Originally Posted by
moondog
The segments I've bolded strike me as unnecessarily brutal. Flying into Changsha instead?
Yeah, the TPE-PEK-DYG is the only way we could get the timing to work with "free" flights (included in the award). There was TPE-PVG-DYG but only 2 seats and even then the connection time was too risky. It would have been 4.5 hours total compared to the 8 for TPE-PEK-DYG, but it is what it is. The fastest paid flight was $480 each and would take 5.5 hours total anyway. 2.5 hours extra to save $480 each is not a problem for me - will catch up on sleep anyway. Working with 3 people with award seats has been pretty difficult since they all release 2 seats at a time, except Air China it seems.
Going through Changsha was going to require a stop in Nanning as well. Pretty crazy! We would burn an entire day doing so, 6am-5pm. For DYG-CAN-KWL we will get in before midnight and just crash at a hotel for the night in CAN, then fly out the next morning. I'd much rather stay overnight at a hotel in a random city than waste daytime hours connecting around when I have limited time.
And also to mention, the long return from HKG is all to enjoy F on Thai. I could have just gone back to PEK-IAH-DFW more easily (but with an overnight layover in PEK). I chose to go the long route for the experience while United partner awards in F are affordable (pre 2/1/14 change).