[2008] SDKath's guide to 5* platinum [merged]

[SDKath]

What WKV inventory were they selling?



Do you know a good Rep? Mine was nice but a little flaky. She thougth I could only requal a one bed with a new one bed purchase.

The WKV inventory is very much dependent on what they have available day to day. I have been notified twice of Platinum 2BR units that have come back to them (I think selling for $39,000). Gold and SIlver is much easier to find and I think they have some to sell if you call.

I PM'd you my sales rep who I think is fantastic. Not allowed to post it here on line.

Katherine

 

[stevens397]

PFL does indeed get upgrades. With Starwood, that's supposed to include a suite if they are available. In the last four years of stays in top European Starwoods, I've only been denied a suite once. In the US it's more hit and miss but I've scored some wonderful suites here too.

Of course, the issue to me is just how many vacation weeks can you take??? Four weeks of timeshares, minimally, to reach Starwood 5* and get PFL. Of course, if they are lock-offs, that gets you from 4 to 8 weeks off each year. The only way I would think most non-retired people can make it work is to trade at least a few in for points.

Wish I had that much time!

 

[pointsjunkie]

i used 4 weeks last year, rented 5 unit, gave time to make a wish and converted 2 units to starpoints. i go away 1 week per month using timeshare and hotels, fly free most of the time, life is good!!!!

 

[DJmonkey]

So I could buy something like this listing.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300257604123&fromMakeTrack=true
And upgrade it to the new phase while requaling another resale?
As long as the upgrade is more than $10,000 correct?
I thought I saw Duke refrence a $12K upgrade minimum.

Any idea what a 2 bed 2 bath platinum was originally selling for to get an idea of what my upgrade value would be.

 

[stevens397]

Yes, you could possibly do that, but SBP offers very few StarOptions. If 5* is your preferred destination, you'll probably spend more time looking for the big boys that yield 148,100 per year.

 

[Joshadelic]

So I could buy something like this listing.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300257604123&fromMakeTrack=true
And upgrade it to the new phase while requaling another resale?
As long as the upgrade is more than $10,000 correct?
I thought I saw Duke refrence a $12K upgrade minimum.

Any idea what a 2 bed 2 bath platinum was originally selling for to get an idea of what my upgrade value would be.

I had the EXACT same idea a few days ago and it was not warmly received by the group here. From what I can tell, the reason it's not such a good idea is that SBP isn't the best property to requal (in terms of SO's, SP's, MF's, etc.). I was told it was a much better property to trade, so requal didn't make sense.

If you end up wanting to do an upgrade (not requal) at SBP, my rep tells me there is a $7k margin at Plantation and a $10k margin at Palmetto that you have to meet in order for them to accept an upgrade. That means in the case of the property you referenced above that you would have to purchase anything above $25k in Plantation and $28k in Palmetto.

 

[SDKath]

Every location has a slightly different upgrade difference needed. I think the Orlando properties are $7k still and most others are $10k. I have not heard of $12,000 yet but these are ever changing (usually going up). $7k price difference is not a huge difference and can easily be accomplished because the original price of a unit is usually lower than the current asking price anyway. TS prices have gone up a LOT in the last 5 years so a SBP Palmetto selling for $25,000 now was probably only $15,000 when it was first purchased in 2002 or 2003! SO even if you don't buy a higher season unit, you will get the $7000 difference.

FOr example, let's say you buy on resale a SBP Planation section platinum 2BR LO fr $4000 (just a guess). Assume it was originally purchased for $15,000. You can upgrade it to a Palmetto Platinum 2BR LO AND retro something at the same time. SO you are really not upgrading technically speaking (going from Platinum to Platinum) but you get the retro included in the purchase and the credit for the resale, saving $11,000!

Katherine

 

[Joshadelic]

Every location has a slightly different upgrade difference needed. I think the Orlando properties are $7k still and most others are $10k. I have not heard of $12,000 yet but these are ever changing (usually going up). $7k price difference is not a huge difference and can easily be accomplished because the original price of a unit is usually lower than the current asking price anyway. TS prices have gone up a LOT in the last 5 years so a SBP Palmetto selling for $25,000 now was probably only $15,000 when it was first purchased in 2002 or 2003! SO even if you don't buy a higher season unit, you will get the $7000 difference.

FOr example, let's say you buy on resale a SBP Planation section platinum 2BR LO fr $4000 (just a guess). Assume it was originally purchased for $15,000. You can upgrade it to a Palmetto Platinum 2BR LO AND retro something at the same time. SO you are really not upgrading technically speaking (going from Platinum to Platinum) but you get the retro included in the purchase and the credit for the resale, saving $11,000!

Katherine

So are you saying that the above transaction you gave as an example would not be a bad idea? It's literally the exact same thing I was talking about doing the other day and nobody thought highly of it at all. Just curious.

 

[SDKath]

Not a bad idea as long as you are retroing 148,100 SO units in the process. I think your previous post had mentioned retroing resale properties that are less than 148,100 SOs. I think most of us feel that if you are going to go directly to Starwood and spend $$$$ with them, you might as well get the biggest bang for your buck, so to speak. It's a great idea to buy some smaller units or EOY units from them as long as the resale one you own is worth a LOT of SOs.

One thing to keep in mind: the minimum price of what you buy from Starwood in order to retro a unit is $20,000. Now if you are upgrading while retroing, it is the minimum difference between units that matters ($7k-$12k as mentioned above). Got all that? :rofl:

Kath

 

[Joshadelic]

Not a bad idea as long as you are retroing 148,100 SO units in the process. I think your previous post had mentioned retroing resale properties that are less than 148,100 SOs. I think most of us feel that if you are going to go directly to Starwood and spend $$$$ with them, you might as well get the biggest bang for your buck, so to speak. It's a great idea to buy some smaller units or EOY units from them as long as the resale one you own is worth a LOT of SOs.

One thing to keep in mind: the minimum price of what you buy from Starwood in order to retro a unit is $20,000. Now if you are upgrading while retroing, it is the minimum difference between units that matters ($7k-$12k as mentioned above). Got all that? :rofl:

Kath

Yep. Completely understood and agreed. I think that DJmonkey would be better off buying something more than a 67,100 SO property if his goal is to retro or requal it. That's all the SO's the above referenced EBay listing is worth. My SVO rep hinted to me that it was worth around $18k in the original sale.

 

[DJmonkey]

Yep. Completely understood and agreed. I think that DJmonkey would be better off buying something more than a 67,100 SO property if his goal is to retro or requal it. That's all the SO's the above referenced EBay listing is worth. My SVO rep hinted to me that it was worth around $18k in the original sale.

The palan was to requal a 148100 property (probably WMH) and upgrade this SBP to the 95,700 palmeto.

 

[myip]

So are you saying that the above transaction you gave as an example would not be a bad idea? It's literally the exact same thing I was talking about doing the other day and nobody thought highly of it at all. Just curious.

There is nothing wrong with your original plan except that I would buy Sheraton Mountain Vista or Lakeside Terrace (platinum season). WMH maintenance fees is too high.

 

[DJmonkey]

4*vs 5*

So whats the main reason to become 5* over 4*?
I know you are platinum for life but does that just mean you get a platinum spg card?
I know there is a conceirge line but it seems the best benefits are the 10% conversion premium and the upgrades which they did away with.
What other benefits do you get that are not listed in the link to the elite benes?
I saw someone post somehting about 2 for 1 airfare??!!

Now that they raised the limit I think I am only good to get to 4*...if I even make it there.

 

[Henry M.]

The Platinum SPG level is very good if you travel a lot and stay at Starwood hotels. The upgrades are usually worthwhile. Otherwise it doesn't mean much.

In addition to what you mentioned, you get late check-out (noon instead of 10 am).

The upgrade is not a listed benefit, but they do look at your level if there are any upgrades available at all. They don't promise them but they do happen (they've happened to me and even to someone that was using my unit when I wasn't there).

I don't think the various levels should be goals in and of themselves. The benefits are nice, but you should only buy what you want to use, for the primary purpose of enjoying vacations (that includes exchanging). The various levels are just a little extra gravy (for which you pay a lot!).

 

[SDKath]

Well, it's official

The SO requirement to be 5* has been increased for 559,000 SOs to 649,000 SOs effective immediately. No warning, no nothing.

Just wanted to update this thread too. I think those who reached 5* are going to stay PFL under the previous level, but anyone new going for 5* is going to need 100,000 more SOs than I first posted in this guide.

Oh, Starwood, did you hear that AIG got bailed out by the government yesterday (don't think we have enough $ as a country after Freddie, Fannie and AIG, do we??) Bear Sterns is no more, Merryl Lunch got bought out by B of A, Lehman went under, unemployment is at it's highest level in 6 years and the housing market is, well -- we all know about that....

Katherine

 

[tomandrobin]

Holy Cow.......What crap to change the 5* status without notice.

From a marketing standpoint you would think they would give members a three month window to encourage sales of anyone on the fence.

 

[Ken555]

Time to buy more HOT! :hysterical:

Viva la RESALE!

:rofl::rofl:

 

[LisaRex]

I feel really bad for the people who are currently in the midst of closing on properties right now so that they could earn 5* status. If I was short of StarOptions, I'd definitely request "phantom" StarOptions to fill the gap.

For people who were merely thinking about it, this move might ultimately save them thousands of dollars they'd have wasted pursuing elite status with a company that can't seem to find its direction.

From a bookkeeping POV, all of these variations just ensures that errors will be made. Are you a voluntary resale or mandatory resale owner? Are you a 5* elite prior to 9/18/08 or after? How much more complicated can they get?

 

[grgs]

From a marketing standpoint you would think they would give members a three month window to encourage sales of anyone on the fence.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

For people who were merely thinking about it, this move might ultimately save them thousands of dollars they'd have wasted pursuing elite status with a company that can't seem to find its direction.

I was thinking that, too.

Glorian

 

[tomandrobin]

If they were "smart" they would make a press release and state that starting "Nov 1st or Jan 1st" there are new requirements....blah blah blah.

If anything, this will cut-off anyone trying to purchase to obtain 5* for a long while.

 

[tomandrobin]

My Star Central still shows the "old" requirements for 5* elite.

 

[stevens397]

Absolutely right - saved me thousands and now I'll have to develop brand new fantasies!

 

[LisaRex]

Absolutely right - saved me thousands and now I'll have to develop brand new fantasies!

My fantasies usually revolve around Matthew Fox. Feel free to borrow them.

 

[stevens397]

Doesn't work for me. Halle was right up there until a month ago, when my niece gave birth to a girl and named her Halle. Doesn't seem right anymore!

 

[SDKath]

There is still a great way to get to 5* cheap that people have been using more and more (at least until Starwood closes this door too).

Basically retro with EOY purchases. If you want an EY someplace, ask the rep to split the unit into EOYs and retro something with each side! It works and will get you more SOs and get you to the new 5* level for a slightly higher MF only. No need to give up -- till one day they change that rule too.

Katherine