How to Trade Your Timeshare
Timeshare trading provides new vacation options for your family.
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Timeshares have their pluses and minuses. They allow you to take a vacation every year in a destination of your choosing, but they can become tiresome after years of the same thing. Timeshares can be traded with other timeshare owners, or even for different travel and vacation options. Understanding how to trade your timeshare can open a whole new list of possibilities for your next vacation.
Online
Search online timeshare travel sites for trade-in deals. These companies are not associated with timeshare developers, but they offer trips and rental properties around the world in exchange for timeshare trade-ins. Since these companies sell the shares clients have traded in to other customers, the price you pay will include a commission. In addition to the commission, some services charge a membership fee. Although it may cost you a few hundred dollars, in the end you get to swap something you don't want for something you want.
Credits and Points
Some timeshares provide buyers with points or time credits instead of a scheduled stay at a given property. These credits can be cashed in whenever you wish for a stay at one of the company's properties or an associated property. If you wish to trade your credits or points for a stay at an unassociated resort or for a different travel product altogether, you can do so by transferring them to an online timeshare exchange broker. These brokers work with any timeshare owner and offer a wide-ranging list of options for trade.
Trading Up
Timeshares are available at many price points and locations. The value of a timeshare can vary tremendously. If you decide to use a timeshare exchange service to trade your timeshare, you may find that you do not have sufficient credit to get the vacation you want in return. In some cases this can be overcome by carrying over points from the prior year or purchasing more points -- either from other members or from the exchange company itself.
Open Market
Timeshares are often traded on the open market by owners who would rather try a new destination. Online bulletin boards and vacation rental sites allow you to list your timeshare where plenty of potential traders will see it. Timeshares can be traded for other shares, travel tickets or merchandise. Since you own your timeshare slot, you are free to do with it as you please, be it trade, gift or sell.
References
Writer Bio
Robert Morello has an extensive travel, marketing and business background. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 2002 and has worked in travel as a guide, corporate senior marketing and product manager and travel consultant/expert. Morello is a professional writer and adjunct professor of travel and tourism.