't like having to call during business hours but, as I understand it, Marriott will be launching a website for points exchanges in the near future.
2. One of the weeks exchanges was request first and the other was deposit first. We did not find anything online for an instant exchange. However, even in the old system I would have expected to have to make ongoing requests.
I will say that my online searches for instant exchanges when I've had a unit to search with have been disappointing. This year, it seems as if there's less there than in the past. I'm not certain if this is just my imagination, a new reality, if the economy has had an effect or a result of MVCI bonus points being given for purchases rather than Marroitt Rewards Points. MR Points would typically be used for hotel stays whereas MVCI bonus points will mostl likely occupy the excess inventory we've seen online in the past.
So my short term prognosis is, online instant exchanges look to be more difficult in the past but, ongoing request's seem to be doing fine. I still believe it's going to take a couple of years of practicle experience for us TUGGERS to get a handle on how the new DC truely affects how each of us go about getting the exchanges we desire.
I still worry that our studio lock-off week, which we have used to trade up into larger units, mostly in shoulder season, will fare. I'm not encouraged by the lack of inventory I'm seeing online and, most of what I was seeing while searching with the one bedroom deposit was studio or one bedroom units. Very few two bedroom units were visable. This is contrary to what I've seen in the past if my memory serves me well.
Since we haven't decided what to do with that studio unit, lock it off or keep the extra space, the jury is still out on that one for us. Right now, it appears that trading up in size within the Marroitt family with online instant exchanges may be becoming more difficult, if not impossible. We may end up using that studio unit for exchanges outside the Marriot family when we decide to exchange vs personal use. Of course, that adds expense. Something Marriott has sold us on as cutting with one annual fee vs ala carts fee's.
There are a couple of qualifiers to these exchanges/reservations.
1. I had to call to get the points reservations. I don't like having to call during business hours but, as I understand it, Marriott will be launching a website for points exchanges in the near future.
2. One of the weeks exchanges was request first and the other was deposit first. We did not find anything online for an instant exchange. However, even in the old system I would have expected to have to make ongoing requests.
I will say that my online searches for instant exchanges when I've had a unit to search with have been disappointing. This year, it seems as if there's less there than in the past. I'm not certain if this is just my imagination, a new reality, if the economy has had an effect or a result of MVCI bonus points being given for purchases rather than Marroitt Rewards Points. MR Points would typically be used for hotel stays whereas MVCI bonus points will mostl likely occupy the excess inventory we've seen online in the past.
So my short term prognosis is, online instant exchanges look to be more difficult in the past but, ongoing request's seem to be doing fine. I still believe it's going to take a couple of years of practicle experience for us TUGGERS to get a handle on how the new DC truely affects how each of us go about getting the exchanges we desire.
I still worry that our studio lock-off week, which we have used to trade up into larger units, mostly in shoulder season, will fare. I'm not encouraged by the lack of inventory I'm seeing online and, most of what I was seeing while searching with the one bedroom deposit was studio or one bedroom units. Very few two bedroom units were visable. This is contrary to what I've seen in the past if my memory serves me well.
Since we haven't decided what to do with that studio unit, lock it off or keep the extra space, the jury is still out on that one for us. Right now, it appears that trading up in size within the Marroitt family with online instant exchanges may be becoming more difficult, if not impossible. We may end up using that studio unit for exchanges outside the Marriot family when we decide to exchange vs personal use. Of course, that adds expense. Something Marriott has sold us on as cutting with one annual fee vs ala carts fee's.