Dang, should have searched FT before booking...!
Anyway, I recently bought a RT ticket on Air China: EWR-PEK-EWR, in J. On Kayak, JustFly had advertised this fare as $2678.63, while all the other agencies (as well as direct booking) were more like $2900. Nice savings, worth a try, right?
On the JustFly receipt, they break out charges like so:
Airfare: $2175
Taxes & Fees (including Seat Assignment Fee): $518.58
Total: $2698.58
On my credit card statement, I see:
AIR CHINA 999815358XXXX $2678.63
JUSTFLY.COM $14.95
Weird, but I didn't think much of it. The undisclosed $15 fee is small compared with the savings, and I'm getting it reimbursed anyway, so who cares, right?
Well, after the system finished ticketing, I tried to pull up the reservation on airchina.us so I could confirm the booking details and add my MileagePlus number. No dice.
A google search on how I might accomplish this brought me to this thread. Read all 5 pages and most of the links. Uh oh. By now I've written off the UA miles and am furiously crossing my fingers for no IRROPS. Will keep you guys posted!