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UA, USA to China OJ from $303 ai

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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

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Old Dec 15, 2017, 1:14 pm
  #631  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K 0.7MM (trying to get to 1MM!)
Posts: 1,272
Originally Posted by cagcag
Thanks for your prompt reply. Unfortunately, I will be fling into HKG fir a very quick MR same night turnaround on 12 Jan. I will be doing 5 quick MR to Sin in Feb and March, as well as a MR to KUL first week of May. I"ll try to find something out of BDL or BOS is this fare still exists for dates after 15 May. Thanks again and safe travels!
Why so many MRs? Assuming you're flying nonstop from EWR to all those places (which you clearly aren't, since there's no UA nonstop routes on any of those except EWR-HKG), that's a minimum of 130k miles. I'm assuming you're working your second MM status, not just premier status, right? ^ Enjoy!
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Old Dec 15, 2017, 1:14 pm
  #632  
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: SJC / DPS
Programs: AS G75K, UA Silver
Posts: 1,757
Originally Posted by mpiotrow
I'm not sure either of those would be strictly considered a "mileage run", though...most usual mileage runs are quick turns, overnight, etc. Maybe that's where the confusion/trouble is coming in? (Note: I've already booked this as a MR in January, so I'm not looking for any specific information, just trying to help)
Yeah, I agree. Although the logic for the fare remains the same, situational changes really changed things from a pure MR perspective:

1. DST now requires an overnight in HKG
2. UA's cancellation of the HGH route killed the easy turnaround. Time and money required to get to PVG.

I don't believe there's a minimum stay requirement on the fare though; you can still get it pretty tight: https://goo.gl/flights/wYnV
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Old Dec 15, 2017, 1:43 pm
  #633  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Programs: UA 1K (Million Miler). AA Gold (lifetime 1 Million). TK Elite Gold
Posts: 894
Originally Posted by mpiotrow
Why so many MRs? Assuming you're flying nonstop from EWR to all those places (which you clearly aren't, since there's no UA nonstop routes on any of those except EWR-HKG), that's a minimum of 130k miles. I'm assuming you're working your second MM status, not just premier status, right? ^ Enjoy!
Looking at 2MM.
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Old Dec 19, 2017, 8:05 am
  #634  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K 0.7MM (trying to get to 1MM!)
Posts: 1,272
Here's another option that still seems to be available for those still interested in booking something like this. Looks like mid January, with Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday departures from ORD are all about the same price ($382). Might be available other dates also, but I'm not sure. I couldn't find anything cheap after a Jan 28 departure, I believe. I think you'll need to depart GUM +1 day, HGH +3 days, and GUM (on the return) +4 days. No China OJ required! Itinerary includes round trip HKG-HGH on CX!

https://goo.gl/flights/i6zp


UPDATE: Seems to also be available from LAX and SFO for <$400, DEN and EWR for slightly more (<$500), and other cities (IAD) for slightly more than that. You can also change the return location to other Canadian airports (YVR, YYC, etc).

If anyone can find this ex-DEN (or any other city) after January, please let me know! I'd be interested in doing it, but already have a MR in January planned and can't take more time then. Thanks!

Last edited by mpiotrow; Dec 19, 2017 at 8:24 am Reason: Added additional departure/arrival airport info
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Old Dec 19, 2017, 7:43 pm
  #635  
X31
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: YUL
Posts: 61
Originally Posted by mpiotrow
Here's another option that still seems to be available for those still interested in booking something like this. Looks like mid January, with Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday departures from ORD are all about the same price ($382). Might be available other dates also, but I'm not sure. I couldn't find anything cheap after a Jan 28 departure, I believe. I think you'll need to depart GUM +1 day, HGH +3 days, and GUM (on the return) +4 days. No China OJ required! Itinerary includes round trip HKG-HGH on CX!

https://goo.gl/flights/i6zp

UPDATE: Seems to also be available from LAX and SFO for <$400, DEN and EWR for slightly more (<$500), and other cities (IAD) for slightly more than that. You can also change the return location to other Canadian airports (YVR, YYC, etc).

If anyone can find this ex-DEN (or any other city) after January, please let me know! I'd be interested in doing it, but already have a MR in January planned and can't take more time then. Thanks!
Losing the OJ on this fare is impressive (and very convenient), however be careful when you book this as you will need a Chinese visa, as TWOV will not be valid (you can't come from a country and go back to the same country, so HKG-HGH-HKG will be problematic).
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Old Dec 20, 2017, 9:13 am
  #636  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K 0.7MM (trying to get to 1MM!)
Posts: 1,272
Originally Posted by X31
Losing the OJ on this fare is impressive (and very convenient), however be careful when you book this as you will need a Chinese visa, as TWOV will not be valid (you can't come from a country and go back to the same country, so HKG-HGH-HKG will be problematic).
Yes, I should have mentioned the need for a Chinese visa on this route...it's a non-issue for me, since I have ~9 years left on my 10 year visa, so I didn't think of it. The China MR I'm doing in January (ORD-SFO-KIX-HGH-HKG-GUM-HNL-DEN-YYZ) doesn't have an OJ either, and it's actually valid for TWOV. ^
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Old Dec 29, 2017, 6:40 am
  #637  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORF, RIC
Programs: UA LT 1K, 3 MM; Marriott Titanium; IHG Platinum
Posts: 6,952
Still alive and kicking, Happy New Year!

I claimed that this deal was dead prematurely several times.
Here is a deal from BWI for $329. You will have a lot of time to visit a few Chinese cities. You will need a visa for this trip because Visa on arrival can only be valid for a one city (or nearby region; HGH to PVG is okay because they belong to the same region). So, add $140 for the visa cost over a ten-year period. Happy New Year and happy running.
https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...YZ0AC7351;eo=e
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Last edited by Kmxu; Dec 29, 2017 at 7:49 am Reason: TWOV correction.
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Old Dec 29, 2017, 7:04 am
  #638  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: *G
Posts: 460
Originally Posted by Kmxu
I claimed that this deal was dead prematurely several times.
Here is a deal from BWI for $329. You will have a lot of time to visit a few Chinese cities while taking advantage of the 144 h visa on arrival. Otherwise, you can shorten your trip to be a mileage run. Happy New Year and happy running.
https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...YZ0AC7351;eo=e
The price is awesome, but I'm pretty sure this will require an actual visa, as the 144h TWOV is only availabe within the same city and your link returns from PEK
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Old Jan 2, 2018, 9:59 am
  #639  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Haze gray and underway
Programs: UA 1K 2MM, HH Diamond, Marriott 'clink clink' Titanium
Posts: 1,784
Would I be correct in assuming that TWOV would be valid on a EWR-PEK-TYO-EWR if the PEK is @ 48 hours?
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Old Jan 2, 2018, 11:06 am
  #640  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Programs: UA 1K (Million Miler). AA Gold (lifetime 1 Million). TK Elite Gold
Posts: 894
Correct. US-China-Japan. TWOV allowed
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Old Jan 2, 2018, 9:58 pm
  #641  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 175
I'm considering DEN-ORD-HKG-HGH-PEK-SFO-DEN-ORD-YYZ which prices at $357 at the end of this month (https://goo.gl/hKQJaN). However, Google Flights suggests calling a travel agent to book it (probably because of the 55 minute layover in HKG). Anyone know of a way to do the booking online using the flight numbers? Google has not been my friend this evening. All I could find were ways to book the ticket starting from an ITA search result.
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Old Jan 2, 2018, 11:16 pm
  #642  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: BOS/SIN
Programs: DL PM, OZ Diamond Plus, BA Silver
Posts: 1,803
Originally Posted by nobodyherebutme
I'm considering DEN-ORD-HKG-HGH-PEK-SFO-DEN-ORD-YYZ which prices at $357 at the end of this month (https://goo.gl/hKQJaN). However, Google Flights suggests calling a travel agent to book it (probably because of the 55 minute layover in HKG). Anyone know of a way to do the booking online using the flight numbers? Google has not been my friend this evening. All I could find were ways to book the ticket starting from an ITA search result.
IIRC MCT in HKG is 1 hour so you probably can't book that particular set of flights. If you're okay with overnighting in HKG and taking the next morning's HKG-HGH you can get the same itinerary on UA.com for $359.41 (search multi-city: DEN-HGH, HGH-SFO, SFO-DEN, DEN-ORD, ORD-YYZ). The google flights version is here: https://goo.gl/flights/nFT7 but it shows $373 and the link to UA doesn't work. You can also go DEN-EWR-HKG-HGH for more miles.
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 12:11 am
  #643  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 175
Originally Posted by truncated
IIRC MCT in HKG is 1 hour so you probably can't book that particular set of flights. If you're okay with overnighting in HKG and taking the next morning's HKG-HGH you can get the same itinerary on UA.com for $359.41 (search multi-city: DEN-HGH, HGH-SFO, SFO-DEN, DEN-ORD, ORD-YYZ). The google flights version is here: https://goo.gl/flights/nFT7 but it shows $373 and the link to UA doesn't work. You can also go DEN-EWR-HKG-HGH for more miles.
Thanks, I'd considered that. But, as you saw, the link to UA doesn't appear to work, As best as I can determine, this happens whenever I include DEN in the return itinerary. An OTA that lets you enter flight numbers would be very useful, if for no other reason than to confirm that the fare doesn't really exist.
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 12:56 am
  #644  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: BOS/SIN
Programs: DL PM, OZ Diamond Plus, BA Silver
Posts: 1,803
Originally Posted by nobodyherebutme
Thanks, I'd considered that. But, as you saw, the link to UA doesn't appear to work, As best as I can determine, this happens whenever I include DEN in the return itinerary. An OTA that lets you enter flight numbers would be very useful, if for no other reason than to confirm that the fare doesn't really exist.
Let's try this again: the link to UA on google flights doesn't work, but it's bookable directly on UA.com if you search multi-city DEN-HGH, HGH-SFO, SFO-DEN, DEN-ORD, ORD-YYZ for $359.41.
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Old Jan 3, 2018, 7:33 am
  #645  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORF, RIC
Programs: UA LT 1K, 3 MM; Marriott Titanium; IHG Platinum
Posts: 6,952
I encountered a similar problem even MCT at HKG (or anywhere else) was not violated, Here is an example: https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...QB0AC8912;eo=e
When I searched this deal via HNL and GUM, this error occurred. For example, https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...YYZ0UA228;eo=e
Any suggestion is appreciated in both instances. Perhaps, the solution may be the same.
Kmxu is offline  


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