TheSinister

Thanks for the update. I still booked a ticket at $664USD @ 3.6cpm. Still happy!

AJollyLife

I have an overnight stay tonight in HK (land at 11pm, fly out at 11:50 AM). I'll report back!

amiras

I'm on the same flights with you...also trying for C

Shareholder

AA is actually losing money on any Plat/ExecPlat doing this fare considering the average RDMs earned will be about 45K. At US1¢ per mile, it's doing a paper transfer to AAdvantage of at least U$450, which leaves next to nothing to cover the airport and other fees associated with the ticket.

As for hotels at YYZ, just about every program brand is available in the budget range. 4Pts is a good C&P option for SPG members. (There's also a Sheraton Gateway attached to the AA terminal, not to be confused with the other Sheraton down the road, though both are pricey.) There's both a Hilton and a Garden Inn for Hilton folks. Several Holiday Inn/Crowne Plaza variants, and the Indigo often appears as a 5K Point Break. Marriott has both a main brand and Courtyard property. Worst part of the fare is the 6:30a flight to DFW. Remember you clear US Immigration/Customs at YYZ-T3 and there are GE kiosks and priority security lanes.

CruisingAltitude47

Haha, well I'm glad it's just us (so far) then! Last time we did the same run there were lions and giraffes to see before the return flight. Wonder what we can find this time around....

blueslip

Does anyone know if YYZ has areas to kill time from 12MN to 6AM at or near the airport?

Burj

I know that terminal 3 at YYZ has excellent internet so it is very easy to get a lot of work done between midnight and 6 am (assuming you bring your own laptop/device).

There are also plenty of other people/security around.

I've done this and found seating in/around the empty restaurants where I was able to plug in my laptop and get a lot of work done waiting for my morning flight.

Keep in mind if you are flying to the U.S. that in the morning there are A LOT of flights and you have to go through U.S. pre-clearance (customs and passport control)....so I encourage you to get their early ESPECIALLY if you don't have Global Entry/Nexus.

Preclearance doesn't open until 4:30 am but by the time it does there is usually ALREADY a long line!

blueslip

Thanks for the info. I do have Global Entry.

mster

One variation on this (now slightly higher) fare that I'm considering is YYZ-ORD-PVG-HKG-DFW-YYZ.

If one kept their stopover in Shanghai under 72 hours would this safely qualify for a 72 hour transit visa? Even if you only spend an hour or two in your final destination of Hong Kong?

GaryZ

I've considered this scenario also, but think it might be too "hardcore" for us older guys

Does anyone know if nearby YYZ hotels have 1/2 day rates? For much of Asia it's usually possible to get 8/12 hr. rates, although I realize in NA it's not so common.

Burj

My understanding when I've researched this before is that HKG does count as "not China" as far as this visa is concerned and since HKG != ORD your routing (ORD->PVG short stay->HKG) should be perfectly acceptable!

How much did this routing price out as?

Burj

Since you have Global Entry here is another YYZ tip.....

The way it is setup is that all the airlines have check in desks in a row. Once you have checked in and gotten your boarding pass you walk PAST the check in desk and turn RIGHT and follow a path BEHIND the other check in desks. You keep going right until you pass all the check in desks and then they have a big black "arch way" type thing. It is ONLY here that they split off Global Entry/Nexus from the regular line.

When there is a huge crowd the line can extend back behind the ticket counters. If long, and you are so inclined, you can walk past everyone waiting (unfortunately it will look like you are trying to cut the regular line...) until you get to the archway and then you can go into the MUCH MUCH shorter global entry line.

mster

Seeing options for $677+. It's fewer miles since the outbound goes via Chicago too. Just thought some folks might want to mix it up if they're doing multiple runs / might fancy another trip if they've already positioned to Toronto.

I know that the 72 hour transit visa should *technically* work for YYZ-ORD-PVG-HKG-DFW-YYZ, but I'm curious if anyone can comment on whether a 1-2 hour stopover in HKG could potentially fail the smell test as the 'destination' that you're transiting to.

moondog

HKG is the "destination" in this case, but even if you called it a "stopover", it's still compliant with TWOV.

flytastic

18-Jan-2015 -- 22-Jan-2015, YYZ-DFW-HKG-DFW-YYZ, flytastic flying DFW-ORD-YYZ on 18-JAN, YYZ-DFW 22-JAN using 25,000 miles to position

I have been AA EXP for four years now and will try for another 100,000 miles for a fifth year. The perks are amazing. I have been looking at this fare since it came out checking every day, many times a day for many city pairs.

I realized my priority is not lowest cents per mile. It is what is the probability of my System Wide Upgrade clearing.

So first I checked each flight date going and coming and took screen shots. I checked DFW, LAX, ORD. I checked PVG, HKG, PEK, CGK, SIN, BKK, etc. Then I made a table of 5 out of 37 seats were open, or 11 out of 37 seats were open, etc. I made probability graphs of which would clear and which would not clear. I found the best probability to clear going (Monday the 19th 13 out of 52 open) and best probability to clear coming back (Wednesday the 21st 20 out of 52). Those are the two dates I focused on. Last time I flew HKG-DFW there were 33 people on the upgrade list. Thankfully I got my upgrade three days before departure date.

Then I started the research on ITA matrix. Many combinations. Day in and day out. This is all I have worked on for two weeks now. Never could get $505 as listed here. Saw $550, $588, $610, etc. but the dates and times would not work and required hotel stays, so they are not worth the cheaper fare. Kept getting $642 for 18,608 miles (3.46 cents per mile), $639 on AA.com. Still a very good price. I considered $901 DFW-HKG-KUL 19,456 (4.63 cents per mile) but the added miles wasn't worth the price difference (19,456-18,608 and $901-$642). So you need to take that into consideration as well.

It is not easy to attain AA EXP. It takes a lot of work. You have to like to do research like this. You have to like to fly.

Then I had to figure out how to position myself from DFW (where I live) to YYZ using miles. My second priority was I did not want to pay for a hotel in YYZ going or coming. So I used /minconnect on ITA matrix. So I am able to fly out on Sunday on miles DFW-ORD-YYZ (no non-stops available) in coach, wait for a couple of hours, then fly back in confirmed first YYZ-DFW. Then go home and spend the night in my own bed.

Monday I fly DFW-HKG and hope I clear for an upgrade. I land Tuesday, pay for one night hotel in HKG. Wednesday, fly back HKG-DFW and again hope for an upgrade. If I get the upgrade, then I can take a bath and shower at The Cabanas in The Wing. Land in DFW and go home to my own bed. Thursday, get up and fly DFW-YYZ on last leg of paid ticket. Get on next flight YYZ-DFW on my last leg of miles award ticket. Home in own bed again Thursday night.

18,620 miles for $650.10 plus $58 award ticket plus ~$100 for HKG hotel, transportation, meals.