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UA, USA to China OJ from $303 ai

Old Jul 5, 2017, 8:33 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: wolfpacktrojan
Transportation options from HGH to Hangzhou city center or PVG. Please add your name and your itinerary if you are interested in meeting other fellow FTers.
1) Taxi to Hangzhou city center, about 100 RMB ($15) for the entire party, not per person, walking from international terminal to domestic terminal (i.e., right turn after you get outside of the international terminal building), you will see taxi queue.
2) Shuttle bus, 20 RMB ($3), to Wulinmen CAAC Ticket Office or East Railway Station Line (two most popular options). The waiting hall for the shuttle bus is at Gate 10 (you can purchase ticket at Gate 14, too) Arrival Hall, on the first floor of the terminal building. Further details, see https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cit...ation.htm#hang
3) Shuttle from Hangzhou city center to PVG, 110 RMB, 3.5 hours: a) Wulinmen Ticket Office Central Hangzhou to PVG: (5:30, 6:10, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00)
b) Hangzhou Dragon Sports Center to PVG, 110 RMB, (7:00, 8:30, 10:30, 12:30, 14:30, 16:00
). Further details, see https://traveladept.com/bus-pudong-hangzhou/
4) Train from Hangzhou East station to Shanghai Hongqiao; less than 100 RMB (~1 hr); then you can take Subway Line #2 to PVG, ~10 RMB and 2 hrs; or shuttle bus (Airport Line #1), about 1 hr, 30 RMB ($4.5), every 15 - 25 minutes. The Hangzhou East ticketing windows are located on 1st Floor, EAST Area of the station. Please allow 20-30 minutes for walking to 2nd floor departure, and security check. The frequency of Hangzhou-Hongqiao trains is as good as that of subways in many US cities.
5) Getting cash at HGH The international terminal at HGH (where you arrive) only has an exchange vendor with hefty fees that is open limited hours. However, the adjacent domestic terminal has a bank ATM. To get to the entrance of the domestic terminal, exit the international terminal and keep walking right, past the taxi stand. Then enter and take the escalator to the second floor. The bank ATM will be on your left, next to the escalator.
6 Getting TWOV without issues The advice is to print out your itinerary, hotel reservation, etc., to speed up the procedure at the entry point in China. At SFO, the check-in agents were clueless, so be prepared to get there very early and fight for your boarding passes. Please read the last few pages on this thread for first-hand experiences. Good luck. There is a thread on FT for further details. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...hread-231.html

ATM To get to the entrance of the domestic terminal, exit the international terminal and keep walking right, past the taxi stand. Then enter and take the escalator to the second floor. The bank ATM will be on your left, next to the escalator.

Travel information for Beijing and airport:
Beijing will have 2 hubs starting Sept 30,2019. PEK (Beijing Capital International Airport) is original main hub and will continue for Star Alliance flights and Cathay Pacific (including subsidiary Cathay Dragon Air). PKX (Beijing Daxing International Airport, will debut Sept 30, 2019)
planned for airlines of the SkyTeam alliance and One World Alliance (AA, BA, etc. except Cathay Pacific) will be relocated to the new airport. Most flyers taking advantage of this China OJ deal will continue fly through PEK. Some people who use positioning flights through Beijing using non-Star Alliance airlines need to make sure you are flying into PEK, or else need 2hr ground transportation from PKX to PEK.
PEK allows TWOV within 24hr to stay inside security zone airside. This is more convenient for immediate turn than Shanghai-PVG, which force all passengers to exit immigration and customs, then re-check in from land side, even if you have immediate turn within 24hr.

Who are going? When for outbound and inbound? Routing from major hubs:
July 2017

August 2017
Quinlanty: Aug 3, ORD-HKG-HGH; Aug 7, PVG-LAX-SFO-IAH-ORD-YYZ (see post #284 for a brief report on TWOV procedure at HGH).

September 2017
Kmxu: 1 Sept, IAD-HNL-GUM-, 3 Sept, GUM-PVG; 4 Sept, PVG-SFO-ORD
Quinlanty; Sep 1, IAD-HNL-GUM; Sept 3, GUM-PVG, Sep 4, PVG-SFO-ORD-YYZ
pushmyredbutton: Sept 1; SFO-HNL-GUM-HKG Sept 3rd: HKG-HGH, Sept 4th: PVG-SFO
X31: 8 Sept BTV-EWR-SFO-HKG-HGH; 11 Sept PVG-NRT; 12 Sept HND-SFO-IAH-EWR; 13 Sept EWR-YUL
Kmxu + 3: 9 Sept, IAD-SFO-HKG-HGH; 12 Sept, PVG-SFO-IAD
techdarko: 12 Sept, SFO-HKG; 14 Sept, HKG-HGH; 16 Sept, PVG-SFO
Quinlanty: Sep 14; SFO-HKG-HGH; Sep 18, PVG-SFO-YVR
bencanfly: Sep 14, SFO-HKG-HGH; Sep 18, PVG-SFO-IAD
tde211: Sept 17, SFO-HKG-HGH; Oct 18 - PVG-SFO-YVR
Fishleafer: Sep 20, SFO-HKG-HGH; Sep 26, PVG-SFO-YVR
X31: 21 Sept BTV-EWR-HNL-GUM-HKG; 23 Sept HKG-HGH; 25 Sept PVG-SFO-IAH-EWR; 26 Sept EWR-YUL
985X: Sept 22, LAX-SFO-HKG; Sept 23, HKG-HGH; Sept 25, PVG-LAX; Sept 26, LAX-YVR
flyingstudent: Sept 23: SFO-HGH
netoreisinger: 30 Sept, BOS-EWR-HKG-HGH; 4 Oct, PVG-SFO-ORD-YUL

October 2017
gba: Oct 22, SFO-HKG-HGH; Oct 29: PVG-NRT-SEA-YVR
beyounged: Oct 24, SAN-SFO-HKG, Oct 26, HKG-HGH, Nov 8, PVG-HND-YVR
as219: Oct 26, LGA-ORD-HKG (+1); Oct 30: HKG-SFO-EWR-YUL (+1)
X31: 26 Oct BTV-ORD-HKG; 28 Oct HKG-HGH; 30 Oct PVG-SFO; 31 Oct SFO-ORD-YUL
riphamilton +1: Oct 27, BOS-EWR-HNL-GUM-HKG (+1); Oct 30: HKG-GUM-NRT; Oct 31: NRT-ORD-YUL

November 2017
Quinlanty: Nov 3, BOS-EWR-HKG-HGH; Nov 6, HGH-SFO-IAH-ORD-YYZ
pushmyredbutton: Nov 19: BDL-ORD-HKG-HGH, Nov 27 HGH HKG-SFO-(YVR)
Davistev: Nov26, LAX-NRT-PVG

December 2017
Kmxu: Dec 1, IAH-HNL-GUM-HKG; Dec 3, HKG-HGH, Dec 4, PVG-SFO-IAD
X31: Dec 1, YUL-IAD-IAH; Dec 2, IAH-LAX-PVG; Dec 4, HGH-HKG-GUM-HNL; Dec 4, HNL-EWR-BTV.

January 2018
Kewldude21: Jan 14 IAH-EWR-HKG Jan 16 HKG-HGH Jan 22 PVG-SFO-IAH
mpiotrow: Jan 21, ORD-SFO-KIX; Jan 23, KIX-HGH; Jan 24, HGH-HKG-GUM-HNL-DEN-YYZ

February 2018

March 2018
Davistev: Mar03, PVG-SFO-YVR
flyer777lr: Mar 20, DEN-HNL-GUM; Mar 23, GUM-KIX (NH)-HGH; Mar 26, HGH-HKG-GUM-HNL; Mar 27, HNL-EWR-YYZ
Kewldude21: Mar 22 IAH-EWR-HKG Mar 24 HKG-HGH Mar 28 HGH-PEK-SFO-IAH
flyme2: Mar 28, BTV-ORD-HKG; Mar 29: HKG-HGH; Apr 17: HKG-EWR-YUL
JetSetDave: Mar 29, EUG-SFO-HKG-HGH; April 3, PVG-SFO-EUG
Coeur 05: March 31, bos-sfo-hkg-pvg; April 5, PVG-lax-ord-yow

April 2018
ttyl: Apr 01 BTV-IAD-EWR-HKG; Apr 02 HKG-HGH; Apr 04 PVG-SFO-IAD-LGA-YUL
Toronto1970: April 6, EWR-ORD-HKG-HGH; April 13, CTU-SFO-EWR-YYZ
Exiled in Express: April 18, ORD-HKG-HGH; April 30, WUH-NRT-SEA-YVR
X31: Apr. 28 : BTV-EWR-HKG-HGH; May 1st : PVG-KIX; May 15th : ITM-HND-YVR-YYJ

May 2018
Kewldude21: May 3 IAH-SFO-HKG May 13 PEK-SFO-IAH

October 2018
KMXU, Oct. 18, IAD-SFO-HKG-HGH, Oct. 25, PVG-SFO-IAD

November 2018
KMXU, Nov. 14, ORD-HKG-XIY, Nov. 19, PEK-ORD

September 2019
xinliz Sept 4 SFO-NRT-PVG Sept 25 PEK-EWR-YOW
Flying Machine Sept 9 LAX-SFO-HKG Sept 10 HKG-HGH Sept 16 PVG-SFO-IAD

October 2019
kmxu: Oct 26, IAH-HNL-GUM-HKG, Oct. 27, HKG-XIY, Oct 30, CTU-SFO-IAH
wolfpacktrojan: Oct. 26, EWR-SFO-PVG, Oct. 28, PVG-NRT-SFO-YVR

November 2019
kmxuand his colleague: Nov 9, IAD-PEK, Nov 12, PEK-NRT-HNL-SFO-YYZ
kmxu's colleague: Nov 13, YYZ-IAD-NRT-PEK, Nov. 16, PEK-ORD
kmxu: Nov. 20, IAD-NRT-PEK, Nov. 22, PEK-EWR-YYZ
kmxu: Nov. 23, YYZ-IAD-NRT-PEK, Nov. 26, PEK-ORD
aquanine Nov 28: LAX-SFO-KIX, Nov 30: KIX-PEK, Dec 2: PEK-SFO-YVR

December 2019
kmxu: Nov. 30, IAD-NRT-PEK, Dec. 2, PEK-ORD-YYZ
kmxu: Dec. 3, YYZ-IAD-NRT-PEK, Dec. 6, PEK-ORD
jskang Dec 5, EWR-PVG, Dec 8, PEK-NRT-IAD-YOW

January 2020


February 2020


March 2020

April 2020
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UA, USA to China OJ from $303 ai

Old Jul 4, 2017, 4:15 pm
  #46  
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
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Originally Posted by KAFlyer
I concur. I haven't traveled to mainland China in awhile so the information I posted earlier was out of date. As long as you are inbound or outbound from HGH and/or PVG (you can mix), you are fine with a stay of up to 144 hours.

Here's the flyertalk thread that discusses this in detail:
China 24, 72, and 144 hour Transit Without Visa ("TWOV") rules master thread


Yes the 144-hr is true, as long as you can travelling to a third country not, in which case it counts since you're arriving from Hong Kong SAR and going to US.

I wouldn't mention that HKG was a connection point from US to prevent issues from arising.
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Old Jul 4, 2017, 5:34 pm
  #47  
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FYI, for anyone who is doing a MR from the east coast, you can get the trip down to 1.25 cpm with creative routings. You can force 3 stops in each direction. For optimal routing from East coast to China, force South East (like IAH), West Coast (like SFO) and Japan (like KIX). This will net you nearly 23K miles and possible at as low as $259 from what I've found. Also look to finish in smaller Canadian cities.
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Old Jul 4, 2017, 5:46 pm
  #48  
 
Join Date: May 2016
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Originally Posted by mspel
FYI, for anyone who is doing a MR from the east coast, you can get the trip down to 1.25 cpm with creative routings. You can force 3 stops in each direction. For optimal routing from East coast to China, force South East (like IAH), West Coast (like SFO) and Japan (like KIX). This will net you nearly 23K miles and possible at as low as $259 from what I've found. Also look to finish in smaller Canadian cities.
Could you possibly provide an example of a 20+K routing from the east coast? I haven't found any IAD/DCA routings of >19K for under $450.

Last edited by KAFlyer; Jul 4, 2017 at 5:54 pm
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Old Jul 4, 2017, 6:36 pm
  #49  
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Found SFOHKGHGH returning PVG-Canada via LAX for November before thanksgiving for $312.
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Old Jul 4, 2017, 9:53 pm
  #50  
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
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what an absolute mess

All that hopping off planes to trains and back on planes and youd be too damn tired to even enjoy asia

not worth it at all
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Old Jul 4, 2017, 10:05 pm
  #51  
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
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Originally Posted by YHVH
what an absolute mess

All that hopping off planes to trains and back on planes and youd be too damn tired to even enjoy asia

not worth it at all
You must not know a true mileage runner then.. Goal is to obtain most miles with the least amount of money and the least amount of time.

Last edited by 1KChinito; Jul 4, 2017 at 10:10 pm
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Old Jul 5, 2017, 4:37 am
  #52  
 
Join Date: May 2012
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Originally Posted by YHVH
what an absolute mess

All that hopping off planes to trains and back on planes and youd be too damn tired to even enjoy asia

not worth it at all
Taxi fare from HGH to Hangzhou city center is about 100 RMB (~$15) and the shuttle from Hangzhou city center to PVG costs about 130 RMB (~$20). In Hangzhou, it is best to use the subway because it is very difficult to get a taxi without didi App. Hopefully, this information helps.

You can also arrive at HGH and depart from HGH (i.e., without traveling to PVG).
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Old Jul 5, 2017, 4:41 am
  #53  
 
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Great find - I played around a bit to see if I could get it ticketed on other than 016, failed.
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Old Jul 5, 2017, 7:58 am
  #54  
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Why not book on 016 anyways? Most of the flight is on UA metal, so either way, RDM earnings are minimal - and the fare difference far outweighs the benefits of getting more RDM on other non-UA metal.
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Old Jul 5, 2017, 9:07 am
  #55  
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
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I found a routing for $267 from BTV, returning to YUL which I don't think I can use sadly: https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...-IADYUL0UA4723

Instead of arriving in YUL at midnight (or IAD at 7:30 PM), you can get a red eye SFO-IAD and arrive in YUL late morning on the 12th for $295: https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...-IADYUL1UA4625

Completing the r/t requires two nights in HGH and a $16 bus ticket YUL to BTV.

Originally Posted by mspel
FYI, for anyone who is doing a MR from the east coast, you can get the trip down to 1.25 cpm with creative routings. You can force 3 stops in each direction. For optimal routing from East coast to China, force South East (like IAH), West Coast (like SFO) and Japan (like KIX). This will net you nearly 23K miles and possible at as low as $259 from what I've found. Also look to finish in smaller Canadian cities.
I'm curious if my itinerary above has room for these modifications. ITA doesn't replicate the above Google Flights output so I'm not sure what the fare basis is (and I can't say I'm an expert at parsing the fare rules either!).
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Old Jul 5, 2017, 10:28 am
  #56  
 
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Originally Posted by mspel
Yes. Basically you want to put as close a connection as possible at HKG. For example from EWR it's a 70 min connection. Then go through customs slowly and 'miss' your flight. Then alert UA you missed the connection and are getting 'different transportation' to CAN, HGH, etc, they will delete that segment and not cancel the itinerary. They might even compensate / refund you for the missed flight.
Still don't think this is necessarily a "best practice". Nor is the situation you're describing above the same as "and you can just miss that segment" as you described in post 1. I'd almost suggest you just fly that middle segment and pop back to HKG rather than try to manipulate it out of your control.

I see many flaws in this strategy.

First, "Go through customs slowly".. You don't control customs (especially Chinese customs)? Are you just going to sit on the toilet for 30 mins? What if the DragonAir flight itself is delayed an hour or two? Etc.

"They will delete that segment".. Will they for sure? I'm sure agents can/may/will.. but I'm not sure this WILL work 100%. I could be wrong, but IME calling in as you're abusing the routing/rules (hidden-city) isn't a good strategy.

Lastly, if talking about SZX, one can say "oh i missed the flight, I'll just take the next train", but how does one "get alternative transport" to HGH or CAN without an agent rebooking them? CAN is like an 8 hour train, HGH?

Anyway, great fare, solid routing.. love all these destinations.. just don't like to suggestion to some (who may be novices) to try and force a complex "hidden city style" hack (while in country) when it's OUT of your control. My personal strategy is control as much as you can rather than cede it over to the airline.

Best of luck.
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Old Jul 5, 2017, 11:07 am
  #57  
 
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Analyzing my mid-year standing. I won't have any trouble reaching the PQD for the year. I'm falling short on PQM and need a push toward the next Lifetime tier. I've booked two of these round trips.
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Old Jul 5, 2017, 11:24 am
  #58  
 
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Originally Posted by awt42
I found a routing for $267 from BTV, returning to YUL which I don't think I can use sadly: https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...-IADYUL0UA4723

Instead of arriving in YUL at midnight (or IAD at 7:30 PM), you can get a red eye SFO-IAD and arrive in YUL late morning on the 12th for $295: https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...-IADYUL1UA4625

Completing the r/t requires two nights in HGH and a $16 bus ticket YUL to BTV.



I'm curious if my itinerary above has room for these modifications. ITA doesn't replicate the above Google Flights output so I'm not sure what the fare basis is (and I can't say I'm an expert at parsing the fare rules either!).
If you click to United and scroll down to the bottom of the page, there's a "View fare rules and restrictions" link. Far from expert myself, but the second one above (for example) is

City pair Fare class Fare basis code
BTV-HGH G GLE03NMB
Code:
STOPOVERS	FARE RULES TEXT 1 STOPOVER PERMITTED IN EACH DIRECTION AT USD 100.00 EACH NONE IN HONG KONG SAR/GUAM/JAPAN PERMITTED IN AREA 3. CHILD/INFANT DISCOUNTS APPLY.

TRANSFERS/RTGS	FARE RULES TEXT 6 TRANSFERS PERMITTED IN EACH DIRECTION FREE 1 FREE IN CANADA IN EACH DIRECTION 2 FREE IN THE UNITED STATES IN EACH DIRECTION 3 FREE IN AREA 3 IN EACH DIRECTION FARE BREAK SURFACE SECTORS NOT PERMITTED AND EMBEDDED SURFACE SECTORS PERMITTED ON THE FARE COMPONENT.
HGH-YMQ S GLX03DM5
Code:
STOPOVERS	FARE RULES TEXT 1 STOPOVER PERMITTED IN EACH DIRECTION LIMITED TO 1 AT CAD 100.00 AND 1 AT CAD 150.00. NONE IN HONG KONG, SAR, CHINA/JAPAN/GUAM 1 IN AREA 3 AT CAD 100.00 1 IN CHI/LAX/SFO/EWR AIRPORT AT CAD 150.00. CHILD/INFANT DISCOUNTS APPLY.

TRANSFERS/RTGS	FARE RULES TEXT 1 FREE TRANSFER REQUIRED AND 6 PERMITTED IN EACH DIRECTION 1 REQUIRED FREE IN THE UNITED STATES IN EACH DIRECTION 1 PERMITTED FREE IN CANADA IN EACH DIRECTION 2 PERMITTED FREE IN THE UNITED STATES IN EACH DIRECTION 3 PERMITTED FREE IN AREA 3 IN EACH DIRECTION FARE BREAK SURFACE SECTORS NOT PERMITTED AND EMBEDDED SURFACE SECTORS PERMITTED ON THE FARE COMPONENT.
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Old Jul 5, 2017, 11:33 am
  #59  
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
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Just booked EWR-HKG-HGH-SFO-IAH-IAD-YYZ in early April for $392US. Need to pay to get down to EWR for the positioning flight -- I couldn't find a way to make this work on one ticket starting from YYZ (is GLX03DM5 only valid leaving Asia?)
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Old Jul 5, 2017, 11:41 am
  #60  
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: BTV/YUL
Posts: 8
Originally Posted by rustykettel
If you click to United and scroll down to the bottom of the page, there's a "View fare rules and restrictions" link.
I missed that link at the bottom, thanks for bringing that to my attention!
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