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Re: Starwood Vacation Ownership (by Julie S.):

alex382 wrote:

larryb176 wrote:

I am also considering buying at Westin...

We bought resale at the Westin Ka'anapali in Maui in 2004 - a 2BD Lock-Out, Every Other Year unit with 148,100 StarOptions for $18,500.

By buying resale, we saved about 40% off the retail price. The II membership is included with the SVO membership (I believe this is required for owners). We can exchange within SVO (using StarOptions) or within II.

As resale purchasers, we do not get the Gold SPG card and we cannot exchange our unit for SPG points. We don't really care about this, since exchanging for SPG points is rarely a good deal (if ever).

We bought in Maui because it's a premium property that will also be in high demand (for resale, trade or rent).

So far, we're extemely happy. We used our 2006 week in the following way: 1BD in Westin Ka'anapali in 2005 2BD in Sheraton Vistana Villages in 2006 (using SO points)

Haven't decided how we'll spend our 2008 week yet.

I'm confused -- you CAN use Starwood Ownership points for trade within the Starwood system if you buy resale? They make it sound like you can't.