Need 114,700 StarOptions From Developer (Revisiting a classic)

I need 114,700 StarOptions from a Developer purchase to become 5* Elite.
What is the least expensive purchase (price and maintenance) that will get me there????

2 br in Caribbean

One week at
2 Bed Rooms in Gold season at either Westin St John 129,800 or
2 Bed Rooms in Gold season Harborside Resort at Atlantis 129,800. Don't know what the prices are though, so that is next step.

It is possible that you could combine smaller units or buy one as a resale then combine. Of couse you could buy more Star Options with the units providing 148,100 Star Options

you can buy 2 units one resale and one from the developer. When you buy the developer unit ask that your resale unit be "requalified" You will then get star options and points for the resale unit. This would be alot cheaper than buying both units (or one expensive unit) from the developer.

edit to add:
Duke, after posting this I remembered that you were the one who told us all about "requalified" sales. Has something changed?

Bill4728 said:

you can buy 2 units one resale and one from the developer. When you buy the developer unit ask that your resale unit be "requalified" You will then get star options and points for the resale unit. This would be alot cheaper than buying both units (or one expensive unit) from the developer.

edit to add:
Duke, after posting this I remembered that you were the one who told us all about "requalified" sales. Has something changed?

Click to expand...

Buying 2 units (one resale and one developer) could make the annual maintenance fees high.

Does anyone have any suggestions on doing this at the lowest cost both purchase and annual fees to get me 114,700 StarOptions?

I believe that Kierland is still the best bang for the buck, even if it means buying more than the minimum that you need.

I think VV has a three bedroom that is 129,000 points.

Duke,

How about buying a cheap Every-Other-Year (“EOY”) platinum resale having 148,100 StarOptions/EOY and making your developer purchase an EOY unit having at least 81,300 StarOptions/EOY so that the average of these two intervals is at least 114,700 StarOptions/year?

If you were willing to go with a non-mandatory resort on your resale purchase, you can find a qualifying resale for pretty darned cheap with very low maintenance fees.

For example, EOY platinum (148,100 StarOptions) resales at Sheraton Mountain Vista (“SMV”), and newer Sheraton Desert Oasis (“SDO”) (not a Phase I floating week 1-52 pre-Starwood that get requalified for only 81,000 StarOptions), can be found for well less than $10K, and their maintenance fees are around $350-$400/year).

As an added “bonus” SDO is dual qualified to participate in both RCI and Interval International, so if you do not already own an RCI qualified timeshare, if you buy at SDO you can also join RCI (and soon become under whelmed with the additional exchange opportunities it offers.)

As for your developer week, the cheapest currently on the market with at least 81,300 StarOptions is likely a platinum 2 bedroom L/O at Vistana Villages (95,700 StarOptions). Tuggers have reported that an ANNUAL platinum 2 bedroom L/O at VV is $28,900 with maintenance fees (with taxes) being $1085. Since you are already a Starwood Owner, Starwood MAY allow you to purchase an EOY at VV for half the annual price. If so, it would be $14,450 and the maintenance fee on that EOY would be around $540 (give or take).

So your purchases would look like this:

EOY Platinum Resale (SDO or SMV) (148,100 StarOptions/EOY):

Purchase Price: $3K-$8K
ANNUAL Maintenance Fee: $350-$400/year

Developer EOY Platinum 2 Bedroom L/O Vistana Villages (95,700 StarOptions/EOY)

Purchase Price: $14.5K to $20K (Depending on whether Starwood will sell it to you for 50% of the Annual price)
Maintenance Fee: About $540/year

Totals:
121,900 Average StarOptions per Year (More than the 114,700 you need);
Total Initial Purchase Price: $17.5K to $28K depending on what you find.
TOTAL ANNUAL Maint. fees: $890 to $940/year.

Can anyone find a better deal this?

Of course if you were willing to upgrade, I’d consider making the EOY resale purchase a mandatory resort like Kierland or Maui, but then you’re talking higher purchase costs and higher maintenance fees . . ...

Good Luck. -Nodge

I am just bumping this, some 2 years later. I just found this priceless thread and thought it would benefit us now. Thanks Nodge!

Katherine