Original Message:
We bought into Sheraton Vistana in 1997; is it worth upgrading to Starwood? (by R P.):
rickg180 wrote:Hi - my wife and I purchased a bi-annual ownership in the Lakes (1997) and Cascades (1999). When we bought we were told we could exchange our floating week at any other Gold Crown resort in the world. Now, the rules have changed. We have to buy an RCI membership and pay an 'exchange fee' every year. (Otherwise, if we don't use it we lose it). We are back at Vistana this week for a vacation and attended one of the patented sales presentations for Starwood. We did purchase the "Explorer Option" which allows us to become a "Sheraton Preferred Guest". We have tried to sell our existing timeshare but (like everyone else) cannot give them away. My question is....is it worth it to upgrade to Starwood and become a member of the Starwood Vacation Network? The only way we can bring our current 2 deeds into Starwood is to purchase a 1 B/R for $13,990. If we do that we'll receive all kinds of Star Points. For those of you who HAVE upgraded, was it worth it? Also, can someone tell me the difference b/w StarPoints and StarOptions? Thank you very much!
I don't know anything about the Starwood program, but you'd be much better off financially to join RCI, deposit your week(s) at least 9 months in advance (for a better selection of resorts) and trade for something that might interest you. The key is to deposit early. It simply looks like Starwood has pegged you as someone that knows absolutely nothing about the Starwood system and they're doing their best to drain you financially.
Also, you probably should ask all your Starwood questions on www.tugbbs.com as they have an entire Starwood forum.