since you are going to pek, it would seem that you'll be flying either jfk-pek or sfo-pek on ca. if the latter is the case, you might consider asking them to try to put you on ua metal; you could even offer to buy through a bucket shop and seek reimbursement. by ticketing in the us, you should be able to get a much better price than them anyway. of course, it might be best to steer clear of reimbursements. the last time i tried that with a chinese company, i ended up with an international wire transfer which was hit with $100+ in fees.