Sandman RSVP Rewards, officially known as RSVP Rewards, is the loyalty program for Canadian-owned hotel chains Sandman and Sutton Place. It’s a niche loyalty program that fits nicely among larger hotel chain loyalty programs such as Best Western Rewards, but it is more rewarding and has plenty of upside in its future.
With 56 hotels in Canada, you’ve likely seen the Sandman brand name in passing. The chain has expanded internationally, with three hotels in the UK and one hotel in the USA.
The loyalty program is named RSVP Rewards rather than ‘Sandman Rewards’ because, eventually, Northland Properties, Sandman’s parent company, will implement it across all of its endeavors.
This is quite exciting, as Northland owns well-known restaurant chains such as Moxies, Shark Club, Chop Steakhouse, and Denny’s Canada. In addition to restaurants, Northland Properties owns well-known ski resorts such as Grouse Mountain and Revelstoke Mountain. To top off their portfolio, Northland is also involved with the Dallas Stars of the NHL, so there could be unique redemption options in the future.
Let’s delve into the specifics of the Sandman Hotels RSVP Rewards program with a comprehensive guide on how to earn and use your points.
Acquiring Sandman RSVP Rewards Points
Sandman RSVP Rewards is a relatively new loyalty program as it only launched in May 2021. As a result, there are few earning opportunities compared with other hotel loyalty programs. In the future, we hope Northland Properties allows reciprocal earning and redeeming at restaurants, ski resorts, and the other businesses that are under their banner.
Stay at Sandman & Sutton Place Properties
The main avenue for earning points in the program is staying at hotels within the RSVP Portfolio on a booking made directly with the chain, not through an online travel agency. As a ‘Red’ member, which is the basic status level in the program, you’ll earn 5 points per $1 CAD spent. Each RSVP Rewards point is worth 1 Canadian cent, meaning a 5% rebate on your stay at a minimum.
You’ll earn up to 9 points per dollar as you progress through the status ranks. That is a great rebate for hotels that are typically less expensive than their ‘big chain’ equivalents, like Hyatt Place, Fairfield Inn by Marriott, or Hilton Garden Inn.
Contributor Daniel has experienced that group rates are still eligible to earn points, which is unique amongst loyalty programs. In his travels with consulting, only Hilton Honors group rates tend to earn loyalty points, so if you’re traveling frequently within Canada for work, this could be a nice tip.
Stay at a Sandman Property for the First Time
RSVP Rewards has been running a nice promotion for some time: members will receive a 500-point bonus whenever they stay at a property for the first time.
In some cases, Sandman hotels are only $100 per night, so an extra 5% rebate on the stay is a great incentive to try a new property.
Bonus Points On Your Birthday
Like Aeroplan’s Birthday Perk, RSVP Rewards will grant you 500 points, equal to $5 CAD, every year on your birthday!
This is an easy benefit to cash in on, so don’t be like our contributor Daniel, who forgot to put his birthday in his profile and missed out on 1,000 bonus points over two years.
RSVP Rewards Sign Up Bonus
New members can receive 1,000 points for signing up for RSVP Rewards. This is a fairly generous offer, as most established loyalty programs give nothing when you join.
Say your first stay costs $120. Adding the 1,000-point bonus plus 500 for a new hotel and the 5 points per dollar base earn rate means a 17.5% return. That’s equal to a Marriott Titanium member’s rebate when staying at Marriott hotels – and they only receive a rebate that high after racking up 75 Elite Qualifying Nights in a calendar year.
Redeeming Sandman RSVP Rewards Points
RSVP Rewards are currently a fixed points currency, meaning they cannot be redeemed for any more or less than 1 cent per point. While that limits their flexibility and potential for outsized value, it makes the program easy to understand and engage with.
Currently, you can only redeem your points for hotel stays, but that’s likely to change soon based on a paragraph in the terms and conditions we will touch on later.
Stay at RSVP Rewards Properties
RSVP Rewards can be redeemed only once you collect a minimum of 3,000 points which is redeemable for savings of $30 on your next hotel stay. After you reach the 3,000-point threshold, you can use as many points as you like when redeeming, even down to dollars and cents.
I think the best use for RSVP Rewards points is for airport hotels, as Sandman properties are near every major airport in Canada and are often well-priced.
For example, say you take a positioning flight from Winnipeg to Calgary before catching a KLM flight direct to Amsterdam. Marriott Free Night Certificates are great, but airport hotels don’t often give the most value or have a high aspirational ethos. Personally, we would rather save free night certificates earned through the Marriott Bonvoy program for higher value redemptions, such as the JW Marriott Dallas or Mount Juliet Estate.
If you redeem your points at UK Hotels, your points will still be worth 1 cent per point CAD, and the conversion rate is very fair.
Gift Cards
While this has not happened yet, we believe the ability to redeem RVSP Rewards points for gift cards is coming soon as we found this juicy nugget buried in the terms and conditions of RSVP Rewards.
Once this is available, we hope the redemption level is the same fixed price we are used to at 1 cent per point, and it would make sense as Northland Properties presumably own the restaurants mentioned. If this becomes available as a redemption option, we will update this page at that point.
Sandman RSVP Rewards Elite Status
Sandman RSVP Rewards’ elite status is solely based on total spending at their properties as opposed to nights stayed, as it tends to be with almost every other major hotel chain.
While you certainly could make an effort to climb the status ranks by spending thousands of dollars, there’s a cheaper and much easier path to elite status we will mention later.
Benefits of Sandman RSVP Rewards Elite Status
As Sandman Hotels is primarily a budget chain, there are not many meaningful benefits when it comes to earning RSVP Rewards Elite status, but there is some value to find in the upper echelons of status.
The best benefits begin at Platinum status, as you’ll get a free room upgrade, breakfast box, on-site dining discount, late checkout, early check-in, and lounge access. Not many Sandman properties have a lounge, or at least they don’t advertise it online, but we imagine a few Sutton Place properties would.
The onsite dining discount is the most intriguing perk, as the onsite dining options are often excellent at RSVP locations. The discount won’t apply to alcohol, but it could add up for a large family eating breakfast at Denny’s every morning during their stay. The dining discount is limited to 6 people, and you must show your status and hotel reservation confirmation to the server to get the discount.
The breakfast box perk is pretty disappointing, in my experience. We selected the ‘French’ breakfast box at the Kamloops Sandman Signature which was presented in the morning with a sad croissant, some yogurt, and assorted fruit. You’re better off when a hotel doesn’t have breakfast boxes available, as you’ll receive a $5 on-site dining gift card as a Platinum member or a $10 on-site dining gift card as a Diamond Member.
When you become a Diamond status member, there’s an extra perk of 1,000 points per stay, which can mean an additional 10% rebate or more. As redemption stays are essentially cash stays, we imagine you’ll earn 1,000 bonus points even if you use points to offset the cost of your stay.
Dedicated service is also available as a Diamond member, but the RSVP and Sandman websites are easy to use, so there’s not much value in that.
Unlike Marriott Bonvoy, Sandman hotels are mostly owned by the parent company, Northland Properties. This is good news for status members, as hotels genuinely want to deliver elite benefits on a high level. Sometimes, we must beg, scratch, and claw for our complimentary breakfast and room upgrade with Marriott Bonvoy because hotel franchisees try to cut back and save as much money as possible.
In my experience with Sandman and RSVP Rewards, the reception staff have been excited to tell me about my elite benefits and deliver on them, which is only sometimes the case with Marriott and other chains.
Visa Canada Benefit
RSVP Rewards Diamond elite status is the easiest top-tier status to earn in Canada, thanks to their partnership with Visa Canada. Simply hold any Visa Infinite Privilege credit card, like an Aeroplan premium credit card, and you’ll be granted Diamond status after creating an RSVP Rewards account.
Unlike Best Western rewards, you don’t have to try your luck at a status match.
If you’re not ready to shell out $599 per year for a credit card, you can still earn Platinum status by holding a Visa Infinite product, like the RBC Avion Visa Infinite card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, RSVP Rewards points will expire after 18 months of inactivity. Activity is defined as earning or redeeming points.
RSVP points are not transferable, but as they’re a cash equivalent, there is little reason to transfer out of an account.
RSVP Rewards points are worth 1 Canadian cent per point.