Buying Sheraton Flex after market versus from developer

[Ken555]

not so easy since I can't edit them.

Haha I’m sure the mods will assist if you provide edits.


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[sponger76]

I’d only own Sheraton Flex for 12 month booking at Sheraton Steamboat to ski.

Sheraton Steamboat is exactly my primary reason that I own Sheraton Flex.

 

[Hindsite]

Thanks for detailed explanation! I will check the deeded weeks single resort option before making final decision.

If you ever want to use II to exchange in to Disney Orlando, don't buy any week that is in the greater Orlando area. DVC have a block on exchanges from the Orlando area no matter what the brand. Sheraton flex will work for DVC in II, but SVV won't. There are other "mandatory" resorts in the Sheraton and Westin system that give you the choice of weeks use in II and Star Options in VSN that are outside of the Orlando area.
If DVC is an occasional use requirement, or becomes important in the future, then you can blend SVV with a small Sheraton flex purchase and that way you get the best of both.

 

[shaaan]

I bought Sheraton Flex Contracts resale and use them in Interval. Have traded into Disney and Hyatts on Key West (2x on Key West). I also love Vistana Beach Club and have used them effectively to get Prime weeks there. Been a great supplement to my resale weeks at Vistana Beach Club and Villages Key West (EOY). One of the VBC weeks and the resale Villages qualified me for Abound as well. Overall, very happy with my resales.

Great! Appreciate the info and sharing the usefulness of flex.

 

[dansimms]

I am new and just added Sheraton Flex , small amount , even years, from Developer to my existing Marriott Chairman Benefit level. Can my Star Options get me into St Regis in NYC or Aspen for a short stay? If not, does my status as Marriott / Vistana afford me any price discount to spend $ on a booking through Bonvoy at either ? I received 6 vouchers to purchase a total of nearly 2 million Bonvoy points at a nice discount , which is valuable to me. Also got another 165,000 Bonvoy Points as a bonus, on a $15000 purchase. I didn’t want to buy a resale with its complications because f having full benefits.

 

[dansimms]

I didn’t want to buy a resale with its complications because I wanted the full benefits, without having a multi step purchase process.

 

[dioxide45]

I am new and just added Sheraton Flex , small amount , even years, from Developer to my existing Marriott Chairman Benefit level. Can my Star Options get me into St Regis in NYC or Aspen for a short stay? If not, does my status as Marriott / Vistana afford me any price discount to spend $ on a booking through Bonvoy at either ? I received 6 vouchers to purchase a total of nearly 2 million Bonvoy points at a nice discount , which is valuable to me. Also got another 165,000 Bonvoy Points as a bonus, on a $15000 purchase. I didn’t want to buy a resale with its complications because f having full benefits.

I am not aware of any methods through StarOptions or Club Points to book the St Regis residences properties. Those Sheraton Flex won't get you there.

 

[dansimms]

Thanks. Does being at the highest benefit level in Vistana provide any better rental pricing at St Regis properties ? I have used my Chairman Status to get up to 35% off at Marriott Vacation Club locations when I didn’t have enough Abound points ?

 

[dioxide45]

Thanks. Does being at the highest benefit level in Vistana provide any better rental pricing at St Regis properties ? I have used my Chairman Status to get up to 35% off at Marriott Vacation Club locations when I didn’t have enough Abound points ?

The benefit levels of Vistana were merged in with the Abound Owner Benefit Levels. So the same cash discounts apply. I don't know if any cash discounts are available at the St Regis Residences properties.

 

[dansimms]

The benefit levels of Vistana were merged in with the Abound Owner Benefit Levels. So the same cash discounts apply. I don't know if any cash discounts are available at the St Regis Residences properties.

Thanks. I will find out and if so, will share the code number here.

 

[dioxide45]

Thanks. I will find out and if so, will share the code number here.

The codes are the same as the ones used for cash discounts on the Marriott side based on owners status.

 

[jwalk03]

I am new and just added Sheraton Flex , small amount , even years, from Developer to my existing Marriott Chairman Benefit level. Can my Star Options get me into St Regis in NYC or Aspen for a short stay? If not, does my status as Marriott / Vistana afford me any price discount to spend $ on a booking through Bonvoy at either ? I received 6 vouchers to purchase a total of nearly 2 million Bonvoy points at a nice discount , which is valuable to me. Also got another 165,000 Bonvoy Points as a bonus, on a $15000 purchase. I didn’t want to buy a resale with its complications because f having full benefits.

Did you buy Sheraton Flex because you actually have a plan for using these Sheraton Flex points? Or just spend $15,000 for some "bonuses".

 

[dansimms]

We plan to use the points exclusively for Sheraton and Westin properties. For high demand time periods , the saving is considerable when compared to using my Abound Points. My wife and I have a low balance on the Bonvoy side, so being able to pad that account at a discount is meaningful to us as well. We are getting the Amex card with 15 months no interest for the purchase. We did Even years to counter an Odd year ownership we have to balance the portfolio .

 

[dioxide45]

We plan to use the points exclusively for Sheraton and Westin properties. For high demand time periods , the saving is considerable when compared to using my Abound Points. My wife and I have a low balance on the Bonvoy side, so being able to pad that account at a discount is meaningful to us as well. We are getting the Amex card with 15 months no interest for the purchase. We did Even years to counter an Odd year ownership we have to balance the portfolio .

For the $15,000, you would have been better to buy a mandatory resale week that came with a lot more StarOptions. You could have got a Westin Kierland Villas week that comes with 148,100 annually. Yes, the maintenance fees would be more, but I suspect you only got 37,000 HomeOptions every other year for that?

 

[dansimms]

For the $15,000, you would have been better to buy a mandatory resale week that came with a lot more StarOptions. You could have got a Westin Kierland Villas week that comes with 148,100 annually. Yes, the maintenance fees would be more, but I suspect you only got 37,000 HomeOptions every other year for that?

I got 67100 Options every other year

 

[Ken555]

I got 67100 Options every other year

For $15k?! As long as you’re happy - someone needs to pay for their marketing costs.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I got 67100 Options every other year

You need to rescind. Buy Kierland, as you were advised. The salespeople tell you whatever you want to hear, and you were taken in.

 

[dansimms]

You need to rescind. Buy Kierland, as you were advised. The salespeople tell you whatever you want to hear, and you were taken in.

I’d rather have the developer benefits, lower maintenance commitment and the Bonvoy pricing on nearly 2 million hotel points and have it all added to my existing Interval account. I only wanted this amount of Options to occasionally use the flex locations.

 

[dioxide45]

I’d rather have the developer benefits, lower maintenance commitment and the Bonvoy pricing on nearly 2 million hotel points and have it all added to my existing Interval account. I only wanted this amount of Options to occasionally use the flex locations.

It sounds like your mind is made up then. One thing to note, a mandatory resale week would get a free II account also. I don't think they will add this to your existing Abound II Corp Account you have with your MVC ownership. It will get its own II account. That said, it really has no impact if you use it for StarOptions.

 

[dansimms]

It sounds like your mind is made up then. One thing to note, a mandatory resale week would get a free II account also. I don't think they will add this to your existing Abound II Corp Account you have with your MVC ownership. It will get its own II account. That said, it really has no impact if you use it for StarOptions.

Thanks. The way I look at it, The 165000 Bonvoy Points as a bonus , plus the rights to save on additional Bonvoy Point Purchases, plus the 67100 Star Options one time bonus, at the end of the day, cut my $15000 purchase in half on a net basis and I don’t have to deal with a private purchase. Also got about a $350 value in 2 rounds of golf here. Minimal impact on my annual fees. I am content .

 

[Ken555]

Thanks. The way I look at it, The 165000 Bonvoy Points as a bonus , plus the rights to save on additional Bonvoy Point Purchases, plus the 67100 Star Options one time bonus, at the end of the day, cut my $15000 purchase in half on a net basis and I don’t have to deal with a private purchase. Also got about a $350 value in 2 rounds of golf here. Minimal impact on my annual fees. I am content .

Rationalize much? As long as you’re happy, you’re good. But… I wouldn’t try to convince most of us that you got a good deal.

 

[dansimms]

Rationalize much? As long as you’re happy, you’re good. But… I wouldn’t try to convince most of us that you got a good deal.

Not trying to convince anyone. Just sharing the larger picture in my unique situation . I was not aware how much I can save by using Home Options in lieu of Abound Points to book Sheraton and Westin Villas. It is very significant .

 

[cubigbird]

Not trying to convince anyone. Just sharing the larger picture in my unique situation . I was not aware how much I can save by using Home Options in lieu of Abound Points to book Sheraton and Westin Villas. It is very significant .

If you purchased a mandatory resort on the secondary market to get the staroptions you needed then paid outright for the incentives, you would have still have paid a significantly less amount than purchasing direct.

 

[dansimms]

If you purchased a mandatory resort on the secondary market to get the staroptions you needed then paid outright for the incentives, you would have still have paid a significantly less amount than purchasing direct.

In my case, I was specifically looking for an Even year purchase that would only impact my annual maintenance by less than $1000 a year. On the Abound side of the house , Owners complain about a ‘skim’ of 7 to 10% in the booking system. On my first reservation to Lagunamar I see that I will enjoy a net savings of about 50 percent vs using Abound points. You could say rationalize or I can say justify. I am only sharing my situation to help others consider a different way to evaluate an option. At times it is too simplistic to default to a conclusion that buying from the developer is the wrong choice. I considered a resale of a Kierland and it was more than I wanted in Hone Options / annual maintenance on top of my Marriott Vacation Club (Chairman) existing annual maintenance fees. I am appreciative of TUG providing these forums that help us all make the best individual decisions with our hard earned discretionary money !

 

[regatta333]

I bought Sheraton Flex Contracts resale and use them in Interval. Have traded into Disney and Hyatts on Key West (2x on Key West). I also love Vistana Beach Club and have used them effectively to get Prime weeks there. Been a great supplement to my resale weeks at Vistana Beach Club and Villages Key West (EOY). One of the VBC weeks and the resale Villages qualified me for Abound as well. Overall, very happy with my resales.

I thought resale Sheraton flex contracts could only be used to book other Sheraton properties and that you had to buy flex from the developer to be able to book short stays and exchange using the seasonal options grid.

Right now, the big hole in our porfolio is being able to book Marriott properties in prime season for family vacations. Converting our Vistana weeks to Destination points in order to book Marriott is too expensive an option and multiple units are difficult to get in an exchange. Sheraton flex seemed like a good option. By pooling points or borrowing from a future year, for example, you could get access to Ko'Olina or the Hilton Head resorts in June. Also, the weeks we own are platinum season, so the times when we exchange into a non-prime season, we are using more options than we'd need to if we had a flex account. The salesperson showed us how these could be booked in real time without putting in exchange requests, but said it could only be done with flex options purchased from the developer. Can resale flex be used in the same way?