I understand that the conversion ratio of Star Options to Club Points varies depending on what you own. I own Westin Aventuras Star Options and MVC will exchange those Options to Club Points at the ratio of 30-1. But that is NOT a good (or fair) deal. Here is why: I can reserve a week in a Premium 1BR unit at Westin Lagunamar in Cancun during February or March (high season) for 81,000 Star Options. That would be about 2700 Club Points at the 30-1 conversion rate I am offered. Yet, when I search MVC for the same property, unit and dates, it requires 3900 Club Points, which would translate to 117,000 SO at the conversion rate I am offered. The same is true for Cabo....it requires far more Club Points than our Star Options would yield. This makes no sense. I know that the only way to book MVC properties is by using Club Points, but unless MVC charges a premium for Vistana properties, it seems apparent that I am losing value by converting SO to Club Points. Anyone disagree?
I disagree too...
You can't expect to get the number of points to book the busiest weeks in your season because they would be handing out more points than all owners could use to book their home resort. You can expect to get the number of points to book the average week in your season (but you get about 7% less than that - consider that a transaction fee). It's a bit less transparent for the Flex type of product, but not dissimilar.
Realizing that you own Aventuras, consider that the "Platinum" season at Lagunamar, is 5-17, 24-35, 44-47 and 51-52. Yet, you chose to focus specifically on February and March. which are indeed the most expensive in Abound (excluding holiday weeks, which are pricier). But what if, for example you wanted to go during the last 2 weeks of June (weeks 24, 25)? That would cost you 2575 in abound which is "better" than your 81,000 Staroptions which convert to 2700 points.
I'm cherry picking here because your product is not quite pure Lagunamar and, in general, you should not elect points to book your home resort unless it is more favorable to do so. But whether something is a "raw deal" should not really depend on how it translates into home resort booking but rather what else you can do with it and what your alternative are.
For example, I think that getting 4050 points for a 2BR Platinum WKV is a "raw deal" but not because how it translates back to WKV (there are some "Platinum" weeks that can be booked for 2950 or 3800 points, but most are 5400). I think it's a raw deal because:
1) Compared to other Platinum VSN weeks that offer 148,1000 SOs (e.g., WKORV/N and Lagunamar) 4050 Abound points is cheap. WKORV/N got 6200 and WLR got 4950 so I get better value trading in VSN, when available.
2) The rental value of the WKV 2BR week is over $4400 ($1.1/point) while the rental value of the points it converts to is about $0.70/point, so I'd prefer to rent out the week before I elect points even if some of that rental goes to taxes. I can always rent more points from others for $0.70 as long as some owners will rent at that price.
3) Based on my personal ownership and personal considerations, I have 3-4 other MVC weeks that offer me better "value", so electing WKV is not one of my top 3 choices.
But this is all personal choice and circumstances. If you don't own other MVC weeks or anything else in Vistana, and this is your only option, there are plenty of MVC weeks that you can book that cost less than 2700 points for a full week in a 1BR (even in a 2BR) and electing points may be a good choice for you. As pointed our earlier, you'd get more value for 5 nights Sunday-Friday stays Some examples:
January (ski season) at Timber Lodge
January at Westin Kierland
Much of the year at Marriott's Streamside (vail)
Summer at Marriott's Ocean Point (Palm Beach area, FL)
5 nights at Newport Coast Villas (all-2BR resort) during most of the year
5 nights at Frenchman's Code (2BR/3BR resort) during most of the year
Don't focus on your home resort - focus on what you can do with the points. Then, if it's appealing see what your options to get the points are - you can elect one of your ownerships, or you can always rent points from others. Even if you don't like the value you get for Aventuras, you now have access to 60+ more resorts that you can get just by renting the currency at $0.70, which is actually also a great way to do it.
