DON'T DO IT:
1) Flex is
not a Marriott product - the Marriott and Vistana timeshare systems are still
completely separate. I have no doubt that the sales people told you this, but it's BS - Flex is a Vistana product, period. Marriott and Vistana have not merged, Marriott is merely Vistana's parent company.
2) With Flex, Vistana took a group of mostly low demand resorts and repackaged them as "flex" so they could pretend they had something new and sparkly to sell - but it's pure baloney.
3) If you convert to Flex options, you are trading in deeds with resale value, for
something with no resale value. This is because Flex Options are
voluntary and when you go to sell it some day, the Flex option deeds will have
no Staroptions and no Starpoints, which kills the resale value.
4) If you want more Staroptions, buy another Mandatory deed on the
resale market for a fraction of the cost, acquire something with far more value, and save yourself a ton of money. A mandatory deed is a timeshare that retains it's Staroptions even when you buy it resale.
What do Mandatory and Voluntary mean?
a. If a resort is Staroption "Mandatory," it means that when the week is sold to a new owner (resale) the Staroption value of the week transfers to the new owner, and the new owner has the right to exchange his timeshare in the Starwood Vacation Network. These resorts are Staroption Mandatory:
* Harborside at Atlantis
* Vistana Villages (Bella and Key West phases only)
* Westin St. John (Virgin Grand - Hillside only)
* Westin Ka'anapali & Westin Ka'anapali-North
* Westin Kierland Villas
b. If a resort is Staroption "Voluntary," it means that the Staroption value of the week DOES NOT transfer to the new owner when it is resold, and the new owner DOES NOT have the right to exchange his timeshare in the Starwood Vacation Network.