75,000 Starpoints( Starpoints one year/its equivalent the next) every year for the rest of your life .

OR

Enough points for 3-5 Six day stays at Hilton Hawaiian Village ( ALON ) every year for the rest of your life .

Better yet, unlike miles and points, it can be deeded to your loved ones.

Wanna finance the amount. You can even write off the interest in taxes.

Dont like it anymore. You can sell it off. Hilton and Starwood don't even mind.

Randy even pulled the rabbit out of the hat sometime back.

Oh BTW, I love reading InsideFlyer, not just buying it

[This message has been edited by Bourne (edited 04-26-2002).]

Is this a timeshare presentation?

What are you talking about?

It sure sounds like a Timeshare ad.

No more drinks to that table.

Huh?? Was this message in Swahili or something?

Would you be willing to explain what you are talking about???

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/002194.html

[This message has been edited by TraveltheWorld (edited 04-26-2002).]

All,

After a little research, I am intrigued about timeshares. I am a points junkie and see that there are a lot of options in buying a timeshare. What I would like to ask those of you who have timeshares is what, in you opinion, is the best program to buy into, within that program, what is the best property to buy into in terms of trading value/maintenance fee (I live in California), and would you recommend purchasing from the resort directly or resale?

I appreciate your help.

Rgds,

Ken O.

Moral of the story. Never post a teaser on Flyertalk and take hours getting back home to your PC.

Yes, it is Hotel timeshares I am talking about. BTW, Thanks, Traveltheworld for the link.

Here is another one...
http://www.webflyer.com/@flyer/arcdom/jun01/cover.htm

The reason why I posted this was that if we are ready to pay $1200 for 55K Starpoints to fly across the pond on a Concorde or across the world to DEL, does it not make monetary sense buying a Starwoodvo property from the resale market and convert Staroptions to Starpoints at will.

Best part is that, your initial investment still has value, i.e. you can sell it off unlike miles.

To get the same kind of advice about timeshares that Flyertalk gives about flying, go to TUG2.NET

I own 7 weeks of timeshare and love it, but there are no quick and easy answers for the perfect program for everyone. The one quick and easy answer, however, is buy re-sale. There are hundreds of sites, and virtually any timeshare can be bought re-sale for no more than 1/2 the price the developer was selling it at. It is more common to buy re-sale for 1/3rd or less of the developer's price. If you go to the TUG board, definitely read the South Africa board if you are interested in a very cheap way to try out timesharing. For less than $1000 total outlay, you can 1) buy a 1 bedroom unit that will trade for 2, 2) pay all closing costs, 3) pay two years' maint. fees (which will be $140.00 or less a year in South Africa compared to $375-$700 a year in the U.S.), which means you immediately have two weeks of lodging paid for vacations in some very nice spots, including Hiltons, and 4) have 10 years paid up membership in RCI, one of the two trading companies for timeshares (RCI is normally $83.00 a year all by itself). Anyway, just a thought if you are intrigued by the timeshare concept.
Pat

[This message has been edited by PStreet1 (edited 04-26-2002).]

I am not talking about timeshares per se..

What I am talking about is about Hotel timeshares as a miles and points source, a topic that is the heart of Flyertalk.

And the SA bit. Don't get me started. I rate them somewhere between Clickrewards and Midway Airlines. ( Comparison strictly made on the basis of earning miles )

But won't that initial investment cost you $600-1200/year in maintenance fees/ exchange fees, cleaning fees, etc.?

The value of a starwood timeshare would be the amount of starpoints earned each year (for hotel or flight awards) and the lifelong status.

Are there currently referral promos for addtl. points?

What is the status you get with starwood? Is there a way to get Plat?

And do you get status also if buying retail?

The answer is no. 15K is a lot of money. You may get the HH or SPG points each year, but it doesn't stop either company from devaluing the points in the future by raising award levels. They have done this with both companies.