Guide to the Sonesta Travel Pass Program (2021)
Hotel Strategies, Hotel Loyalty Program Reference Guide
800-HONORS (446-6677)
Due to the drop in travel, Hilton has made some temporary adjustments to their loyalty program.
- Free night certificates earned until the end of the year will be valid for two years and can be used on ANY night of the week (not just weekends). Unexpired certificates from between March 11th and May 1st can also be used on any night of the week and are extended until August 31st, 2021.
- Your 2020 elite status will be automatically extended for 2021 (until March 31, 2021).
- The Hilton Surpass and Aspire card earn 12x points (5.4%) on grocery spending in May, June and July. There is no cap, but Amex hasn't been immediately issuing points for people who are spending more than about $25,000 per month. In addition, restaurant charges count towards the Hilton Aspire Card's $250 resort credit (during June - August). This is an easy way to use any remaining credit on your card.
- Points from credit cards (including bonus points) count as "base" points for Hilton lifetime status.
- Point expiration is on hold until the end of the end of the year. If your account is inactive, make sure to generate some activity by then.
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Quick Guide
- Like most other hotel programs, you can earn enough points for several free nights from the signup bonuses on Hilton’s credit cards. There are four different cards that you can take advantage of. Because they come from Amex, you can only earn each signup bonus once per lifetime.
- Hilton points have the lowest value of any of the most popular hotel loyalty programs. Points are worth around .4 - .5 cents each. A standard room, at a typical hotel, in a major city, requires 40-50,000 points per night, and their most expensive hotels require 95,000 points. How Much are Hotel Points Worth?
- The number of points required for a specific hotel varies within a range, but is always capped at a value based on the hotel category.
- Unlike most other programs, you don't pay resort fees on award stays. For hotels with high fees, a points redemption is more valuable.
- Hilton Gold elite status entitles you to free continental breakfast for two at most Hilton hotels that don’t already provide free breakfast (and snacks at those that do). You can get automatic Hilton Gold status with the Hilton Surpass, Hilton Business, or Amex Platinum cards, and even better Hilton Diamond status with the Hilton Aspire card.
- Cash and point awards are never a good value with Hilton. If you can get good value from your points, you should book with an all points redemption. If not, book with an all cash redemption.
- Hilton requires very few points for Category 1 and Category 2 hotels. If you are staying in less expensive locations (mostly in international destinations), the Hilton program can be significantly more valuable.
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)
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| Preferred (6 nights) Adds the following benefits:
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| Elite (12 stays) Adds the following benefits:
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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 Hilton Honors Credit Cards
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The Hilton Honors Surpass card has a normal signup bonus of 100,000 points (75,000 points after spending $2,000 in the first three months, and an extra 25,000 points after spending an additional $1,000 during the first six months) Automatic gold status. A free hotel night certificate, every year you spend $12,000. 12x points on Hilton purchases. 6x points at US restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations. 10 free Priority Pass airport lounge visits. $95 annual fee. | |
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There is a business version of the card that is very similar. Rather than earning 6x points at supermarkets, it earns them on cell phone service and shipping. In requires an extra $1,000 of spending to qualify for the initial signup bonus, and includes the possibility of earning an additional free night certificate with $60,000 in spending. | |
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The Hilton Honors Aspire card has a normal signup bonus of 100,000 points (with $4,000 initial spend). You'll get a free night certificate, a (hard to use) $250 airline incidental credit, and $250 Hilton resort credit every year you have the card. It also gives you Hilton Diamond status and a number of other benefits. $450 annual fee. | |
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The no-annual-fee Hilton Honors card has a normal signup bonus of 50,000 points ($1,000 initial spending requirement). Automatic silver status. 7x points on Hilton purchases. |
If you stay a few times per year with Hilton, and don’t already want the Amex Platinum Card, we recommend getting the Hilton Surpass or Business card to get free Hilton Gold Status, which gets you free breakfast at Hilton, as well as other benefits.
For purchases from Hilton, the Hilton Surpass and Business card’s 12x bonus points, and the Hilton Aspire card's 14x bonus points, is better, or about as good, as you can earn from any other card. However, if you have the Sapphire Reserve or Preferred card, you are probably off with 3x Ultimate Rewards points, which are a lot more flexible. The no-annual fee card’s 7x Hilton points is worse than a card that earns good reward rates on travel purchases, but better than a general-purpose reward card. Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
Neither of these credit cards usually makes sense to use for purchases other than with Hilton. The Surpass Card offers a potentially attractive 6x points at US restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations. However, 6 Hilton points is only worth about 3 cents. You can do better with one of the best options for each of these categories. But, if you don’t have one of those, the Surpass card is generally better than just using your general-purpose rewards card for these categories. Best Credit Cards for Restaurant Spending. Best Credit Cards for Grocery Spending, Best Credit Cards for Gas Spending.
