Help with II exchange using Westin Lagunamar [duplicate threads merged]

[HHDutchy]

I own Westin Kierland (37,000 SO) and Aventuras (44,000 SO).

I exchanged my Kierland unit last year for a 1br at Marriott Ocean Pointe week of July 4th. It was perfect.


This year wanted to use my Aventuras to do something similar or go to Marriot Manor Club. Here is what I noticed.
- Ocean Point = 70,000 club points if using Aventuras (I only get 44,000 annually)
- Manor Club = 81,000 club points if using Aventuras

I can get either unit/ week using my Kierland no problem plus $99 unit upgrade fee for Manor Club


Is there no way to use my Aventuras week outside of Club Points? I feel like my exchanges will be very limited in terms of value. Any way around this? Is the Kierland just an unusually good trader and/or Aventuras a bad trader? Again, any way around this 44,000 cap on Aventura?


lastly,
The Interval lady said there would be a $163 exchange fee. Isn’t this eliminated with Abound?


Thank you

 

[dioxide45]

The fee elimintation doesn't start until January 1st. That is transactions on/after January 1st. So you would be best to wait a few days to make any exchange.

You seem to be using the term Club Points and noting numbers of StarOptions but you are exchanging through II. There also should be no upgrade fee when using points for an exchange. You just pay more points to confirm the exchange. If you are using Aventuras, you would pay that number of points, no upgrade fees.

 

[bobpark56]

We have found Aventuras to be a fraud. If you try to book Westin Lagunamar, even one year out as we are suppose to be able to do, there is never anything available but studios. Lagunamar seems to be using Aventuras as a dumping ground for the studio units it is unable to rent. Last Janunary I visited the lady who manages this at Lagunamar. She told me that when Aventuras was initiated, Lagunamar placed a bit over 300 units into the Aventuras program. The initial deposit was more than 3 years before I talked to her. They then sold Aventura points for 3+ years, but never increased the annual deposit of Lagunamar units. I tried several times 3 weeks ago to book a December 2023 1BR unit, only to find nothing available but studios.
If you like studios, Aventuras may work fine for you. But the sales folks told us we could book 1BR units one year out. I doesn't seem to work that way

 

[HHDutchy]

The fee elimintation doesn't start until January 1st. That is transactions on/after January 1st. So you would be best to wait a few days to make any exchange.

You seem to be using the term Club Points and noting numbers of StarOptions but you are exchanging through II. There also should be no upgrade fee when using points for an exchange. You just pay more points to confirm the exchange. If you are using Aventuras, you would pay that number of points, no upgrade fees.

Thanks for your reply.
To clarify, my 44,0000 staroptions (Vistana term) show up as 44,000 club points in II. It’s simply what they are called within the II ecosystem,
You are correct there is no upgrade fee when dealing in Club Points, but spending an addition 37,000 club points seems really expensive to upgrade to a 2br (vs $99 if I used my Kierland unit).

Does that make sense why I’m struggling with the value (or lack thereof) of Aventuras club points vs a deeded Kierland week? Again, pretty new to Interval here. Am I missing something here to where you could bring some perspective?

It’s making me consider selling Aventuras and picking up a better trader (SDO?).

 

[dioxide45]

Thanks for your reply.
To clarify, my 44,0000 staroptions (Vistana term) show up as 44,000 club points in II. It’s simply what they are called within the II ecosystem,
You are correct there is no upgrade fee when dealing in Club Points, but spending an addition 37,000 club points seems really expensive to upgrade to a 2br (vs $99 if I used my Kierland unit).

Does that make sense why I’m struggling with the value (or lack thereof) of Aventuras club points vs a deeded Kierland wee0.k? Again, pretty new to Interval here. Am I missing something here to where you could bring some perspective?

It’s making me consider selling Aventuras and picking up a better trader (SDO?).

To know which one is the best use, you would need to calculate the actual cost of each trade including MFs, exchange fees and upgrade fees.

As for MMC, it isn't a top tier Marriott property. Don't get me wrong, the property is fantastic, but it is Williamsburg and there are a lot of timeshares there. I don't know when you intend to go there, but there are currently Getaways available through the middle of May 2023 in a 2BR for under $650

 

[HHDutchy]

To know which one is the best use, you would need to calculate the actual cost of each trade including MFs, exchange fees and upgrade fees.

As for MMC, it isn't a top tier Marriott property. Don't get me wrong, the property is fantastic, but it is Williamsburg and there are a lot of timeshares there. I don't know when you intend to go there, but there are currently Getaways available through the middle of May 2023 in a 2BR for under $650

End of May is our ideal window (5/26 or later) - school age kids

My hope was to book MMC for a week in late May using Aventuras and M Ocean Point for a week in July using Kierland. It sounds like I need to rethink this

Thanks for always replying so thoughtfully.

 

[HHDutchy]

Found a solution!

Converted 40,000 of my 44,000 Aventuras StarOptions to Abound Club Point (1325 points). Booked a 2 Bedroom unit at Marriot Manor Club for 5 nights using 1250 Abound points (Sun-Fri stay). We will add 2 nights in DC for some sightseeing there. All in all will be a great trip.
- Not necessarily a stellar value, but a whole lot better than a II trade.
- My MF on 40k SO = $825
- Bonvoy rate = $1400-1700

I will trade my Kierland unit in Interval in the New Year (thanks @dioxide45) for Marriott Ocean Pointe in July for a week at the beach in Palm Beach. I should be able to secure that trade no problem.

 

[travellerviajero1]

Found a solution!

Converted 40,000 of my 44,000 Aventuras StarOptions to Abound Club Point (1325 points). Booked a 2 Bedroom unit at Marriot Manor Club for 5 nights using 1250 Abound points (Sun-Fri stay). We will add 2 nights in DC for some sightseeing there. All in all will be a great trip.
- Not necessarily a stellar value, but a whole lot better than a II trade.
- My MF on 40k SO = $825
- Bonvoy rate = $1400-1700

I will trade my Kierland unit in Interval in the New Year (thanks @dioxide45) for Marriott Ocean Pointe in July for a week at the beach in Palm Beach. I should be able to secure that trade no problem.

Did you buy those Aventuras SO from developer or resale? wondering if resale purchase of them allows conversion to Abound Club Points

 

[travelhacker]

Did you buy those Aventuras SO from developer or resale? wondering if resale purchase of them allows conversion to Abound Club Points

Resale purchase does not allow you to convert to abound points.

For now, you can requalify a week by making an additional purchase (10k minimum), but I’d recommend something with a bit more value in abound like a Westin lagunamar week or Kaanapali.