All of the advice so far in this chapter is good for when you're using your home resort, and much of it applies when you use a timeshare unit at another resort, as well. Having said that, there are other, specific concerns you will have to address when you decide to exchange your home resort unit for a timeshare unit elsewhere.

For the most part, you will be at the mercy of your exchange company when trying to trade your unit for another one. Yet understanding your exchange company's system — along with all the other services you may be able to use — will enhance your chances of getting the exchange you want, plus every other perk to which you might be entitled.

Every exchange company is different. Some of the organizations listed offer direct, owner-to-owner timeshare exchanges, but the vast majority of timeshare owners choose to use an exchange company for their timeshare trades. That is what the following sections of this chapter focus on: how to make the most of your exchange company services to get the timeshare trade you want.

There are important differences among timeshare exchange companies, specifically in the way that exchanges themselves are made and in the way that the exchange company controls its space bank. Understanding your exchange company's system can be key to making a successful trade. You have to understand your exchange company's lingo and policies at least as well as your fellow timeshare owners do, since you are essentially competing with them to get the trades that you want.

Internal Versus External

It is a common misperception that an internal exchange is one that is made within an exchange company's resort network, while an external exchange is one that is made outside the company's network. This confusion, perhaps, comes from many years of health-care coverage that forces you to stay in-network to receive the most benefits compared with services you receive out-of-network. With health care, doctors who are internal to your system of coverage are different than doctors who are external to your system of care. Hence the perception that timeshares are similar, with internal resorts inside an exchange network and external resorts outside of the network.

In fact, though, an internal timeshare exchange refers to trading your home resort unit for another unit in that very same resort. It has nothing to do with your exchange company's broader network of resorts, all of which are considered external exchanges no matter where they are in the world.

Making an internal exchange, as far as the exchange companies go, is often no different than making an external exchange. The exchange fee itself may be lower, but the timing is no different in terms of the exchange system — filing your request as early as possible can be the key to getting what you want. In some cases, as an owner in the same timeshare resort, you will have priority when requesting a room through an internal exchange. Be sure to check with your exchange company and your resort if you think this is a service you may want to use often.

Domestic Versus International

A domestic exchange is usually one that occurs within the forty-eight contiguous United States, while an international exchange is one that you request outside of the United States borders, or in Hawaii or Alaska. With some exchange companies, Hawaii and Alaska (along with the United States territory of Puerto Rico) are considered domestic exchanges, but occasionally you will find these locations listed on the international exchange roster in your company's resort directory.

Why is this important? Because international exchanges almost always cost more than domestic exchanges, no matter which exchange company you use. Sometimes the difference in fees is less than twenty dollars, while with other companies, it can be as much as fifty dollars. Hawaii is one of the most sought-after timeshare resort destinations in the world, and if you plan to exchange your home resort unit for time there, you need to understand in advance that you will be paying a premium to do so.

The request forms you will have to fill out for domestic and international exchanges are usually quite similar, if not identical, within each exchange company's system. Deadlines for making domestic and international exchanges are also usually the same, though with the most popular resorts, you of course must be sure to make your exchange request as early as possible. This rule applies to domestic and international timeshare resorts alike.

Deposit-First Systems

Some exchange companies require that you put your timeshare unit into their space bank before you can request — or even search their inventory for — an exchange timeshare unit. Resort Condominiums International is one of these companies, meaning that you have to give up the timeshare week that you own before you can begin the process of finding and making your exchange. Interval International also has a deposit-first option, though with that company, you can also do a request-first trade, which you will read about later in this chapter.

Who does this deposit-first system benefit most? Timeshare users who are absolutely certain that they want to leave their home resort and try someplace new. Usually, once you deposit your week, you have the right to exchange it for a given time period before or after the date of the week you have exchanged. With Interval International, for instance, you can deposit your week as much as two years early and then exchange it for another week that occurs as much as one year before, or as long as two years after, the first day of your exchanged week.

In most cases, you can deposit your week as much as two years before you decide to make an exchange — a process for which you will be rewarded by getting extra value assigned to your unit. Why? Because the exchange company wants as many weeks as possible in its space bank, so that it can make more exchanges and charge more fees. With Resort Condominiums International, for instance, if you deposit two years in advance, your timeshare week is rated higher in terms of exchange power than someone who deposits the exact same unit in the exact same resort a few months after yours gets put into the exchange system. If you and that other person then both request the same exchange at another resort, you will be entitled to it first — all because you deposited your identical week earlier. Check with your resort before buying your unit to make sure you will have the most trading power possible in terms of exchange-deposit timing.

With deposit-first systems, it is key that you understand that you are being forced to trade away what you own without the guarantee that you will get the exchange you want in return. If that makes you uncomfortable, you will likely feel better about making exchanges through a request-first system.

Request-First Systems

Request-first exchange systems are just what they sound like: You get to request the exchange you want before you agree to give up the timeshare week that you already own at your home resort. The benefit of this type of system is that you can confirm an exchange that makes you happy before you agree to relinquish the time you already own at your home resort — or you can decide to keep your home resort time if you are unable to get an exchange that suits your needs.

As with deposit-first systems, you often can use your exchanged week in a request-first system even before your week has occurred. Interval International, for instance, has an Early Request system that lets you place a vacation request and travel from two years before the week you offer in exchange up until the dates of that week. Not all resorts participate in this Early Request program, though, so be sure to check with yours if you think this might be the right exchange program for you.

If you want to have the easiest access to a searchable database of resorts for your request-first deposit options, be sure to work with an exchange company that has all of its resorts online. That way, you can scroll through and compare different resorts at the click of a mouse — and sometimes even make an exchange online — as opposed to having to read through resort catalogs and then make a time-consuming telephone call to an exchange company operator.