# Using StarOptions for Resort Credit - New Feature



## dioxide45 (Jul 22, 2019)

I noticed this in the newsletter we received today.


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## buzglyd (Jul 22, 2019)

I saw that too. You have to call for an explanation which probably has sales attached to it.


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## DannyTS (Jul 22, 2019)

To me it sounds like one can pay resort bills with StarOptions. That would be a good idea especially for SO that would otherwise expire or not enough to be worth banking. I expect of course the exchange $ - MF - SO - resort credit to be terrible.

@buzglyd you are probably right, it may be related to sales, why would they want owners to call instead of just posting the rules online?


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## JIMinNC (Jul 22, 2019)

DannyTS said:


> To me it sounds like one can pay resort bills with StarOptions. That would be a good idea especially for SO that would otherwise expire or not enough to be worth banking. I expect of course the exchange $ - MF - SO - resort credit to be terrible.



That's been an option for MVC owners in the DC program at most, but maybe not all resorts. Sounds like perhaps something MVW is bringing to the VSN system. It's certainly not a "good" use of points, but if you wind up with some small number of unbankable points in your account, it is better than losing them. See screen shot below from MVC site:


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## DannyTS (Jul 22, 2019)

JIMinNC said:


> That's been an option for MVC owners in the DP program at some, but not all resorts. Sounds like perhaps something MVW is bringing to the VSN system. It's certainly not a "good" use of points, but if you wind up with some small number of unbankable points in your account, it is better than losing them.


I guess they would want to promote the resorts with lower average occupancy rate?


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## JIMinNC (Jul 22, 2019)

DannyTS said:


> I guess they would want to promote the resorts with lower average occupancy rate?



Not really limited to that. In MVC, it's available at Maui Ocean Club, other Hawaii resorts, the bigger Hilton Head resorts, Aruba, Newport Coast, Palm Desert, etc. All the major resorts. Looks like maybe all of the resorts that have amenities like bars/restaurants etc. The smaller resorts without those amenities look like they aren't listed, so maybe it's everywhere with meaningful resort-charging options.


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## Grandma2016 (Jul 22, 2019)

Just called and found out they give you 110 dollar credit for every 9000 options to be used on specific resorts.  All Hawaii resorts were listed


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## VacationForever (Jul 22, 2019)

Grandma2016 said:


> Just called and found out they give you 110 dollar credit for every 9000 options to be used on specific resorts.  All Hawaii resorts were listed


This is alot more generous conversion as compared to MVC DC to resort credit conversion.


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## DannyTS (Jul 22, 2019)

It is a smart move if they want people to buy more Options. Probably this is a common objection, why would you buy more when some go to waste?


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## DannyTS (Jul 22, 2019)

VacationForever said:


> This is alot more generous conversion as compared to MVC DC to resort credit conversion.


What is the MVC DC conversion?

Within Vistana, some platinum weeks seem to gain when converting to the resort credit. Of course, the gold and silver owners lose quite a bit. Another benefit for Vistana MVC is that owners may deposit more weeks and not be too stressed they have to rent out or lose the week.  They will also spend more at the Vistana resorts since they may have a credit to use up. It is really a win-win


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## JIMinNC (Jul 22, 2019)

DannyTS said:


> What is the MVC DC conversion?
> 
> Within Vistana, some platinum weeks seem to gain when converting to the resort credit. Of course, the gold and silver owners lose quite a bit. Another benefit for Vistana MVC is that owners may deposit more weeks and not be too stressed they have to rent out or lose the week.  They will also spend more at the Vistana resorts since they may have a credit to use up. It is really a win-win



See the attached screen shot above - 325 DC Points for $110 of resort credit


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## GregT (Jul 22, 2019)

This is really interesting -- 325 DC points for $110 or 9,000 StarOptions for $110.

So......is 325 DC points equal to 9,000 StarOptions?

Does that suggest an exchange ratio of 27.XX StarOptions to 1 DC points?  

Interesting.

Best,

Greg


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## dioxide45 (Jul 22, 2019)

GregT said:


> This is really interesting -- 325 DC points for $110 or 9,000 StarOptions for $110.
> 
> So......is 325 DC points equal to 9,000 StarOptions?
> 
> ...


I was wondering the same...

It would mean my 1BR SVV Prime KW week is worth 1,625 DC Points. Perhaps about right as the 1BR at Grande Vista is 1,850 and has a full kitchen and larger unit.


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## JIMinNC (Jul 22, 2019)

dioxide45 said:


> I was wondering the same...
> 
> It would mean my 1BR SVV Prime KW week is worth 1,625 DC Points. Perhaps about right as the 1BR at Grande Vista is 1,850 and has a full kitchen and larger unit.



Might a 1BR Harbour Lake be a better comparison? I assume those are all lock-offs since the points spreadsheet only lists 2BR. But if you apply a typical skim to the points required to book a 1BR in the higher seasons (1575 to 1775), that would suggest a 1BR might, in theory, be worth around 1500 to 1685 points.


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## Sicnarf (Jul 22, 2019)

VacationForever said:


> This is alot more generous conversion as compared to MVC DC to resort credit conversion.



Yes, it is very generous as it only cost me $62 to buy 9000 points.


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## VacationForever (Jul 22, 2019)

I gave 25K expiring points away last year by reserving 5 nights at WMH for our neighbors last year.  Now I won't need to do that anymore.


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## dioxide45 (Jul 22, 2019)

JIMinNC said:


> Might a 1BR Harbour Lake be a better comparison? I assume those are all lock-offs since the points spreadsheet only lists 2BR. But if you apply a typical skim to the points required to book a 1BR in the higher seasons (1575 to 1775), that would suggest a 1BR might, in theory, be worth around 1500 to 1685 points.


The 1BR at Harbour Lake is comparable in amenities to the 1BR at Grande Vista. Most (both) are part of the 2BR lock off. THe only difference is a few dedicated 1BR units at Grande Vista. I was comparing to the chart maintained by @StevenTing. There is no 1BR sold at Harbour Lake to compare this to.


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## JIMinNC (Jul 22, 2019)

Sicnarf said:


> Yes, it is very generous as it only cost me $62 to buy 9000 points.



The more relevant measure is not purchase cost, but is the ongoing annual maintenance fee on those points, since purchase cost is one time and can vary depending on whether you bought retail or resale. Maintenance fees are the same either way, and are the true annual cost of those points you are using for the resort credit. For the 325 DC points required to get the $110 of resort credit, if it's Trust points, the maintenance fee cost is about $189, so the $110 is not a great deal, but better than losing them. As far as your noted 9000 VSN StarOptions, it would depend on your maintenance fee cost per Option.


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## JIMinNC (Jul 22, 2019)

dioxide45 said:


> The 1BR at Harbour Lake is comparable in amenities to the 1BR at Grande Vista. Most (both) are part of the 2BR lock off. THe only difference is a few dedicated 1BR units at Grande Vista. I was comparing to the chart maintained by @StevenTing. There is no 1BR sold at Harbour Lake to compare this to.



I'm aware of that, but since there is no dedicated 1BR at Harbour Lake, I was using the booking chart and applying some skim to estimate what a 1BR at Harbour Lake might be worth on Steven Ting's chart *IF* they had dedicated 1BR units there. My rationale was a perception that Grande Vista was a little bigger/somewhat higher end unit than SVV. Since Harbour Lake was the old Horizon location, I was hypothesizing that it was somewhat more comparable to SVV.


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## sail27bill (Jul 22, 2019)

It's not a bad conversion rate in my opinion.  But what would really help out owners who bought from the developer who can't pay their MFs is if they could convert it to credit towards paying their MFs every other year if they wanted.  The owner would have to just pay the balance of whatever the credit didn't cover.  This might be a feature that Marriott might not want to get involved in since it could be costly to them, but it would help some owners out.  Just a thought.


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## mjm1 (Jul 22, 2019)

GregT said:


> This is really interesting -- 325 DC points for $110 or 9,000 StarOptions for $110.
> 
> So......is 325 DC points equal to 9,000 StarOptions?
> 
> ...



Greg that is an interesting comparison. A while back I wondered what a WKV Platinum 1BR might be valued at in an overlay program, so compared it to Marriott’s Canyon Villas. IIRC that was allotted 2,900 DC points, so very close to the ratio you suggested resulting in 3,000 DC points. 

Best regards.

Mike


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## DannyTS (Jul 22, 2019)

sail27bill said:


> It's not a bad conversion rate in my opinion.  But what would really help out owners who bought from the developer who can't pay their MFs is if they could convert it to credit towards paying their MFs every other year if they wanted.  The owner would have to just pay the balance of whatever the credit didn't cover.  This might be a feature that Marriott might not want to get involved in since it could be costly to them, but it would help some owners out.  Just a thought.


Let's not forget that the resort credit will go towards buying goods or services that the developer has a margin on. Also, this is money people may not spend at the resort otherwise. At Lagunamar for example we eat some meals at the resort out of convenience but the best and sometimes cheaper meals will be found outside the resort.
The maintenance fees on the other hand are mandatory so MVC does not have any advantage by helping the owners to pay the MF. It would actually reduce the annual revenue  of the company so I do not expect it to happen. They would also give up a major source of future inventory buying since the repossessed contracts end up in their hands for next to nothing.


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## dioxide45 (Jul 22, 2019)

JIMinNC said:


> I'm aware of that, but since there is no dedicated 1BR at Harbour Lake, I was using the booking chart and applying some skim to estimate what a 1BR at Harbour Lake might be worth on Steven Ting's chart *IF* they had dedicated 1BR units there. My rationale was a perception that Grande Vista was a little bigger/somewhat higher end unit than SVV. Since Harbour Lake was the old Horizon location, I was hypothesizing that it was somewhat more comparable to SVV.


I would put SVV more on par with Grande Vista than Harbour Lake. Three large pools and 700+ units. The units, at least in Key West, are as nice as those at Grande Vista and the 2BR dedicated units comparable to those at Grande Vista with the 2BR lock off being better.


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## JIMinNC (Jul 22, 2019)

DannyTS said:


> Let's not forget that the resort credit will go towards buying goods or services that the developer has a margin on. Also, this is money people may not spend at the resort otherwise. At Lagunamar for example we eat some meals at the resort out of convenience but the best and sometimes cheaper meals will be found outside the resort.
> The maintenance fees on the other hand are mandatory so MVC does not have any advantage by helping the owners to pay the MF. It would actually reduce the annual revenue  of the company so I do not expect it to happen. They would also give up a major source of future inventory buying since the repossessed contracts end up in their hands for next to nothing.



Presumably if using points to pay your mf were an option, that would mean the week would then go to MVC/VSE and they could rent it for cash on Marriott.com, presumably for a lot more than the mf.


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## DannyTS (Jul 22, 2019)

JIMinNC said:


> Presumably if using points to pay your mf were an option, that would mean the week would then go to MVC/VSE and they could rent it for cash on Marriott.com, presumably for a lot more than the mf.


true, I did not think at this possibility. At the same time, we do not know if they are not already comfortable with what they own in order to cover their rental side of business. Owners paying MF with points on the other hand may bring a lot of inventory in cycles they do not control, hard to foresee and they may or may not be able to rent the extra units they have. 
This practice would also probably exacerbate at the worst time of the economic cycle. It is not hard to imagine that owners would tend to do it more during recessions but those would be exactly the worst times to have extra inventory to rent since the hotel occupancy rate and prices tend to decline significantly.


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## JIMinNC (Jul 22, 2019)

DannyTS said:


> true, I did not think at this possibility. At the same time, we do not know if they are not already comfortable with what they own in order to cover their rental side of business. Owners paying MF with points on the other hand may bring a lot of inventory in cycles they do not control, hard to foresee and they may or may not be able to rent the extra units they have.
> This practice would also probably exacerbate at the worst time of the economic cycle. It is not hard to imagine that owners would tend to do it more during recessions but those would be exactly the worst times to have extra inventory to rent since the hotel occupancy rate and prices tend to decline significantly.



Yep, all good points. I believe MVC does still have a rental program for weeks owners, where you can give your week to them and they rent it and share part of the proceeds with the owner. It would probably make more sense to extend that to Vistana weeks rather than paying with Points, since they can elect NOT to take a week for rental at their option. That would mean less revenue for MVW (since they have to share), but could protect them a bit from getting un-rentable inventory. An option to use points to pay the fee would likely have to be at owner option, and as you say, subject MVW to getting stuff they don't want/need.


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## VacationForever (Jul 22, 2019)

Wyndham offers this option of using their developer-purchased ownership to pay for part of their MF but the conversion rate is bad.  If MVW decides to offer this option, I can see some owners opting for this because it is easier than renting out their timeshare, points or weeks.


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## Ken555 (Jul 23, 2019)

Grandma2016 said:


> Just called and found out they give you 110 dollar credit for every 9000 options to be used on specific resorts.  All Hawaii resorts were listed



Hmm... $110 per 9000 SOs would be worth more than my annual fees for my WKV week.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## VacationForever (Jul 23, 2019)

Ken555 said:


> Hmm... $110 per 9000 SOs would be worth more than my annual fees for my WKV week.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


That's my point...quite generous.


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## blondietink (Jul 23, 2019)

Sicnarf said:


> Yes, it is very generous as it only cost me $62 to buy 9000 points.


  You are talking about the old Starpoints, I assume, which no longer exist and are now Marriott/Bonvoy Points. Totally different thing than StarOptions. If I could buy 9000 StarOptions for $62 I would jump on that.


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## YYJMSP (Jul 23, 2019)

VacationForever said:


> That's my point...quite generous.



Agreed -- looks like that rate would cover 80%+ of my average MF costs...

So if I don't use a unit, I can cash in the SOs and effectively get 80% of my MFs back?


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## duke (Jul 23, 2019)

How long do you have to use the "resort credit"?
Do they expire?


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## VacationForever (Jul 23, 2019)

duke said:


> How long do you have to use the "resort credit"?
> Do they expire?


With MVC, it is valid for the duration of the stay at the resort.


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## Ken555 (Jul 23, 2019)

It would be more generous if they allow the conversion of any amount of points. As it is, I typically end the year with leftover SOs of ~325-1675 or so. It wouldn’t be worth much based on the $110 per 9000 ratio, but it would be something and would be a nice gesture. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## PcflEZFlng (Jul 23, 2019)

Ken555 said:


> It would be more generous if they allow the conversion of any amount of points. As it is, I typically end the year with leftover SOs of ~325-1675 or so. It wouldn’t be worth much based on the $110 per 9000 ratio, but it would be something and would be a nice gesture.



Agreed. I have about 2600 leftover SOs that are just short of being able to add a day to an upcoming stay. It was encouraging when I got the email yesterday, and then I saw this thread. Looks like they'll go to waste after all.


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## DannyTS (Jul 23, 2019)

PcflEZFlng said:


> Agreed. I have about 2600 leftover SOs that are just short of being able to add a day to an upcoming stay. It was encouraging when I got the email yesterday, and then I saw this thread. Looks like they'll go to waste after all.





Ken555 said:


> It would be more generous if they allow the conversion of any amount of points. As it is, I typically end the year with leftover SOs of ~325-1675 or so. It wouldn’t be worth much based on the $110 per 9000 ratio, but it would be something and would be a nice gesture.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk



I think this is what us owners would like to see. Yet, what would be Vistana's motivation to do it? These  points go to them anyways. Besides, I think it may cost them a bit of money to manage this program: program coding, booking, follow ups, screw ups followed by phone calls to the member service dept. again  etc. . If people deposit just 1000 points, is is really worth the hassle for Vistana?
Personally I understand if they have a minimum but after that it should be more flexible. I would prefer a minimum of 9000 options and 1k increments after that


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## dioxide45 (Jul 23, 2019)

VacationForever said:


> With MVC, it is valid for the duration of the stay at the resort.


I also don't think they are just generic resort credit certificates to use as you wish when you want. Don't you need to have a specific stay reserved and targeted to apply the resort credit to?


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## VacationForever (Jul 23, 2019)

dioxide45 said:


> I also don't think they are just generic resort credit certificates to use as you wish when you want. Don't you need to have a specific stay reserved and targeted to apply the resort credit to?


I can only share my experience with MVC.  I have to decide which resort stay that I want the resort credits applied to. Not all resorts have them.  When I check in, I have to go to their vacation club desk to activate it.  I use points in my holding account to redeem for resort credits when I foresee that I will have no further use for them for the rest of the year.


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## Ken555 (Jul 23, 2019)

DannyTS said:


> I think this is what us owners would like to see. Yet, what would be Vistana's motivation to do it? These  points go to them anyways. Besides, I think it may cost them a bit of money to manage this program: program coding, booking, follow ups, screw ups followed by phone calls to the member service dept. again  etc. . If people deposit just 1000 points, is is really worth the hassle for Vistana?
> Personally I understand if they have a minimum but after that it should be more flexible. I would prefer a minimum of 9000 options and 1k increments after that



That’s why I said “nice gesture”. Everything else you wrote I had assumed.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## DannyTS (Jul 25, 2019)

can you use any StarOptions including banked or restricted to buy resort credit?


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## DannyTS (Oct 6, 2019)

I do not think it was mentioned before. I just looked at the September 2019 AM presentation for SVV and it states that this is a pilot program only for Orlando and Hawaii. Kind of an odd combination if you ask me.


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## DeniseM (Oct 9, 2019)

Hopefully, this isn't old news:  A Vistana phone Rep. told me about a new program for *Resort Credits* that I was not aware of.

When you have leftover Staroptions (even if they are restricted) you can use them for a resort credit at the resort where you have a reservation in your name:

Minumum number of Staroptions required = 9,000

9,000 Staroptions = $110 in resort credits.

You can "buy" additional credits in increments of 9,000 Staroptions.

Not all Vistana resorts are included, but all of the Maui resorts are included in this program.

The credits have to be assigned to a *specific reservation* that you have* in your name*.

You cannot assign the credits to a reservation in someone elses name.

Once you have assigned the credits to a reservation, the only way to reverse it is to cancel the reservation.

The resort credit can be used for most things at participating Vistana resorts that you can  charge to your room, including alcoholic beverages.

*Example:*  Let's say you have 5,000 restricted Staroptions leftover in 2019, and 4,000 banked Staroptions in 2020 - you can combine them and apply the 9,000 Staroptions to a $110 resort credit to a reservation in your name in 2019 or 2020.


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## goaliedave (Oct 9, 2019)

great post! thx for the info

Sent from my SM-J327W using Tapatalk


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## cyntravel (Oct 9, 2019)

I have a question. If your SO expire at the end of Dec can you use the credit for next year's reservation?


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## VacationForever (Oct 9, 2019)

It was first reported on this thread:
https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/using-staroptions-for-resort-credit-new-feature.293169/


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## DeniseM (Oct 9, 2019)

cyntravel said:


> I have a question. If your SO expire at the end of Dec can you use the credit for next year's reservation?


Yes - see my example:

*Example:* Let's say you have 5,000 *restricted Staroptions* leftover in 2019, and 4,000 banked Staroptions in 2020 - you can combine them and apply the 9,000 Staroptions to a $110 resort credit to a reservation in your name* in 2019 or 2020.*


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## DeniseM (Oct 9, 2019)

Sorry - I completely missed that other thread - I think I was on vacation.  Oh well, at least now we have a summary of the program.  However, my post was based on the info that I got from one Phone Rep, so I can't guarantee the details.

*There were a lot of questions/comments in the other thread about this being a poor use of Staroptions, and yes, I agree, that using your Staroptions for reservations is a much better option.  But if you have leftover and/or restricted Staroptions that you can't use and that will expire, this is a very good way to use them.


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## VacationForever (Oct 9, 2019)

DeniseM said:


> Sorry - I completely missed that other thread - I think I was on vacation.


Are moderators allowed to go vacation?!


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## DeniseM (Oct 9, 2019)

I'm on vacation about 2 weeks a month...  But at the time of the original thread, I was camping with poor internet access, so I never saw it before today.


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## controller1 (Oct 9, 2019)

So, if the StarOptions are assigned to a specific reservation I assume this assignment must be done prior to arrival?  Does anyone know the real mechanics of this?


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## DeniseM (Oct 9, 2019)

Yes, you have to call owner services, tell them how many credits you want to "buy", and tell them which Staroptions to use.  Then the credit will be attached to your reservation, and Vistana will email you a receipt.

*This would be an important thing to verify with the resort front desk by either calling before check-in or at check-in.  You don't want to be checking out and then find out that Owner Services never sent the credit to the resort.


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## controller1 (Oct 9, 2019)

DeniseM said:


> Yes, you have to call owner services, tell them how many credits you want to "buy", and tell them which Staroptions to use.  Then the credit will be attached to your reservation, and Vistana will email you a receipt.
> 
> *This would be an important thing to verify with the resort front desk by either calling before check-in or at check-in.  You don't want to be checking out and then find out that Owner Services never sent the credit to the resort.



Thanks for walking through this. Your explanation is much clearer than what I've previously read about this.


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## bizaro86 (Oct 9, 2019)

VacationForever said:


> Are moderators allowed to go vacation?!



I have always assumed being on vacation at least 25% of the time was a requirement to become a Tug moderator.


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## DannyTS (Oct 9, 2019)

DeniseM said:


> Not all Vistana resorts are included, but all of the Maui resorts are included in this program.


All Hawaii and Orlando resorts. Does anyone know based on what these locations were chosen?


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## Sugarcubesea (Oct 10, 2019)

DeniseM said:


> Hopefully, this isn't old news:  A Vistana phone Rep. told me about a new program for *Resort Credits* that I was not aware of.
> 
> When you have leftover Staroptions (even if they are restricted) you can use them for a resort credit at the resort where you have a reservation in your name:
> 
> ...



Denise:  thanks, I purchased a WKV-Scottsdale for star options back in July.  Good to know I can use them for this purpose.


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## needvaca (Oct 10, 2019)

I just called Vistana today to purchase some resort credits for my upcoming reservations and the rep told me I could not, because:
RESALE PURCHASES ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR RESORT CREDITS, ONLY DEVELOPER PURCHASES.

She said I could only use the Staroptions coming from my original developer purchased unit, but not the Staroptions from my other resale purchased villas.  I asked her to check with a manager on this.  She did.  He confirmed.
What a bummer.  I already made a "home resort" reservation with my developer purchase, so I am out of luck.


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## Snowonbeach (Oct 10, 2019)

I spoke with Vistana today. I have StarOptions left from 2019 and I missed the deadline for banking. (A first for me and it won't happen again.) I brought up resort credits. He was surprised I knew about them and said it was a trial at Orlando and Hawaii. He thinks it will be rolled out for all resorts before the end of the year. Told me to call back at least two days before our bookings to see if we can use leftover Staroptions for resort credits. We have Harborside booked for December and the resort credits could be useful. Will let you know.


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## NNerland (Oct 11, 2019)

Thank you for sharing again.  This is a great option.
With St John you can actually get more out of your options than you paid, which is nice to clean up old balances; especially with fixed weeks.
With FlexProgram or "Points" programs you can convert some residual balances to Marriott Points, which is nice to squeeze out what you can; but this may actually be more useful.
Nice to have another option to clean things up in a given year once you have your reservations taken care of -

Hope to use with our St John January Trip where we had lots of last minute moving parts.


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## jabberwocky (Oct 11, 2019)

So use of a resort credit means they are giving a value of $0.012 / SO in resort credit.  

This essentially is breakeven for the MF's on our SVR week ($0.0117/SO).  It's actually a pretty good deal on our SDO Plat week (MF's work out to $0.008/SO).


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## needvaca (Oct 11, 2019)

Did you all buy developer?
because Vistana told me yesterday you can't buy resort credits with resale staroptions.
If anyone confirms this one way or the other, please let us know.


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## DeniseM (Oct 11, 2019)

This is what I would do:  Sign onto your Vistana Acct and use the message function to ask a very clear question in writing.  I have found that they are the most accurate when they have to respond in writing.  Make the question as short and concise as possible.

Something like:  *Can I use the Staroptions from my XYZ deed to buy Resort Credit for my reservation #123456?*

AND - send the same question to:  Suzanne Clark, Vice President Owner Services at Vistana Signature Experiences:

Vistana Email:  suzanne.clark@vistana.com

Then compare the answers.


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## controller1 (Oct 11, 2019)

DeniseM said:


> This is what I would do:  Sign onto your Vistana Acct and use the message function to ask a very clear question in writing.  I have found that they are the most accurate when they have to respond in writing.  Make the question as short and concise as possible.
> 
> Something like:  *Can I use the Staroptions from my XYZ deed to buy Resort Credit for my reservation #123456?*
> 
> ...



Just to be on the safe side . . . prior to comparing the answers please ensure all guns are locked up!


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## jabberwocky (Oct 11, 2019)

needvaca said:


> Did you all buy developer?
> because Vistana told me yesterday you can't buy resort credits with resale staroptions.
> If anyone confirms this one way or the other, please let us know.



We have two developer (SVR and WFlex), a retro SDO (probably counts as developer) and a resale WKORV-N OF.

All have SO’s but apparently some SO’s are more equal than others.


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## jabberwocky (Oct 12, 2019)

Looking at the MVC forum I see that MVC owners are being given a $110 credit for 325 DP.

I wonder if this could give an indication as to how Marriott is weighing the relative value of SO's and DP.

If my math is correct, this implies that 9000 SO's = 325 DP or 1 DP = 27.7 SO's.

This would give the value of around 5350 DP for a 2 BR WKORV OV or IV unit, 6400 for an Hawaii 2 BR OF week.  An 81,000 2BR Orlando week would be around 2925.

This would be advantageous for owners of platinum desert weeks as their weeks would be valued more highly than similar MVC properties (not surprising as this is the current situation in SVN) and about a wash for those with Orlando weeks when you compare to the DP chart.  Hawaii owners will have little incentive to join or trade with the new currency if these rates hold at this conversion rate as you could not trade into MOC for anything close to what you have just up the beach.


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## duke (Oct 16, 2019)

Can someone do a calculation on what is the better deal:  Use StarOptions or Marriott Points to pay Resort charges?  For example:  WPORV has 148,100 SO and 258,000 Marriott Points if converted. (actually 10% more if 5*Elite).  What is better deal to use?  At each resort?  I forgot the conversion rate for Marriott Points to cash to pay resort charges.


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## NNerland (Oct 16, 2019)

duke said:


> Can someone do a calculation on what is the better deal:  Use StarOptions or Marriott Points to pay Resort charges?  For example:  WPORV has 148,100 SO and 258,000 Marriott Points if converted. (actually 10% more if 5*Elite).  What is better deal to use?  At each resort?  I forgot the conversion rate for Marriott Points to cash to pay resort charges.



Everything is case by case.  There is no BLACK AND WHITE.
You can calculate your value of the StarOption - 9000 to $100.   In Hawaii, less value than St John (Bay Vista) for example.  Every resort has its dues and they are not apples to apples.   So that is 1st when it comes to figuring out if 9000 to $110 is a good deal for you.
As for conversion to Hotel Points - again that varies by resort, season, etc.  It is also greatly influenced by how you redeem those points.  It is like Airline Miles and the value depends on redemption value, first class, etc.   You don't know what you got for value when comparing until you book and see redemption values.

Hope at least the math helps - I love finding values and maximizing the points.  I hope this helps you.

Right now this is only available in Orlando and Hawaii - I hope it comes to St John by the time we go in January.  Would be a nice way to clean up some odd lots and have free drinks and food.


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## duke (Oct 17, 2019)

Question was how much $ credit they give you against resort and food charges when using Marriott Bonvoy Points at check out?  I think it was about 1.4 cents for a SPG point back then.


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## blondietink (Oct 17, 2019)

Wish they would extend this to Lagunamar and Harborside resorts!


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## GregT (Oct 17, 2019)

All,

I learned today that this only applies to StarOption reservations or home weeks. I have an II trade into Nanea this weekend and they wouldn’t let me get the resort credit.   Worth a shot to ask though!

Best,

Greg


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## controller1 (Oct 17, 2019)

GregT said:


> All,
> 
> I learned today that this only applies to StarOption reservations or home weeks. I have an II trade into Nanea this weekend and they wouldn’t let me get the resort credit.   Worth a shot to ask though!
> 
> ...



That certainly makes sense since the use of StarOptions should be limited to owner reservations.


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## dioxide45 (Oct 17, 2019)

GregT said:


> All,
> 
> I learned today that this only applies to StarOption reservations or home weeks. I have an II trade into Nanea this weekend and they wouldn’t let me get the resort credit.   Worth a shot to ask though!
> 
> ...


Do you know if Marriott's resort credit works the same way?


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## GregT (Oct 18, 2019)

dioxide45 said:


> Do you know if Marriott's resort credit works the same way?


I'm not sure.....but I would suspect it is the same.

Best,

Greg


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## VacationForever (Oct 18, 2019)

dioxide45 said:


> Do you know if Marriott's resort credit works the same way?


I was able to attach resort credits to an II exchange into Desert Springs prior to arrival.  Then while on site I did another batch through the concierge.  The concierge did not have the ability to view online and I had to specify the buckets to pull from while she wrote them down.  She said she had to email MVC folks later but the resort credits were made available immediately.  One thing to note is that I do own at Desert Springs so I don't know if it came into play.  Prior to arrival, I read the (II Marriott) confirmation to the MVC rep for her to attach the resort credit to.


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## mariawolf (Oct 20, 2019)

Marriott does this at a much better rate--325 points for $110--never knew about this untill we had to recently used a lot of points when a year in advance was waitlisted and never came thru.............maybe the idea--if new--is a result of merger


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## VacationForever (Oct 20, 2019)

mariawolf said:


> Marriott does this at a much better rate--325 points for $110--never knew about this untill we had to recently used a lot of points when a year in advance was waitlisted and never came thru.............maybe the idea--if new--is a result of merger


Marriott's rate is worse for the owners.  You get only 33.84 cents per point vs. paying 58 cents per point.

With Vistana you can generally get more back or break even than MF, depending on ownership.


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## controller1 (Sep 22, 2020)

I thought I would bump this thread.

For those with quite a few banked and/or restricted StarOptions due to Covid-19 cancellations this year, this could be a good way to use some of those StarOptions for your 2021 reservations especially if you believe you will have difficulty using the restricted StarOptions with their 120-day restriction.

It's not available at all resorts but if your resort reservation qualifies you get $110 of resort credit for each 9,000 StarOptions. Depending on your MF this could come close to making you whole.


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## CPNY (Sep 22, 2020)

controller1 said:


> I thought I would bump this thread.
> 
> For those with quite a few banked and/or restricted StarOptions due to Covid-19 cancellations this year, this could be a good way to use some of those StarOptions for your 2021 reservations especially if you believe you will have difficulty using the restricted StarOptions with their 120-day restriction.
> 
> It's not available at all resorts but if your resort reservation qualifies you get $110 of resort credit for each 9,000 StarOptions. Depending on your MF this could come close to making you whole.


Does the resort credit expire? Any list of resorts it’s good at to share?


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## controller1 (Sep 22, 2020)

CPNY said:


> Does the resort credit expire? Any list of resorts it’s good at to share?



1) The resort credit is attached to a particular reservation and would need to be used with that reservation. My understanding is that once the credit is attached to the reservation it is non-transferrable and will need to be used completely as it is also non-refundable. Once the credits are attached to the reservation the only way to get the StarOptions back is to cancel the reservation.  Read the early posts from @DeniseM at the beginning of the thread. The credits are available by calling Owner Services prior to your reservation arrival.

2) For sure all the Hawaii resorts are included as are Sheraton Vistana Resort and Sheraton Vistana Villages.


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## dioxide45 (Sep 22, 2020)

Can you use restricted StarOptions for resort credit?


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## controller1 (Sep 22, 2020)

dioxide45 said:


> Can you use restricted StarOptions for resort credit?



Yes, according to Owner Services in my phone call with them on Friday.


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## controller1 (Sep 27, 2020)

*UPDATE - List of Resorts Expanded -- Use Limited to F&B and Marketplace Purchases*

I've received additional information today from Vistana showing an expanded list of resorts where Resort Credits may be used. The Resort Credit feature may now be used at the following Vistana resorts:
- Sheraton Vistana Resort 
- Sheraton Vistana Villages 
- The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas 
- The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North 
- The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas 
- The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas 
- Sheraton Kauai Resort 
- Sheraton Broadway Plantation 
- Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas 
- Sheraton Mountain Vista 
- Sheraton Lakeside Terrace Villas at Mountain Vista 
- Sheraton Desert Oasis 
- The Westin Desert Willow Villas

The information I received also indicated a severe limitation on their use such as not available for cabana rental or spa services. I double-checked with Vistana asking for a "non-canned" response to my specific question and they confirmed Resort Credits may only "be used towards onsite food and beverage, as well as the Marketplace, which varies by location." 

The other information received is something we have known since the beginning of this thread. "StarOptions from any bucket, such as restricted, banked, etc., can be used to request Resort Credits; however, there is no fee to trade StarOptions for Resort Credits. Please keep in mind that requests for Resort Credits must be made no later than three (3) days prior to check-in."

Hope this information helps.


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## grrrah (Oct 4, 2020)

This is great info. thanks!!

1st world problem is that I'm lined up to have 17,850 extra options.  need to find 150 more.


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## critterchick (Oct 5, 2020)

controller1 said:


> *UPDATE - List of Resorts Expanded -- Use Limited to F&B and Marketplace Purchases*
> 
> I've received additional information today from Vistana showing an expanded list of resorts where Resort Credits may be used. The Resort Credit feature may now be used at the following Vistana resorts:
> - Sheraton Vistana Resort
> ...



That's so helpful, thank you. We have an insane number of SO for 2020 - we can still bank them (5*) but if I can burn some off that would be helpful so we're not just kicking the proverbial can down the road.


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## dioxide45 (Oct 5, 2020)

critterchick said:


> That's so helpful, thank you. We have an insane number of SO for 2020 - we can still bank them (5*) but if I can burn some off that would be helpful so we're not just kicking the proverbial can down the road.


The only way to use them for resort credit is to also have an active reservation for which you will use them during your trip. If you aren't traveling in 2020, then you won't be able to get resort credit from them. Unless of course you bank them to 2021/2022 and use them for resort credit on a trip then.


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## jabberwocky (Oct 5, 2020)

Was there ever a definitive answer provided as to whether the SO had to be from a developer purchased unit, or are mandatory resales also eligible?  I noticed that discussed earlier in the thread - but I don't think it was reported back as to a resolution.


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## VacationForever (Nov 16, 2020)

I am bringing this thread out of the cobwebs.

We decided against going to Rancho Mirage this Thanksgiving and we had booked the stay using expiring Star Options.   I called member services who suggested that I convert expiring SO to resort credits and apply to a reservation for next year. I went ahead and made a reservation for next year and applied $1,210 worth of resort credit to the reservation.  I did have to pay $75 for cancelling the Thanksgiving reservation.  We will be eating at the resort restaurant alot...


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## okwiater (Nov 17, 2020)

VacationForever said:


> I am bringing this thread out of the cobwebs.
> 
> We decided against going to Rancho Mirage this Thanksgiving and we had booked the stay using expiring Star Options.   I called member services who suggested that I convert expiring SO to resort credits and apply to a reservation for next year. I went ahead and made a reservation for next year and applied $1,210 worth of resort credit to the reservation.  I did have to pay $75 for cancelling the Thanksgiving reservation.  We will be eating at the resort restaurant alot...


I just want to make sure I understand what you did...

They let you convert Restricted SOs with a 2020 expiration to resort credits which were applied to a 2021 reservation?

If so, that is a GREAT feature!!


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## SandyPGravel (Nov 17, 2020)

VacationForever said:


> I am bringing this thread out of the cobwebs.
> 
> We decided against going to Rancho Mirage this Thanksgiving and we had booked the stay using expiring Star Options.   I called member services who suggested that I convert expiring SO to resort credits and apply to a reservation for next year. I went ahead and made a reservation for next year and applied $1,210 worth of resort credit to the reservation.  I did have to pay $75 for cancelling the Thanksgiving reservation.  We will be eating at the resort restaurant alot...



Has the list of resorts expanded?  I can't find a list on the VSE website.  Can you point me in the right direction?


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## VacationForever (Nov 17, 2020)

SandyPGravel said:


> Has the list of resorts expanded?  I can't find a list on the VSE website.  Can you point me in the right direction?


Resort credits can be used at SDO, all resorts in Hawaii, Sheraton Steamboat, SVR, SVV and WDW.


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## VacationForever (Nov 17, 2020)

okwiater said:


> I just want to make sure I understand what you did...
> 
> They let you convert Restricted SOs with a 2020 expiration to resort credits which were applied to a 2021 reservation?
> 
> If so, that is a GREAT feature!!


Yes.


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## SVOForever (Nov 17, 2020)

Hello - I wanted to clarify - does anyone know what happens if (1) in the example above, even if that April 2021 stay is changed or canceled - where does the $1210 credit go?  Gone, or able to apply to a new reservation?  And (2) does the reservation have to be for me, or can it be for my father-in-law and their extended family?


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## controller1 (Nov 17, 2020)

SandyPGravel said:


> Has the list of resorts expanded?  I can't find a list on the VSE website.  Can you point me in the right direction?



The list includes 13 properties. Here is an excerpt from an email response I received from Vistana.


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## Sea Six (Nov 17, 2020)

DannyTS said:


> It is a smart move if they want people to buy more Options. Probably this is a common objection, why would you buy more when some go to waste?


How do you buy more options?  Points, yes, but options???


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## Sea Six (Nov 17, 2020)

This thread is confusing.  It is about using StarOptions for resort credit, not points.


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## controller1 (Nov 17, 2020)

Sea Six said:


> This thread is confusing.  It is about using StarOptions for resort credit, not points.



And why does that make the thread confusing?


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## Sea Six (Nov 17, 2020)

controller1 said:


> And why does that make the thread confusing?


Because Options are not Points, yet people seem to be using them interchangeably.   You can't buy Options.  They have different values, but you can buy points, etc, etc.  It's all mixed up.


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## dioxide45 (Nov 17, 2020)

Sea Six said:


> Because Options are not Points, yet people seem to be using them interchangeably.   You can't buy Options.  They have different values, but you can buy points, etc, etc.  It's all mixed up.


You can buy Home Options in Westin or Sheraton Flex, Aventuras or at several other properties that sell Home Options. No?


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## SVOForever (Nov 17, 2020)

I will probably call them to discuss.  Sorry ... on my end, I'm not confused - it seems clear it is StarOptions, not any kind of "points" otherwise ... but what I'm not clear on still is whether my wife's family, staying in a unit I book for them as the owner, can use our restricted Options next year or not.


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## VacationForever (Nov 17, 2020)

SVOForever said:


> Hello - I wanted to clarify - does anyone know what happens if (1) in the example above, even if that April 2021 stay is changed or canceled - where does the $1210 credit go?  Gone, or able to apply to a new reservation?  And (2) does the reservation have to be for me, or can it be for my father-in-law and their extended family?


I think it would be gone forever, Clementine...  It is tied to a reservation which you make, so if you add your friends/family as guests and they check into your reservation, they should be able to use the resort credits.   Yes, best to call to discuss.  If they don't answer their phones, chat works.


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## KACTravels (Nov 17, 2020)

I called WKORN to ask and they clarified that (at least right now) the resort credits from SOs can only be used for food and beverages at WKORN. She also made it very clear that it is use it or lose it.  It seemed that she was being overly cautionary about it. Then she said I would have to call Owner Services 72 hours prior to arrival.  i will call tomorrow and get $110 for the remaining Restricted SOs that we have left.


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## daviator (Nov 17, 2020)

I would assume that you'd also be able to use the resort credits for things like spa services, once those services are able to be offered again.


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## controller1 (Nov 17, 2020)

daviator said:


> I would assume that you'd also be able to use the resort credits for things like spa services, once those services are able to be offered again.



Spa services is not a use for the resort credit. I specifically asked that question and received this in response from Vistana: *Resort Credits cannot be used for gift cards, spa, charitable donations or lodging costs and tax, such as housekeeping fees and occupancy taxes. Also, Resort Credits cannot be used to pay for nightly reservations, such as Encore packages, renter, etc.*


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## KACTravels (Nov 17, 2020)

Correct, at least at WKORN she specifically said food and beverage only at this time


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## daviator (Nov 18, 2020)

controller1 said:


> Spa services is not a use for the resort credit. I specifically asked that question and received this in response from Vistana: *Resort Credits cannot be used for gift cards, spa, charitable donations or lodging costs and tax, such as housekeeping fees and occupancy taxes. Also, Resort Credits cannot be used to pay for nightly reservations, such as Encore packages, renter, etc.*



Wow, that diminishes the value significantly.  So they're only valid for the overpriced food and drinks.  That's pretty limiting.


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## shorep (Nov 18, 2020)

At that conversion rate I will ask Vistana to give me a refund in cash for the star options I could not use 'by December 2020',because I could not travel from UK to USA because of Covid,that should pay for the christmas booze bill and a tip for santa!!!!.I have a few tips for Vistana.


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## VacationForever (Nov 18, 2020)

shorep said:


> At that conversion rate I will ask Vistana to give me a refund in cash for the star options I could not use 'by December 2020',because I could not travel from UK to USA because of Covid,that should pay for the christmas booze bill and a tip for santa!!!!.I have a few tips for Vistana.


Vistana won't give you a refund in cash.  You are an owner and it is not a Vistana problem.   Owners got to pay for the upkeep of their timeshare properties. Unlike a hotel guest where you can cancel a reservation because you do not own a share of the hotel.


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## VacationForever (Nov 18, 2020)

daviator said:


> Wow, that diminishes the value significantly.  So they're only valid for the overpriced food and drinks.  That's pretty limiting.


But if you have no other use for it and it is use it or lose it, then applying them to another reservation makes perfect sense to me.  In fact the restaurant at the property which I applied the $1210 to next year is currently closed because of governor's mandate to shutdown indoor dining.  $1210 is alot of money to eat pool food and marketplace items.  My husband hates pool food and I said we would eat as much as we could possibly stomach and redeem the rest in overpriced wine from the marketplace if they do sell wine by the bottle.  If there is nothing else to spend on, we will use it to buy non-perishable food items at the Marketplace and drop them off at the food bank.


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## shorep (Nov 18, 2020)

VacationForever said:


> Vistana won't give you a refund in cash.  You are an owner and it is not a Vistana problem.   Owners got to pay for the upkeep of their timeshare properties. Unlike a hotel guest where you can cancel a reservation because you do not own a share of the hotel.


I was under the naive impression that being a Vistana owner that any problem with my ownership would be a problem Vistana would want to help out with, so now I begin to see that it is all a one way street,Vistana can go up and down in any direction, but I cannot????


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## VacationForever (Nov 18, 2020)

shorep said:


> I was under the naive impression that being a Vistana owner that any problem with my ownership would be a problem Vistana would want to help out with, so now I begin to see that it is all a one way street,Vistana can go up and down in any direction, but I cannot????


You own a property, if you cannot use it, the property still needs to be maintained.  Your MF pays for that.  HOA manages the property and hires workers to take care of the property.  Vistana cannot magically produce money to cover MFs for owners.  By allowing restricted/expiring SOs to be applied to a future reservation is a generous option given to owners.


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## dioxide45 (Nov 18, 2020)

VacationForever said:


> You own a property, if you cannot use it, the property still needs to be maintained.  Your MF pays for that.  HOA manages the property and hires workers to take care of the property.  Vistana cannot magically produce money to cover MFs for owners.  By allowing restricted/expiring SOs to be applied to a future reservation is a generous option given to owners.


It is a great option. When Vistana or Marriott provide resort credit in exchange for points/StarOptions they then have to figure out a way to make money from the StarOptions/Points you give them. I suspect in 2020 and into 2021, monetizing that inventory will be very hard for them. It isn't like they are renting out empty rooms when owners aren't even going. Sheraton Vistana Villages was down to 12% occupancy in August. Basically no one was going.


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## daviator (Nov 18, 2020)

VacationForever said:


> You own a property, if you cannot use it, the property still needs to be maintained.  Your MF pays for that.  HOA manages the property and hires workers to take care of the property.  Vistana cannot magically produce money to cover MFs for owners.  By allowing restricted/expiring SOs to be applied to a future reservation is a generous option given to owners.



Agreed.  As an owner, the risk that something might happen that leaves you unable to vacation is your own risk.  I think that Vistana's decision to allow cancellations and giving restricted options was very, very generous.  It may still come back to bite them, if everyone is trying to use their ownership weeks next year AND people are trying to redeem restricted options from 2020.  There just aren't enough weeks to allow both of those things to happen.

Presumably they are hoping that people will bank unrestricted options they can't use in 2021+, and that over the next few years, the "excess options" they've created will get used up and things will be back to normal.  It can't have been any easy decision; I think it was both right and extremely generous.


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## shorep (Nov 19, 2020)

daviator said:


> Agreed.  As an owner, the risk that something might happen that leaves you unable to vacation is your own risk.  I think that Vistana's decision to allow cancellations and giving restricted options was very, very generous.  It may still come back to bite them, if everyone is trying to use their ownership weeks next year AND people are trying to redeem restricted options from 2020.  There just aren't enough weeks to allow both of those things to happen.
> 
> Presumably they are hoping that people will bank unrestricted options they can't use in 2021+, and that over the next few years, the "excess options" they've created will get used up and things will be back to normal.  It can't have been any easy decision; I think it was both right and extremely generous.


My heart bleeds for Vistana/Marriot time bandits,I would spend all my time in church praying for them, alas,since lockdown I'm off the hook on that one,can clear out the garage, another thankless task, almost like dealing with the afore said company.!!


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## Sea Six (Nov 22, 2020)

@dioxide45   You can buy Home Options in Westin or Sheraton Flex, Aventuras or at several other properties that sell Home Options. No?

Not the same thing.  You can buy a small number of points to reserve a certain hotel if you run short, for example, but once you use them, they are gone.  It's just a one-time thing.  If you buy options in Flex, you own them forever and pay maintenance fees on them.  Points are not Options.  The advantage with FLEX is you don't have to buy a whole week if you don't need it.


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## dioxide45 (Nov 22, 2020)

Sea Six said:


> @dioxide45   You can buy Home Options in Westin or Sheraton Flex, Aventuras or at several other properties that sell Home Options. No?
> 
> Not the same thing.  You can buy a small number of points to reserve a certain hotel if you run short, for example, but once you use them, they are gone.  It's just a one-time thing.  If you buy options in Flex, you own them forever and pay maintenance fees on them.  Points are not Options.  The advantage with FLEX is you don't have to buy a whole week if you don't need it.


I think the issue here is the terminology. You can certainly buy Options. You just can't buy one time use options. What is the difference between points and options here? We have Bonvoy Points, perhaps that is what you are referring to?


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## Sea Six (Nov 22, 2020)

dioxide45 said:


> I think the issue here is the terminology. You can certainly buy Options. You just can't buy one time use options. What is the difference between points and options here? We have Bonvoy Points, perhaps that is what you are referring to?


No, I am referring to the fact that you can buy some points to meet a short term objective of booking a certain room, etc, but you can't buy Options unless you want to own them and pay maintenance fees forever on them.  The point is Points are not Options., and their values are quite different.  My problem with this thread is people are using them interchangeably,  and they are not the same thing.


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## daviator (Nov 22, 2020)

Sea Six said:


> No, I am referring to the fact that you can buy some points to meet a short term objective of booking a certain room, etc, but you can't buy Options unless you want to own them and pay maintenance fees forever on them.  The point is Points are not Options., and their values are quite different.  My problem with this thread is people are using them interchangeably,  and they are not the same thing.



Actually I would agree that there is a lot of sloppy use of terminology going on, but then I’d sort of disagree with the way that you‘re using them too (respectfully.)

StarOptions are the points that you get, every year (or every other year, depending on what you own) in the Vistana network.  StarOptions are specific to a given year, normally... you get 2020 StarOptions and they expire at the end of 2020 if not used.  But they can also be banked — or sometimes reissued as Restricted StarOptions — with different expirations dates and conditions of use, sometimes, than what they had originally.  So you can end up with multiple caches of StarOptions, with varying expirations dates; and some of them are likely to be “full StarOptions” which can be used for reservations during your Home Resort Reservation Period, and others might be “restricted StarOptions” which can only be used (IIRC) within 9 months of your arrival date.

I do think that you can buy StarOptions if you need a few more to allow you to reserve the room you want at a particular resort, but I assume those expire at the end of that year just like regular StarOptions do.  I’m not sure if those purchased StarOptions can be banked or rolled over.  I’ve never bought “extra” StarOptions so I’m pretty ignorant on the specifics of how that works.

Those annual allotments of StarOptions come to you because you either bought deeded weeks in the Vistana program from the developer (or you managed to get resale weeks that you purchased in the secondary market re-designated as SVN weeks) or you bought in the Flex program, where you get a certain number of StarOption points every year (or EOY) which, I think, are just the same as the StarOption points you‘d get from owning deeded weeks, except that there are a group of bundled resorts that will be considered your “Home Resort” instead of just one resort.  

As I’m typing this I’m realizing how complicated all of this is, so it’s no wonder that people get confused and that that terminology gets misused.  I’m not 100% sure that I haven’t gotten something wrong, but I don’t think so.  I’m sure somebody will correct me if I have.

Anyway, this is all diverging somewhat from the original topic.  I think it’s great that Vistana is providing new ways to get some value out of StarOptions, especially smaller amounts of them.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who often ends up with a few thousand unusable StarOptions at the end of the year, for one reason or another — not enough to book anything with.  But if I can proactively use those extra StarOptions for some value (maybe during my last Vistana stay of the year), that is a lot better than just throwing them away.


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## okwiater (Nov 22, 2020)

daviator said:


> I do think that you can buy StarOptions if you need a few more to allow you to reserve the room you want at a particular resort, but I assume those expire at the end of that year just like regular StarOptions do.  I’m not sure if those purchased StarOptions can be banked or rolled over.  I’ve never bought “extra” StarOptions so I’m pretty ignorant on the specifics of how that works.



Why do you "think that you can buy StarOptions if you need a few more?" I've never heard of that being possible.


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## controller1 (Nov 22, 2020)

okwiater said:


> Why do you "think that you can buy StarOptions if you need a few more?" I've never heard of that being possible.



You've never heard of it being possible because it isn't.


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## VacationForever (Nov 22, 2020)

I have not seen any post in this thread where anyone was confused about Star Options = Bonvoy points.  Everyone who posted was on "point" in discussing using Star Options to redeem Resort Credits.


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## daviator (Nov 22, 2020)

okwiater said:


> Why do you "think that you can buy StarOptions if you need a few more?" I've never heard of that being possible.



SeaSix, above, stated "I am referring to the fact that you can buy some points to meet a short term objective of booking a certain room, etc..." and nobody refuted that, so i assumed it to be true.  I thought he was referred to StarOptions.  As I said, I've never done this.  Maybe it's not actually something you can do.  Or maybe I succumbed to the problem being discussed, where  the "points" being discussed are ambiguous and easily misunderstood.


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## dioxide45 (Nov 22, 2020)

I think only one person led to more confusion in this thread. Everyone seemed to understand what everyone was talking about up until Post #49.


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## Sea Six (Nov 23, 2020)

okwiater said:


> Why do you "think that you can buy StarOptions if you need a few more?" I've never heard of that being possible.


This is exactly my point.  You can buy points, you can't buy options.. Except for FLEX, which you own forever. Points are not Options.


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## Miafinos (Nov 24, 2020)

Bumping what jabberwocky asked last month.  Any word if this program is truly just for developer-only credits?  Hoping mandatory resales would also qualify. Also, I attempted to e-mail Suzanne Clark as Denise suggested, but the e-mail was rejected, didn't make it through.  Is there a different contact that we should be e-mailing now?  Thanks for any thoughts.


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## controller1 (Nov 24, 2020)

It appears if you have StarOptions in your account regardless of the kind/type you can use them for resort credits.


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## critterchick (Nov 28, 2020)

Miafinos said:


> Bumping what jabberwocky asked last month.  Any word if this program is truly just for developer-only credits?  Hoping mandatory resales would also qualify. Also, I attempted to e-mail Suzanne Clark as Denise suggested, but the e-mail was rejected, didn't make it through.  Is there a different contact that we should be e-mailing now?  Thanks for any thoughts.



Suzanne Clark has retired. I don’t know the answers to your questions, sorry.


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## echino (Dec 6, 2020)

Has anyone actually used StarOptions from resale contracts towards resort credit? I have heard many times that only StarOptions from developer-purchased contracts qualify. But I have not seen a single report from someone using resale StarOptions.


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## Travispete1234 (Dec 6, 2020)

I called customer service about this last week. They said that it has to be used only at certain resorts and you simply call customer service in advance of your trip and they will deduct the amount of points your request for food and bev credit for that stay.


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## controller1 (Dec 6, 2020)

echino said:


> Has anyone actually used StarOptions from resale contracts towards resort credit? I have heard many times that only StarOptions from developer-purchased contracts qualify. But I have not seen a single report from someone using resale StarOptions.



It would be interesting to hear of someone's experience in this since Vistana specifically states "*StarOptions from any bucket*, such as restricted, banked, etc., *can be used to request Resort Credits* . . ." (emphasis added by controller1)


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## Helios (Dec 6, 2020)

controller1 said:


> It would be interesting to hear of someone's experience in this since Vistana specifically states "*StarOptions from any bucket*, such as restricted, banked, etc., *can be used to request Resort Credits* . . ." (emphasis added by controller1)


This could get complicated.  Does Vistana have the ability to track, realtime, where every SO originated?  Some people have developer and resale weeks.  What happens if these SOs have been combined to make reservations which have been cancelled, and this process has been repeated many times?  I have some SOs that expire in 2021 and have no clue what contract they come from...


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## jabberwocky (Dec 6, 2020)

Helios said:


> This could get complicated.  Does Vistana have the ability to track, realtime, where every SO originated?  Some people have developer and resale weeks.  What happens if these SOs have been combined to make reservations which have been cancelled, and this process has been repeated many times?  I have some SOs that expire in 2021 and have no clue what contract they come from...


I think they do have the capability to track where the SO came from. One of my cancelled reservations in March was just before the 120 day policy was introduced and involved banked SO that were to expire this year and some expiring in 2021. 

Fortunately when Vistana made the 120 policy retroactive in March we were included, but for a bit it showed Restricted SO with a 2020 expiry as well as 2021 expiry on two separate lines.


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## Sea Six (Dec 6, 2020)

I wish we could just transfer StarOptions into a Resort Credit bucket to be used when we check out to offset resort charges - at ALL the resorts.  Just like when we transfer Options to Points.  Or, better yet, just allow us to use Points for resort credit.


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## controller1 (Dec 6, 2020)

Sea Six said:


> I wish we could just transfer StarOptions into a Resort Credit bucket to be used when we check out to offset resort charges - at ALL the resorts.  Just like when we transfer Options to Points.  Or, better yet, just allow us to use Points for resort credit.



I know Spa Helani (WKORVN also serving WKORV and Nanea) allows the use of Marriott Bonvoy points for payment of services. The exchange rate is horrendous.

Now that I think of it that might have been SPG Starpoints. I'm not sure that ability transferred when the loyalty programs combined in August 2018.


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## Sea Six (Dec 6, 2020)

There's a 3:1 difference between Starpoints and Bonvoy.


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## controller1 (Dec 6, 2020)

Sea Six said:


> There's a 3:1 difference between Starpoints and Bonvoy.



Very aware of that. But I'm not sure if the ability to use Bonvoy points is available as it was with Starpoints. When one could use Starpoints at the spa the rate was about 100 Starpoints:$1 which valued the Starpoints at one cent or much less than one could get in using them for lodging.


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## Sea Six (Dec 6, 2020)

Yea, I used to rate them at about 2 cents or so.


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## needvaca (Dec 6, 2020)

Helios said:


> This could get complicated.  Does Vistana have the ability to track, realtime, where every SO originated?  Some people have developer and resale weeks.  What happens if these SOs have been combined to make reservations which have been cancelled, and this process has been repeated many times?  I have some SOs that expire in 2021 and have no clue what contract they come from...


Yes they do. Very exactly actually. I have multiple ownerships and it shows exactly online how many SOs I have for each. Each time I make a reservation, you can choose which eaxact SOs to use. Or it chooses for you with the ones that will expire first. And then it shows you which ownerships still have SOs available to use. And they know exactly which ownerships are developer vs resale. I own both. 
I was told before that I couldn’t use my resale SOd for resort credit. Then I pushed it via email with Vistana and they agreed that I could use my specific SVV resale SOs for resort credit. They wouldn’t say if I could use any resale SOs, so I think they are still figuring it out.


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## dioxide45 (Dec 7, 2020)

needvaca said:


> Yes they do. Very exactly actually. I have multiple ownerships and it shows exactly online how many SOs I have for each. Each time I make a reservation, you can choose which eaxact SOs to use. Or it chooses for you with the ones that will expire first. And then it shows you which ownerships still have SOs available to use. And they know exactly which ownerships are developer vs resale. I own both.
> I was told before that I couldn’t use my resale SOd for resort credit. Then I pushed it via email with Vistana and they agreed that I could use my specific SVV resale SOs for resort credit. They wouldn’t say if I could use any resale SOs, so I think they are still figuring it out.


They do seem to combine them into a single bucket though when you bank StarOptions.


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## DanCali (Dec 7, 2020)

VacationForever said:


> Marriott's rate is worse for the owners.  You get only 33.84 cents per point vs. paying 58 cents per point.
> 
> With Vistana you can generally get more back or break even than MF, depending on ownership.




I agree... although I believe MF for points is more like 64 cents at this point. So 34c is almost a 50% haircut.

What's more - Marriott allows transfer of points between owners and the going rate is 63c-68c so there is very little reason to do this if you can sell your points to another member. I just converted one of my weeks to pints and renred the points very easily in that range. The exception to the ability to transfer points is if your points were already moved once (transfer from another owner, bank, borrow) then you are in a "use it or lose it" situation so I could see someone doing this then to make the most of some leftover points. Living in FL, there are some resorts in my area that are extremely cheap in hurricane season - I can get a studio for ~70 points a night on 60 day advance notice - so I'd rather use leftover points for a short "staycation"...

WIth Vistana it does appear that the 1.2c per SO ($110/9000) gives you back the value of maintenance fees at least for some of the loweer MF resorts like WKV (at WKV MFs are around $1700 for 148,100 SO).


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## Sea Six (Dec 7, 2020)

Using an Option at a less than ideal rate is better than losing it completely because you have no way to use it.


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## Helios (Dec 7, 2020)

dioxide45 said:


> They do seem to combine them into a single bucket though when you bank StarOptions.





needvaca said:


> Yes they do. Very exactly actually. I have multiple ownerships and it shows exactly online how many SOs I have for each. Each time I make a reservation, you can choose which eaxact SOs to use. Or it chooses for you with the ones that will expire first. And then it shows you which ownerships still have SOs available to use. And they know exactly which ownerships are developer vs resale. I own both.
> I was told before that I couldn’t use my resale SOd for resort credit. Then I pushed it via email with Vistana and they agreed that I could use my specific SVV resale SOs for resort credit. They wouldn’t say if I could use any resale SOs, so I think they are still figuring it out.


I know that, but that was not my question.  

I own a lot of weeks.  I know I can chose the SOs that are used for every SO reservation.  When you cancel in a timely manner SOs go back to their respective origin unit and then you can select the SO source when making reservations, like you mentioned.  However, if you cancelled under the COVID policy closer than 60 days, the SOS become restricted (see @dioxide45 post). Think about then using restricted SOs and cancelling over and over.  I think all Vistana knows at this point is that SOs are restricted and they expire on 12/31/2021.  I seriously doubt they can tell with certainty where the COVID banked SOs originally came from: Developer, Resale, Retroed, Banked, etc...


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## EGBOK (Mar 22, 2021)

New TUG member here! This is my first post so not sure I’m asking in the correct thread bu here goes! 
We have a trip coming up the first week of April at Nanea (we’re owners at the Westin kaanapali (first one). We have quite a few star options left that are going to expire in Dec (canceled trips due to Covid-19). We want to put them toward the resort credit but I would like to know what we can use them for? I know food and drinks at the resort but what about cabanas? Or Spa charges?
Thank you for any help!


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## LahainaMoon (Mar 22, 2021)

The resort credit applies to food and beverage only.  Exact details are shown in your dashboard for each resort where this applies.


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## daviator (Mar 22, 2021)

EGBOK said:


> New TUG member here! This is my first post so not sure I’m asking in the correct thread bu here goes!
> We have a trip coming up the first week of April at Nanea (we’re owners at the Westin kaanapali (first one). We have quite a few star options left that are going to expire in Dec (canceled trips due to Covid-19). We want to put them toward the resort credit but I would like to know what we can use them for? I know food and drinks at the resort but what about cabanas? Or Spa charges?
> Thank you for any help!


I was just there (March 5-14) at WKORV.  I was in the same situation and decided to cash in 18,000 options for $220 in resort credit.  Note that my comments apply to WKORV and WKORVN — right now they are prohibiting WKORV/N guests from utilizing Nanea facilities and vice-versa.  My advice would be to call a Nanea concierge and ask what's open and where you can use the credit, my understanding is that you will be limited to whatever is open at Nanea and won't be able to use WKORV/N stuff.

The two of us found it challenging to use $220 on our 9-night stay.  The only place the credit was usable was the pool bar at the two resorts and the food-truck-poolside-restaurant (Paniola Grill or something like that) at WKORV-N.  At the end of our stay, Auntie's Kitchen reopened with just a few grab-and-go type entrees and we were able to use some of the credits there.  You could not redeem the resort credits at the general store off of the lobby, and there is/was no "sit down" type dining open at either resort.  So at least during our stay, it was basically drinks at the pool and sort of take-out breakfast or lunch at Paniola's or Auntie's. And we aren't big drinkers, so at the end of our stay we still had something like $70 left.

Ordinarily I think you could also use the credit for spa services (now closed) or at Pelehu (also closed.)  If you are big drinkers, it won't be hard to use credit sitting at the pool and drinking Mai Tais, if the weather cooperates, but we had a few days where the pool wasn't really an option because of weather.  On the morning of our departure we used up the rest of the credit with a big breakfast at Auntie's and a VERY generous tip charged to the room (figured I'd rather see the rest of the resort credits go to the staff than simply lose it through non-use.)

One other note: since they don't provide any way for you to view your folio during the stay, the only way to know how much credit is left is to wait in line and ask at the front desk, or keep careful track of your spending.  Also, the resort credit needs to be manually credited to your folio, and that didn't happen until I went to the front desk to enquire, I think maybe the concierge is supposed to do it when you tell them about the resort credit at the beginning of your stay, but mine didn't.

While we were there, I heard rumors that all of the restaurants were soon going to reopen, and so maybe that has happened.  If so, that will dramatically increase the ways you can use the credit.  We had expected to be able to use quite a bit of it by having dinner at one of the restaurants one night, but none of what was open was really a viable dinner option, and they closed really early, like 7 pm as I recall.

So long as you have a plan for how you're going to use them, the resort credit is a decent way to use options that you'd otherwise not be able to use.  Have a great time at Nanea!


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## VacationForever (Mar 22, 2021)

I had redeemed 99,000 SOs or $1,210, most of them were from expiring 2020 SOs, for a 3-night stay at Palm Desert in March.  The website said the pool bar and Marketplace were opened.  When we got there, we were told that the Marketplace was closed indefinitely because they did not even have a vendor.  Their pool bar just opened 3 days before we arrived.  We were frustrated and the front desk manager contacted Vistana the following morning and we got the credits moved to another stay which we went ahead and booked although the dates are not ideal.  We will try to move that reservation 3 weeks out and hopefully the credits can be moved as well.


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## critterchick (Mar 25, 2021)

daviator said:


> I was just there (March 5-14) at WKORV.  I was in the same situation and decided to cash in 18,000 options for $220 in resort credit.  Note that my comments apply to WKORV and WKORVN — right now they are prohibiting WKORV/N guests from utilizing Nanea facilities and vice-versa.  My advice would be to call a Nanea concierge and ask what's open and where you can use the credit, my understanding is that you will be limited to whatever is open at Nanea and won't be able to use WKORV/N stuff.



So one can't eat dinner at Pulehu (sp) if staying at Nanea? We'll have about 30k options left at the end of this year and I was hoping to cash most of them in for our upcoming stay in May. But I don't think we would be inclined to spend much of it at Nanea.


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## controller1 (Mar 25, 2021)

critterchick said:


> So one can't eat dinner at Pulehu (sp) if staying at Nanea? We'll have about 30k options left at the end of this year and I was hoping to cash most of them in for our upcoming stay in May. But I don't think we would be inclined to spend much of it at Nanea.



Yes one can eat at Pulehu if staying at Nanea IF Pulehu is open and right now it is not. One cannot use the pool at North/South if staying at Nanea. During Covid cross resorts for using amenities is a no-no but you are allowed to cross resorts for F&B.

From the resorts' websites: _*Reciprocal use of The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas amenities is prohibited. Thank you in advance for your understanding and support of our efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 at the resort. However, Food and Beverage charges are available between The Westin Kā’anapali Ocean Resort Villas and The Westin Nanea Villas.*_


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## frank808 (Mar 26, 2021)

daviator said:


> I was just there (March 5-14) at WKORV. I was in the same situation and decided to cash in 18,000 options for $220 in resort credit. Note that my comments apply to WKORV and WKORVN — right now they are prohibiting WKORV/N guests from utilizing Nanea facilities and vice-versa. My advice would be to call a Nanea concierge and ask what's open and where you can use the credit, my understanding is that you will be limited to whatever is open at Nanea and won't be able to use WKORV/N stuff.
> 
> The two of us found it challenging to use $220 on our 9-night stay. The only place the credit was usable was the pool bar at the two resorts and the food-truck-poolside-restaurant (Paniola Grill or something like that) at WKORV-N. At the end of our stay, Auntie's Kitchen reopened with just a few grab-and-go type entrees and we were able to use some of the credits there. You could not redeem the resort credits at the general store off of the lobby, and there is/was no "sit down" type dining open at either resort. So at least during our stay, it was basically drinks at the pool and sort of take-out breakfast or lunch at Paniola's or Auntie's. And we aren't big drinkers, so at the end of our stay we still had something like $70 left.
> 
> ...


At WKORVN now and nothing new has opened since your stay.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


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## Sonomamon (Mar 26, 2021)

Does anyone know if the credits could be used for anything that would be charged to the room?  Items bought at the store on property, Maui Jim sunglasses purchased from towel shack, etc?
I have over 150k banked and restricted options leftover from last year's canceled vacation at KOR North, and I can't eat that much food or drink that many cocktails. Especially since I don't really love the restaurants on property. But if I can get some merch, maybe.
Also, does this include anything charged to the room at other Marriott/Westin/Sheraton properties?

Thank you.


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## dioxide45 (Mar 26, 2021)

Sonomamon said:


> Does anyone know if the credits could be used for anything that would be charged to the room?  Items bought at the store on property, Maui Jim sunglasses purchased from towel shack, etc?
> I have over 150k banked and restricted options leftover from last year's canceled vacation at KOR North, and I can't eat that much food or drink that many cocktails. Especially since I don't really love the restaurants on property. But if I can get some merch, maybe.
> Also, does this include anything charged to the room at other Marriott/Westin/Sheraton properties?
> 
> Thank you.


See this other thread;








						Using StarOptions for Resort Credit - New Feature
					

I noticed this in the newsletter we received today.




					tugbbs.com


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## Sonomamon (Mar 26, 2021)

LahainaMoon said:


> The resort credit applies to food and beverage only.  Exact details are shown in your dashboard for each resort where this applies.


So you can't use the credits for anything that would be charged to the room? Items bought at the store on property, Maui Jim sunglasses purchased from towel shack, etc?
I have over 150k banked and restricted options leftover from last year's canceled vacation at KOR North, and I can't eat that much food or drink that many cocktails. Especially since I don't really love the restaurants on property. But if I can get some merch, maybe.
And did I see we can't use credit at other Marriott/Westin/Sheraton properties?

Thank you.

Oh, I finally found it on the dashboard.  So it can be used at the market/general store on property at KORN.  But I guess not for sunglasses.  Well, I will have to consider using some of my SO for credit, I guess.  Not going until fall.


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## liongate88 (Mar 26, 2021)

Would SO for stay credit include resales? Or just developer purchased


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## dioxide45 (Mar 26, 2021)

liongate88 said:


> Would SO for stay credit include resales? Or just developer purchased


Only developer purchases.


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## daviator (Mar 26, 2021)

Sonomamon said:


> So you can't use the credits for anything that would be charged to the room? Items bought at the store on property, Maui Jim sunglasses purchased from towel shack, etc?
> I have over 150k banked and restricted options leftover from last year's canceled vacation at KOR North, and I can't eat that much food or drink that many cocktails. Especially since I don't really love the restaurants on property. But if I can get some merch, maybe.
> And did I see we can't use credit at other Marriott/Westin/Sheraton properties?
> 
> ...


I was told it could NOT be used in the market/general store at KOR, pretty sure that applied at KORN too but not positive.  I think the stores are not operated by the resort (they are leased to operator(s)) and so although you can do room charges from there, you can't use the resort credit.

Right now, the only place you can use the resort credit is the Pailolo Bar and Grill out at the pool at KORN, the pool bar/Auntie's at KOR, and.... I think that's it.


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## Sonomamon (Mar 28, 2021)

daviator said:


> I was told it could NOT be used in the market/general store at KOR, pretty sure that applied at KORN too but not positive.  I think the stores are not operated by the resort (they are leased to operator(s)) and so although you can do room charges from there, you can't use the resort credit.
> 
> Right now, the only place you can use the resort credit is the Pailolo Bar and Grill out at the pool at KORN, the pool bar/Auntie's at KOR, and.... I think that's it.



Hopefully, that is not correct.  The Vistana site says otherwise, and if it still says it when I convert my SO to credits, I will print the page, with the countdown to my vacation at the top, to prove it said this on the date I converted.

Resort Credit | Vistana™ Signature Experiences

*The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas
FOOD & BEVERAGE*

Pūlehu, an Italian Grill
Pailolo Bar & Grill
Auntie’s Kitchen
Kai Ala Market
Pu‘ukoli‘i General Store
Mauka Makai Restaurant
Inu Pool Bar & Grill
Kauhale Market
Mea ‘Ono
*The Westin Kā‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas
FOOD & BEVERAGE*

Pūlehu, an Italian Grill
Pailolo Bar & Grill
Auntie’s Kitchen
Kai Ala Market
Pu‘ukoli‘i General Store
Mauka Makai Restaurant
Inu Pool Bar & Grill
Kauhale Market
Mea ‘Ono
*The Westin Kā‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas North
FOOD & BEVERAGE*

Pūlehu, an Italian Grill
Pailolo Bar & Grill
Auntie’s Kitchen
Kai Ala Market
Pu‘ukoli‘i General Store
Mauka Makai Restaurant
Inu Pool Bar & Grill
Kauhale Market
Mea ‘Ono

But it also says this, which sounds like food/drink only:

*Activate Upon Arrival*
Visit the Concierge to activate your Resort Credit to start spending on eligible on-site food and beverage.

And this which clearly says merchandise:

Credit may only be applied at check-out to designated eligible amenity services, merchandise, and food and beverage outlets that are purchased on‑site and charged to your villa folio. Not valid for room, tax, gift cards, gratuities, charitable donations, or any other items, fees, or services.
Designated amenity services, merchandise, and food and beverage outlets are subject to change.
`


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## daviator (Mar 28, 2021)

Sonomamon said:


> Hopefully, that is not correct.  The Vistana site says otherwise, and if it still says it when I convert my SO to credits, I will print the page, with the countdown to my vacation at the top, to prove it said this on the date I converted.
> 
> Resort Credit | Vistana™ Signature Experiences
> 
> ...


I realize it says differently, but I’m reporting what I was told, at the resort, when using the resort credit, just three weeks ago.  They gave me a printed copy of that list with only a few things highlighted, and told me the highlighted ones were the only places I could use the credit.  Later in my stay, at the front desk, they told me the same thing.

So believe me or not, I’m just telling you what the situation was when I was there.

The list you see online applies to normal times, probably, and these are not normal times.


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## dioxide45 (Mar 28, 2021)

daviator said:


> I realize it says differently, but I’m reporting what I was told, at the resort, when using the resort credit, just three weeks ago.  They gave me a printed copy of that list with only a few things highlighted, and told me the highlighted ones were the only places I could use the credit.  Later in my stay, at the front desk, they told me the same thing.
> 
> So believe me or not, I’m just telling you what the situation was when I was there.
> 
> The list you see online applies to normal times, probably, and these are not normal times.


Isn't really the only question about whether the marketplace accepts the credits? Aren't all the other places simply closed?


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## daviator (Mar 28, 2021)

dioxide45 said:


> Isn't really the only question about whether the marketplace accepts the credits? Aren't all the other places simply closed?


Pretty much, yes.


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## dioxide45 (Mar 28, 2021)

I know at Sheraton Vistana Villages, they recently outsourced the Marketplace to a vendor. It just reopened a few weeks ago under the new vendor. As of our recent stay we were able to use a room credit (received because of a delayed checkin) at the Marketplace. I suspect that may end at some point with the Marketplace at SVV now outsourced.


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## Ken555 (Mar 28, 2021)

dioxide45 said:


> I know at Sheraton Vistana Villages, they recently outsourced the Marketplace to a vendor. It just reopened a few weeks ago under the new vendor. As of our recent stay we were able to use a room credit (received because of a delayed checkin) at the Marketplace. I suspect that may end at some point with the Marketplace at SVV now outsourced.



As of the last time I was there, WKORV-N has a Westin run Marketplace while WKORV (S) does not.


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## Southdown13 (Mar 28, 2021)

We received the resort credit terms and conditions sheet at check in a few days ago that we had to sign. Also went into the marketplace at WKORV and verified resort credit usage is ok there.


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## daviator (Mar 28, 2021)

Ken555 said:


> As of the last time I was there, WKORV-N has a Westin run Marketplace while WKORV (S) does not.



That would explain why they told me I couldn’t use resort credit at the WKORV market, but perhaps you can use it at the market at WKORV North.

Note that you can still do room charges at the market, you just won’t be able to apply resort credit to them when it comes time to pay.

I wouldn’t expect anyone working in the market to know anything about Vistana resort credit or how it can be used, so I wouldn’t trust anything someone there says about the credit.  Talk to the concierge or someone at the front desk to get accurate information.


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## Henry M. (Mar 28, 2021)

The Kai Ala Market at WKORV N was closed when we were there earlier this month.


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## frank808 (Mar 29, 2021)

Henry M. said:


> The Kai Ala Market at WKORV N was closed when we were there earlier this month.


It was closed when we checked in last week and is still closed today when we checked out of WKORVN. 

Sent from my SM-T377P using Tapatalk


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## critterchick (Mar 29, 2021)

Southdown13 said:


> We received the resort credit terms and conditions sheet at check in a few days ago that we had to sign. Also went into the marketplace at WKORV and verified resort credit usage is ok there. View attachment 33920



Are all of those venues currently open? Thinking in particular about Pulehu...


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## daviator (Mar 29, 2021)

critterchick said:


> Are all of those venues currently open? Thinking in particular about Pulehu...


Slapping my forehead.

No, Pulehu isn't open.  There is only one dining option open at each property, and it's the pool bar and grill (Auntie's, Paiola, Inu.)


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## controller1 (Mar 29, 2021)

daviator said:


> Slapping my forehead.
> 
> No, Pulehu isn't open.  There is only one dining option open at each property, and it's the pool bar and grill (Auntie's, Paiola, Inu.)



My understanding from talking to some friends/employees at WKORVN is that everything is scheduled to reopen in April but they're unsure of exactly the date.


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## critterchick (Mar 31, 2021)

daviator said:


> Slapping my forehead.
> 
> No, Pulehu isn't open.  There is only one dining option open at each property, and it's the pool bar and grill (Auntie's, Paiola, Inu.)



No need to slap your forehead. The list that Southdown 13 posted from a more recent stay than yours says that the credit can be redeemed there.  One would think that the resort would keep their own list updated.


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## daviator (Mar 31, 2021)

critterchick said:


> No need to slap your forehead. The list that Southdown 13 posted from a more recent stay than yours says that the credit can be redeemed there.  One would think that the resort would keep their own list updated.


To be clear, they gave me that exact same list, it's a little contract you sign to be able to use the resort credit.  But they verbally told me (and used a pink highlighter pen to mark up the list) that you could only use the resort credit at the pool bar/grill at the three resorts (the only dining that's open).  

I'm sure that document predates Covid, predates the lease-out of the market at KOR and the closing of the market and the restaurants at the other two resorts.  

I virtually slapped my forehead because there's a whole page of discussion on this topic, and about what's open and what's not open, including confirmation from people that the open/closed situation hasn't changed.  I didn't mean to be rude, just a bit exasperated.  I'll try to refrain myself in the future.


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## Ken555 (Mar 31, 2021)

daviator said:


> predates the lease-out of the market at KOR



The WKORV market has been run by a third party for at least the 15 years I’ve been visiting, based on what I’ve been told.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## daviator (Mar 31, 2021)

Ken555 said:


> The WKORV market has been run by a third party for at least the 15 years I’ve been visiting, based on what I’ve been told.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Someone else posted above that it had recently changed from Westin-operated to leased out.  If that's not true, I apologize for repeating it.  What I do know, is that I was told by the concierge and by the front desk at WKORV that the resort credit could not be applied against charges from the market.

Since the market is on the printed list, I assumed that the earlier posting was correct as that would explain why resort credit might have previously been usable at the market, but not any more.

If the market has always been leased, then I don't know why the change to no longer allowing resort credit to be used there.

EDIT:  I misread the earlier post, which said that the market had recently been changed to a vendor lease at SVV, not at WKORV..  So that's totally my mistake.  So I have no idea why the change in policy.


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## Ken555 (Mar 31, 2021)

daviator said:


> Someone else posted above that it had recently changed from Westin-operated to leased out.  If that's not true, I apologize for repeating it.  What I do know, is that I was told by the concierge and by the front desk at WKORV that the resort credit could not be applied against charges from the market.
> 
> Since the market is on the printed list, I assumed that the earlier posting was correct as that would explain why resort credit might have previously been usable at the market, but not any more.
> 
> ...



That market has always been treated differently. In the past they had different check-out procedures with their own handwritten receipt, and whenever we wanted to charge to the unit they had to create a different receipt for signature which could, I assume, be sent to accounting to be added. Some years ago they automated this somewhat but IIRC it's still different than other venues on property.


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## daviator (Mar 31, 2021)

Ken555 said:


> That market has always been treated differently. In the past they had different check-out procedures with their own handwritten receipt, and whenever we wanted to charge to the unit they had to create a different receipt for signature which could, I assume, be sent to accounting to be added. Some years ago they automated this somewhat but IIRC it's still different than other venues on property.


Ah yes, I now remember the handwritten room charge tickets there.  You're undoubtedly right that it may always have been operated by a lessee.

So I can't explain why they won't let you use resort credit there, except that perhaps they had to pay the lessee 100% of the amounts charged, and so it was costing them a lot of money over charges from the Westin-operated venues where there is a lot of margin built into the prices.


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## Sonomamon (Apr 23, 2021)

daviator said:


> I realize it says differently, but I’m reporting what I was told, at the resort, when using the resort credit, just three weeks ago.  They gave me a printed copy of that list with only a few things highlighted, and told me the highlighted ones were the only places I could use the credit.  Later in my stay, at the front desk, they told me the same thing.
> 
> So believe me or not, I’m just telling you what the situation was when I was there.
> 
> The list you see online applies to normal times, probably, and these are not normal times.


Not saying I don't believe you, but if it is not what it says on their site, they should update the site.   What if I exchange all my options, and then have no way to spend all that credit?  I would not be happy.


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## dioxide45 (Apr 23, 2021)

Sonomamon said:


> Not saying I don't believe you, but if it is not what it says on their site, they should update the site.   What if I exchange all my options, and then have no way to spend all that credit?  I would not be happy.


I think the issue right now is simply COVID closures. Most things on property are closed. You can't spend resort credit at someplace that isn't open. Though there does appear to be some discrepancy with the Marketplace perhaps being outsourced to a vendor.


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## Sonomamon (Apr 24, 2021)

dioxide45 said:


> I think the issue right now is simply COVID closures. Most things on property are closed. You can't spend resort credit at someplace that isn't open. Though there does appear to be some discrepancy with the Marketplace perhaps being outsourced to a vendor.


It's going to beabout 5 months before I am there.  Hoping things change.


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## controller1 (May 9, 2021)

Sonomamon said:


> Hopefully, that is not correct.  The Vistana site says otherwise, and if it still says it when I convert my SO to credits, I will print the page, with the countdown to my vacation at the top, to prove it said this on the date I converted.
> 
> Resort Credit | Vistana™ Signature Experiences
> 
> ...





Southdown13 said:


> We received the resort credit terms and conditions sheet at check in a few days ago that we had to sign. Also went into the marketplace at WKORV and verified resort credit usage is ok there. View attachment 33920



It appears Vistana has updated the list of outlets where one may use the Resort Credits in Maui.


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## daviator (May 9, 2021)

controller1 said:


> It appears Vistana has updated the list of outlets where one may use the Resort Credits in Maui.
> 
> View attachment 35456


Thanks for the update.  So this validates what I was saying, which nobody seemed to believe — that the resort credit could not be used at the market.

I think when the other on-site restaurants reopen, you should be able to use the credits there too.  So does this mean that Mauka Makai has reopened and that people from WKORV/N are able to eat there?  When I was there in March, they were not allowing WKORV/N folks to use facilities at Nanea, or vice-versa, but I think only the pool bar/grill was open at that point.


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## duke (Jun 2, 2021)

Has anyone checked out and used Resort Credits at the WKORV market?


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## controller1 (Jun 3, 2021)

duke said:


> Has anyone checked out and used Resort Credits at the WKORV market?



Are they now able to be used at the WKORV market? It's not on the list of approved venues.


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## daviator (Jun 3, 2021)

duke said:


> Has anyone checked out and used Resort Credits at the WKORV market?



I doubt it.  They were really clear in March that the resort credits could not be used there.  When you activate the credits (you have to see the concierge for that) they give you a list of the venues where they can be used, and the WKORV market isn't on it.  I *think* the WKORVN market might be on it, but when I was there the North market wasn't open (or so I was told, I didn't go look.)


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## controller1 (Jun 3, 2021)

duke said:


> Has anyone checked out and used Resort Credits at the WKORV market?





daviator said:


> I doubt it.  They were really clear in March that the resort credits could not be used there.  When you activate the credits (you have to see the concierge for that) they give you a list of the venues where they can be used, and the WKORV market isn't on it.  I *think* the WKORVN market might be on it, but when I was there the North market wasn't open (or so I was told, I didn't go look.)



I would also doubt it since the WKORV market is not owned by Vistana but is contracted. The WKORVN market is owned by Vistana but it is not showing as open on the resort's status page.


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## duke (Jun 4, 2021)

Ah ha..... While the Resort Credit can only be used for Food and Beverage .....  The Gift Credit from the Timeshare Sales Presentation ($150) can be used for the Market, Taxes, and all other charges.


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## daviator (Jun 5, 2021)

duke said:


> Ah ha..... While the Resort Credit can only be used for Food and Beverage .....  The Gift Credit from the Timeshare Sales Presentation ($150) can be used for the Market, Taxes, and all other charges.


I believe the resort credit can also be used for the spa and for excursions, kids club, and things like that, when they all reopen.


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## controller1 (Jun 9, 2021)

daviator said:


> I believe the resort credit can also be used for the spa and for excursions, kids club, and things like that, when they all reopen.



Yes that has happened with Spa Helani in Maui as it has reopened.


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## controller1 (Jul 25, 2021)

Opportunities to use the Resort Credits continue to improve in Hawaii. Blue Hawaiian Helicopters can now be booked with Resort Credits through the concierge. This new offering is available at all three resorts in Maui and the two in Kauai.


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## lily28 (Jul 26, 2021)

i was told i can’t use the resort credit because i have resale staroptions


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## dioxide45 (Jul 26, 2021)

lily28 said:


> i was told i can’t use the resort credit because i have resale staroptions


Apparently that is the case. Only for developer or requalified StarOptions.


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## robertk2012 (Jul 26, 2021)

dioxide45 said:


> Apparently that is the case. Only for developer or requalified StarOptions.


Is this stated anywhere in writing?


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## tschwa2 (Jul 26, 2021)

robertk2012 said:


> Is this stated anywhere in writing?


Yes.  In the terms and conditions.

*OFFER TERMS & CONDITIONS*
This offer permits eligible StarOptions to be redeemed for a Resort Credit at participating Westin® Vacation Club and Sheraton® Vacation Club resorts to be applied toward eligible amenity services, which may vary by Resort.
*ELIGIBILITY*

Participants must be VSN members with sufficient available StarOptions to reserve a Resort Credit. Vacation Ownership Interests (“VOIs”) purchased through an unauthorized resale agent or HOA resale offer, or VOIs not enrolled in the VSN, are not eligible for this offer.


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## Miafinos (Jul 27, 2021)

Just got back from Maui, stayed at WKORV and used some resort credit.  As many have already noted here, the options have expanded a bit.  We did eat at Auntie's Kitchen, Pailolo Grill, Inu Bar, and Mauka Makai.  Mauka Makai was the better option for breakfast.  Pailolo seemed a bit better for lunch and dinner.  I wasn't crazy about the food at Auntie's Kitchen.  I was told that the credit covered tips as well, just not tax.  We also booked some massages at the spa and used credit towards that.  Be aware that there is a significant tax charged for massages that the resort credit does not typically cover.  All in all it was a good option to use some Covid-related restricted options that otherwise would have been difficult to use.


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## Moparman42 (Jul 27, 2021)

Miafinos said:


> Just got back from Maui, stayed at WKORV and used some resort credit.  As many have already noted here, the options have expanded a bit.  We did eat at Auntie's Kitchen, Pailolo Grill, Inu Bar, and Mauka Makai.  Mauka Makai was the better option for breakfast.  Pailolo seemed a bit better for lunch and dinner.  I wasn't crazy about the food at Auntie's Kitchen.  I was told that the credit covered tips as well, just not tax.  We also booked some massages at the spa and used credit towards that.  Be aware that there is a significant tax charged for massages that the resort credit does not typically cover.  All in all it was a good option to use some Covid-related restricted options that otherwise would have been difficult to use.



Are the breakfast buffets back?  or is it just to go or table service at Aunties.   Curious as it keeps changing and I am not there to see it.


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## Miafinos (Jul 28, 2021)

Moparman42 said:


> Are the breakfast buffets back?  or is it just to go or table service at Aunties.   Curious as it keeps changing and I am not there to see it.


Breakfast buffets are not back yet.  To go and dine in service were both open.  You stand in line at the register and place your order, take the assigned number to an open table, then they bring the food out to you when ready.  Pailolo was serving on actual plates, but all of the other places were serving in to go boxes even if you were dining in.


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## Moparman42 (Jul 28, 2021)

Miafinos said:


> Breakfast buffets are not back yet.  To go and dine in service were both open.  You stand in line at the register and place your order, take the assigned number to an open table, then they bring the food out to you when ready.  Pailolo was serving on actual plates, but all of the other places were serving in to go boxes even if you were dining in.



cool.  Still better than it was in November and January when I was there last.  Heading back in October, so I am hoping.    thank you for the info!


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## tkrisnel (Aug 26, 2021)

Update on using options for resort credit - CALL THE RESORT IN ADVANCE.  Apologies for the length of this post.

Like many - I was pleased to learn of this feature as we have so many Options likely to go unused due to COVID.  We are at WDW (desert willow) for one week, cashed in 45,000 options for $550 in resort credit.  Checked the owner website and spoke with owner services in advance to be certain of terms and conditions.  Website clearly reads:







I knew going in that in-villa dining, Agave, Palo Verde and Marketplace were all closed - I went with it anyway figuring between 6 adults we could easily eat and drink $500 at the pool bar in a week.

At check-in I was told by a management level employee that my reservation reflected the resort credit, I just needed to activate with the concierge.  He also said the credit could be used at the pool bar and the marketplace (which just reopened!) for food and beverage, and also at the sun shop for pool toys and floats - extra bonus!  Fantastic I thought.

So - next day I go to concierge and activate the credit.  Concierge advises credit can be used at pool bar for food and beverage.  I ask - what about the marketplace and sun shop - I am told no.  I think no big deal, I had not planned on those options anyway.

A day later, we are in the lobby and I see the guy that checked me in, so I decide to follow-up about the resort credit and conflicting info I had been given.  He confirms: 
sun shop - YES
marketplace - YES, food/bev only
Pool Bar - YES, but only food and NON-ALCOHOLIC beverages.  

WAIT A MINUTE!  Nobody at owner services mentioned that and no one and property mentioned that, and so far we charged $200 in alcohol.  I told him that was not clear anywhere and was not acceptable.  He advised he would look into it and call me.  

He calls within the hour - confirms no alcohol and says the info was in the email I received confirming my resort credit.  Here's my email:





So - I print him a copy of my email as well as a copy of the info on the Vistana owners website - we go round and round about the definition of the word "beverage."  He suggests that if they intended to include alcohol, it would have read "alcoholic beverages".  I contend when you list a bar as a outlet where the credit can be used, it is only logical the consumer would assume that to mean alcoholic beverages.  I also point out that the list of exclusions is fairly detailed and alcohol is not listed.  

He finally agrees to look at it again, he calls me the next morning to let me know that after discussing the situation with owner services, they will allow me to use the resort credit for alcohol charges already incurred and offers suggestions of how to spend the remaining credit.  All and all they made it right, but it was an issue that could have been easily avoided with better, timely information.  

I don't know if my issue was unique to this property or perhaps California, but for those thinking of utilizing large report credits, you may want to do a bit of digging first.


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## dioxide45 (Aug 26, 2021)

I wonder if they really have a method to differentiate at checkout? Your charges for each check will all show up as a single amount billed to your folio. Your folio won't split out alcoholic beverage vs food. Just the amount billed by Agave.


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## tkrisnel (Aug 26, 2021)

dioxide45 said:


> I wonder if they really have a method to differentiate at checkout? Your charges for each check will all show up as a single amount billed to your folio. Your folio won't split out alcoholic beverage vs food. Just the amount billed by Agave.


I wondered that too, and thought maybe I should just let it go and see what happens at check-out.  Unfortunately, I had already gone down the other road when I came to that revelation.


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## Ken555 (Aug 26, 2021)

Just another example of a bureaucracy run amok. Very poor customer service that they wouldn’t immediately concede the issue and allow you to use the credit as expected. 

And, yet another reason why I will never bother buying a timeshare direct. Who needs these types of “benefits”…


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## daviator (Aug 26, 2021)

I have used resort credit twice now, at Westin Desert Willow (in April of this year) and at Westin Ka'anapali South (in March of this year.)  Both times the credit was mostly used at the pool bar, for alcohol (since nothing else was open) and there was never any mention of restrictions against use for alcohol.  In fact, if that restriction existed, it would make the resort credit option largely worthless.

When you activate the resort credit with the concierge (I don't know if that's actually necessary, I feel like it's just something they tell you so that you'll have to go and let them convince you to do an owner update) they give you a paper listing the places you can use the credit.  In my limited experience, that paper has never made any distinction as to what you can purchase at the facilities listed.

I have to wonder if the check-in guy didn't perhaps transfer in from the Marriott side where there are many folks whose religious views prejudice them against alcohol use.  Or something.  Anyway, the restriction this guy is telling you about does not exist, and if they try to pull that on me when I'm there in October (I already converted my last 2021 SOs to resort credit at WDW for that trip) I am not going to let them get away with it.

Edit: I even heard anecdotal reports that you could use the resort credit to pay for the local fees and room taxes that are assessed on stays at some resorts.

Edit #2:  The terms say you can't use the credit for gratuities, but that's exactly how I used the last of my remaining resort credit at WDW in April.  I gave an extra-generous gratuity at Auntie's to eat up the last of my remaining resort credit, I figured I'd rather see it go to the staff than just waste it.


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## tkrisnel (Aug 26, 2021)

daviator said:


> I have used resort credit twice now, at Westin Desert Willow (in April of this year) and at Westin Ka'anapali South (in March of this year.)  Both times the credit was mostly used at the pool bar, for alcohol (since nothing else was open) and there was never any mention of restrictions against use for alcohol.  In fact, if that restriction existed, it would make the resort credit option largely worthless.
> 
> When you activate the resort credit with the concierge (I don't know if that's actually necessary, I feel like it's just something they tell you so that you'll have to go and let them convince you to do an owner update) they give you a paper listing the places you can use the credit.  In my limited experience, that paper has never made any distinction as to what you can purchase at the facilities listed.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info on your experience - sounds like I got the wrong guy and the wrong day; and I should have just let it go until checkout to see how it played out.


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## dioxide45 (Aug 26, 2021)

daviator said:


> Edit #2: The terms say you can't use the credit for gratuities, but that's exactly how I used the last of my remaining resort credit at WDW in April. I gave an extra-generous gratuity at Auntie's to eat up the last of my remaining resort credit,


This is why I don't think they have a method to differentiate. When you add a tip to the tip line of the bill, the total hits the folio and the credit would be able to be applied to it because it was from a restaurant that was on the list.


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## dioxide45 (Aug 26, 2021)

This proves why actual experience for things like these is more reliable than any information you may get from owner services or even people onsite.


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## daviator (Aug 26, 2021)

If they give you any problems on check out, tell them all the bar charges were for non-alcoholic drinks and let them try to prove differently. The data is probably buried in their system but I doubt the check-out clerk can access it.


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## tkrisnel (Aug 27, 2021)

daviator said:


> If they give you any problems on check out, tell them all the bar charges were for non-alcoholic drinks and let them try to prove differently. The data is probably buried in their system but I doubt the check-out clerk can access it.


Thanks for the tip!


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## controller1 (Aug 27, 2021)

I see that the Maui Vistana resorts now allow the use of Resort Credits for Trilogy cruises!


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## tkrisnel (May 3, 2022)

Update on resort credits in Maui.  We had a bunch of restricted baked options (thanks to covid).  Cashed in 153,000 options, for over $1800!  Stayed at Westin Nanea for 9 days.  We did Triology cruise. massages at Spa Heleni, multipe drinks of the day at the bar every days, several breakfasts and dinners, and went home with a ton of souvenirs from the on-site market.  Everything was seamless!  And front desk staff was helpful in getting us a mid-week status on usage and remainder of points.


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## EnglishmanAbroad (May 3, 2022)

tkrisnel said:


> Update on resort credits in Maui.  We had a bunch of restricted baked options (thanks to covid).  Cashed in 153,000 options, for over $1800!  Stayed at Westin Nanea for 9 days.  We did Triology cruise. massages at Spa Heleni, multipe drinks of the day at the bar every days, several breakfasts and dinners, and went home with a ton of souvenirs from the on-site market.  Everything was seamless!  And front desk staff was helpful in getting us a mid-week status on usage and remainder of points.


How long did you bake your options for? It sounds like a good way of getting something useful out of them.


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## dioxide45 (May 3, 2022)

EnglishmanAbroad said:


> How long did you bake your options for? It sounds like a good way of getting something useful out of them.


Banked StarOptions are good for the two calendar years after the use year.


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## VacationForever (May 3, 2022)

In 2019 I had expiring banked options and with nowhere to use, I converted to $1210 Resort Credits for a Westin Desert Willow stay in March 2020.  It turned out that nothing was open, no Marketplace and no restaurant and they had a limited pool bar which they just opened up 5 days before.  I was pretty unhappy because when I converted to resort credits, the Vistana rep said I could use at the Marketplace.  The WDW manager contacted Vistana and they extended my expired banked SOs to expire in Dec 2022.  Score!


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## jabberwocky (May 4, 2022)

I'm thinking of converting some of our SO to resort credits for my upcoming WKORV stay.  I have around 10k that will expire this December and a bunch that expires next year.  My cost per point if I use my SDO Plat works out to around 0.8 cents per SO, and the resort credit is worth 1.2 cents per SO, so it's not a bad deal.  I think I can easily go through about $550 of resort credit.

For those who have done this, what is the best way to convert - is it online or do you have to call in? They can pull from multiple SO "buckets" (i.e., 2022 banked and 2023 banked) in the same request, correct?


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## daviator (May 4, 2022)

jabberwocky said:


> I'm thinking of converting some of our SO to resort credits for my upcoming WKORV stay.  I have around 10k that will expire this December and a bunch that expires next year.  My cost per point if I use my SDO Plat works out to around 0.8 cents per SO, and the resort credit is worth 1.2 cents per SO, so it's not a bad deal.  I think I can easily go through about $550 of resort credit.
> 
> For those who have done this, what is the best way to convert - is it online or do you have to call in? They can pull from multiple SO "buckets" (i.e., 2022 banked and 2023 banked) in the same request, correct?


Calling in is probably easiest if you can get them on the phone without an interminable wait on hold.  But I have also had success using the chat or "send us a message" function on the website dashboard.  If you use the "send us a message", be really clear and explicit about which year(s) and which VOIs you are pulling from.  Assume that you are dealing with an idiot and make the instructions idiot-proof (though you may well get lucky and have your request handled by someone competent.)

So long as I've clearly included everything they needed to know, they've done the resort credit conversion that way and sent me an email confirmation, and no waiting on hold was required.

I believe that they can combine SOs from different buckets, you just need to give them really clear instructions so they don't screw it up.  So if you can get through on the phone, I think that's a superior choice.  But in 2020 and 2021 it was really hard to reach anyone. 

The last crucial step occurs when you arrive at the property.  You apparently MUST "activate" the resort credit by going to see the concierge on arrival and asking them to do so.  Supposedly they will not let you use the credit at check-out if it hasn't been activated.  (I suspect this is just another way to get you in front of someone who will try to sign you up for a sales presentation...)  But the concierge will also let you know all the places the resort credit can be used, and you will have to sign a document acknowledging that.


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## dsmrp (May 4, 2022)

jabberwocky said:


> I'm thinking of converting some of our SO to resort credits for my upcoming WKORV stay.  I have around 10k that will expire this December and a bunch that expires next year.  My cost per point if I use my SDO Plat works out to around 0.8 cents per SO, and the resort credit is worth 1.2 cents per SO, so it's not a bad deal.  I think I can easily go through about $550 of resort credit.
> 
> For those who have done this, what is the best way to convert - is it online or do you have to call in? They can pull from multiple SO "buckets" (i.e., 2022 banked and 2023 banked) in the same request, correct?


You'll need to call in to CS.  And yes they can pull from different SO buckets, usually the oldest ones first.  You'll need to have the concierge activate the credit after you arrive at the resort. I don't recall seeing the credit being listed on my online Vistana reservation.


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## rcv82 (May 4, 2022)

tkrisnel said:


> Update on resort credits in Maui. We had a bunch of restricted baked options (thanks to covid). Cashed in 153,000 options, for over $1800! Stayed at Westin Nanea for 9 days. We did Triology cruise. massages at Spa Heleni, multipe drinks of the day at the bar every days, several breakfasts and dinners, and went home with a ton of souvenirs from the on-site market. Everything was seamless! And front desk staff was helpful in getting us a mid-week status on usage and remainder of points.



We just did the same thing with $880 in resort credit over two weeks at WKORV, including a Trilogy dinner cruise and many dinners at Auntie’s Kitchen. Most of it was from restricted StarOptions expiring at the end of 2021 that I converted to the resort credit at the last minute. This is an awesome benefit. I hope they keep it around. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## echino (May 4, 2022)

Just to confirm, only StarOptions from developer-bough contracts can be used for resort credit? No resales?


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## daviator (May 4, 2022)

echino said:


> Just to confirm, only StarOptions from developer-bough contracts can be used for resort credit? No resales?


Yes, this only works for enrolled weeks/options, so they either have to be developer-bought or requalified.


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## MarineBlue (May 4, 2022)

Just yesterday, I wanted to convert our expiring (enrolled) Options for credit at WDW.  Our adult son and new wife are going to use the three nights I had booked under our name. I called to change the name on the reservation and then asked about them using our expiring Options for credit at the resort.  Customer Service said they don't issue credits for a different name on the reservation.  CS did confirm that you talk to CS first to get the credit, and then when on-site go to the Concierge to activate.  Their loss... the Concierge missed out on a sales opportunity to convince a couple to attend a presentation!


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## DavidnRobin (May 4, 2022)

daviator said:


> Yes, this only works for enrolled weeks/options, so they either have to be developer-bought or requalified.



I don’t think this is correct - I used a combination of different types of restricted SOs - there is no link to where these SOs came from. I have resale Mandatory SOs in the SOs used for Resort Credit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## daviator (May 4, 2022)

DavidnRobin said:


> I don’t think this is correct - I used a combination of different types of restricted SOs - there is no link to where these SOs came from. I have resale Mandatory SOs in the SOs used for Resort Credit.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


If you have a mix of resale and qualified VOIs, you might be able to get away with using restricted SOs from the mandatory resale VOIs for resort credit. I don’t think Vistana’s system is smart enough to track where the SOs came from once you are in a different year. This might be the case for banked SOs too, I don’t think they know where they came from.

But I believe the terms of the resort credit program state that it’s only for ownerships that are eligible for conversion to Bonvoy points or something like that. They just may not have a way to keep track.


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## daviator (May 4, 2022)




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## daviator (May 4, 2022)

MarineBlue said:


> Just yesterday, I wanted to convert our expiring (enrolled) Options for credit at WDW.  Our adult son and new wife are going to use the three nights I had booked under our name. I called to change the name on the reservation and then asked about them using our expiring Options for credit at the resort.  Customer Service said they don't issue credits for a different name on the reservation.  CS did confirm that you talk to CS first to get the credit, and then when on-site go to the Concierge to activate.  Their loss... the Concierge missed out on a sales opportunity to convince a couple to attend a presentation!


It’s a good thing you hadn’t already requested the resort credits, as they’d have been lost as a result of the name change.

From the T&C;  

StarOptions applied to a Resort Credit will be forfeited as a result of a Resort reservation name change into a third-party.
I wonder if you could have solved this by merely adding your son’s name to the reservation instead of changing it completely?


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## dsmrp (May 4, 2022)

daviator said:


> It’s a good thing you hadn’t already requested the resort credits, as they’d have been lost as a result of the name change.
> 
> From the T&C;
> 
> ...



Also, I think the resort credits are specific to each reservation.
So if you have a resort credit at say WKV, and you have to cancel the reservation, then you lose the credit.  I recall CS reading me the T&C when I've called to convert options to credit.  I could be wrong.  Maybe CS could transfer the credit to another reservation stay.

I had a short stay at WDW in December that I had to cancel.  I didn't get the credit for that stay as there weren't many services or restaurants open at the time of reservation, and was glad I hadn't.  So best to check what you can use the credit on for your reservation.  I usually wait a week or two before check-in to redeem options for credit.


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## daviator (May 4, 2022)

dsmrp said:


> Also, I think the resort credits are specific to each reservation.
> So if you have a resort credit at say WKV, and you have to cancel the reservation, then you lose the credit.  I recall CS reading me the T&C when I've called to convert options to credit.  I could be wrong.  Maybe CS could transfer the credit to another reservation stay.
> 
> I had a short stay at WDW in December that I had to cancel.  I didn't get the credit for that stay as there weren't many services or restaurants open at the time of reservation, and was glad I hadn't.  So best to check what you can use the credit on for your reservation.  I usually wait a week or two before check-in to redeem options for credit.


You can’t cancel the resort credit, as you say. But if you cancel the underlying reservation, the resort credit SOs will be returned to your account. If the cancellation is within 60 days of check in, the resort credit SOs will be returned as restricted SOs (and so would the SOs for the cancelled villa.)

I think waiting until a week or two before check-in to attach the resort credit is a good idea. The only exception might be that I *think* you can use, for example, expiring 2022 SOs as a resort credit for a 2023 reservation. That might be a better option than paying to bank them and then exchanging them for resort credit later, and it’s certainly a better option than letting them expire.


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## rcv82 (May 4, 2022)

daviator said:


> The only exception might be that I *think* you can use, for example, expiring 2022 SOs as a resort credit for a 2023 reservation. That might be a better option than paying to bank them and then exchanging them for resort credit later, and it’s certainly a better option than letting them expire.



Yes, this worked for me, even with expiring restricted SOs. 


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## suzanna945 (May 4, 2022)

I'm trying to understand and get this straight: we have 14,000 "dangling" Staroptions, expiring in 2023. We have a stay coming up at Westin Lagunamar (not our home resort) this year. Is it possible to convert the 14,000 Staroptions to resort credit at our Westin Lagunamar stay this year? And if so, a Concierge must be involved?


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## VacationForever (May 4, 2022)

suzanna945 said:


> I'm trying to understand and get this straight: we have 14,000 "dangling" Staroptions, expiring in 2023. We have a stay coming up at Westin Lagunamar (not our home resort) this year. Is it possible to convert the 14,000 Staroptions to resort credit at our Westin Lagunamar stay this year? And if so, a Concierge must be involved?


You call owner services to convert the SOs into resort credit and attach it to a reservation.  When you get to Westin Lagunamar, you go to the concierge to activate the resort credit.  On check out, you will find that the resort credit has been applied and any unused resort credit is forfeited.  If you only own resale, you cannot convert SOs to resort credit.

Added: Only a handful of resorts participate in the program.  You will need to check with owner services on the current list.


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## suzanna945 (May 4, 2022)

Thank you!


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## controller1 (May 4, 2022)

dsmrp said:


> I don't recall seeing the credit being listed on my online Vistana reservation.



My most recent conversion now shows in the body of my Vistana reservation.


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## controller1 (May 4, 2022)

suzanna945 said:


> I'm trying to understand and get this straight: we have 14,000 "dangling" Staroptions, expiring in 2023. We have a stay coming up at Westin Lagunamar (not our home resort) this year. Is it possible to convert the 14,000 Staroptions to resort credit at our Westin Lagunamar stay this year? And if so, a Concierge must be involved?





VacationForever said:


> You call owner services to convert the SOs into resort credit and attach it to a reservation.  When you get to Westin Lagunamar, you go to the concierge to activate the resort credit.  On check out, you will find that the resort credit has been applied and any unused resort credit is forfeited.  If you only own resale, you cannot convert SOs to resort credit.



Westin Lagunamar does not participate in the Resort Credit program.


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## DavidnRobin (May 4, 2022)

daviator said:


> View attachment 53822



Eligibility #1 contradicts itself. (Not the first time…)
The Resort Info (‘What I Own’) on the Vistana Dashboard states that VSN Mandatory resorts (regardless of Developer or resale) are listed as VSN Members.
It does not distinguish where or how the VOI was attained.
Also, a VSN Fee is paid (that is mandatory) so the SOs are equivalent no matter what their source. 

When I called to convert - there was no discussion on source of the SOs. They gave me my choice of which I could use. I used 2 allotments (of 3 types) of the most restricted ones that I have.

As it was unlikely I could use these SOs - it was a deal. I plan to do again in Sept at WKORV if still available.


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## blondietink (May 5, 2022)

suzanna945 said:


> I'm trying to understand and get this straight: we have 14,000 "dangling" Staroptions, expiring in 2023. We have a stay coming up at Westin Lagunamar (not our home resort) this year. Is it possible to convert the 14,000 Staroptions to resort credit at our Westin Lagunamar stay this year? And if so, a Concierge must be involved?



Lagunamar does not participate in the resort credit program.


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