We describe magnetic, thermal, and magnetocaloric properties of rare earth intermetallic compounds TmxDy1−xAl2 with 𝑥 = 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75. Using model Hamiltonian we consider contributions of the crystalline electric field anisotropy in both Tm and Dy magnetic sublattices, disorder in exchange interactions among Tm-Tm, Dy-Dy and Tm-Dy magnetic ions, and the Zeeman effect. Employing earlier reported and new experimental measurements, we first determine a single free variable – the intersublattice magnetic exchange parameter – to properly model the temperature and magnetic field dependencies of heat capacity and magnetization, and then use the modeling results to explain the emergence of an anomalous spin reorientation transition and its influence on the magnetocaloric effect in the title compounds. Theoretical results agree with experimental data reasonably well.