Sonesta credit card
$75, waived first year
60,000 points ($1,000 initial spend) plus 5,000 points for authorized cardholder.
($500 net value, .05/$)
3x Sonesta Purchases
2x Airfare, Car Rental
2x Dining
1x Everything Else
No Foreign Transaction Fee
For anyone collecting signup bonuses, the Sonesta card is a good Bank of America option, particularly for people who've already gotten Bank of America's more popular cards and can't make good use of Amtrak points. There aren't many Sonesta hotels, but you should eventually be able to use the points.
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Collecting the Signup Bonus
- It is worth signing up for this card, just to collect the signup bonus. After subtracting the annual fee and the opportunity cost of using the card for $point of spending, the calculated net value for the initial year is $65000 (Expression error: Unrecognized word "point". cents per dollar spent). That's very 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. After subtracting the opportunity cost of using the card for $1,000 of spending, the calculated net value of the sign-up is $500 (50 cents per dollar spent).
- It is possible to earn the same signup bonus multiple times. Bank of America doesn't limit your ability to earn multiple signup bonuses. You can even have more than one copy of the same card at the same time. However, you will only be approved for four Bank of America cards every two years (with a maximum of three cards in any twelve month period, and two cards in any two month period), so choose your opportunities wisely.
Notable Benefits
- 30,000 anniversary points (with a $7,500 spending requirement) . If you spend the full $7,500, the card earns 5 points (or 4%) on the that spending.
- Automatic Sonesta elite status. This entitles you to club lounge access or continental breakfast, a complimentary room upgrade (upon availability), upgraded WiFi, a 15% discount on dining and resort amenities, and early check-in and late checkout (when available). However, even if you didn't have the card, it is usually easy to get these benefits through a Status Match.
- Access to Mastercard luxury hotel program. When you book at one of the participating hotels, you'll get an number of valuable benefits, like free breakfast, a $100 hotel credit, a room upgrade, and late checkout.Take Advantage of Luxury Hotel Programs for Valuable Extra Perks
- Free ShopRunner membership. Like all World Elite Mastercards, your card entitles you to a complimentary ShopRunner membership, which provides free two-day and return shipping from around 150 of the largest online retailers. ShopRunner
- DoorDash and Hello Fresh discounts. Cardmembers who have a DoorDash membership get $5 off their first two orders each month when paid for by their Mastercard. If you don't have a free membership from Chase, you can get your first three months membership for free through Mastercard. You also get a 5% credit back on each HelloFresh purchase.
- Free museum entry. As with all Bank of America credit cards, you'll get free admission to hundreds of museums on the first weekend of every month. Admission is for the cardholder only. Guests are not included, nor are any special exhibitions and other ticketed shows. Museums on Us.
- BankAmeriDeals. Bank of America has a shopping discount program that works like Amex Offers. To get each discount, you'll need to "activate" it through their website. Once activated, discounts are automatically applied when you use your card for the corresponding purchase. Most deals are cash-back based (typically 10%). BankAmeriDeals.
Bonus Categories
- You shouldn't use this card for your Sonesta purchases. The 3x Sonesta points you'd earn are not even as valuable as what you could earn just by using a good general-purpose reward card. And you would do even better by using a card that offers a good reward rate on all your travel spending.Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
- The bonus rewards rate for dining and other travel purchases is not very interesting. You should be earning as much or more from your general-purpose reward card and can do even better with a card that earns bonus rewards for these categories. Best Credit Cards for Restaurant Spending. Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
- You don't want to use this card for your everyday spending. You'll earn higher rewards from a good general-purpose reward card. Get a Great General Purpose Reward Card and Use It for All of Your Spending.
Getting Rid of the Card
You can cancel without worrying about losing your Sonesta points. Once you earn them, they are treated like any other points in your account.
If you no longer want your Sonesta card consider changing it to a no-annual-fee BOA Cash Rewards Card, rather than cancelling it. The Cash Rewards card earns 3% on your first $2,000 of spending in a category of your choice, including a very broad "online purchases" category. If you have over $100,000 in assets at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch (including in a low-fee Merrill Lynch retirement account), you'll get a 75% points bonus, increasing the reward rate to 5.25%. You can only signup for this card if you don't already have one (or one of Bank of America's many other cards that have the same earning structure). But, you can product change to it, regardless of how many other Cash Rewards cards you have, allowing you to increase the amount of bonus rewards you can earn each quarter.