Bonus Light Goes On

[rjsmom1]

So, to make this long story a short story.... We visited Sheraton Vistana in September via an exchange and loved it. So, We bought an odd EOY on eBay for $1. The posting said our first available week was in 2017. Today we received a letter from Starwood saying they confirmed our ownership and to call in to check that there's no additional dues or taxes. We didn't expect any, and confirmed there wasn't. But, to our surprise the 2015 week was still available. We plan on depositing that into II and using it next year for a week in Aruba at Marriott. Bottom line, we got a week in Aruba for the cost of an exchange plus $1.00. Sweet!

 

[SMHarman]

Did you get the exchange yet?

 

[dsmrp]

Did your purchase contract stipulate the sellers retained the 2015 use year? If not, then yes you got a nice bonus.

I suppose if the previous owners had deposited week into II, then Starwood would have record of that...not sure. Or maybe the previous owners just forgot or didn't care about the 2015 year while trying to sell it

 

[tschwa2]

It's nice when that happens. Hopefully it was because the ebay seller didn't know it was available or knew but didn't want to promise it to you in case the transfer didn't go through on time.

Be careful though because in cases like yours, it isn't entirely unheard of that Starwood mistakenly tells you it is available when it isn't and then the week could be withdrawn and your exchange cancelled.

 

[rjsmom1]

I haven't gotten the exchange yet. I will deposit this week after I get my II account setup. I'll post an update when I have more info. Fingers crossed :whoopie:

 

[DavidnRobin]

I haven't gotten the exchange yet. I will deposit this week after I get my II account setup. I'll post an update when I have more info. Fingers crossed :whoopie:

Unless 2015 was specifically mentioned (esp since 2017 was) - I would be extremely cautious of believing anything from SVO/SVN, and expect it not to be there. This has been reported from time to time, and generally SVO/SVN catches up (and II).

 

[vacationtime1]

SVO/SVN will catch the mistake -- if it is a mistake -- when they verify your deposit into Interval. Once your deposit is confirmed, you are good to go.

I won a "bonus week" on my most recent Starwood resale, contrary to what was shown on the Starwood's Resale Information Sheet (estoppel); the owner had paid the MF's but hadn't used or deposited the week, so it transferred to me. I hope your luck is as good.

 

[margolism]

Same thing happened to us with WLR - we got a year of usage paid for by the seller. We split that usage up for two trades over the past two years.

 

[SMHarman]

Same thing happened to us with WLR - we got a year of usage paid for by the seller. We split that usage up for two trades over the past two years.

My WLR came with the current use year baked into the price we paid. The HUD1 paid the MF at closing and the balance to the owner.

This was done before mid year. Those 148k points have been sloshing along for the last two years adding a day or two a week. They mostly get used at WSJ next winter.

 

[tschwa2]

Isn't WLR voluntary so the SO's should go poof when transferred?

 

[Helios]

Isn't WLR voluntary so the SO's should go poof when transferred?

I thought so too.