undergrace

My husband has accepted a job in Xiamen, China, so we will be moving there (from Houston) in a few months. I have been told that it is best to bring our belongings onto the plane with us rather than shipping things, so I wanted to get some advice as to which airlines are best for that.

We are both Premier Silver on United. Looks like we would get 1 checked bag free, next bag $100, and additional bags $200 each. We are given a moving allowance so money isn't a HUGE factor, but if there are airlines that would get us there with cheaper bag charges that would be worth considering.

Also, for those of you who have done these types of long distance moves, any advice on what to bring/what not to bring?

shuigao

I would make the company pay for a relocation service. The reputable ones like crown that send people to your home to wrap and pack up everything, ship it over to the new country, and unwrap and unpack everything in your new residence.

undergrace

Let me clarify - we will be renting a fully furnished apartment so none of our furniture will be coming with us. We will sell a majority of it (all cheap/free post-college furniture, or things that can be cheaply replaced if we return) and store the more valuable pieces. It would be wonderful if we could use a door-to-door shipping service but the cost/time factors make it very unreasonable. His employer provides a set amount for moving expenses, they do not pay actual costs nor would they pay more than the offered amount, so we would prefer to just pay excess baggage fees and not have to worry about shipping.

We will mainly be transporting smaller goods - clothes, books, etc. I just don't want to make some rookie mistakes so I appreciate all help!

firecracker725

It's worth getting a quote from a re-lo service, but you're right that generally it's cheaper to just bring it yourself. Best way is to use duffel bags that hold a lot and weigh virtually nothing. This is what we did when moving to and from France. We flew Delta/Air France, and our baggage charges were the same as yours would be on United. I would be shocked if you could find it any cheaper than that.

MSPeconomist

It used to be cheap to mail books and printed matter, which usually meant that it was sent by boat and required at least a couple weeks. Check the rules, including whether it's even cheaper to put the books into a sort of tan canvas bag (rather than in a big box) to ship them through the postal service.

UPS also used to have good rates for books and boxes, but I mostly remember using them for domestic. I also vaguely a reasonable fee for having them pick up a couple items per day for a week from your home or office location.

Depending on the size and weight, especially if you have access to discount rates, don't automatically rule out FedEx and similar services using their lower priority or ground rates.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

If you can find frequent-flyer award seats on either oneworld or Star Alliance carriers, I'd suggest just buying the necessary miles for two Business Class tickets directly from either AA or UA. With Business Class tickets, each of you will get at least two -- if not three -- free checked bags.

AA is currently running a sale on miles now. If you can find the necessary award seats for your desired travel date and can book before AA changes its award chart on March 22, you can get two one-way Business Class tickets for 110,000 AA miles, which are currently on sale for approximately $2,555, after taxes and fees. Details at http://buymiles.aa.com

Note that you can only buy AA miles if you have been an AAdvantage member for at least 30 days. If neither one of you is, sign up immediately (it costs nothing), and then check back in 30 days to see if AA is running another mileage sale.

(Finding two Business Class award seats for your route might prove challenging, but AA lets you hold award reservations for five days, so you do not have to buy any miles unless and until you find the necessary award seats.)

ChangingNappies

Some years agoI used USPS to send my books to Europe. The price was really cheap for books, a bit more expensive for other printed matters.I think it was called M-bags. If you go this way, try to pack many small boxes, as books are heavy, and in China be prepared to carry the boxes through lots of stairs. No Chinese with Disabality Act as of yet

LondonElite

Maybe I'm not getting this, but if you're moving for any significant period of time and want many of your belongings with you, there is no luggage allowance in the world that is going to satisfy your needs.

Leaving furniture etc to one side, unless you live in a studio apartment, you're going to have tons of clothes, books, personal belongings, accumulated stuff, etc. Just pack the clothes that you need for the first couple of months, and then ship the rest by sea.

Doc Savage

Do you really need the books? I'd just store them. They're heavy, and almost all can be obtained in e-book form.

nocturne14

Agree with this point. Ship what your immediate needs mainly clothes, kitchen items, electronics etc. The remaining can be shipped via sea.

Redhead

I second the idea of looking at business class. That will both make the flight a lot more enjoyable, plus give you more luggage allowance.

Leave books at home if you can. Unless you are an academic or otherwise need them for work, don't bother. Store things like photo albums, most picture frames, art, etc.

Don't pack any clothes that you haven't worn in the last year - get rid of those. Don't bother with electronics since they probably won't work.

If the place is fully furnished, does that include sheets and towels? I rented one place where that was included and that will save you lots of space. Otherwise, you could probably buy them really cheap in China.

I would, however, find space to bring a couple of favourite food items or spices, etc. It seems silly but having that comfort food can be a mental help on the days when culture shock is rough. For me, it was cinnamon gum. Believe it or not, you can't find it in Spain and I just loved it as a little pick me up on a bad day. Just make sure that they aren't fresh fruits or veg or meat since those can't get thru customs.

MSPeconomist

Another reassuring comfort item can be stocks of various toiletry items in brands you like. Foreign toothpaste can taste and feel different, deodorant has a different feel/smell and could cause an allergic reaction, etc. It helps if you can check for foreign brand availability in advance where you'll be based (or can travel easily).

LondonElite

It's not a vacation, it's a move (i.e. long-term). Is this board suggesting that all the things they own and need in life can be stashed in six Samsonites? Really? Last time I moved (without furniture) it was the better part of a shipping container.

undergrace

Thank you for the good advice! It had not occurred to me that toiletries might be truly different (I was intending on just adjusting to the new brands) and we will definitely pack some extras ^

The quantity of books we would bring could probably fit into a carry-on suitcase - I know people have multiple full bookshelves in their homes, so that is very easy to visualize as our situation, but we have had several big purges over the years so a majority of our books have already left our hands. I checked into media mail (I forgot about that having a lower price!) but it still seems fairly expensive, so I think we're just going to follow advice offered here and only bring the books that are for my husband's job or are ones we do not want to be without. We'll also stick to paperbacks so they are lighter. I intend to travel to most of the countries in that region of the world and would want to have things to read on the planes - and I just can't bring myself to use a Kindle or other e-reader. The ones not needed for either of those reasons will be boxed and stored in America.

Any advice on how to access American media from China? I see Netflix still isn't allowed, and they are starting to crack down on VPN usage. I have no intentions of living in an American bubble over there, but I would like to stay current on a few shows and be able to stream some of our favorites. We currently have Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant (but I expect we'll be dropping our Prime membership if we're not longer able to take advantage of the shipping benefit). Would any of those still work or does China have a decent substitute? Or should I bring the DVDs of the shows we own? Pirate them before we go and only watch them on the computer?

There is so much to figure out!

deniah

When i was a recent-grad posted on a short'ish-but-indefinite assignment abroad, to furnished housing, i brought primary clothing, some dear kitchen items (knives, small gadgets), and a few voltage-compatible electronics, and other small private effects.

All physical books went to storage in lieu of a kindle.

Total luggage was 22" carry-on, 26" roller, and 26" roller-duffel for the clothing

I didnt use half the electronics. Didnt need anything else - and if i did i couldve bought.

But then again i was living the bachelor life and realized all that i really needed was some clothes and a laptop / cell phone. Didnt need any other physical posession that defined me. At this step in life i would certainly need more than 3 pieces