Hotel Loyalty Rewards
Sonesta Travel Pass Loyalty Program — Full Review [2023]
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Branded and Partnered Credit Cards
Currently, there’s only 1 credit card that allows you to earn Sonesta Travel Pass points, the Sonesta World Mastercard® Credit Card, which is issued by Bank of America.
At the moment, there are no transfer partnerships from the major transferable currencies that can allow you to earn Sonesta points.
Therefore, the best way to earn Sonesta points through credit card spending is to make purchases on the Sonesta card.
Sonesta Travel Pass Overview
Sonesta operates more than 300 properties worldwide. It has properties in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico), Canada, Saint Maarten, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, and Peru.
Across 7 brands, the Royal Sonesta brand is considered as the most luxurious, although the top-tier resort is a Sonesta Hotels and Resorts property, not a Royal Sonesta property.
Joining Sonesta Travel Pass
You can enroll online for a free Sonesta Travel Pass account.
How To Sign In to Your Sonesta Travel Pass Account
Visit Sonesta.com, click the button in the top-right corner that says MEMBER REWARDS, and click SIGN IN. Enter your login credentials and sign in.
Viewing Your Account Activity
Your Sonesta Travel Pass dashboard shows all of your recent activity, including past stays, future stays, elite status qualification, how close you are to a free night stay, and more.
Exclusive Offers show you any available exclusive offers, any terms and conditions applicable, and special promo codes.
Setting Profile Preferences
You can choose from an array of travel preferences by visiting your Member Profile page. These include leisure vs. business travel, room preferences, bed arrangement preferences, and elite amenity preferences.
Points Expiration
Sonesta Travel Pass points expire after 2 years of inactivity. As long as you accrue or redeem Sonesta points once every 24 months, your points will not expire (see terms and conditions).
Sonesta Travel Pass Benefits
Sonesta Travel Pass Status
Sonesta Travel Pass members get several benefits just for enrolling in Travel Pass. These benefits include complimentary upgraded Wi-Fi and the ability to earn Sonesta points.
| Benefits | Bronze | Silver (10 nights or 10,000 points) | Gold (20 nights or 20,000 points) | Platinum (40 nights or 40,000 points) |
| Reward points to earn free nights; special member rates and promotions; partner benefits and offers | X | X | X | X |
| Complimentary upgraded Wi-Fi | X | X | X | X |
| Enrollment bonus | X | |||
| Tier bonus point multipliers | 50% | 75% | 100% | |
| Exclusive reservations line | X | X | X | |
| Early check-in and late checkout | X | X | X | |
| Welcome gift | X | X | X | |
| Complimentary room upgrades (at select locations) | X | X | X | |
| Complimentary daily continental breakfast (at select locations) | X | X | ||
| Priority self-parking (at select locations) | X | X |
Value of Sonesta Travel Pass Status
The Sonesta Travel Pass program has been updated and it now has 3 elite-level tiers beyond the basic member level, but ultimately the benefits are minimal. The most useful are early check-in and late checkout for 3 hours beyond the normal times (subject to availability) and complimentary room upgrades (subject to availability).
In our opinion, the biggest benefit jump comes when you move from Silver to Gold Sonesta Travel Pass Elite status — you’ll get priority self-parking and complimentary continental breakfast.
There really isn’t much benefit to the top-tier Platinum level except a higher-tier bonus point multiplier.
Earning Sonesta Travel Pass Status
Earning Sonesta Travel Pass Status is straightforward and extra benefits start at just 10 nights.
| Elite Status | Nights or Points |
|---|---|
| Silver | 10 nights or 10,000 points |
| Gold | 20 nights or 20,000 points |
| Platinum | 40 nights or 40,000 points |
If you hold the Sonesta card, you’ll automatically receive Sonesta Travel Pass Gold status.
Sonesta Travel Pass Lifetime Status
Sonesta Travel Pass Status Match
If you have any hotel elite status that offers similar benefits to the tier you’re interested in, all you need to do is email Sonesta Travel Pass at travelpass@sonesta.com with a copy of your current hotel loyalty membership status in the other program and your Sonesta Travel Pass member ID to get matched!
You can use any comparable hotel loyalty program, including Hilton Honors, World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, and Choice Privileges.
How To Earn Sonesta Travel Pass Points
The easiest way to earn Sonesta Travel Pass points is through paid hotel stays.
Earning Points on Stays
Base Points: When you stay at any participating Sonesta property worldwide and book a qualified room rate (excluding reward stays, group rates, day use, third party reservations, online travel agencies, and certain other discounts), you will earn 10 points per $1 spent.
Elite Status Bonus: Currently, there’s no elite status bonus for earning points.
Exclusive Offers: Sonesta Travel Pass offers a variety of promotions to earn additional bonus points. These promotions are accessible via the Exclusive Offers page in your membership dashboard. The promotions can vary from bonus points per night to 2x or even 3x points. You can also get upgrades and discounts with exclusive offers.
Earn Sonesta Points for Hosting Events
Sonesta has a couple of different promotions that allow you to earn more points for hosting meetings and events.
To start off, if you book a group rate for 30 or more room nights (the number of rooms multiplied by the number of nights), you’ll get 50,000 bonus points. Those who book 15 to 29 room nights will earn 25,000 points.
If you plan a wedding with Sonesta Travel Pass, you will earn 10x points per dollar spent (up to 150,000 points), plus an extra bonus of up to 250,000 points, depending on your catering spend.
Lastly, if you’re booking a group rate (not as the host offering the group rate) as an attendee, you can earn 10 points per dollar (5 points per dollar at Simply Suites)!
Share Sonesta Travel Pass Points
Unfortunately, you can’t share or transfer without a specific redemption in mind.
If you do have a redemption you want to book for someone else, you can only do so for immediate family, meaning parents, children, spouse, and siblings.
You must call the customer care desk and submit a transfer form to accomplish the transfer.
Earn Sonesta Travel Pass Points With Credit Cards
Unfortunately, the only way to earn Sonesta points through credit cards is with the co-branded Bank of America card.
Sonesta Travel Pass doesn’t have any transfer partnerships with flexible currencies like Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Other Ways To Earn Sonesta Travel Pass Points
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of other ways to earn Sonesta Travel Pass points.
How To Redeem Sonesta Travel Pass Points
The primary objective of accumulating Sonesta Travel Pass points is to redeem them for free nights at a Sonesta property.
There are no blackout dates, and you can book a free night for as few as 10,000 points. The only consideration is that the hotel you’re booking must have standard room availability.
Types and Cost of Room Awards in Sonesta Travel Pass
Currently, you cannot use a mix of cash and points to book room awards in Sonesta Travel Pass.
Also, you can only book standard rooms with Sonesta Travel Pass points (you cannot book upgraded rooms or suites with points).
You can redeem points online or over the phone (call 855-622-2160 or 617-658-0078).
The number of points you redeem will depend on which tier the property falls under.
Sonesta Travel Pass Award Chart
| Tier | Points Cost (Per Night) |
| 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 |
| 10 | 40,000 |
| 11 | 50,000 |
| 12 | 60,000 |
You can also filter properties by tier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sonesta Hotels are not part of Marriott. Sonesta International Hotels Corporation is partially owned by SVC, a Boston real estate trust.
Sonesta is its own hotel chain. In fact, Sonesta consists of 7 brands: Royal Sonesta, Sonesta Cruise Collection, Sonesta ES Suites, Sonesta Hotels & Resorts, Sonesta Posadas del Inca, Sonesta Select, and Sonesta Simply Suites.
Sonesta Travel Pass points are valid for 24 months without any activity. If you have any earning or redeeming activity, your points are extended for another 24 months.
Sonesta points last forever as long as you are in active standing. If you don’t earn or redeem at least 1 point every 24 months, your account will fall into “non-active” status; then, your points will expire.
You can redeem as few as 10,000 Sonesta points per night at a Tier 1 hotel or as many as 60,000 Sonesta points per night at a Tier 12 hotel.
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6 comments
Cathy Levitt
July 10, 2022
Is there a cap on the number of points I can accumulate?
Jarrod West
July 11, 2022
Hi Cathy,
There is no cap on the number of points you can accumulate.
Melanie Wall
July 23, 2022
I am an elite travel pass member but Sonesta didn’t honor my travel pass points for a night that was supposed to be credited and charged my bank card for the supposedly free sip n’ snack credit. Sadly, these travel pass points are a worthless waste of time and a major hassle to try and use. I have never experienced such terrible service from a hotel.
Melanie
December 29, 2022
I’m disappointed with Sonesta travel pass points redemption. I want to be able to book with my points without calling their redemption office. I like the Hilton and the Wyndham loyalty program. I am able to book a room directly with the hotel on the next city. We did 6,000-7,000 miles road trips in last 3 years and we stayed in hotels. This year we did not stay in Sonesta, very inconvenient to use my points.
David
February 05, 2023
Can you get points with them by booking one of their cruise ship accommodations?
Jarrod West
February 06, 2023
Hi David,
Yes, you should be able to earn points for that.
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