Starwood/Vistana Vac Owner

Good morning...new to this website...am currently enrolled as a 4*Elite Program in Vistana (formerly Starwoods) Vac Ownership...am considering making resale purchase of a deeded Westin St. John Platinum Plus unit that would, in theory, bring us to 5* Elite status. The Big Question...do StarOption values of this unit purchased at discount via resale (as opposed to full price thru Vistana Salespersons) count toward achieving 5*Elite status?

BTW, Vistana salespersons say the don't count, but they do have vested interest in saying that, don't they, because they'd rather us purchase at full price from them?...thanks in advance for your insight.

Resale needs to be retrospectively enrolled to count for elite. The sales person is correct.

A retro needs about $20k of net new money and another purchase direct from starwood / Vistana .

Historically a good week for that was EOY Platinum plus at Lagunamar Cancun.

But

What benefit do you get from 5 star elite. You need to weigh that against increased mf, out of pocket cash etc.

thanks for the insight...the substantive benefits of 5* ownership for us are found primarily in star option banking deadlines on the SVO side and international travel/hotel stays on the SPG side...not too many benefits other than that and that's why we're very hesitant to pay Vistana's proposed price point necessary to attain those benefits of 5* status...thanks again!

tomrif said:

thanks for the insight...the substantive benefits of 5* ownership for us are found primarily in star option banking deadlines on the SVO side and international travel/hotel stays on the SPG side...not too many benefits other than that and that's why we're very hesitant to pay Vistana's proposed price point necessary to attain those benefits of 5* status...thanks again!

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On the hotel side, you're making an assumption that neither VSE (having been taken over by ILG) nor HOT (about to be taken over my MAR) will make drastic changes to the ability to convert to SPG points or to the SPG program itself.

As mentioned - you have to have a resale already in order to requalify it - and will need to bring in new money to do so.

But... why throw good money after bad?

Another factor to keep in mind, there will most likely be a staroption increase to get to five star from next year, The sales rep have been telling me this, I do have reason to believe this particular rep. His advice has been true for the last few years. I am thinking of making the jump to five star as well before next year.

Rman said:

Another factor to keep in mind, there will most likely be a staroption increase to get to five star from next year, The sales rep have been telling me this, I do have reason to believe this particular rep. His advice has been true for the last few years. I am thinking of making the jump to five star as well before next year.

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Why? Just for the sake of a retro? do you really need the 5* perks for what it would cost? Especially given the unknown future of SPG? (probably most important reason to think through all the way)

If so, fine - but avoid Fuzzy Math that Sales uses to make the decision. Use the math that applies to your unique vacation needs. Be realistic.

Rman said:

Another factor to keep in mind, there will most likely be a staroption increase to get to five star from next year, The sales rep have been telling me this, I do have reason to believe this particular rep. His advice has been true for the last few years. I am thinking of making the jump to five star as well before next year.

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I have heard the same from a rep I trust. This information was provided in a conversation that did not involve a purchase and the rep knew I had 5* already and 150k SO in excess of the current 5* requirement. There was no mention to retro my other M VOIs.

What I want to know is: What perks are going to be added now that SPG benefits are up in the air...

VSE's goal is keep 5* Elite at about 1% of the SPG membership pool. They just increased the SO requirements a few years back, and will be increasing it again soon to keep the %tage of 5* Elite at the same level.

Sicnarf said:

VSE's goal is keep 5* Elite at about 1% of the SPG membership pool. They just increased the SO requirements a few years back, and will be increasing it again soon to keep the %tage of 5* Elite at the same level.

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They will be blending the 2 systems together - proceed with caution
(especially based on claims made by Sales)

DavidnRobin said:

They will be blending the 2 systems together - proceed with caution
(especially based on claims made by Sales)

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I agree.....

I read that the timeframe to be in about 2-3 years, Marriott will roll-in the SPG program into Marriott. And the value will get a lot worse, in my opinion.