I don't remember where I heard this rule, maybe it was UA; it sounds something like: "If we were reasonable to believe you would be denied entry, and we were wrong, you still don't get compensated for IDB." This essentially means "We're not responsible for sincere errors."

If translated this to the OP's situation though, "If you have another visa we'll let you board," and "Let's ask the USCBP guy" have completely invalidated their claim to any "sincere error"!

Somewhat unrelated but I'll be trying this via AA in a couple days:
IAD -> DFW -> PVG -> TPE -> SFO -> IAD

Land in PVG April 1 @ 3PM. Counter starts April 2 @ Midnight.
Leave PVG April 4 @ 8PM.

Results in >72 hours of actual time on the ground

You are spending less than 72 hours from midnight on April 2.

MSP, next time this happens, suggest to the agent to call Global Assitance (or GAC) and discuss it with them. They probably would have set the agent straight.

I have a hunch that DL made things right for her, and that we're unlikely to see a repeat performance.

My recommendation is if travelling on DL in the future without a visa then print out TIMATIC.

OP,
I hope you received your refund. When you enter your trip in TIMATIC via Sky team link using USA as departure point and destination country and Japan and China as transit points it displays the correct visa information.
Interestingly when searching on google flights for trips to China- there is a link for visa info:
http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...try/china.html
There is a paragraph

If Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun, Chengdu Shuangliu, Shenyang Taoxian, or Dalian Zhoushuizi airport is your international transit point, you may stay in mainland China for 72 hours without a Chinese visa if you have: a valid passport, a visa for your third country destination, an onward plane ticket departing from the same airport, and you remain in the same municipality or province in which you entered
I wonder if that's where DL erroneous information comes from.
As I posted in recent thread my daughter made an error booking 72 TWOV route SIN- KUL- CTU (Air Asia) and CTU- PVG-OKJ (China Eastern) ( paid flights) and was correctly denied boarding by Air Asia in SIN. However they agreed to check her in for first leg SIN-KUL which gave her time to come up with alternate route out of CTU. Prior to booking an award ticket using DL miles on CI (CTU-TPE-KIX )routing she had Air Asia GA in KUL ( who also checked with their supervisor or GS) double check and approve her new itinerary. No further issues with TWOV.

Why do you check on Non-Chinese websites about China TWOV rules? that's like checking at McDonalds how much the Big King at Burger King should cost..

I did have a printout, made the day before and with the dates showing, of TIMATIC from the link on the SkyTeam website. This resulted in the "explanation" that (DIRECT QUOTE from the redcoat) "Delta has its own version of TIMATIC".

Timatic is THE definitive source on this matter. Random links from PRC government sites are often outdated and don't (shouldnt) carry any sway with airlines.

That's of course an even better answer technically, yes.

However, with some airlines telling flyers that "they use a different version of TIMATIC" (read: They can't use TIMATIC correctly), having a print-out from an official Chinese website (as outdated it might be) could help as well.

Sometimes, doing something intentionally not in the best way works better than trying to be perfect. It's of course annoying as hell, if you know better, but if you have to talk with people which appear to be "the computer says NOOOO from Little Britain", then the only workable solution is to convince them with something that might make them think otherwise.. I've to work with such people everyday, unfortunately I've plenty of experience in that field :D

This seems to be from the USA Department of State website. The analogue would be to ask the French government about USA rules for admitting French citizens to the USA. There's no reason to consider it a definitive source.

The statement that you must have a visa for for the destination is absurd as it implies that a USA citizen can never do TWOV as part of a return leg to the USA since the USA does not issue visas to its own citizens.

You still haven't told us how things panned out, MSP.

I have been operating under the assumption that:
1. you schooled DL
2. DL made an offer to you that was acceptable
3. part of this offer entailed you remaining silent on the matter

But, if that's not the case, please fill us in on the aftermath. I'm really curious about arguments DL might have made in defense of its employees' ignorance, and how you responded. (Some viewers of this thread don't realize how much personal experience you have with visa free transit in the PRC, but I do.)

Based on my understanding of IDB rules, they were not applicable in your case (anacapamalibu pointed this out to us here several years back). But, DL presumably has a HUGE vested interest in making your bee sting disappear (e.g. their dreams of making PVG a "hub" could be completely thwarted by accounts such as yours if they go viral).

MSPEconomist,

I was referring to your statement:
They said that to do 72 hour TWOV I would need to go to some other country like Thailand that requires a visa
As I stated I came across :
Interestingly when searching on google flights for trips to China- there is a link for visa info:
http://travel.state.gov/content/pass...try/china.html

If Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun, Chengdu Shuangliu, Shenyang Taoxian, or Dalian Zhoushuizi airport is your international transit point, you may stay in mainland China for 72 hours without a Chinese visa if you have: a valid passport, a visa for your third country destination, an onward plane ticket departing from the same airport, and you remain in the same municipality or province in which you entered
I wonder if that's where DL erroneous information comes from


So I was simply questioning whether DL took the statement from state department website and misinterpreted as They said that to do 72 hour TWOV I would need to go to some other country like Thailand that requires a visa which of course is completely bogus.