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WSJ deposited with Redweek!

tomandrobin

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Not sure, but if you read the all the legal stuff, it appears you can. You have to look at Starwood as a week and a points system. You are reserving a unit with points, not exchanging like II or RCI. That is why a SVN member can rent a unit that you reserve with points that is not at your "home" resort.
 

DeniseM

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It specifically states that Staroptions exchanges cannot be deposited with an exchange company at www.mystarcentral.com.
 

tomandrobin

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It specifically states that Staroptions exchanges cannot be deposited with an exchange company at www.mystarcentral.com.

This is the only thing I found.

Q: What are the ways I can use my week of vacation ownership?

A: You have 4 choices for using your ownership. You may choose to:
1. Vacation at your Home Resort in the Season and Villa Type you own.
2. Use StarOptions to travel in the Starwood Vacation Network or to stay at your Home Resort in a different Season or Villa Type than you own.
3. Convert your week to its equivalent value of Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. Starpoints can be used for free stays at more than 850 hotels worldwide. They can also be redeemed for air travel and discounts on cruises, rental cars and merchandise.
4. Exchange your week through an external exchange company.
 

DeniseM

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I will look it up when I get home, but it specifically states that you can't deposit a week reserved with Staroptions. It is also in writing in the FAQ at the back of the owner's binder.
 

arlene22

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I think this is a gray area. The prohibition on using StarOptions for an exchange is probably referring to II and the bulk bank arrangement they have with them. You are permitted to rent out a StarOption reservation, and perhaps a redweek exchange is considered similar to renting it out? I'm not sure and I would certainly check with Starwood first before doing it, but I think it's possible they would allow it.

Has anyone ever deposited a StarOption reservation with SFX or any of the other independents?
 

tomandrobin

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I did talk to Westin Owner Services today. I had some questions about II and depositing one of my weeks.

While I had them on the phone, I specifically asked if I could deposit a week in to redweek, and was told yes.

Now they may have been wrong, I don't know. I have never done it, but I don't see why you can't.
 

DeniseM

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You can deposit a week you OWN with Redweek (or any other exchange company of your choice) - the question is if you can make a Staroption exchange and deposit the exchanged week with Redweek. Who knows if Starwood enforces the rules or not, but it clearly says that you can't deposit a Staroption exchange, in my owner's guide.

If you tried, I think that when the exchange company verified the week with Starwood, Starwood would say you couldn't deposit it, because you didn't own it.
 
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Transit

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I wouldn't trade a 4000 pt WSJ unit for a bunch of lesser resorts. Great resorts on the Redweek exchange a far and few in between .If it is so and you could do this, it is also a loophole for abuse.It's bad enough so many of those Harborside units are up for rent ,most likely snatched by SO's.
 

DeniseM

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From my Starwood Owner's Gude:

Starwood Vacation Network (SVN) summary of rules.

#9 An SVN member may not utilize StarOptions to make a reservation through an External Exchange Company.


I think we need a volunteer with some options to burn, to try it.

This would be an awfully expensive experiment, since you have to reserve a full week somewhere in order to have a week to deposit with an exchange company. Then, if the deposit is refused, you could be stuck with a Staroption exchange that you don't want and be past the owner's priority period for your home resort.

Let us know how it turns out, Tom! :D
 
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tonyh

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From my Starwood Owner's Gude:

Starwood Vacation Network (SVN) summary of rules.

#9 An SVN member may not utilize StarOptions to make a reservation through an External Exchange Company.

I'm not sure I would interpret the rule the same way. To me, it could mean that we can't trade or deposit StarOptions with an external exchange company, but I don't see why we can't reserve a FIXED week at a FIXED resort and then deposit it with an external exchange company (perhaps other than II). In so doing, one effectively rents out this fixed week and uses the proceeds to rent at another resort (Starwood or non-Starwood).
 
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