Sonesta Hotels Loyalty Program
I don’t focus much on the cent per point (cpp) value of hotel and airline rewards currencies, opting to base my travel decisions on goals, instead. If a given redemption helps me accomplish those, it’s a worthy move, in my view. But if two or more desirable award options exist for meeting my goal, I may consider cpp values. And Tim from Frequent Miler recently had fun determining Sonesta point value. Egads – Sonesta points are worth 1.06 cents each in “Reasonable Redemption Value!” Frequent Miler has historically used their RRV calculation, which I’ve generally found sensible even if I don’t apply them to my situation. But, of course, loyalty programs deserve scrutiny beyond such numbers. And so it is with the Sonesta Hotels loyalty program, branded Travel Pass. FM did a bit of this here, but I feel the program deserves more examination and perspective.
I’ve been there, done that, and gotten the metaphoric t-shirt with Travel Pass. That said, I’m not planning to return any time soon. I delved into that in the conclusion of my Royal Sonesta Chicago Downtown highlights article. Today, I’m taking a closer look at other factors to consider with Sonesta Travel Pass.
Insufficient Footprint
Points are worth exactly zero to an individual until they actually use them, including taking the flight or staying in the hotel if using a travel redemption. Indeed, Sonesta points aren’t worth anything if properties don’t align with one’s priority destinations. And that’s probably more likely to happen with Sonesta than other chains’ programs.
Sonesta offers over 1,100 properties in eight countries. Perhaps noting this shortcoming, Sonesta ends this statement with “and counting.” By comparison, Hilton Hotels sports 7,780 properties across 126 countries. Marriott is at about 8,900 properties across 141 countries, and IHG comes in at 6,430 over 100 nations. Choice Hotels has over 7,400 worldwide properties and even more that participate in the Choice Privileges program via Preferred Hotels and Resorts. I have similar footprint concerns with Hyatt, but they offer an excellent loyalty program (old school Diamond Gold Passport member here) and their 1,300 properties are spread over 76 countries.
Underscoring this limitation, Tim had to resort to (get it?) including two St. Maarten properties in FM’s RRV calcuation, since Sonesta only offers one Hawaii property. In an attempt to make an apples to apples comparison which usually requires three Hawaii properties, he introduced some oranges.
Dearth of Desirable Properties
Making matters worse, Sonesta offers relatively few aspirational properties in their portfolio, from my perspective. I’ve primarily focused on their Royal Sonesta and Sonesta brands. Only a handful of those properties exist. Beyond the Royal brand, Sonesta offers three more “Luxury & Lifestyle” brands – The James, Classico, and Mod. I can count on one hand the number of properties I’ve ascertained across those brands. Maybe more exist, or maybe not – it’s unnecessarily time-consuming to discern how many properties each brand offers. With that backdrop, it’s unsurprisingly difficult to actually determine how many desirable properties exist with Sonesta – more on that in a bit.
Many Questionable Options
Sonesta has a variety of options that warrant more inspection. It seems many properties were rebranded as Sonesta after previous lives with other chains’ monikers and standards; savvy travelers may pinpoint prior brands’ design and decor. And while Sonesta has added more inventory, it’s often on the low end of things. Here’s a sample of what travelers have to pick from: America’s Best Value Inn, Red Lion, Knights Inn, Signature Inn, and Sonesta Essential. Maybe these work for some travelers, but not for me.
Obfuscation
In my view, this is where Sonesta appears particularly sneaky. I’ve noticed it’s more challenging to conveniently review Sonesta’s full portfolio these days. I linked to their entire list of properties in a previous article; that link now takes me to a vague “how to redeem points” page. The best I can find elsewhere is a locations page where I must click on each specific state/country, then city, then specific property to browse more. Of course, I can search for rates by a specific destination. But I feel the Sonesta site’s become tougher to determine individual brands’ exact scope and footprint, perhaps intentionally. Unlike other barriers to entry, I do not enjoy this one.
Credit Card Considerations
Naturally, points and travel hobbyists will focus on the Sonesta World Mastercard from Bank of America. And, gee whiz, that card’s currently offering an elevated 120k-point signup bonus! That’s twice the amount of the traditional welcome offer I received a few years ago. Why not go after that double-size bucket of points now? Due to the limitations I just described, doing so can create an even bigger problem – a bunch of points that many won’t have much use for, if any.
But let’s say someone has identified Sonesta properties they’d like to visit, and these easy points would come in handy. Holding the Sonesta card takes up a valuable slot with Bank of America, where BoA has been known to limit individuals to five personal cards (YMMV). Many would rather use their BoA personal card opportunities with higher-return options, including extra value via Preferred Rewards program. (Incidentally, I’m not a Preferred Rewards guy but totally understand why others are.)
Sonesta Hotels Loyalty Program Points Expiration
Points in the Sonesta Hotels loyalty program expire after 24 months of account inactivity. That’s easy to avoid by holding and infrequently using the Sonesta credit card, but again, many (this writer included) would rather hold other BoA products. That leaves earning or redeeming Sonesta points via stays every 24 months as the options to keep them active, something I don’t exactly plan on doing. I imagine certain others feel the same.
Sonesta Hotels Loyalty Program – Conclusion
Like many angles in our hobby, I’m confident this program delivers for a portion of travelers. But I think that’s a relatively small group compared to most other hotel programs. And hey, since my one big redemption, they introduced such cutting-edge technology as booking award stays online!
I think many open-minded individuals, like I was back in 2021, will have a tough time finding enough reasons to invest more in the program over the long-term. I enjoyed that Chicago stay, but there hasn’t been much else for me. I’d rather earn other currencies redeemable for preferable experiences. My Sonesta point remnants will eventually expire, but in my mind, they already have.
Are you a Sonesta Hotel loyalty program fan? If so, what do you find most engaging?
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Who is Sonesta again?
😉
I researched where Sonesta properties were located and was quite surprised to see all the locations they have. Yes, some of them I will probably not set foot in. There are others that seem quite nice. The thing that sold me was point redemption’s are quite reasonable compared to other hotel chains. For example, I stayed in Boston two weekends ago and the city hotels were quite expensive points wise. Hilton’s were averaging 70K points. I stayed at the Intercontinental for 90K points per night. The Sonesta was 30K, located next to the Science Museum (one of our destinations) and rated quite well. My wife and I had applied for the cards, did the spend and were waiting for our 123K points to post. So we couldn’t do the stay with points. In the future and the conditions right, we can decide if we want to use Sonesta points or pay exorbitant prices with the other hotel chains. I think that’s another way to determine a programs worth and goes to show that one person’s needs might be different than another’s.
Needs much improvements to consider in my opinion
One thing you need to keep in mind, Benjy, is the unconventional way that Sonesta grew to 1,100 hotel properties — mostly by acquisitions of hotel properties in “uncured default” from Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG over the past four years to fuel an expansion of almost 1,328 percent from only 77 hotel properties and three cruises in August of 2020; and then the acquisition of Red Lion to get America’s Best Value Inn, Red Lion, Knights Inn, and Signature Inn.
I’ll pass on Travel Pass…
I hear you, Brian. My mind’s unchanged, like yours.
As a former Gold member with Sonesta, I had mixed feelings about the brand and its loyalty program. After canceling my card, I’ve since rejoined and regained my Gold status. Here are five areas where Sonesta falls short:
1) The front desk staff often seems unaware of the loyalty program’s details, and their systems can be slow and inefficient.
2) Sonesta’s international footprint is dwarfed by larger hotel chains like Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Choice, and Wyndham.
3) Half-Baked Credit Card Program: The credit card loyalty program still needs refinement and more benefits to make it truly competitive.
4) Unlike other major hotel chains, Sonesta doesn’t allow members to purchase points
5) There is only one CC available
Despite these drawbacks, I decided to reapply for the Sonesta credit card due to a few benefits:
1) Spending $10,000 on the Sonesta credit card can earn Diamond status (at least this is what I have read), making it one of the most accessible top-tier statuses, alongside Hilton Diamond with Aspire and Wyndham Diamond with their business card.
2) I’ve consistently achieved a 1.3 cent redemption rate on Sonesta points
3) Sonesta often requires the same number of points for premium rooms as for standard rooms
4) US-Focused Footprint and it’s as big as Hyatt overall
5) Diversification Benefits that allows me to maximize my travel options.
Thanks for sharing your clear-eyed perspective, jediwho!
Both Royal Sonesta Lihue, Hi and New Orleans, La locations are very nice as well.
Gotcha, James. Thanks for reading!
I agree, however I want to add the St Martin resort is awesome.
Good to know, James!