If you regularly stay at any of the 103 hotels that IHG is losing to Sonesta this November, you may be wondering how you can still maximize either free stays or on-property elite benefits.
In this article
Recap: IHG is Losing 103 Hotels; Sonesta Appears to Be Taking Over Management
In case you missed it, Service Properties Trust is handing 103 hotels that it owns over from IHG to Sonesta following a default on payments from IHG to SVC.
The ones you are most likely to care about are the InterContinental hotels and the Kimpton hotels, though I have a full list of all 103 hotels in that post.
The InterContinental’s and Kimpton’s being lost are:
InterContinental San Juan
InterContinental Toronto Yorkville
InterContinental Stephen F Austin Hotel
Kimpton Hotel Palomar Washington DC
Kimpton Hotel Allegro Chicago
Kimpton Hotel Palomar Chicago
Kimpton Hotel Monaco Portland
Kimpton Hotel Alexis Seattle
Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia (by IHG HQ)
Status Match to Sonesta
If you stay at any of these regularly and expect to continue to, you should probably think about a status match. Thankfully, that is super easy to do.
From their FAQ page:
I’m an Elite member in another hotel program. Will you match my status?
Of course! Sonesta offers a status match to Preferred and Elite levels in other hotel loyalty programs. All you need to do is enroll in Sonesta Travel Pass and simply email Travel Pass customer care ([email protected]) with your Travel Pass Member ID and a copy of a current membership card or statement showing your status in another hotel loyalty program. It’s that simple.
I am guessing any upper status will grant you Elite (i.e. I would bet Marriott Platinum and up, though they don’t specify). But don’t ask me about a particular level to level match as I won’t know – they don’t publish it.
Sonesta Elite benefits
The best benefits are the club lounge and breakfast. Early check in and late checkout don’t appear to be guaranteed. And the upgrades are “one level” rather than best available and they seem to want to “sell” you the suite upgrades as a benefit.
Don’t have a status to match? That’s OK – because you have another pathway to top-tier Sonesta status. The Sonesta credit card!
I know, I know… there is always a credit card angle!
Sonesta’s Credit Card
If you still want to stay free at these properties once they leave IHG, you have basically two options, since you 
can’t transfer from any bank point to Sonesta.
One is to use a credit card rewards portal like Chase Ultimate Rewards.
The other is the Sonesta credit card, issued by Bank of America, which will also confer Sonesta Elite Level (top tier) status.
While not a traditional must have card (and it’s really not one), it would earn you a nice return on Sonesta spend if you spent $7,500 in a year. Why $7,500 in a year?
Follow me back in time to when our own Facebook group moderator Jenny Reed did a deep dive on the Sonesta credit card.
Thoughts?
Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
