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Just bought....

Devmacd

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In the middle of a stay at WKORN in a promo package... suckered in to a Nanea purchase at a very low level (95k, even years) at 23k this afternoon, which seems like way too much after looking at resale...

The bonuses seemed worth it at the time (see last benefit), as were not really timeshare people (mostly luxury and boutique Marriot/SPG brand hotels at 2-4 nights in a single property tops).
- Gold for life (already have)
- 140k Points which we opted to double our SOs instead
- 1,080,000 points bought at $1,850/240k intervals

Here’s our family in a nutshell; platinum, ~200k/55 nights year in points accumulated through business travel, Bonvoy luxury AMEX, SW companion status. 2 year old, traditionally have stayed within US since baby... started to explore
abroad again now that she’s a toddler, starting to build up AA status for international flights

I’m now second guessing this... can someone talk me in to rescinding or out of my second guessing?

Help... lol
 

jabberwocky

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In the middle of a stay at WKORN in a promo package... suckered in to a Nanea purchase at a very low level (95k, even years) at 23k this afternoon, which seems like way too much after looking at resale...

The bonuses seemed worth it at the time (see last benefit), as were not really timeshare people (mostly luxury and boutique Marriot/SPG brand hotels at 2-4 nights in a single property tops).
- Gold for life (already have)
- 140k Points which we opted to double our SOs instead
- 1,080,000 points bought at $1,850/240k intervals

Here’s our family in a nutshell; platinum, ~200k/55 nights year in points accumulated through business travel, Bonvoy luxury AMEX, SW companion status. 2 year old, traditionally have stayed within US since baby... started to explore
abroad again now that she’s a toddler, starting to build up AA status for international flights

I’m now second guessing this... can someone talk me in to rescinding or out of my second guessing?

Help... lol

Rescind right away. You can get an annual Oceanfront 2BR right next door at WKORV-N for about the same price (worth 178,700 SO).

It will be nearly impossible to use a package like that at Nanea since it will just get you a 1 BR every second year. The problem is that Nanea doesn’t have a whole lot of 1BR.
Unless you can commit to the timeshare lifestyle this isn’t the purchase for you.

I’m guessing you bought a FLEX package based on the price?
 

Devmacd

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Great to know.

Our original thought was the ability to exchange elsewhere at Villa properties with lower redemption rates, extending our value... in addition to the “desire” of Maui for others picking up our none-used time...

However, I’m starting to feel as if the TS world is not apples to apples to the Points world when it comes to redemptions...

Clearly my wife (and I) are easily sold! :)
 

DavidnRobin

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You’re not the first - nor the last.
Rescind
Research
Resalek
 

jabberwocky

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Great to know.

Our original thought was the ability to exchange elsewhere at Villa properties with lower redemption rates, extending our value... in addition to the “desire” of Maui for others picking up our none-used time...

However, I’m starting to feel as if the TS world is not apples to apples to the Points world when it comes to redemptions...

Clearly my wife (and I) are easily sold! :)

Those are all great benefits of timeshares and you can use them that way if you want. But you get almost the exact same thing with a resale. they are a great way to vacation.

Don’t feel too bad. My first purchase was developer and my most recent was also developer. But I got way better goodies than you did for a much cheaper price.
 

Tucsonadventurer

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We love our resales. Did the same, purchased, rescinded and bought resale. We love the flexibility and options
 

Karen G

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Once owned these: FirstFairway@Walden X 2; Lawai Beach; ManhattanClub; PuebloBonitoRose; 4 South Africa--now timeshare-free
Rescind NOW while you still have the opportunity to do so. Once the rescission period passes, you’re stuck with what you bought. Do more research on resales. That deal you got will still be there if you decide it’s the best you can do, but if you don’t rescind now you’ll be sorry.
 

controller1

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In the middle of a stay at WKORN in a promo package... suckered in to a Nanea purchase at a very low level (95k, even years) at 23k this afternoon, which seems like way too much after looking at resale...

Just to be clear . . . you state you did a Nanea purchase. I assume you actually purchased Westin Flex. Is that correct?
 

PamMo

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Rescind now and enjoy your time in Maui!!!!!
 

teresatyso

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In the middle of a stay at WKORN in a promo package... suckered in to a Nanea purchase at a very low level (95k, even years) at 23k this afternoon, which seems like way too much after looking at resale...

The bonuses seemed worth it at the time (see last benefit), as were not really timeshare people (mostly luxury and boutique Marriot/SPG brand hotels at 2-4 nights in a single property tops).
- Gold for life (already have)
- 140k Points which we opted to double our SOs instead
- 1,080,000 points bought at $1,850/240k intervals

Here’s our family in a nutshell; platinum, ~200k/55 nights year in points accumulated through business travel, Bonvoy luxury AMEX, SW companion status. 2 year old, traditionally have stayed within US since baby... started to explore
abroad again now that she’s a toddler, starting to build up AA status for international flights

I’m now second guessing this... can someone talk me in to rescinding or out of my second guessing
Help... lol


HELLO THERE EVERYONE...

I am brand new to this site and I can't find where to start a new question so I am piggybacking on yours...hope you don't mind?

I, too, feel I was probably hornswaggled into buying into the Sheraton/Westin Flex Program. I already had difficulty using all my StarOptions from my annual week at SVV but the salesman convinced me it would become more expensive and more difficult to use my Star Options (with a deed to a specific week) as other Owners "upgraded" to the FLEX plan.

Does anyone have anything to say on this? Happy you switched to Flex? or not? I almost never stay at my home resort and am not really a luxury kind of traveler...Unfortunately, I just got "hooked" in back in 2007...sigh...it is a chore to find the time to use my Options.

Thanks for any feedback,

Sher
 

CalGalTraveler

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@sher welcome to TUG

Did you just buy this? Are you still within your rescission period? If so, I would rescind immediately before the clock runs out on your contract.

You just got hornswaggled. You just traded a superior product (SVV/Staroptions) for an inferior one with fewer resorts and higher maint fees. BTW...there is only Sheraton Flex (Sheraton Properties only) or Westin Flex (Westin properties only). Almost worthless on resale. Staroptions with SVV gets you access to everything (Sheraton and Westin).

Plus if you need walk you can with the week per Florida law. Legally unclear with the Flex Trust.

Is your SVV in Bella or Key West complex? or other?

Rescind now if you can.
 
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teresatyso

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Yes, I just "upgraded" yesterday and know I now have 9 days left to rescind. I appreciate your reply but don't understand when you say I only have access to Sheraton now...unless he REALLY lied! He said I would continue to have access to Sheraton AND Westin and as of next January the link with Marriott would be completed and the FLEX plan would give access to all their (63?) resorts and those of Ritz and one other chainI forget at the moment.
My unit is/was in St. Augustine.

I think there was a typo in your reply. You say "if I need WALK..." or do you mean walk away as in rescind. I surely hope I can do so with the Flex Trust - it is a vacation oriented purchase...Actually, I just remembered, I found that I can rescind when I read the small print on my contract.

Again, thanks for answering so quickly and let me know how you know I can't exchange into Westin...I guess you don't own a FLEX plan...:)
 

carpie99

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Yes, I just "upgraded" yesterday and know I now have 9 days left to rescind. I appreciate your reply but don't understand when you say I only have access to Sheraton now...unless he REALLY lied! He said I would continue to have access to Sheraton AND Westin and as of next January the link with Marriott would be completed and the FLEX plan would give access to all their (63?) resorts and those of Ritz and one other chainI forget at the moment.
My unit is/was in St. Augustine.

I think there was a typo in your reply. You say "if I need WALK..." or do you mean walk away as in rescind. I surely hope I can do so with the Flex Trust - it is a vacation oriented purchase...Actually, I just remembered, I found that I can rescind when I read the small print on my contract.

Again, thanks for answering so quickly and let me know how you know I can't exchange into Westin...I guess you don't own a FLEX plan...:)

You only will have home priority to your Flex properties ... your ability to trade into the other properties will be only at the 8 month period.

Did you buy Sheraton Flex or Westin Flex? I would have just kept your original developer purchase.
 

CalGalTraveler

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@sher Glad you are in the rescission period. You can always go back and get this deal but I believe that once you research this you will find cheaper ways to get what you want - possibly with what you already own. IMHO I would not own Flex for a number of reasons.

The Marriott info is not official - sales rep lied. The only way you have access with Flex to both Westin and Sheraton is at the 8 month mark when the Flex turns into StarOptions. You already have this capability today with your SVV property. Why pay for something you already own? Plus, Flex is open to devaluation and manipulation of the trust deeds. Maint Fee is also higher than SVV.

If you purchased the St. Augustine unit from the developer you already have access to Sheraton and Westin timeshares via StarOptions. You also can convert your points to hotels and trade in II to get Marriott or other resorts. Unfortunately, your unit is not "mandatory" so the staroptions don't transfer to your buyer. You would have to give your unit away or walk from it because it is not worth anything when you want to get rid of it. However it has great worth now for you to use if you know how to use it.


How much was the Flex upgrade cost? Sheraton Flex or Westin Flex?

Do you have an existing mortgage on the SVV?

Rescind now.

P.S. what I meant by walk is not about rescission. If you ultimately decide to rid yourself of the SVV timeshare or Flex plan, you can give away. But if unable to give it away, with the SVV you can walk under Florida Law. Will take a hit to credit and nasty calls, but all they can do is take the timeshare back (non-judicial, anti-deficiency laws). Flex may not have this protection - it is untested in the courts because the Flex trust owns deeds from multiple states that don't have such laws. You also may be able to deed it back to Vistana via ResponsibleExit.com.
 
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Karen G

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Once owned these: FirstFairway@Walden X 2; Lawai Beach; ManhattanClub; PuebloBonitoRose; 4 South Africa--now timeshare-free
Yes, I just "upgraded" yesterday and know I now have 9 days left to rescind.
Since you have questions about your purchase and don't fully understand what it contains, rescind NOW while you still can. Once the rescission period passes, you won't have the opportunity. Rescind and then do some more research. After you thoroughly understand what the program includes, it will still be there for you to buy from the developer if you still think it's a good deal.
 

teresatyso

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Thanks carpie. I bought a Sheraton Flex and when I think about it, I usually stay at Westin properties. The 8 month period does not bother me since the farthest out I can ever plan is about 6 months and usually less.

I really would like to know if anyone who has a FLEX or listened to the spiel was told that Westin and Sheraton would eventually be joining up with Marriott and the other 2 chains Marriott bought so that the FLEX plan would allow you to use all those resorts without an exchange fee...until they are officially joined (in January so he said) there is an exchange fee.

I will probably rescind and go back to what I had; I just thought I would be able to have access to more resorts and according to the salesperson pay lower MFs (they are about the same now but he said the FLEX MFs would go up MUCH less than my old MFs) and that it would be difficult to reserve weeks with my old plan because when Sheraton and Westin join up with Marriott and the other chains, the number of people wanting to reserve would be much greater.

Also I saw on controller1's post that his FLEX MF did go up 6.8% - WAY more than the .25% that my salesman told me was the most it had gone up annually since they started offering the FLEX in 2015!
 

Devmacd

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Just to be clear . . . you state you did a Nanea purchase. I assume you actually purchased Westin Flex. Is that correct?

I assume so, as I did not buy a “set week”.

Just sent out my rescinding paperwork yesterday, the contract actually had a form already created that I could sign and mail.

Do you believe this will be sufficient?

My deadline is tomorrow.

thanks so much for everyones help!!
 

Karen G

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Once owned these: FirstFairway@Walden X 2; Lawai Beach; ManhattanClub; PuebloBonitoRose; 4 South Africa--now timeshare-free
I assume so, as I did not buy a “set week”.

Just sent out my rescinding paperwork yesterday, the contract actually had a form already created that I could sign and mail.

Do you believe this will be sufficient?

My deadline is tomorrow.

thanks so much for everyones help!!
Did you send your letter/form by certified mail so that you have a receipt from the post office showing the date you mailed it?
If not I'd send it again by certified mail just to make sure you can prove you rescinded within the time period.
 

teresatyso

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Thanks everyone. CalGal and Karen G, I was typing so I did not see your replies until after I sent my last message in.

I am sure I will rescind now.

I feel bad for the salesman - he was so patient - he literally spent the entire day with me as I asked all kinds of questions and asked him to do the math on a calculator with me to confirm the "Savings" their computer said I would receive if I switched to FLEX (it didn't match up with ours...but who argues with a computer?...well, I do; and though it was off it still seemed to work out, just would take longer to break even) at two different levels. Then he took $945 dollars off the closing costs and gave a bunch of bonus starpoints (114,500).

I am sure he missed opportunities to sell to others {maybe I saved some people...:)} but now that I know that he was dishonest about the MF fees and the Marriott FLEX Plan merger, I feel better...

BTW, CalGal, I do not owe anything on my St. Augustine week. I had originally had a biannual week and several years later was convinced to upgrade to annual - big mistake as I live outside the U.S. and have trouble finding time to use the Options I have (I hope that will change next year). So he agreed to let me go back to every other year (previous salespeople had not allowed that)...only I was so focused on other details - talk about not seeing the forest for the trees - that he upped me from 67,100 annually to 140,000 bi-annually which works out to about 5,000 more StarOptions every two years than I currently had!

I am embarrassed to admit that (it just hit me as I walked out) but I would like to know if anyone thinks it was a good price (I will still rescind though based on what you have said about FLEX - It would nice to hear from someone who has FLEX). After he took off the $945 the total with closing costs was $13,505.

Thanks again everyone. I have to go out now (I do internet on my lap top, not old cell phone) but will look for any replies later.

Sher
 

jabberwocky

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First of all - congratulations on the decision to rescind. Absolutely the right call in this situation.

This auction ends shortly - but you can see how the market values SFlex (very few WFlex packages have come to market as it is relatively new):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/106-800-An...438151?hash=item3419a36587:g:MLsAAOSwishdn2Ts

Your purchase price was $0.386/SFlex Option (annualized) which is a bit higher than I would expect on pricing for the EOY Sheraton units. There are certain discounts available - but with a trade in they might give you discount.

I'm one of the few here who will admit openly to buying Westin Flex. In our case we had a specific use in mind and a few other factors - such as requalifying another unit in - but we paid about the same amount per WFlex Option as you did - and WFlex is a much better product than SFlex IMO as you get 8-12 month priority at the Hawaii resorts (which even transfers on resale).

A few points that others have largely already made:

- You already own a great resort and you won't get any additional benefits beyond what you have right now by buying SFlex
- The only way to book Westin Resorts with a Flex package is to either own Westin Flex (home resort period for several of the US Westin Resorts is 8-12 months) or to do a StarOption Exchange in the 0-8 month period IF you bought developer - otherwise you are limited to your home resorts in Sheraton.
- Yes - WFlex MF went up by 6.8% this year but that was largely because the developer was subsidizing the MF which held it down artificially (I believe @controller1 owns WFlex and not SFlex).
- Any talk of booking into Marriott is complete speculation. To his credit, when our sales guy sold us our WFlex package (via central sales - not onsite) he said nothing was announced and he would be shocked if they figured the integration out within the next two years (this was when I asked him if there were integration plans - he could have easily lied).
- 140,000 is an odd number of Flex Options to have. I would have gone with 148,100 for an extra $1.6k. If you are wanting to book into a Westin that would give you a full week in plat season for most resorts.
 

CalGalTraveler

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Congrats @sher for saving $13,505 cc @Grammarhero @TUGBrian

Hard to believe they tried to hornswiggle you into a Sheraton FLEX product that had less flexibility than what you own today and try to get you to pay for the privilege. And you tend to stay at Westins. You would have been very unhappy...

Stick around TUG and learn how to maximize what you own with StarOptions, Hotel conversion points and II trades. Since you purchased St. Augustine from the developer you have full access to use these trading resources.
 

Grammarhero

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I feel bad for the salesman - he was so patient - he literally spent the entire day with me as I asked all kinds of questions and asked him to do the math on a calculator with me to confirm the "Savings" their computer said I would receive if I switched to FLEX (it didn't match up with ours...but who argues with a computer?...well, I do; and though it was off it still seemed to work out, just would take longer to break even) at two different levels. Then he took $945 dollars off the closing costs and gave a bunch of bonus starpoints (114,500).

I am sure he missed opportunities to sell to others {maybe I saved some people...:)} but now that I know that he was dishonest about the MF fees and the Marriott FLEX Plan merger, I feel better

Sher
Don’t feel bad for the salesmen and saleswomen. They chose a job of lying and ripping off TS owners. They could always choose another job.
 

Grammarhero

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Congrats @sher for saving $13,505 cc @Grammarhero @TUGBrian

Hard to believe they tried to hornswiggle you into a Sheraton FLEX product that had less flexibility than what you own today and try to get you to pay for the privilege. And you tend to stay at Westins. You would have been very unhappy...

Stick around TUG and learn how to maximize what you own with StarOptions, Hotel conversion points and II trades. Since you purchased St. Augustine from the developer you have full access to use these trading resources.
Thanks for the tagz
 

CPNY

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Thanks for the tagz
Listen to this story. I’m at my wits end. My mother texts me two weeks ago and says “so I just went and bought a Hilton timeshare” you can imagine my shock and anger. My reply in all caps of course was a rant of disbelief and the word RESCIND about 100 times. She said she rescinded, and I followed up making sure she knew how to actually rescind. So the weeks go on and I forget all about it because she rescinded. Tonight I asked her “by the way, you never told me how this HGVC purchase came about. She told me the story and couldn’t believe she didn’t call me from the sales office. Anyway, she told me she googled how to get out of a timeshare and the tug forums came up where she read about rescinding. She followed the instructions she read here and is now out of it. I asked how much she purchased. The contract was for $8K. I asked if she posted here she said she didn’t. So here is another tug forum rescind story. How she bypassed me on the whole thing is frustrating lol. For some context, we both own in vistana and she knows of the new purchases I made in the past three months. Still in disbelief she went and did this lol. So add 8K to the list.
 

Fredflintstone

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Listen to this story. I’m at my wits end. My mother texts me two weeks ago and says “so I just went and bought a Hilton timeshare” you can imagine my shock and anger. My reply in all caps of course was a rant of disbelief and the word RESCIND about 100 times. She said she rescinded, and I followed up making sure she knew how to actually rescind. So the weeks go on and I forget all about it because she rescinded. Tonight I asked her “by the way, you never told me how this HGVC purchase came about. She told me the story and couldn’t believe she didn’t call me from the sales office. Anyway, she told me she googled how to get out of a timeshare and the tug forums came up where she read about rescinding. She followed the instructions she read here and is now out of it. I asked how much she purchased. The contract was for $8K. I asked if she posted here she said she didn’t. So here is another tug forum rescind story. How she bypassed me on the whole thing is frustrating lol. For some context, we both own in vistana and she knows of the new purchases I made in the past three months. Still in disbelief she went and did this lol. So add 8K to the list.

Oh my @TUGBrian and @Grammarhero...TUG is making the sales floor do the Obama dance regularly thru asking, searching or googling...
7dd036ff5a7a237db2e5850fbf5c3d9f.gif



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