Hopping between time zones can be exciting — especially if you are a fan of time travel movies, mythology films, or say Korean dramas.
Let’s imagine this scenario: Say you ring in the New Year in Seoul, then dash to the airport and hop on an early flight on January 1st to New York.
Lo and behold, you touch down in the Big Apple while it’s still December 31st. You’ve effectively gained extra hours to celebrate New Year’s Eve all over again — twice the fun, right?
However, if your stay arrangements are with Marriott for both legs of this journey, there could be a snag. You might lose your elite night credits, and points for your entire stay in New York.
Why? Well, according to Marriott’s system, you’ve already lodged with them in Korea on December 31st. Now you’re planning to do the same in New York on that exact date. This counts as an overlapping stay.
And Marriott doesn’t take kindly to perceived program abuse. Instead of simply denying points and double elite night credit for December 31st — which would be fair — they’ll withhold it for your entire stay: two nights, seven nights or even a month-long visit.
Here’s what Marriott’s T&C say about overlapping stays with Marriott.
Members cannot earn Points, Miles, Elite Night Credit, or receive benefits for Stays at more than one Participating Property for the same date(s).
So What Can You Do?
Luckily, there are some simple strategies that can ensure minimum loss.
Option 1: Mix up your hotel brands.
The easiest solution is to book one stay with Marriott and another with a different hotel brand like Hilton, IHG or Hyatt. If you hold status with more than one program, this will be a cinch.
Option 2: For one night, don’t be loyal.
If switching brands entirely doesn’t work for you, how about spending one night with someone else? This ensures no overlap with the same hotel chain.
In fact, this could be even more convenient if you stay at an airport hotel for a night.
Option 3: Venture into unknown territory.
Marriott’s official site isn’t the only place to reserve a room. There are also sites like Expedia.com or Booking.com.
Stays booked through these platforms don’t qualify for elite nights or reward points, so there won’t be any Marriott account overlap.
Yes, we repeatedly advise our readers, much like a broken record, to book directly with Marriott. But in this case, it works for us. Perhaps that’s why the saying ‘Never say never.’
Just don’t forget to do a clean check out and check back in to ensure the stays aren’t combined. Don’t carry forward any dues from one stay to another. Make sure your Marriott Bonvoy number isn’t attached to that one-night booking.
Wrapping Up
When time zone hopping — or under other circumstances that lead to an overlapping night at two Marriotts — you risk losing your hard-earned points, and elite night credits for the entire stay. But with a little planning, you can easily dodge this bullet.
