# Financial analysis of major point systems? I'll start with WorldMark



## spencerchen (Jan 27, 2011)

Hi all, 

I've spent many days reading through countless posts/articles on this site and others and only now seem to have a decent grasp of the worldmark system. It seems to be a good system for my needs and am close to pulling this trigger and buying resale, but want to learn more about the other options in terms of points-based timeshare systems. 

Unfortunately, each systems is incredibly complicated and confusing and I no longer have the time and energy to fully research each, so *I'm hoping some kind souls here (preferably ones who own/use other systems) can write up brief summaries of other point programs with some financial analysis.*

FYI - I live in Las Vegas with most of my extended family is in LA and have a busy life so am looking for a program that: 
1) gets good value at resorts in the southwest US, 
2) allows flexibility/last minute booking (e.g. long weekends in AZ or SoCal), and
3) gets good value on occasional longer "destination" trips incl those abroad

To give you a sense of the kind of info/analysis that I'm interested in, I'll provide my "summary" of the WM program as far as I understand it ...

- Worldmark accounts can currently be bought resale for $0.30-$0.40/credit 
- Maintenance fees are between 5 to 7 cents/credit annually depending on your account size with larger accounts and those at or just under multiples of 2500 credits having the lowest cost/credit. Maintenance fees increase at a maximum of 5% a year.
- Value of credits: varies depending on use but generally seems to be at least 10 cents/credit (12k credits can get you a peak week in a 2br) with savvy use can be significantly higher, especially if you have travel flexibility (by doing last minute 4k credits/wk) and/or need larger units. Trades well w/ RCI/II.
- Renting credits: there is an active market for WM credits with current prices at around 5 cents/credit.
- Properties: 60+ properties with large concentration in west coast US. Most properties are middle tier geared towards families. 
- Reservation restrictions/details: complicated but seems pretty standard ... decent flexibility if booking within 3 months (though low flexibility 3 month+), but most popular properties are very difficult to book around holidays/summers without very advanced planning and some "tricks"
- Other features: can bank/borrow one years' worth of credits respectively
- Other costs: $50-100 housekeeping charge per stay with 1 comped per year*, RCI/II exchange memberships are separate (and reservations through exchanges incur another fee? ... not sure on this one). One time $150 transfer fee when buying resale.

I'm sure I'm missing some important details, but that's what I can remember off the top of my head. Any owners of other systems willing to post similar summary for their system?

Best,
Spencer

PS - My apologies if this is already answered somewhere else.


----------



## DeniseM (Jan 27, 2011)

Hi Spencer - Many of the forums have FAQ's at the top.  Here is the FAQ for the Starwood Forum.

There is additional system info. on the Advice page - linked in the red bar at the top of the page.


----------



## spencerchen (Jan 27, 2011)

DeniseM - I already read through most of the pages you referenced and don't really have a clear idea of the value/cost per point at the other programs.



DeniseM said:


> Hi Spencer - Many of the forums have FAQ's at the top.  Here is the FAQ for the Starwood Forum.
> 
> There is additional system info. on the Advice page - linked in the red bar at the top of the page.


----------



## DeniseM (Jan 27, 2011)

It entirely depends on the resort - so you'd have to do it for each resort.  I don't think I can do that - but if you have questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them.

Staroptions cannot be bought or sold separately from the deeded week - so the cost of the Staroptions is based on the upfront cost and maintenance fees of the deeded week they are associated with.

Staroptions = the trading value of a Starwood resort in the Starwood internal trading program (Starwood Vacation Network/SVN)

Starpoints = Starwood hotel points.  Some owners can convert their timeshare to hotel points.

I can tell you that Westin Kierland Villas has the best Staroption to Maintenance fee ratio.


----------



## spencerchen (Jan 27, 2011)

Sounds like you're a SVO owner. 

- How much do SVO resale (mandatory) accounts usually cost/staroption (heretofore "pt")?  
- What are the MFs/pt? How doe they vary? Is there a cap on annual MF increase?
- What is the general value/pt? 
- What's the best way to maximize use of the pts? 
- How easy or hard is it to get a highly desirable reservation?
- Any other costs/fees?
- Any other advantages to being an owner?




DeniseM said:


> It entirely depends on the resort - so you'd have to do it for each resort.  I don't think I can do that - but if you have questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them.
> 
> Staroptions cannot be bought or sold separately from the deeded week - so the cost of the Staroptions is based on the upfront cost and maintenance fees of week they are associated with.


----------



## spencerchen (Jan 28, 2011)

I reread your post and realize the answers to my questions are not easy and depend on the individual properties, but what's your general sense of the value/costs? If I were to buy into SVO, which resort should I focus on to get the best deal?



DeniseM said:


> It entirely depends on the resort - so you'd have to do it for each resort.  I don't think I can do that - but if you have questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them.
> 
> Staroptions cannot be bought or sold separately from the deeded week - so the cost of the Staroptions is based on the upfront cost and maintenance fees of the deeded week they are associated with.
> 
> ...


----------



## DeniseM (Jan 28, 2011)

There are 3 schools of thought with Starwood owners:

1)  Buy where you want to go and forget about trading - this works well for the most expensive resorts like Westin St. John and Harborside - which are very difficult to trade into, and too expensive to use as traders.

2)  Buy a resort(s) with the best Staroption to Maintenance fee ratio and trade into other top resorts through the SVN.  Westin Kierland Villas has the best Staroptions to MF ratio, but it's not cheap on the resale market.

3)  Buy the cheapest Starwood resale you can find, with low maintenance fees, and use it to trade into the top Starwood resorts through Interval International.  This works well, because Starwood owners have first priority for Starwood to Starwood trades.  It doesn't work well for Westin St. John, Harborside, or holiday weeks - because there is far more demand, than supply of these exchanges.

We have adamant supports of all 3 theories on the Starwood Forum.  I subscribe to #3, myself.  Although, I do own at one of the most expensive resorts as well.


----------



## Keep Traveling (Jan 28, 2011)

What you'll find is ther is no magic bullet. In fact it's probably best to own multiple. To really get the best value for specific situations. 

I've owned Wyndham, Rci points, bluegreen, starwood, but Worldmark is by far the best it will be my keeper. I've dine an analysis on all if them and for me it's a no brainer hands down Worldmark is the best. 

I would suggest waiting and finding a 7k package

Go ahead and buy it, easy to buy and sell and decently quick. Just remember you may end up buying another system eventually


----------

