Guide to the Sonesta Travel Pass Program (2021)
Hotel Strategies, Hotel Loyalty Program Reference Guide
(855) 622-2160
Jump to
Jump to:
Quick Guide
- In 2020, Sonesta dramatically increased the size of its program by converting hundreds of hotels that had belong to the Marriott and IHG program. They also bought the RLH group, which operates 900 hotels primarily under the Red Lion and Knights Inn brands, but these hotels haven't been incorporate into the loyalty program yet.
- While most Sonesta hotels are on the lower-end or designed for extended stays, the program also has a number of nice resorts and fancy urban hotels.
- The Sonesta credit card has a solid signup bonus and provides automatic elite status. While you won't get a free night certificate, you'll get something better. If you spend $7,500 during the year, you'll get 30,000 points. Think of it as a more flexible certificate without the 1-year expiration.
- You can't book Sonesta award nights through the reservation system. If a room is available, you need fill out an online form (or call) to book it with points.
- Sonesta offers nice benefits at the "Elite" level, including complementary club access (or continental breakfast), heavily discounted suites, and a $15 Sip'n snack credit.
- You usually don't need the credit card to get elite status, it is easy to get a status match.
Sonesta Hotel Brands
Sonesta has recently purchased RLH Hotels, parent of the Hotel RL, Red Lion Hotels, Red Lion Inn and Suites, Signature Inn, GuestHouse, KnightsInn, Americas Best Value Inn, and Canadas Best Value Inn. These hotels have not been integrated into the Sonesta Travel Pass program yet, and it is still unclear whether they will be rebranded or not.
Award Chart
If there are “standard” rooms available, you can always book them with your points. Unlike the other hotel programs, you won't see point costs and can't book awards through the reservation system. If you see a room available, you either fill out an online form or call a customer service representative to book it as an award redemption. You can check the point costs for different hotels on this webpage.
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10,000 |
| 2 | 12,500 |
| 3 | 15,000 |
| 4 | 17,500 |
| 5 | 20,000 |
| 6 | 22,500 |
| 7 | 25,000 |
| 8 | 27,500 |
| 9 | 30,000 |
Beyond this, there are two hotels in St. Maarten that require additional points. One is "Tier 10" and requires 40,000 points per night and one is "Tier 11" and requires 50,000 points.
Acquiring Points
Members earn 10 points per dollar on most stays. Stays at Sonesta Simply Suites only earn 5 points per dollar. There are no bonus points for elite members.
If you pay for your room with the Sonesta Credit Card, you'll earn an additional 3 points per dollar. But you are better off using a card that earns more valuable on travel purchase (unless you are going for the $7,500 bonus). Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
The easiest way to earn large amounts of points is by signing up for the Sonesta Credit Card. The normal signup bonus is 60,000 points ($1,000 spending requirement). Every year that you use the card for $7,500 of purchases, you'll earn an extra 30,000 points. If you use the card for exactly $7,500, you'd be earning 5 points per dollar (plus bonus points). Receive Hundreds of Thousands of Points by Signing Up for Credit Cards.
Keeping your Points from Expiring
If you don't earn or redeem points for 24 months, your points can expire. Don't trust their claim that their points "never expire", they are only referring to "active" account. Our Keep Your Points from Expiring article provides more details about strategies for keeping track of upcoming expiration dates and keeping your points alive.
Member Benefits
Award nights count towards earning elite status. Like most other programs, you won’t earn credit for nights booked through 3rd parties like Expedia.
Member (entry level)
|
| Preferred (6 nights) Adds the following benefits:
|
| Elite (12 stays) Adds the following benefits:
|
Shortcuts to Sonesta Elite Status
Sonesta will almost always match your status from other hotel programs. Instructions are available in their FAQ.
You also get automatic high-level status, along with a solid signup bonus, from their credit card. Due to the ease of getting a status match, we wouldn't recommend getting their credit card just for its status benefits, but if you have space for another Bank of America card and a semi-regular opportunity to use Sonesta points, it is easily worthwhile.
The Sonesta Credit Card
- It is worth signing up for this card, just to collect the signup bonus. 65,000 Sonesta points is pretty attractive, but you can only be approved for four Bank of America cards every two years, so make sure to get the Premium Rewards, Alaska Airlines, and maybe the Amtrak cards first.
- The card provides automatic Elite status. This provides some valuable benefits. On the other hand, it has typically been easy to get matched to Elite status, so you don't really need to get the card for this.
- Every year you spend $7,500, you'll get 30,000 bonus points. If you decide to keep the card, it is worthwhile to spend enough to get this bonus.
- Other than earning the annual bonus points, you shouldn't use this card for your spending. Even the points you earn on Sonesta purchases aren't as valuable as what you can earn from a good general-purpose rewards card.
