However, if you are only getting 2-Weeks retro'd you are overspending. You need only spend $15K to retro 2-Contracts.
For $30K you could retro 5-Contracts [e.g. 5 x 2BR-EY-PLAT+ worth ~750K-SO].
Yes, painfully aware. I wish we had had another Kierland 2BD platinum to retro, but I did not think I'd be able to acquire one resale and close on it before the hard launch. I was still of half a mind to try to do it and wait and see what shook out, but my husband said to just pull the trigger now. There were very few Kierland weeks in their inventory for resale and they were going quickly. They are also one of the few sites that can still sell these deeds because they are a portfolio site. We were close to doing a deal with a sales rep we had toured with at Sheraton Broadway Plantation. It was for the same number of points in Westin Flex, with the maintenance being almost double what it is for the Kierland small 1BD. I asked her if she could sell us a Kierland platinum deed for the small 1BD and she said they are not able to sell the deeded properties, only Flex. Ultimately, I was not really keen on purchasing the Flex product, especially with the higher maintenance.
This purchase gets us to 4*, which will be Presidential in Marriott, even though it only converts to 9,935 DC points. A lot of things factored into our decision:
1. Two sets of grandkids are getting older and this will give us more flexibility and variety in booking summer vacations on the East coast, where Vistana does not have many choices. Certainly, there will not be any new Vistana locations, whereas Marriott may continue to add resorts.
2. My son has expressed an interest in inheriting the Marriott ownership, and he will also have the added flexibility and benefits.
3. Keeping our options open if VSN inventory dries up at some point in the future.
4. Probably our one shot of getting the Presidential status, which does have some value to us.
They also included the option to purchase 6 Marriott Bonvoy Points promo certificates in the next two years ($2,275 per certificate, which gets you 330 K Bonvoy points). I doubt we will take advantage of this, since we don't really see the value.
I do agree with a previous poster that the attitude of some of the sales people is very offputting. We don't typically attend Owner Updates, but have been doing so for the past year or so to try to get information about the rollout of the combined program. Last year, at Ko'Olina, I asked about whether they would be getting rid of the exchange fee Vistana owners had to pay in II, which did not seem fair since Marriott owners got to exchange into Vistana for free. The sales rep stated that Marriott had acquired Vistana, not vice versa, and implied that we should be thrilled by the opportunity to stay at Marriott properties.
After that statement, I would NEVER have bought anything from him, even had he had a great deal to offer, which he did not.
