CLOSED: Thread Dedicated to the Upcoming/Anticipated Integration of Vistana & Marriott Ownerships (Marriott Link + Vistana Discussion)

[VacationForever]

The last owner update that we attended was at Westin Kierland after Thanksgiving. He was quite a good salesperson as well. He saw what we owned with Vistana and told us that corporate told the salespeople to upsell every person going through to get to at least 4 star elite, if not, 5 star. We told him what we also own at MVC and he said there was no reason for us to buy because we should be Chairman's Club after the merger. He said of course, unless you really wanted to buy some more. We parted on a good note.

 

[samcar1]

I had the exact same experience there. Jim is a great guy and honest. He looked at my portfolio and told me I didn't need to buy a thing given how I planned to travel. I absolutely would have bought it from him if I needed more. And then Mike came in and tried to sell me $27K worth of Westin Flex "just because". When I declined, he became a total A-hole which according to a source of mine at the property is a pattern of his when someone doesn't buy. Ruined everything! I slated him on the post presentation survey.

Always go to the presentations, get your freebees and call Jack Fletcher. He knows exactly whats going on. He's in corporate, NOT pushy and is in the KNOW. Everyone else lies.

 

[EnglishmanAbroad]

I have had two different sales people from two different sales sites indicate July 28th is the day. Though they aren't supposed to give a date

That is the date we were given. If anyone is thinking of getting reservations done online it might be best to plan to do them before the 28th.

 

[chinh9]

I was also told the 28th so it seems to be the date...or hopeful date. But once it does go live - are they going to send out a crap ton of documents or brochures and what not to everyone? Or will we just need to figure it out on our own?

 

[remowidget]

I was also told the 28th so it seems to be the date...or hopeful date. But once it does go live - are they going to send out a crap ton of documents or brochures and what not to everyone? Or will we just need to figure it out on our own?

You should read everything you can find, but you are already in a great place to find out info.

 

[Mroze]

The last owner update that we attended was at Westin Kierland after Thanksgiving. He was quite a good salesperson as well. He saw what we owned with Vistana and told us that corporate told the salespeople to upsell every person going through to get to at least 4 star elite, if not, 5 star. We told him what we also own at MVC and he said there was no reason for us to buy because we should be Chairman's Club after the merger. He said of course, unless you really wanted to buy some more. We parted on a good note.

Are you already Chairman's Club based on what your Vistana-Ownership maps to in DCP-Points?
OR
Are you expecting Marriott to combine your Vistana-Ownership DP-Equivalent + Marriott-DCP-Points?

I am very interested as different people have given different guidance.
Based on what I heard, I am unsure whether Marriott will create a Combined-Status [e.g. Marriott-DCP: 5000 + Vistana-DCP: 10000 = Chairmans-Club].

 

[VacationForever]

Are you already Chairman's Club based on what your Vistana-Ownership maps to in DCP-Points?
OR
Are you expecting Marriott to combine your Vistana-Ownership DP-Equivalent + Marriott-DCP-Points?

I am very interested as different people have given different guidance.
Based on what I heard, I am unsure whether Marriott will create a Combined-Status [e.g. Marriott-DCP: 5000 + Vistana-DCP: 10000 = Chairmans-Club].

His theory is based on combined.

 

[dwreimer44]

I have two questions for the group:
1. Had my owners update at Kierland today. I guess my 4* ownership is going to convert in at 14,275 MVC which puts me 275 points short of Chairman level. Is it worth $12,000 to upgrade? Is there any real difference between the two that would make this worthwhile?
2. I heard that when the conversion is completed they are going to grant lifetime Titanium status to Presidential and Chairman level owners. Has anyone else confirmed this? Is this only an incentive for buyers who are upgrading or is this for all owners?

 

[ErnieD]

On point #2, I was told that as long as you have the properties you will have that Bonvoy status. Clarified my same question when I asked. Of course, this comes from the sales manager so consider the source.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[samcar1]

You will have that status. I will be titanium.

 

[kozykritter]

I have two questions for the group:
1. Had my owners update at Kierland today. I guess my 4* ownership is going to convert in at 14,275 MVC which puts me 275 points short of Chairman level. Is it worth $12,000 to upgrade? Is there any real difference between the two that would make this worthwhile?
2. I heard that when the conversion is completed they are going to grant lifetime Titanium status to Presidential and Chairman level owners. Has anyone else confirmed this? Is this only an incentive for buyers who are upgrading or is this for all owners?

Bonvoy status benefits through ownership are tied to your annual ownership elite level, not the individual involved. They are not for the lifetime of the owner and are subject to being changed by Vistana/MVC at any time. Currently those two elite levels each award Titanium status yearly to the primary owner on the account. No one here has mentioned being told about a special lifetime status incentive. If your ownership elite level drops lower in a given year, you will receive the Bonvoy status associated with the lower level for that year. Also if your amount of ownership drops at all after being grandfathered, you will permanently lose the grandfathered privilege and have to qualify on points like everyone else.

 

[kozykritter]

I have two questions for the group:
1. Had my owners update at Kierland today. I guess my 4* ownership is going to convert in at 14,275 MVC which puts me 275 points short of Chairman level. Is it worth $12,000 to upgrade? Is there any real difference between the two that would make this worthwhile?
2. I heard that when the conversion is completed they are going to grant lifetime Titanium status to Presidential and Chairman level owners. Has anyone else confirmed this? Is this only an incentive for buyers who are upgrading or is this for all owners?

While it seems fairly certain that 4* will map to Presidential regardless of the number of converted points involved, there has been no information to confirm that a Vistana owner who's ownership converts to 15,000+ DP will be granted Chairman status after the hard launch. It may happen, it may not so take that into account when making a purchase. It's possible that MVC could be raising the number of points needed for Chairman and not grandfathering in Vistana owners based on points since they were not part of the MVC recognition program before the hard launch. Again we have no definite information one way or another right now. I wonder if getting Vistana to write in Chairman status to your purchase contract would have any effect with MVC once the hard launch happens.

5* will reportedly be mapped to Chairman regardless of a number of converted points involved. How far are you away from that level of Vistana ownership?

 

[GregT]

I have two questions for the group:
1. Had my owners update at Kierland today. I guess my 4* ownership is going to convert in at 14,275 MVC which puts me 275 points short of Chairman level. Is it worth $12,000 to upgrade? Is there any real difference between the two that would make this worthwhile?
2. I heard that when the conversion is completed they are going to grant lifetime Titanium status to Presidential and Chairman level owners. Has anyone else confirmed this? Is this only an incentive for buyers who are upgrading or is this for all owners?

For me, the most important ability at the higher levels is the ability to reserve a single night's reservation 13 months out, and you will have that with Presidential. I believe the primary difference between President and Chairman is the ability to bank points for two years (as Chairman) versus 18 months (as Presidential) and I do not think that is significant enough to pay $12K.

I have not heard the bit about Titanium (I think that is what I have).

Best,

Greg

 

[jabberwocky]

Bonvoy status benefits through ownership are tied to your annual ownership elite level, not the individual involved. They are not for the lifetime of the owner and are subject to being changed by Vistana/MVC at any time. Currently those two elite levels each award Titanium status yearly to the primary owner on the account. No one here has mentioned being told about a special lifetime status incentive. If your ownership elite level drops lower in a given year, you will receive the Bonvoy status associated with the lower level for that year. Also if your amount of ownership drops at all after being grandfathered, you will permanently lose the grandfathered privilege and have to qualify on points like everyone else.

Some of the Bonvoy levels do have a "lifetime" status, which depends upon the number of years you have had at least that status plus the number of nights you stayed. Platinum, Silver, and Gold all can be obtained this way, and your ownership nights/years also count towards this (there are some Titanium lifetime members - but this was obtained when they merger the SPG and Marriott programs).

For instance, with about five more years and 140 nights I should hit Platinum for life - so even if I sold off all of my Vistana ownerships at that point, I would still retain that status for the remainder of my life (I'm currently titanium based on stays though). We should get Platinum status with our 3* ownership as well, so once I get platinum for life we will likely switch so that my spouse becomes the primary on our Vistana ownership and we would both be Platinum.

Personally, I have not noticed much difference between platinum and titanium, upgrades are few and far between, and you feel like you have to beg for a free breakfast. The only real difference is more bonus points. It would not be enough to make me buy TS points just to get to the 4* elite/Presidential level.

 

[kozykritter]

Some of the Bonvoy levels do have a "lifetime" status, which depends upon the number of years you have had at least that status plus the number of nights you stayed. Platinum, Silver, and Gold all can be obtained this way, and your ownership nights/years also count towards this (there are some Titanium lifetime members - but this was obtained when they merger the SPG and Marriott programs).

For instance, with about five more years and 140 nights I should hit Platinum for life - so even if I sold off all of my Vistana ownerships at that point, I would still retain that status for the remainder of my life (I'm currently titanium based on stays though). We should get Platinum status with our 3* ownership as well, so once I get platinum for life we will likely switch so that my spouse becomes the primary on our Vistana ownership and we would both be Platinum.

Personally, I have not noticed much difference between platinum and titanium, upgrades are few and far between, and you feel like you have to beg for a free breakfast. The only real difference is more bonus points. It would not be enough to make me buy TS points just to get to the 4* elite/Presidential level.

Yes, agreed, the status (and nights) you get yearly from Vistana/MVC ownership can contribute to you earning lifetime status in the Bonvoy program in that they require a certain number of years at a status level and nights stayed as you mentioned. Just wanted to be clear to the OP that the timeshare programs themselves don't grant any lifetime Bonvoy status.

I've been Titanium for a few years now and I would say on occasion I could see where it benefited me in the way I was treated. I've received a few unsolicited suite upgrades and when there have been problems with my room or my stay, many times once they know I am Titanium I see a sense of urgency being added to their actions to try and solve things quickly and in a way that makes me happy including reassigning a room from someone that hasn't checked in yet. On flip side I've seen in similar situations it hasn't made a bit of difference! Personally I'm happy to have it but don't go out of my way to earn it back or spend any extra $ to do so.

 

[chemteach]

I am so late to the party... I've been travelling since June 13 and just arrived at a Marriott and went to an update. From what I've been reading, it looks like the Vistana ownerships purchased from the developer and/or brought in via a purchase will get automatic entry into the new joined system. Wow! I was told I will have the Select level and they tried to upsell me to get to the Presidential level. At Select, he said I will have platinum elite status in Marriott, which is great for me! I don't need titanium status. I was wondering if there is a thread somewhere that shows the mapping of Vistana properties to Marriott vacation Club Points. Gotta love TUG! So much information here. Waiting 4 days now, hoping it all happens on 7/28. The person I spoke with said it would be a few weeks from now. Hoping he was wrong...

 

[dioxide45]

I was wondering if there is a thread somewhere that shows the mapping of Vistana properties to Marriott vacation Club Points.

Is this what you are looking for? So far it is all we have.

Vistana to Abound Point Conversion Tracker

I have started to create a conversion tracker to keep track of the amount of points allocaetd to each VOI. I know everything right now is still speculation or information gleaned from attending a sales presentation, but at some point I suspect we will get official numbers. For now we can start...

tugbbs.com

 

[chemteach]

Is this what you are looking for? So far it is all we have.

Vistana to Abound Point Conversion Tracker

I have started to create a conversion tracker to keep track of the amount of points allocaetd to each VOI. I know everything right now is still speculation or information gleaned from attending a sales presentation, but at some point I suspect we will get official numbers. For now we can start...

tugbbs.com

Thank you!! This is exactly what I was looking for.

 

[William Seward]

The "Vistana_DC_ConversionRates" document is an interesting graph. Is their a graph with all 90 combined Resorts, including the resort codes.

 

[samcar1]

For me, the most important ability at the higher levels is the ability to reserve a single night's reservation 13 months out, and you will have that with Presidential. I believe the primary difference between President and Chairman is the ability to bank points for two years (as Chairman) versus 18 months (as Presidential) and I do not think that is significant enough to pay $12K.

I have not heard the bit about Titanium (I think that is what I have).

Best,

Greg

I totally agree with that.

 

[dioxide45]

The "Vistana_DC_ConversionRates" document is an interesting graph. Is their a graph with all 90 combined Resorts, including the resort codes.

Given that this is all user reported data, that is asking a lot. Marriott hasn’t published official point allocations.

A similar spreadsheet for Marriott properties is available in the Marriott forum.

 

[ErnieD]

StarOptions to Club Points

Attached is what I got from corporate as they said this is what the new system (Abound) will convert to.

 

[samcar1]

At least the time is coming in the next week in which we should know. I do know we have to make a decision by October as to how many option we want to transfer to points for this year. Next year at least on 4*, we have till October. they will be in 20k increments and can add to them.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I am very unclear if resale mandatory SO's are worth anything in DC, according to Marriott.

Has someone found out? On TUG we always say to buy resale and not developer. So of course that is what I do.

 

[jabberwocky]

I am very unclear resale mandatory SO's are worth according to Marriott.

Has someone found out? On TUG we always say to buy resale and not developer. So of course that is what I do.

StarOptions only have value in VSN. Abound points will be allocated based on the underlying deed. For mandatory properties it hasn’t been made clear whether they will participate in Abound if they are not requalified resales.

I’ve been told our mandatory resale (unauthorized) will be by two separate sales reps at different resorts - and our customer sheet shows our total point value as including our resale. Others have been told differently. Only time will tell.