Most Affordable Way to Get in to Vistana w/Ability to [exchange] Weeks

[LivninSC]

Thanks again. I was assuming there was different inventory but wanted to confirm. Two final final questions that I didn't see explicitly stated in the threads I read.

1. If we were to buy a 2 bedroom at WKV (which gives you 148k SOs) through the resale market can we use those to trade (assuming availability and that it's enough points) for whatever length of time we want on Maui or Kauai? The timeshare sales guy made it sound like we could use those points for booking whatever combo of length we wanted. Say 148k equals 12 nights worth of points in a 1 Bedroom at Princeville. Could we redeem them for 3 separate 4 night trips or do we have to book an actual 2 bedroom for one week and that's all we can do? I get that some days are more expensive than others but just for this example let's assume they're all equal. My question is really more around if I have to book an actual week or if I can book whatever nights I have points for based on the room type.
2. If you buy resale are you able to bank your SOs (I understand there is a $99 fee to do this for non-elites) if you can't use them in the year? If I were to buy direct (which I likely wouldn't ever do) you can pay a relatively small fee and bank the points for up to two years so that you can use them the next year. Is the same available if you buy resale? Seems like it but I wanted to confirm.

Essentially I just want to make sure that I'm able to use the SOs really as currency if you will at any resort so that I can chose my preferred room type and duration assuming there is availability (i.e. 148k for a 2 bedroom on Kauai for 1 week, or 81k for a 1 bedroom on Kauai for a week and ~67k for a studio on Maui for a week, or 148k for a 1 bedroom on Kauai for 12 nights as examples).

Per the FAQ
7) What are Starpoints?
Starpoints are Starwood hotel points & they can be used for hotel stays, airfare, and other purchases from the Starwood Preferred Guests Program. Starpoints do not transfer with any resale.

a. What are the rules for converting to Starpoints?
Regular owners can convert their timeshare to Starpoints every-other-year - there is a $99 conversion fee and you must pay your maintenance fee before converting. The earliest you can convert to Starpoints is Oct. 1, of the year before the use year, and the latest you can convert to Starpoints is March 31st, of the use year. (A Starpoint chart is posted in the Owner Resources sticky.)

b. Elite Owner Conversion?
* 4 & 5 Star Elite owners do not have to pay the $99 conversion fee and they can convert to Starpoints every year.
* 3 Star Elite owners can convert as late at July 1.
* 4 & 5 Star Elite owners can convert as late as Oct. 1.

This link seems to suggest you can but wanted to make sure - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/banking-staroptions-important-update-2-13-12.153142/

SUMMARY:

5* Elite Owners: No charge.
3* and 4* Elite Owners: $79
All other (non-Elite) Owners: $99

Non-Elite SVN members can request SO Banking no later than July 1
3* and 4* Elite members may request SO Banking through October 1
5* Elite members may request SO Banking through December 31

 

[Shirtman]

Can you trade a mandatory resort for Star options every year.

Thanks

 

[vacationtime1]

Can you trade a mandatory resort for Star options every year.

Thanks

Yes. And many of us do exactly that.

(Technically, it's not trading; it's just using SO's to make reservations at resorts other than home resorts. Which is far easier and far more certain than trading through Interval.)

 

[r1lee]

Thanks again. I was assuming there was different inventory but wanted to confirm. Two final final questions that I didn't see explicitly stated in the threads I read

Only thing you lose when buying mandatory resale

1. SO to spg conversion, which sucks anyways
2. Purchase goes towards elite status.
3. $40,000+

 

[dokken88]

First off sorry for the long post but I'm trying to get it all in one and who knows maybe help someone else that is thinking what I'm thinking. I tried to find a similar thread in this forum but couldn't so hopefully this hasn't all been asked before.

We went to a Vistana timeshare presentation recently and came away from it with a pretty positive view of the program overall. The obvious downside is the cost they try to sell it to you at.

We would realistically use it at the properties on Kauai or Maui a majority of the time so we'd need a minimum of ~81k points for a week in a one bedroom but would be open to buying more points so that we would use it more than a week a year or bring the in-laws and get a 2 bedroom for a week.

Initially I was just thinking we could buy on the resale market and use the points to book the property we wanted to but discovered that they have 1st right of refusals at the properties we would likely use them at (so who knows what that actually results in being available at a good price assuming Vistana would just snatch them up when you go to buy them) and the whole "mandatory" vs "voluntary" designation which if I understand correctly means that you may or may not be able to use your points at the property of your choice.

So knowing that we'd like to possibly get ~81k to ~148k StarOptions a year and be able to use them at the properties in Maui and Kauai along with others less often I started looking for a property that didn't have a First Right of Refusal clause and was a Mandatory resort.

In looking at the First Right of Refusal properties they (from what I could find) are:

• Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas
• Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North
• Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas
• Westin Mission Hills in Palm Desert, California

In looking at the Mandatory resorts the FAQ page lists them as:

• 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

With my need to use the StarOptions at various properties buying at a Mandatory resort on the resale market (again assuming I understand properly) seems to be the most important thing (excluding cost ).

Given that I started looking around and found the following for some examples (that they couldn't snatch up through FROR):
Harborside at Atlantis - $12,500 for an annual 148,100 points & $3,100 maintenance
Westin Kierland Villas - $17,000 for an annual 148,100 points & $1,500 maintenance
or
Harborside at Atlantis - $6,000 for an annual 81,000 points & $1,750 maintenance
Westin Kierland Villas - $13,000 for an annual 81,000 points & $600 maintenance

The Westin Mission Hills would actually be a better resort for us to purchase if everything else was equal as we would probably use it here and there whereas we'd probably never go to Kierland but I can't find the points listed in the for sale ads for those units so I chose Kierland for this example as those did.

I read to check on the desert properties as the maintenance is lower for them and that definitely seems to be true, and could possibly be the reason for the higher price of what I could find. So assuming we would keep it for awhile and that the lower maintenance costs would offset the increase in price for us and knowing that I would actually want to use these mostly on Hawaii for us am I going about this right? Would the best option (of these examples) be to buy one of the Kierlands and 8 months out just logon to the Vistana site and book at the resort of our choice? Any other suggestions for a better example? I found the Vistana Villages at Key West (which is supposedly a Mandatory resort) for $4k for 81k annual points & $1,100 maintenance which is even better then the Harborside 81k point option (although hurricanes admittedly scare be a bit about owning there) but I'm curious if there are any usual resorts that are the best type of deal for what I'm trying to do.

In all honesty in just comparing the cost of this against a VRBO which where we go would usually run about $2k for a 2 bedroom for a week (with taxes and fees) I don't know if it's worth it but the Vistana properties in general do seem to have more amenities and more availability which is admittedly nice so I'd be ok with paying a bit of a premium. I met a lot of owners when we were staying in Hawaii last time and they all seemed very happy with their purchase and the maintenance fees but if I could get the same thing basically (minus the ability to transfer to SPG points, book 8 months out max instead of 12, not get SPG gold) I'd rather save a ton of cash up front and pay basically half the maintenance fees every year and get the same week in the same rooms at the same property that they're paying a lot more for

So ya, sorry for the lengthy post but if you've made it this far thanks and thanks again for any and all advice you can provide!

LOOK AT EBAY! Kierland with 81000 SOs going for 499$. 1000 MF. They are on EBAY every day. No way you need to pay more than a 1000$ to get SOs. Im doing same thing!

 

[r1lee]

LOOK AT EBAY! Kierland with 81000 SOs going for 499$. 1000 MF. They are on EBAY every day. No way you need to pay more than a 1000$ to get SOs. Im doing same thing!

There’s something incorrect about that listing. 2 bedroom in gold season is not $1000mf, it’s the same mf as 2 bedroom platinum, which is $1500+.

The only 900+ mf on kierland is 1 bedroom Premium in platinum season for 81k SO’s.

 

[VacationForever]

LOOK AT EBAY! Kierland with 81000 SOs going for 499$. 1000 MF. They are on EBAY every day. No way you need to pay more than a 1000$ to get SOs. Im doing same thing!

This is Gold season Odd year. The listed $941.57 (including annual club membership) is due every year. Multiply that by 2 for annual use, i.e. 81K SOs every other year. These can be gotten for a $1.

 

[VacationForever]

Thanks again. I was assuming there was different inventory but wanted to confirm. Two final final questions that I didn't see explicitly stated in the threads I read.

1. If we were to buy a 2 bedroom at WKV (which gives you 148k SOs) through the resale market can we use those to trade (assuming availability and that it's enough points) for whatever length of time we want on Maui or Kauai? The timeshare sales guy made it sound like we could use those points for booking whatever combo of length we wanted. Say 148k equals 12 nights worth of points in a 1 Bedroom at Princeville. Could we redeem them for 3 separate 4 night trips or do we have to book an actual 2 bedroom for one week and that's all we can do? I get that some days are more expensive than others but just for this example let's assume they're all equal. My question is really more around if I have to book an actual week or if I can book whatever nights I have points for based on the room type.
2. If you buy resale are you able to bank your SOs (I understand there is a $99 fee to do this for non-elites) if you can't use them in the year? If I were to buy direct (which I likely wouldn't ever do) you can pay a relatively small fee and bank the points for up to two years so that you can use them the next year. Is the same available if you buy resale? Seems like it but I wanted to confirm.

Essentially I just want to make sure that I'm able to use the SOs really as currency if you will at any resort so that I can chose my preferred room type and duration assuming there is availability (i.e. 148k for a 2 bedroom on Kauai for 1 week, or 81k for a 1 bedroom on Kauai for a week and ~67k for a studio on Maui for a week, or 148k for a 1 bedroom on Kauai for 12 nights as examples).

Yes, regardless of mandatory resale or developer bought, you use SOs to book any flavors that you want, 1BR, 2BR, studio... as long as you have enough SOs and there is availability you can book them.

Yes, you can bank SOs for 2 years - current year + next 2 years. You pay the banking fee applicable for non-elites.

 

[dokken88]

This is Gold season Odd year. The listed $941.57 (including annual club membership) is due every year. Multiply that by 2 for annual use, i.e. 81K SOs every other year. These can be gotten for a $1.

Yes and every year can be had very cheap as well. Just letting OP know that there is NO REASON to pay 15k for Kierland. I had a reseller contat me and tried to convince me I had to pay between 15-20k for a 2BR. Thats baloney. Patience pays off.

 

[VacationForever]

Yes and every year can be had very cheap as well. Just letting OP know that there is NO REASON to pay 15k for Kierland. I had a reseller contat me and tried to convince me I had to pay between 15-20k for a 2BR. Thats baloney. Patience pays off.

SVV prime week is a better buy. Annual MF is about $1200-$1300 for 81K / 95.K annually.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Our two WKV 1Bd Plat (81K each) have paid for their purchase price by renting out over the years. This plan has worked out perfectly as I bought them to use the SOs in retirement (check) as I had limited vacation days when working. Now we can get a 1Bd in HI for $930/week (and are this Sept...).

It does appear as if the rental market for WKV has softened - so maybe SVV is a better choice. But, for us, goes against the adage of buying where you would want to visit, and WKV is a great resort that we can drive to (and are this year). The best reason I have heard for this apparent softening in rentals is due to AirBnB (and perhaps decline in the popularity of Baseball?). Anyway, good timing for us - now we have 162,000 SOs to use within VSN going forward at 8-month for <$2,000.

 

[HeidingOut]

Not trying to hijack this thread. But, am wanting similar advice. We own voluntary Lagunamar. I'm wanting to "trade" within Vistana's network so am thinking of picking up SVV star options to book at the 8 month mark other locations. We can only travel during peak seasons Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, and Summer since we have young children in school. I understand I'll need to be vigilant to book at the 8 month mark. But, my question is does it matter the season we purchase in? In other words, I own platinum at Lagunamar and can't book the other season. Is this how it works with StarOptions? If I own a Gold week, can I only book Gold season at a different resort? Or, does it only affect the number of StarOptions you receive?

 

[okwiater]

When making a StarOptions reservation at 8 months or less prior to arrival, all SOs are equal. It doesn’t matter what season or ownership your SOs came from.

 

[DeniseM]

It matters what season you buy, because high season deeds have more Staroptions than low season, but the maintenance fees are the same for both seasons. But, the season you can exchange INTO is only limited by the number of Staroptions you own, and availability.

What resorts are you trying to trade into?

School holiday weeks have fierce competition for Staroption Exchanges - at some resorts it's impossible to get Christmas and New Years, (like Hawaii) because they were sold as event weeks and only the owners of those weeks can reserve them.

Summer is a more doable, because there are many weeks available (not just one holdiay week) but again, the more flexible you are, the more success you will have.

If you are only interested in the highest demand resorts, it will be difficult. But if you are flexible about where you go, and your check-in day, you will have more choices.

 

[VacationForever]

Not trying to hijack this thread. But, am wanting similar advice. We own voluntary Lagunamar. I'm wanting to "trade" within Vistana's network so am thinking of picking up SVV star options to book at the 8 month mark other locations. We can only travel during peak seasons Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, and Summer since we have young children in school. I understand I'll need to be vigilant to book at the 8 month mark. But, my question is does it matter the season we purchase in? In other words, I own platinum at Lagunamar and can't book the other season. Is this how it works with StarOptions? If I own a Gold week, can I only book Gold season at a different resort? Or, does it only affect the number of StarOptions you receive?

A StarOption is a StarOption regardless of which season or which mandatory resort you buy. Platinum season gives you more StarOptions than one of a lower/Gold season. As long as you have enough StarOptions for what you want to book and there is availability, you can book it.

See Staroption chart in the attachment.

 

[HeidingOut]

Summer is probably most likely our target but wouldn't be opposed if something came available during other peak times. We typically like a two week summer beach vacation so that's my target....St. John, Harborside, Lagunamar, Hawaii (once every few years it's a long plane ride) and we were just in Maui year before last. I'm good with travel in June versus July if needed. So, I'm thinking a 95K points SVV since we can drive to Orlando if needed (but it's not my target as we usually stay at Bonnet Creek which we LOVE).

 

[DeniseM]

Be aware that 95K is kind of an odd number of Staroptions that doesn't translate into a 7 night reservation at most resorts, which means you may have leftover Staroptions that you can't use.

For example, for all Hawaii resorts you need 81,000 Staroptions for one bedrooms and 148,100 staroptions for 2 bedrooms, for 7 nights, and of course, twice that for 14 nights.

 

[VacationForever]

One bedroom Oceanfront at Maui does require 95.7K SO.

Another way to use 95.7K is 15 nights in a 1BR in the Gold season at Westin Lagunmar.

 

[DeniseM]

Yes, but Ocean Front reservations are hard to get at 8 months - I have only seen them during the off-season. The OP is targeting summer, and I'm going to say that 2 weeks in an ocean front unit in Hawaii is going to be impossible to get in the summer, because the owners book them before they ever get to 8 months.

 

[HeidingOut]

Ok that's great information. Most of those places we would get in 1 week at the 81K or even under if booked in June. The leftover points I was thinking we'd bank to get us into a few longer stays as our points "built up" from the leftovers? That maybe faulty logic? But, I was also thinking we'd get into a oceanfront during the summer in Maui (at least every 4-5 years or so). So, I guess that's out. Are the others doable for summer? St. John, Cancun, or Harborside? Cabo is another option but it's another long flight for us. Plus, I actually booked it via a deposited week via II (just retraded it for Aruba Marriott Surf) so must not be quite as difficult to get into as the other Westin resorts.

 

[VacationForever]

If you deposit into II, then SVV 2BR L/O (95.7K prime season) comes in handy as you get 2 trades out of it. I ONLY buy 2BR L/O, not dedicated 2BR for that reason.

I have not tracked Lagunamar (Cancun) too closely these 2 years, but when I was tracking it, summer availability has not been an issue. St. John and Harborside require too many flights and overnight from the West Coast that I have not checked them out. But summer availability will be more challenging at those 2 locations.

 

[DeniseM]

You can only roll over Staroptions for 2 years and then they expire if you don't use them, so for instance, if you bank 2018 Staroptions you have to use them by the end of 2020. Mexico is easier than Maui, Harborside or WSJ.

 

[Ken555]

Yes and every year can be had very cheap as well. Just letting OP know that there is NO REASON to pay 15k for Kierland. I had a reseller contat me and tried to convince me I had to pay between 15-20k for a 2BR. Thats baloney. Patience pays off.

It depends how you use the week. If you intend to visit your ownership season every year then it makes sense to buy the 81k cheaper week. If you intend to use SOs, then it doesn’t take many years before the 148k looks much more appealing.

Your “NO REASON” to purchase a 148k WKV week is patently false, as stated innumerable times on TUG.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DavidnRobin]

It depends how you use the week. If you intend to visit your ownership season every year then it makes sense to buy the 81k cheaper week. If you intend to use SOs, then it doesn’t take many years before the 148k looks much more appealing.

Your “NO REASON” to purchase a 148k WKV week is patently false, as stated innumerable times on TUG.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think they meant no reason to pay $15K for 148.1K WKV.

 

[Ken555]

I think they meant no reason to pay $15K for 148.1K WKV.

Hi David! Yes, obviously. But not that the same 148k weeks can be had for cheap... this poster actually stated:

LOOK AT EBAY! Kierland with 81000 SOs going for 499$. 1000 MF. They are on EBAY every day. No way you need to pay more than a 1000$ to get SOs. Im doing same thing!

Yes and every year can be had very cheap as well. Just letting OP know that there is NO REASON to pay 15k for Kierland. I had a reseller contat me and tried to convince me I had to pay between 15-20k for a 2BR. Thats baloney. Patience pays off.

Those 81k weeks aren't the same as the 148k weeks, as you well know. This unrealistic "baloney" comment about 148k weeks just doesn't make sense unless he uses it during its season. The implication is that this poster believes that all 2-beds are the same (hence "a reseller contat me and tried to convince me I had to pay between 15-20k for a 2BR") and I can only conclude he wants to go to WKV during the ownership season, at which point owning a 148k week doesn't matter.

If this is actually intended to be used for SOs, then it makes even less sense unless he's only planning to keep it for a few years.