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Questions about end of the year usage

gumbert 2

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[I pulled this post out of another thread, because it has several new & unrelated questions.-DeniseM Moderator]

wow........eye opening thanks so much AWayWeGo. another facet found out this morning. we tried to bank our weeks and turn it into SPG points as we were told we would do it when we bought and we did this year before last. Well as of Dec. 31st you can no longer do that. oh you can do it now but you have to travel and use by this Dec 31st. we have received no information on this change and spg said they are implementing a new program in 2009 but not sure when nor what the facts are. so we have the choice of RCI, which has downgraded Vistana and you no longer have good trading power for our units or join Interval International (II) who have only limited inventory. It just keeps getting worse and worse
 
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DeniseM

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wow........eye opening thanks so much AWayWeGo. another facet found out this morning. we tried to bank our weeks and turn it into SPG points as we were told we would do it when we bought and we did this year before last. Well as of Dec. 31st you can no longer do that. oh you can do it now but you have to travel and use by this Dec 31st.

Can you please clarify what you tried to do?

If you were trying to convert your week to Starpoints, you have to do it by March 31st - it's always been that way. And you can only convert each unit to Starpoints every other year - so if you did it last year, you can't do it this year. That's not new. (I see now that you said you converted year before last, so that's not the problem - it's just too late to convert this year.)

Also - it has always been true that you had to use either your week, or the Staroptions by the end of the calendar year - Dec. 31st. - That has always been the rule.

we have received no information on this change and spg said they are implementing a new program in 2009 but not sure when nor what the facts are. so we have the choice of RCI, which has downgraded Vistana and you no longer have good trading power for our units or join Interval International (II) who have only limited inventory. It just keeps getting worse and worse

[I accidentally deted part of this while trying to correct it and I had to reconstruct it - sorry!]

Exchanging with II is actually quite a good deal, because Starwood owners can see and reserve other Starwood resorts for 3 days before non-Starwood owners. See the Starwood and II article in Owner Resources for more information. However, if you are just now trying to deposit your 2008 week, it's really late for that. The rule is that if you deposit within 59 days of the check in date, you [can only make reservations within 59 days of check-in.]

From the II Article on the Starwood Exchanging Forum:

What is Flexchange & Flex Deposit?
A.
• Flexchange is for those members who want to request a vacation exchange on short notice — from 59 days to 24 hours before check-in. You can check Flexchange availabilities at IntervalWorld.com or by calling II.
• Additionally, you can make a Flex Deposit if you need to deposit your week 59 to 14 days prior to the check-in date (no deposits are accepted less than 14 days before your week). You then can only use the Flexchange service to make an exchange.


For lots of info. about how Starwood works, read the Starwood FAQ at the top of the page and the Starwood and II article in Owner Resources, and then please come back and let us know what questions you have. I think there is some confusion here.
 
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RLG

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However, if you are just now trying to deposit your 2008 week, it's really late for that. The rule is that if you deposit within 59 days of the check in date, you have to use the exchange within 59 days.

I'm a little confused here. My understanding was that one of the [few] benefits of the way that SVO treats deposits to Interval is that someone depositing a week will be assigned a week which SVO bulk banked earlier in the year. Thus an SVO deposit shouldn't necessarily end up as a flexchange week just because it is deposited toward the end of the year.
 

DeniseM

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I'm a little confused here. My understanding was that one of the [few] benefits of the way that SVO treats deposits to Interval is that someone depositing a week will be assigned a week which SVO bulk banked earlier in the year. Thus an SVO deposit shouldn't necessarily end up as a flexchange week just because it is deposited toward the end of the year.

I didn't word my reponse correctly and I changed it - I meant to say you are limited to making a reservation within 59 days of your desired check-in date, not use in in 59 days.

Here's what it says in the TUG Starwood and II FAQ - hopefully, FredM, who wrote it, will weigh in. -

Terms of Deposit:

If you deposit your week at least 60 days before its reservation date, your deposit is valid for an “unrestricted” exchange request for two years from that reservation date. Do keep in mind that the earlier a deposit is made, the more valuable it is to the exchange . Although a 60+ day deposit is “unrestricted” for purposes of your requested exchange, its exchange value decreases as the reservation date becomes closer. A deposit 12 months in advance of the reservation date is valued more highly than the same reservation deposited 5 months in advance.

If you deposit your week 14 to 59 days before your reservation date, your deposit is considered a Late Deposit, or Flex Deposit. The deposit is still usable for two years, as above, BUT, you are restricted to making reservation requests to those resorts. You must wait until 59 or less days to your desired occupancy to make a reservation request. You are bound by the same limitation you gave the exchange by depositing your week so late in the cycle.

If you deposit your week 7 to 13 days before the reservation date, your deposit is considered a Late/Late Deposit. (Indeed!!). It is also usable for two years, but the above restriction shortens to a 30 day reservation request window. You are getting more leeway than you gave the exchange.



 
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RLG

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I didn't word my reponse correctly and I changed it - I meant to say you are limited to making a reservation within 59 days of your desired check-in date, not use in in 59 days.

Denise, you missed my point. I wasn't disagreeing with your description of Interval's rules for "late" deposits. I was pointing out that my understanding is that Starwood deposits are NEVER late deposits. Even if you call on 12/31, you'll get a deposit that Starwood made earlier in the year more than 60 days in advance.

I'd be curious if anyone has ever received a flexchange deposit from Starwood.
 

DeniseM

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Good question, RLG, but I wonder if an owner is penalized for deciding to deposit so late, even if they are assigned a unit deposited earlier in the year.

Hopefully, FredM, who wrote the Starwood and II article in Owner Resources, will enlighten us!
 

RLG

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Good question, RLG, but I wonder if an owner is penalized for deciding to deposit so late, even if they are assigned a unit deposited earlier in the year.

I deposited several Starwood weeks recently, so I know for a fact that one does NOT get a flexchange week. I don't see any obvious lack of trading power for the weeks I got, so it doesn't appear that there was any deliberate penalty imposed.
 

DeniseM

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RLG - that's great to know and quite a perk for Starwood members!
 

Henry M.

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A couple of years ago I deposited into II a WKORV studio that I had left over. It was something like Dec. 29 or so - poor planning on my part. At the time, all I could get was an SDO week that Starwood had deposited the prior April. Fortunately, it was a 1BR unit.

This was definitely NOT a flexchange. I had two years from the date of the SDO week deposit (not from the date I deposited my own week) to use it. This gave me about 16 months to decide what to do. In the end I traded it for a 2 BR Sunterra unit in the German Alps, near Munich. The resort wasn't as nice as WKORV, but I got a 2BR unit for my studio. It was located in a very nice region so I thought I got a pretty good trade overall. That is the only II trade I've ever made.

Also, depending on Elite level, the trade for Starpoints can be either May 31st or October 1st.
 
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