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Opinion wanted: We Just Purchased at Kierland Villas

Larry315

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We took out a new Starwood AMEX card for the purchase to get extra points and have 12 months, interest free to pay it off. It will be paid before then however.
 

GrayFal

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We took out a new Starwood AMEX card for the purchase to get extra points and have 12 months, interest free to pay it off. It will be paid before then however.

I guess you are missing the point people are trying to make.
You should cancel your purchase NOW. It is not worth anywhere near what you are paying for it.
 

DeniseM

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It sounds like you made up your mind before you posted. ;)

IMNSHO - I can't endorse buying a timeshare for other reasons besides timesharing. Ultimately, after the SP's are gone, I think you are going to end up with a timeshare week that has a negative value and may be difficult to even give away.

I think you are overestimating the value of the Starpoints.

I think you have been overly influenced by the sales person.

In a year or two, I hope you will let us know how it worked out for you, because we sometimes get questions like this, but no one ever lets us know how it works out.

Good luck! :hi:
 

Rsauer3473

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And as for Starpoints, they are getting much less valuable as participating hotels are raising the redemption rates. In 2010 we were in Venice, Rome, Athens, and Barcelona staying for 12K points/night. Same hotels now are 25K. This makes Staroption to Starpoint conversions less and less worthwhile.
 

VacationForever

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There are several issues with this purchase. While this is a EOY week, OP is on the hook for yearly SVN membership fee. With a lower season, the MF is as much as that of the platinum season.

10000 per night Starpoint hotels used in the cost analysis are on the lower end of the scale. Many of the nicer and prime locations Starwood hotels require more Starpoints.
 

tschwa2

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Is the $8000, the out the door price or do you need to add in another $1000 or so for closing fees and other junk fees? Do you plan on using the points in the next 4 years? If you are spreading them out they will probably loose value with points inflation. Your MF's including an annual $135 SVN fee will be about $540 a year.

$13500 +8000+ $2200 (4 years of MF's)= $23700 About $0.036 a point. After that you would probably own something that you would have to pay a minimum of $500 to get rid of. You are also prepaying $21,500 now which you could invest in something. Still seems like it might be better to just pay $5900 a year vacationing when and where you want to. Marriott might have a better deal one year in a location you want or Hilton.
 

Joshadelic

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That is something we are not clear about even though we have read the posts on TUG.

How much doe it matter that we have a Starwood property, or one at Kierland, or does it matter more it is Gold rather than Platinum?

If we are relatively flexible when and where we go, though avoiding the time of the year that has the worst weather, like summer in Phoenix or winter in Chicago, will we find it difficult to book?

A lot of the reason that what you're buying is worthless (meaning that you literally will have to give it away if you're lucky enough to find someone that's willing to take it) is because you're buying gold season. You're paying the exact same MF's as someone who owns platinum.

Here's a couple more questions...

  1. When do you plan on using these 660,000 SP's? Right away? Over the next 6 years (because they DO expire)? Someone has already mentioned that you're basically converting your dollars into SP's. There is no way possible for you to earn any interest or return of any type on your SP's. You're losing the opportunity cost for whatever time frame you intend to keep them.

  2. You mentioned that you would likely be using this week as a trade through II. Do you know that there is a fee of at least $139 per week (I think) to complete an II trade?
Furthermore, there are other ways you can buy SP's. At least once a year Starwood allows people to buy SP's at a 25% discount - which brings the cost down to 2.625 cents per point. Why not do that instead of committing to a VOI for the rest of your life? I'm not sure if there is a limit on the number of SP's they'll let you buy - so you might want to check that or someone else might be able to tell all of us.
 

Joshadelic

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Is the $8000, the out the door price or do you need to add in another $1000 or so for closing fees and other junk fees? Do you plan on using the points in the next 4 years? If you are spreading them out they will probably loose value with points inflation. Your MF's including an annual $135 SVN fee will be about $540 a year.

$13500 +8000+ $2200 (4 years of MF's)= $23700 About $0.036 a point. After that you would probably own something that you would have to pay a minimum of $500 to get rid of. You are also prepaying $21,500 now which you could invest in something. Still seems like it might be better to just pay $5900 a year vacationing when and where you want to. Marriott might have a better deal one year in a location you want or Hilton.

VERY well said!
 

DavidnRobin

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Thanks for the help in keeping the boat afloat. Enjoy your purchase.
 

gmarine

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You should rescind and take some time to think about it. The deal will always be there.
 

Passepartout

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OP - if you're still able to... rescind.

[IMO] OP has swallowed a heapin' helping of the Kool-Aid. I'm not sensing a rescission here.
 

JudyS

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Dt. Chicago, if you're really determined to get these Starpoints, why don't you call Starwood and tell them you are thinking of rescinding because this is low season? Maybe they will let you upgrade to a platinum week for a (relatively) reasonable cost, with the same StarPoints deal.

Buying a low season Starwood week is generally a terrible idea. The annual fees are just too high for what you will get in return.

Also, if you are into Starpoints, I strongly suggest you join Flyertalk.com. Over here, we're into timeshares. Flyertalk is into miles and points.
 

DavidnRobin

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And buy Plat WKV resale - I own two of these, and very happy with them.

We gather SPs thru AMEX SPG - and have used them for US and EU SPG stays and have gotten great value. Also, convert to Airline miles when there is a deal - and need the flights. Last year I used SPs to convert to AA for SFO-STT with a large incentive bonus -extra nice because I am AA Plat (or whatever they call it - AA allowed our company to transfer their UA status to comparable AA status... nice)

Remember - it cost more than SPs to travel. They help, but they need to be used quickly - and one needs the $$ and Time to spend while traveling.

You do not need to buy a low-value SVO VOI whether it is resale or not- never a good idea.
 

alexadeparis

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HAHAHAHAHAHA

But seriously. If two pages of thread are not going to convince OP to rescind, then shrug and move on. We tried. FWIW, there is an annual 56,300 SO WKV that has been relisted 3 times on ebay with no bids at $1 starting price, so Op is really getting a poor deal. But maybe he really is enamored with the SPs.
 

lorenmd

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i did something similar to what you did but just a little better and they all told me to rescind too but i didn't and i'm glad. i bought platinum at wkv and i retroed a platinum week i bought resale next to nothing. so i got 81k so for each of my platinum weeks. yes it cost me more than 8000k$ and i also put it on a no interest for one year spg card and will pay it off in one year. i wanted the star points. i have already converted one of my 16 certificates and will use all 16 i am sure. i am platinum with hotels so it is totally worth it for me to stay at starwood properties rather than something a little cheaper. brand loyalty i don't regret it. my calendar is full of great vacations and more of them hotels than timeshares. next i am going to convert to airline miles and get a business class ticket and resume flying overseas. something i gave up cause of the huge price of a bed. now i can have a bed for $1875. enjoy and you can use your wkv for trading but it was an expensive trading vehicle. i would use your star points to stay at villas that also take options and see if you can tack on a few days with your options since 37000 so isn't good for much. should have gone for platinum
 

LisaRex

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Welcome to the Tug Boards!

If you're just buying a Starwood to get the certificates, then I agree that you should target a 1 bdrm PLATINUM at WKV simply because you're not buying for the TS. Why buy anything you don't want, and risk being stuck with it? That platinum week should be a valuable commodity in 5 years still. Silver week? Not so much.

In addition to more SOs (which is why it should be an easy sell), platinum weeks will have far more exchange power in II.

I agree that the SP certificates can be very valuable, in every sense of the word, because they allow you to buy way more SPs than you could if you just used your AMEX to accumulate SPs or bought them outright. Just be realistic. Don't discount the purchase price of the timeshare, the MFs, and the cost of using those certificates. Realize that SPs suffer from inflation just like any currency. What you can buy today for 20k SPs is likely to cost more in 5 years.

And also realize that you only have 6 years to use those points, so have a plan for using them.

If you are truly considering all these things, and you are still happy with the purchase, then go ahead and enjoy it. Frankly, we're all a bit hypocritical because buying a TS rarely offers the best value, especially a Starwood one. There are certainly ways to maximize ownership, but at the end of the day, the underlying reason we all bought is because it made us happy. There's something to be said for that.
 

DavidnRobin

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^^^^ This ^^^^
The OP bought a low-season WKV week from SVO - in most everyone's opinion (that has experience) that is a poor decision.

also - SPs need to be spent asap - as they devaluate fast. I would suggest to use them within 2 years - this topic is often discussed on FlyerTalk (as well as their value). Holding onto SPs is not a wise choice.

Those SP certificates are not free (far from it) - especially when you pay a high upfront costs, and then the commitment to pay annual fees that continue to increase year after year.

I will stick with SVO resale that has resale value.
YMMV
 
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Larry315

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Thank you! Thank you!

I appreciate all the thoughts and they have clarified my purpose and decision.

Clearly, it would be best to buy a Platinum week at WKV. But buying resale does not interest us, for reasons I explained earlier, and buying from Starwood is too expensive to benefit from the purchase of 660,000 StarPoints at a discount.

The price of admission for a Gold week seems to fit well.

If we see we like the resort properties, in the future, we will buy resale as suggested.

So for now, though I imagine sighs and thoughts of me being incredibly short-sighted, if not just plain dumb, we will not rescind and look forward to being part of Starwood.

This is a great site and am pleased to be part of it.

.
 

Ken555

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So for now, though I imagine sighs and thoughts of me being incredibly short-sighted, if not just plain dumb, we will not rescind and look forward to being part of Starwood.


Unlike many others, you seem to have considered all options and are making the most appropriate choice for you. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about many others. You're going into this purchase with eyes wide open, understanding the distinction between resale and direct developer purchase.

Have fun with those StarPoints! :)


Sent from my iPad
 

Joshadelic

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So for now, though I imagine sighs and thoughts of me being incredibly short-sighted, if not just plain dumb, we will not rescind and look forward to being part of Starwood.

I don't think you ever planned on listening to the opinions here that YOU asked for. You're high on the kool aid. Enjoy yourself!
 

Passepartout

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Someone necessarily HAS to buy those off and shoulder season weeks from the developer in order to feed the resale market. It's just not that often that we get to meet them first hand.

Thanks Dt. for coming on TUG. We wish you well and hope you get many, many great vacations.

Jim
 

LisaRex

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Clearly, it would be best to buy a Platinum week at WKV. But buying resale does not interest us, for reasons I explained earlier, and buying from Starwood is too expensive to benefit from the purchase of 660,000 StarPoints at a discount.

Actually, I was advising you to purchase a platinum week at WKV from the developer. They may not have inventory now, but they will at some point. But if you can't afford the price from the developer, then that's a moot point.

Enjoy your travels.
 
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