Again, I flew CA F out of PEK, booked as an award ticket via another *A carrier (UA in this case), last year, and did not have any problems. While it's good to have contingency plans in place in case anything goes wrong, constantly worrying about everything that possibly could go wrong will absolutely ruin your trip. Assume that everything will go smoothly because honestly, that's the most likely scenario.
I've flown from Maui to California many times. Most flights, probably around 40 of them, went out as scheduled, with me on them. A few were delayed. Only one was cancelled. Once it was cancelled, I had to spend another night on Maui. But you know what I didn't do?
I didn't spend my entire trip worrying about what would happen if my flight was cancelled. That would have absolutely ruined the whole trip. Nor did I spend my entire trip worrying about what would happen if our rental car got a flat tire in an area with no cell coverage (also possible, but not the most likely scenario). Nor did I spend the time before my trip worrying about what would happen if a hurricane hit during the trip. Etc.
I'd take screenshots and copies of the CA PNR. If this extremely unlikely scenario should happen, then I'd take the following steps:
1. Show the CA PNR to the check-in agent and ask what happened. Ask them nicely to be put back on the flight in the same class of service.
2. Ask them nicely to be put on an alternate flight, departing the same day, in the same class of service. Escalate to a manager if necessary. But be kind to them and remember that the people you're talking to aren't responsible for the problem you're facing.
3. If asking them nicely fails, then book a ticket with your credit card and then deal with the situation later.
4. Once you get home, call CA and explain the situation, and ask them nicely to be refunded, given the situation. Escalate to a manager if you need to. But be kind to them and remember that the people you're talking to aren't responsible for the problem you're facing.
5. If that fails, follow up with a demand letter sent via certified mail asking them to pay, and submit all relevant documentation. Keep a copy of the letter.
6. If they still fail to pay, then sue them in small claims court to recover the money. The court will ask to see documentation that you've tried to work it out directly with the other party, which you should have at this point. Hopefully they offer to settle.
7. If they don't offer to settle, then come to court and show the Judge your documentation, and get a judgment against them ordering them to pay.
8. If they fail to pay the judgment voluntarily, then get the court to seize assets so you get paid (the judgment debtor must provide a list of assets to the court or they'll be held in contempt of court).
But, remember, you should not worry about steps 1-8
unless something actually happens with your reservation. Because if you worry about every little thing that can possibly go wrong with your trip, you're going to give yourself an ulcer.
I think your time would be best spent researching some common scams like the "black taxi scam" or the "Beijing tea scam" so that you can avoid them, particularly if you don't look Chinese. Interestingly, I've spent time walking around the major tourist areas of Beijing dressed very much like a tourist and I've never once been approached by the tea scam people, but that's probably because no one thinks I'm a foreigner in China. But really, all you need to do is spend about 10 minutes researching all of these scams and how they work and you'll immediately know if someone's trying to scam you. Some guy at the airport tried to pull the black taxi scam on me one time (turned out to be my first time in Beijing by myself), and even though I did not know about it, I suspected something was wrong because it just didn't
seem right to me (what kind of taxi driver waits for a potential customer while he buys a SIM card, gets cash at an ATM, and uses the restroom?).. Once he gave his initial price, I decided to "test" him by saying it was too expensive, and the price magically dropped by 50%. Then it dropped another 15-20% after I said that was still too expensive. At which point, I told him that I don't trust him and got a real taxi at the official taxi waiting area at less than 1/6 of his initial price.
