I would concur with those and add myresorts network, ? craig'slist, bidshares and even ebay. You may also want to talk to some of the independent exchange companies who tend to get a lot of HI inventory.
One can minimize risk by doing the homework and esp being the first of the two parties to travel.
I consider what I gave up as good but not great. It was a branson studio, a bonus week based on that same resort, a 1 BR at Charleston (very good but not great week or resort), and a 1 BR at MB 7/4 (great week but not near the beach). In every case I feel like I traded up significantly to dramatically. IMO, trading is 50% positioning, 40% hard work and 10% luck. One certainly has to meet the minimum qualifications for the trade to happen in terms of resort quality, unit size and demand of the week, internal trading preferences to even have a chance. You've got to work to get the best weeks possible for what you're trading, and in terms of a points system like Bluegreen, the best resorts as well. You've got to deposit as early as possible, at least 10-12 months and request at least a year out, preferably 18-24 months ahead. The other portion is being willing to wait until just a few weeks or less before the travel before you give up. A game of chicken if you will. This is one of the benefits of having direct II access since most of the good stuff is put into the II system early AM and gone by the time MS opens. It's true that doesn't USUALLY affect an ongoing search but it is critical for retrades and short notice as well as simply seeing something you weren't planning on but just have to have.
I see two immediate problems, possibly 3. You have a VERY low demand week (green week) whether it's 48 or 49 and you deposited relatively late in the process. The third is that MAA may not have a high enough quality rating to trade in to many of the resorts you'll want for HI at least outside the 60 days window. To be successful with this type trade you'll need a top red week there, not just any red week and you need to deposit 10 months or more out. I'm guessing the best weeks are 51-9 with mid summer being a second choice but you'd want to investigate further to be certain. Why 10 months, because II starts devaluing deposits that are less than 10 months out and they do so at a more rapid rate for lessor resorts including many 5* resorts. On top of that you're looking for some of the highest demand weeks in HI and started late, after many of the units had come and gone. The good news is that Kauai and the Big Island are relatively easier than the others. If you can hold out until 30-60 days prior you may get a a second chance at success. I have seen weeks for Feb in the last few days but mostly studios on Maui and Kauai. The main resort you're likely looking at on the Big island is KCR and they frequently deposit many of their units a full 2 years out.
