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Yes, if you have no activity on your account for 24 months, then your Sonesta Travel Pass points will expire. Per the Sonesta Travel Pass terms and conditions page:
“All Rewards Points expire after 24 months of inactivity from the date of their issuance.”
What Constitutes Activity for Sonesta Travel Pass
What constitutes eligible activity is a little complicated according to the Sonesta Travel Pass FAQ:
“Eligibility activity includes accruing or redeeming Rewards Points and accruing a Qualified Room Night.”
Unsurprisingly, this raises the question of what is a Qualified Room Night. The answer is simple:
“A “Qualified Room Night” is an overnight stay where the reservation is in the Program member’s name, includes the member’s Sonesta Travel Pass ID number, and is booked and paid for at a Qualified Rate.”
Therefore, to prevent your points from expiring, you must have some activity (earning or redeeming) on your account in 24 months. This can include a Qualified Room Night.
Earning Sonesta Travel Pass Points
There are only a few ways to earn Sonesta Travel Pass points:
- Earn 10 points per dollar for stays at eligible Sonesta properties.
- Receive 5X for stays at Sonesta Simply Suites hotels.
- Earn points for everyday spending with the Sonesta World Mastercard®.
Redeeming Sonesta Travel Pass Points
You can redeem Sonesta points for stays. Sonesta categorizes almost all its hotels into nine tiers, although some resort properties are in categories 10 and 11. Redemptions are at the following rates:
- 10,000 points at Tier 1 properties
- 12,500 points at Tier 2 properties
- 15,000 points at Tier 3 properties
- 17,500 points at Tier 4 properties
- 20,000 points at Tier 5 properties
- 22,500 points at Tier 6 properties
- 25,000 points at Tier 7 properties
- 27,500 points at Tier 8 properties
- 30,000 points at Tier 9 properties
- 40,000 points at Tier 10 properties
- 50,000 points at Tier 11 properties
A Big Player In The Making
The last three years have seen Sonesta Travel Pass go from a minnow in the hotel industry to a giant in the making. The brand has seen extraordinary growth since early 2020 — when the brand had around 80 properties worldwide. However, after acquiring Red Lion Properties and some former IHG and Marriott properties, Sonesta has over 1,200 properties worldwide, including a healthy footprint in the U.S. This rapid growth makes it worthwhile to keep an eye on the Sonesta Travel Pass program.
Our Take
The Sonesta Travel Pass program is simple and straightforward, with few of the larger programs' complexities. However, it's been seen as a niche program, due to its tiny size. But that has changed in the last few years. With its new larger footprint and a reasonably generous policy on when Sonesta points expire, the program is definitely worth a closer look — especially for those who want simplicity in their loyalty programs.
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Our 50th wedding anniversary 2028 . Currently we are staying at Sonesta x 1
Year waiting house build . We want go Hawaii 50 anniversary. How many points are needed and will they expire 7 years
Despite their expansion, which makes encountering a Sonesta more likely, their rewards program is not at all compelling.
There’s a few places I’ve been where Sonesta now has a presence, and it’s always good to have more feathers in one’s cap. This new program just reinforces the value of transferable point cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred for the flexibility. Can you tell us if Sonesta allows for earning airline miles instead of hotel points for those of us who are loyalists in other programs, and aren’t likely to use Sonesta except occasionally? Thanks.
It does NOT look like Sonesta offers the option to earn miles instead of points – as you can with many other hotel programs. Looks like you’ll have to earn Sonesta points – which could mean orphaned points if you don’t stay enough to redeem for a free night.
Open Letter to Sonesta:
Sorry, Sonesta, but I (for one) just can’t bear the thought of joining, tracking and preforming tricks to prevent expiration of accruals (even with AwardWallet’s expert assistance!) in yet another hotel loyalty scheme. Maybe if and when things approach normal , I’ll consider adding your properties to the list of accommodation options when booking future travel. In the meantime, congratulations on your re flagging of some IHG and Marriott properties which I hope will not infringe on my retention of IHG and Marriott elite status by eliminating options in that regard.
Hah! I feel the same way in many regards. After all, we have enough hotel programs to keep up with already! But, then again, hopefully competition will be good.
I’m a fan of the Sonesta brand and think that this will help them grow as travel resumes.
Sonesta is the most exciting new Hotel brand to come along in a long time. Hopefully the can keep growing to include more hotels where I travel regularly. Thanks for the helpful article.
They have the momentum. They’re expanding just as others contract. They’re seizing the day and are apparently in a position to do so with financial backing. If the hotel business eventually returns to pre-pandemic levels, they should be a winner, I would think.