Sonesta is a hotel program that tends to fly under the radar for most points and miles users (including me). It has existed since the 1930s, but has remained relatively small for several decades. This has changed over the past ten years and the company has now become one of the fastest growing hotel companies in the United States. In 2020, Sonesta had a total of 80 properties. Today, that number exceeds 1,100, thanks in part to the acquisition of Red Lion Hotels.
The company’s growth, along with the best current offer on its credit card, made us think it was high time to dig a little deeper into the program… and here’s our brand new guide to the world of the Sonesta Travel Pass.
Sonesta Travel Pass Overview
The Sonesta Travel Pass now covers thirteen brands grouped into three different levels:
Luxury and lifestyle
Prime
Value
Travel Pass shares several features common to many hotel rewards programs:
- You can earn points paid stays, but not when booked through online travel agencies (such as Expedia).
- You can use Travel Pass points to book free night rewards.
- The travel pass has four elite status levels which range from Bronze to high-level Platinum. The higher your status, the more benefits you get.
- His scratched credit card can be used to earn points and help achieve elite status.
Sonesta also has some unique features compared to other programs:
- The Travel Pass no longer has a rewards table. You need to view a reservation for a specific property (while logged in) to see how many points it costs.
- Unlike most hotel chains, many Sonesta properties allow you to book multiple different room types for the same points price, including suites.
- Sonesta lets you earn top-tier status with credit card spending
- Members are not permitted to earn more than five Elite Nights per stay, regardless of the length of that stay.
Sonesta Travel Pass Rewards
Although Sonesta no longer has a published rewards chart, properties have defined reward tiers ranging in price from 10,000 points/night to 50,000 points/night.
Reward prices are only valid for standard rooms at some properties, but many allow you to book multiple room types for the same point price, including suites and view/oceanfront rooms.
Resort and facility fees appear to be waived on premium bookings at most, if not all, properties.
Sonesta Elite Status
Sonesta has four elite status levels:
- Bronze: None
- Silver: 10 nights or 10,000 points per year
- Gold: 20 nights or 20,000 points per year
- Platinum: 40 nights or 40,000 points per year
Things to know about Sonesta Travel Pass Elite status
- Elite nights are earned with cash stays and reward stays. The terms and conditions state that award stays may not constitute a “qualifying rate,” but it appears that they qualify for elite nights in practice.
- Elite nights are not earned with online travel agency bookings. For example, if you book through Expedia, you won’t earn elite night credit (or points) for your stay.
- Elite status can be earned based on spending. Each status level requires qualifying nights in a hotel Or elite qualifying points. These points are earned through paid hotel stays or credit card expenses.
- On-site benefits:
- Complimentary room upgrades (Silver, Gold and Platinum): This is one of several Sonesta elite benefits that are poorly defined. Not all hotels participate and it is not really clear which hotels participate and which do not. This seems to be the case for most, if not all, luxury and high-end properties. Upgrades are “subject to availability,” so there are no negative repercussions for a property that does not offer upgrades.
- Free continental breakfast (Gold and Platinum):It’s also not clearly defined, but it seems that most luxury and high-end establishments offer it. The terms simply state that “free breakfast benefit may vary by brand.”
- Early check-in and late check-out (Silver, Gold and Platinum): This might be helpful if hotels honored it, but since it’s “subject to availability” it’s unclear if this will be honored at a specific property.
- Missing stays: It may take up to 1 week after your departure for your stay to be credited to your account. If your stay is still not counted after a week, contact the Sonesta Travel Pass support team.
- If you book multiple rooms on the same dates, you will earn elite night credits for just one room. Oddly, Sonesta also won’t give you more than five Elite night credits per stay, even if you stay more than five nights.
- You can earn points on up to three rooms, potentially making Sonesta a good choice if you regularly plan trips for a group. However, a member can only earn a maximum of 100,000 points/stay, including the two additional rooms.
- If you have a stay that begins at the end of a calendar year, but ends after January 1 of the following year, the elite nights and points from that stay will be credited for the new calendar year.
Shortcuts to Elite Status
Those who have the Sonesta World Mastercard automatically get Gold Elite Status. However, if you have Gold status on the credit card, you’re still as far away from Platinum as someone with no status at all – either 40 nights, or 40,000 elite qualifying points.
That said, points earned from spending with the Sonesta card TO DO counts toward elite status. The card offers a 30,000-point birthday bonus for spending $7,500 on the credit card during the cardholder’s year. So it would be pretty easy to earn Platinum status by spending $7,500, with at least $2,500 spent in one of the card’s 2x categories.
Sonesta also offers status matches to Elite members of other hotel programs. To request a match, you must sign up for Travel Pass and email customer service with your member ID and a copy of a statement or card proving your Elite status in another loyalty program. They seem to be very generous with the statuses they will associate with Platinum.
Points earned through Sonesta stays
| Status | Points per US$ at Royal Sonesta, Sonesta, The James, Classico, Mod, Sonesta ES Suites, Red Lion | Points per US$ Sonesta Simply Suites, Signature Inns, Best Value Inns in America, Best Value Inns in Canada |
| Bronze | 10x | 5x |
| Money | 15x | 7.5x |
| Gold | 17.5x | 8.75x |
| Platinum | 20x | 10x |
- Points are not earned with online bookings through travel agencies. For example, if you book through Expedia, you won’t earn points toward the price of your room.
- You can earn points on up to three rooms at once. If you book three rooms with the same Sonesta Travel Pass account number, you will earn points on all rooms but you will earn elite night credits for only one room.
- You can only earn a maximum of 100,000 points per stay. As with Elite Nights, Sonesta also caps the maximum number of points members can earn in a single stay… including additional rooms booked. With Elite Bonuses, that means Platinum members reach that maximum twice as fast as Bronze members.
How to keep points alive
Sonesta points expire after 24 months of inactivity. Fortunately, almost all point-related activity resets the point counter to zero. Points remain active and available as long as you earn or redeem points at least once every 24 months. This includes points earned through the credit card.
Sonesta Credit Card
Sonesta only has one credit card, issued by Bank of America:
| Card offer and details |
|---|
 Up to 125,000 points: 120,000 points after $2,000 spent in 90 days, plus 5,000 points for adding an authorized user in the first 90 days$0 annual introductory fee for the first year, then $75 The information on this card was independently collected by Frequent Miler. The issuer has not provided the details and is not responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Ideal for those who often stay at Sonesta hotels Win rate: 3X Sonesta ✦ 2X Airfare, Car Rental & Meals Card information: Mastercard World issued by BOA. This card has no currency conversion fees. Big spending bonus: 30,000 bonus points per $7,500 spent per year by the cardholder Notable benefits: Instant upgrade to Sonesta Travel Pass Elite (free club access or continental breakfast and other benefits) |
Pros and Cons of the Sonesta Travel Pass
Pros (where the Sonesta Travel Pass is better than average):
- Paid Stay Highlight Earnings
- Auto Credit Card Elite Status
- Continental breakfast at most (?) properties for Gold and Platinum members
- Many hotels allow you to book more attractive rooms at the same price as basic rooms
- Resort fees are waived on premium stays
Cons (where the Sonesta Travel Pass is worse than average):
- The Elite benefits are very poorly defined and are not guaranteed for any set of properties
- The portfolio is heavily weighted towards value properties
- Limits the maximum number of points and elite nights its members can earn per stay
- Limited footprint compared to other major chains
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