So Confused About EPlus

I am so confused! I have read past posts but I am making my brain hurt. I confirmed an exchange yesterday, Feb 3, 2016, for the Sheraton Desert Oasis for April 29, 2016. I got EPlus to try to upgrade to Westin if it shows up or to try another date. What is a plan of action to make the most out of EPlus for this exchange?

Thank you for any help in advance!!

Pretty simple:

Go into your history in II and see the tab next to your exchange for eplus. Click on it and then search. If you find something else that you want....just click your way through to it. No charge.

NOTE: If you are looking for something, this will become an obsession for you. Wake every morning, check. Then check 5 minutes later. Then check while sitting at the long red light on the way to work.....then at work, get nothing done cuz you are checking!!

Ok...funny, but kinda true. But, it is an awesome tool. Find something you are satisfied with and book it, then go on the hunt for something better.

Obviously...I'm going through that myself right now!

OK,

I understand I need to at least do a "dummy" trade before the 59 day mark. How far out can I do the first retrade?

Thank you very much. I did not even know where to go to find the option to retrade at the II site.

mobee said:

I understand I need to at least do a "dummy" trade before the 59 day mark. How far out can I do the first retrade?

Thank you very much. I did not even know where to go to find the option to retrade at the II site.

Click to expand...

Your dummy trade really should have been your first exchange, not the retrade. This way you can exchange for something 24 months out and then have an E-plus expiration 36 months out. Since your first exchange is for 4/29/16 you can now only retrade for something through 4/29/17, which is your E-Plus expiration (not to be confused with your deposit expiration).

You are still not in bad shape but you don't want to get inside 60 days on that initial exchange unless you plan to use it.

Thank You

I understand much better now. Exchange for something 24 months out. Get EPlus with it. The EPlus expires 12 months after the exchange check in date! Have 3 times to retrade, but always do so before 60 days before check in for your previous trade.

I am against using a dummy trade. With ePlus, you lose the ability to do on-going search by the system anymore. First trade should be something that you want. Don't trade for the sake of trading. Ongoing search appears to give your unit better trading power over an instant exchange, which what ePllus is.

The only time you want to do a dummy trade as far out as possible is to extend the life of the week.

mobee said:

I understand much better now. Exchange for something 24 months out. Get EPlus with it. The EPlus expires 12 months after the exchange check in date! Have 3 times to retrade, but always do so before 60 days before check in for your previous trade.

Click to expand...

That is a good way to go for flexibility if you are not needing an OGS. The drawback is no OGS and you give up the initial exchange to the dummy.

The OGS option is also good. You place an OGS for a desired unit and then you search for uptrades. If the vacation is in stone then it doesn't matter getting inside 60 days. The 60 days is still not the end of the world because you can use multiple retrades to get further out.

Thank You All Again,

much to think about. We are going to Phoenix in April, but Eplus will give me the option of an upgrade between now and then. Then it is also insurance of a kind for if we cannot go, I can do a retrade for 60 more days out.

Not the best use of EPlus, but ok and I learned a lot from you all!

Thank you, Thank you

mobee said:

much to think about. We are going to Phoenix in April, but Eplus will give me the option of an upgrade between now and then. Then it is also insurance of a kind for if we cannot go, I can do a retrade for 60 more days out.

Not the best use of EPlus, but ok and I learned a lot from you all!

Thank you, Thank you

Click to expand...

If you can't go and you are inside 60 days you can use the subsequent free retrades to get up to 177 days out. Each retrade can be for something up to 59 days out from the new reservation check-in day.

I use a mix of both. I probably do 35% of my exchanges for the initial dummy 24 months out and the rest for something on an OGS.

sptung said:

I am against using a dummy trade. With ePlus, you lose the ability to do on-going search by the system anymore. First trade should be something that you want. Don't trade for the sake of trading. Ongoing search appears to give your unit better trading power over an instant exchange, which what ePllus is.

The only time you want to do a dummy trade as far out as possible is to extend the life of the week.

Click to expand...

This is also my thought. I booked something that I would "probably want" and bought E-trade as my backup. When I decided on something I really wanted I was stuck searching myself day and night instead of just putting in an OGS for. Also, as some of us have mentioned, it is thought that OGS may have a bit better trade power than manual searches.