Sandals and Beaches Replace Sandals Select Rewards With New ‘Island Insiders Club’

By Steve Griswold — Sandals & Beaches Platinum Elite Advisor, Pixie Vacations. Visited all 17 Sandals & Beaches resorts.
Last updated: July 2026

Sandals Resorts International has retired its long-running Sandals Select Rewards program and replacing it with a rebranded, expanded loyalty club called the Island Insiders Club, the company announced June 15. The program went live July 1, 2026, and spans both the adults-focused Sandals Resorts and the family-oriented Beaches Resorts under a single integrated structure.

What Is the Sandals Island Insiders Club?

The Sandals Island Insiders Club is the new loyalty program for Sandals and Beaches Resorts, replacing Sandals Select Rewards on July 1, 2026. Existing members kept all of their points, tier status and benefits, and the program adds seven membership tiers plus new perks such as a room-upgrade hotline and a flexible “Choice of Insider Reward.”

The change ends a chapter that began in 2008, when Sandals Select Rewards first launched. According to the company, existing members will not lose anything in the transition: all current points, accrued benefits, and earned recognition carry over automatically, with no action required.

The Island Insiders Club is built around seven membership tiers — Shell, Coral, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl and Ambassador — that guests climb based on the number of paid nights they stay. The entry-level Shell tier replaces the former Select tier, and benefits scale upward from there.

Familiar perks remain in place, including a points multiplier, on-resort member discounts, spa credits, milestone gifts, and the program’s signature reward: a free-week certificate after 70 paid nights. Sandals is layering several new features on top. Members now have access to a dedicated room-upgrade hotline, an online Insiders Shop, and a new “Choice of Insider Reward” that lets travelers pick the benefit that best fits their trip — for example, a credit toward treatments at Red Lane Spa or an excursion through Island Routes.

The brand is also leaning into experiences beyond the resort gates. Island Insiders will be invited to themed events centered on interests such as scuba diving, culinary travel and autism inclusion, held both on property and in members’ home markets — an effort to keep guests engaged between vacations.

To draw in first-time guests, Sandals is offering a 5,000-point bonus to travelers who enroll, book, and complete an inaugural stay. Guests can sign up before their first visit and begin earning tier status once they check in.

Industry observers have read the launch as part of Sandals’ broader “Sandals 2.0” push, which also includes a $200 million renovation of three flagship Jamaica resorts and continued expansion across the Caribbean. A more personalized, tiered loyalty program gives repeat guests added incentive to stay within the Sandals and Beaches family rather than shopping competing all-inclusive brands.

Island Insiders Club Tiers: The Confirmed Qualifying Thresholds

At launch, Sandals had not said how many nights each tier required. The full program chart is now published. Members reach a tier by paid nights or cumulative qualifying spend, whichever comes first.

Other Benefits Sandals Has Now Confirmed

• 20% off the Managers Wine List — for Coral members and above, not just top tiers.
• Future Memories Discount — up to 12% off your next booking when you reserve at the Island Insiders Lounge on resort.
• Refer a Friend — your friend gets 10,000 points (about $250) toward their first stay, and you get 10,000 points once they travel, up to 50,000 points a year.
• VIP Concierge Service Line — a dedicated line for top-tier members covering vacation planning, butler preferences and special requests.
• $200 laundry credit and an annual thank-you gift — reserved for Ambassador members.
• Complimentary photo — one 5×7 print or digital image per stay from the Photo Shop.

Our advisor take: now that the thresholds are public, the math is clearer than it looks. Sapphire at 25 nights is realistic for a couple who returns most years, and that is where points earning doubles to 2 per dollar. Diamond at 100 nights or $90,000 is a genuine long-haul goal, and Ambassador at 400 nights is a lifetime tier. The benefit most guests underuse is the room-upgrade hotline at 30 days out, which is worth more on a single trip than several years of discount percentages.

The Evolution of Sandals’ Loyalty Program: From Select Rewards to Island Insiders (2008–2026)

The Island Insiders Club is the latest chapter in a loyalty story that stretches back nearly two decades. The following timeline is compiled from archived program materials and Sandals’ own announcements.

2008 — Sandals Select Rewards launches. The program debuted with a tiered structure based on stays and paid nights: Select (second stay), Gold (third stay or 24 nights), Platinum (fifth stay or 40 nights) and Diamond (10th stay or 100 nights). Members enrolled during or after a first visit and received a 10,000-point enrollment bonus. There were no tier gifts at first — recognition came through member-only offers and an on-resort loyalty manager.

The separate ‘Special Recognition Awards.’ Alongside the tiers, Sandals rewarded cumulative nights with milestone gifts: a silver Sandals pendant at 35 nights, a gold Sandals pendant at 56 nights, and a complimentary week at 70 nights — each milestone a multiple of seven, the length of a typical Sandals week. These pendants were distinct from the tier program, a distinction that still confuses longtime guests today.

2011 — the first published benefits chart. Program materials began detailing perks such as a ‘Welcome Back Gift’ on arrival, a spa hydrotherapy bath for two at the Platinum level, and dining with two favorite staff members at the Diamond level.

2016 — benefits refined. The chart was restyled and the hydrotherapy bath was replaced with a 30-minute couples massage.

2018 — the Pearl tier arrives. Sandals added a new top level, Pearl, and introduced the first tier-specific gifts: a set of stylized ‘S’ pins unique to each level, later reworked into pin-and-necklace sets. Pearl members’ couples massage was upgraded to 60 minutes, and VIP recognition — including the VIP luncheon — was formalized for top-tier guests.

2020 — join before you travel. Amid the pandemic-era resort closures, Sandals introduced an entry ‘Member’ level that, for the first time, let guests enroll before their first stay.

2021 — a milestone loss. Sandals founder Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart died in January 2021.

2022 — Ambassador becomes official, and loyalty gets a leader. The invitation-only Ambassador tier — previously an unofficial distinction — was formally recognized, adding perks such as complimentary private transfers and a preferred-room-number request. That same year Sandals hired Peter Menges as Senior Vice President of Customer Engagement and Loyalty; under his tenure the resort’s first-responder service discount was broadened to cover all firefighters, not only union members.

2026 — the Island Insiders Club. Announced June 15 and live July 1, 2026, the rebrand expands the program to seven tiers (Shell, Coral, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl and Ambassador), revives milestone recognition gifts, and — fittingly — brings a little pair of sandals back into the logo.

For travelers, the practical takeaway is simple: anyone who has stayed at a Sandals or Beaches resort keeps the status and points they already have, and the July 1 switch unlocks the new upgrade hotline, reward flexibility, and event access without a re-enrollment hassle.

If you’re weighing a first Sandals or Beaches stay — or trying to figure out which tier perks are worth chasing on your next booking — the team at Pixie Vacations and Pixie Honeymoons books these resorts at no added cost. For couples, our sister site breaks down how the new Island Insiders Club rewards a Sandals honeymoon, and our advisors can walk you through how your tier and points apply to any trip.

Sandals Island Insiders Club: Quick Facts

When does the Island Insiders Club launch?

July 1, 2026. It replaces the Sandals Select Rewards program, which launched in 2008.

Do my existing Sandals Select Rewards points carry over?

Yes. All points, tier status and earned benefits transfer automatically on July 1, 2026 — members do not need to re-enroll or take any action.

What are the Island Insiders Club tiers?

There are seven tiers, earned by paid nights stayed: Shell, Coral, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl and Ambassador. Shell replaces the former Select tier.

What new benefits does the Island Insiders Club add?

New features include a room-upgrade hotline, an online Insiders Shop, a “Choice of Insider Reward” (such as Red Lane Spa or Island Routes credits), Insider events, and the returning free-week certificate after 70 paid nights.

How do new members join?

Enroll before your first visit, then book and complete an inaugural stay to earn 5,000 bonus points and begin building tier status.

Whatever happened to the silver and gold Sandals pendants?

Those flip-flop pendants were never tied to the membership tiers. They belonged to a separate ‘Special Recognition Awards’ track that honored cumulative nights — a silver pendant at 35 nights, a gold pendant at 56 nights, and a free week at 70 nights. When Sandals introduced tier-specific ‘S’ pins in 2018, the sandal pendants were phased out, which is why some longtime guests remember earning their gold sandals and others never saw them. The 2026 Island Insiders Club revives the idea with a pin-and-necklace gift at each new tier — and the little sandals return in the program’s logo.

Reporting compiled from Sandals Resorts International’s June 15, 2026 announcement (PR Newswire), TravelPulse, Caribbean Journal, and Travelweek.