Student fares & Asia Travel...1st intl trip
Mar 31, 2005, 11:02 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: east coast USA
Programs: Skyteam/Delta Silver Medallion, Starwood Gold Preferred
Posts: 403
Student fares & Asia Travel...1st intl trip
Hello,
This summer will be my first time flying outside of the USA. (Yes, I know y'all are gonna laugh at me, but I'll take it)
I'll be going from MCO to HKG, then returning HKG to MCO in a couple of weeks, all in July. I'll probably travel up the east coast of China from HKG and then fly Beijing-HKG to get back to Hong Kong.
Are there any student fares for college students or under-18 but over 12 year old people?
The best fare I could find was on Delta/Korean Air via ATL and ICN for $1200 at Delta.com, called Delta and they couldn't give me any lower fares. Should I go for the Korean connection or pay $1600 to go on CO via EWR or UA via ORD, or even NW via MSP & NRT? Any experiences? I have Silver on DL so would prefer Skyteam but not that important.
Finally, is there anything different about international flights that I should know other than bring a visa & passport? Any precautions or advice for China & Hong Kong travels (money, health, etc)? And a 24-hr transit (incl connections) doesn't sound fun at all...how do you experts survive?
This summer will be my first time flying outside of the USA. (Yes, I know y'all are gonna laugh at me, but I'll take it)
I'll be going from MCO to HKG, then returning HKG to MCO in a couple of weeks, all in July. I'll probably travel up the east coast of China from HKG and then fly Beijing-HKG to get back to Hong Kong.
Are there any student fares for college students or under-18 but over 12 year old people?
The best fare I could find was on Delta/Korean Air via ATL and ICN for $1200 at Delta.com, called Delta and they couldn't give me any lower fares. Should I go for the Korean connection or pay $1600 to go on CO via EWR or UA via ORD, or even NW via MSP & NRT? Any experiences? I have Silver on DL so would prefer Skyteam but not that important.
Finally, is there anything different about international flights that I should know other than bring a visa & passport? Any precautions or advice for China & Hong Kong travels (money, health, etc)? And a 24-hr transit (incl connections) doesn't sound fun at all...how do you experts survive?
Mar 31, 2005, 12:26 pm
#2
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, NY, USA
Programs: SPG GL, AA GL
Posts: 2,591
Try looking into All-Asia pass. Cathay Pacific has one http://www.cathay-usa.com/offers/aap/subdefault.asp
And maybe check out other airlines like China Airline, or Asiana which should be cheaper. Check out consolidators too (check your newspaper, or NYTimes Travel section). They will be cheap, but may not get you miles.
HK is a great city to visit. You don't need any other special stuff as long as you have a passport & visa. It's a very clean modern city, just like New York. Same in China, but if you're going to smaller town / villages, be alert. Make sure you ask for the price before you hop on cabs, e.g. All in all, you shouldn't have a problem.
The 24 hour transit is not fun. Pick your seat in advanced if possible. Sit in the asile so you can walk around. And bring facial moisturizer and drink plenty of water. Enjoy, you'll enjoy the trip, and the food.
And maybe check out other airlines like China Airline, or Asiana which should be cheaper. Check out consolidators too (check your newspaper, or NYTimes Travel section). They will be cheap, but may not get you miles.
HK is a great city to visit. You don't need any other special stuff as long as you have a passport & visa. It's a very clean modern city, just like New York. Same in China, but if you're going to smaller town / villages, be alert. Make sure you ask for the price before you hop on cabs, e.g. All in all, you shouldn't have a problem.
The 24 hour transit is not fun. Pick your seat in advanced if possible. Sit in the asile so you can walk around. And bring facial moisturizer and drink plenty of water. Enjoy, you'll enjoy the trip, and the food.
Mar 31, 2005, 12:33 pm
#3
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: Starwood Gold, USAir CP
Posts: 112
When I was in grad school I always found that STA Travel could get me really cheap student fares. (www.statravel.com). You won't be able to price anything complex from their website but call the nearest branch and ask them, and they might surprise you with something good. You'll need to buy a student travel card ($25) to get the student fares, but it gets you discounts on a bunch of other stuff too I think.
Mar 31, 2005, 12:50 pm
#4
Suspended
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Location: Half the World & More and then some.
Programs: BA, SQ, AA, QF, CX, VS
Posts: 1,202
Originally Posted by adamak
Try looking into All-Asia pass. Cathay Pacific has one http://www.cathay-usa.com/offers/aap/subdefault.asp
And maybe check out other airlines like China Airline, or Asiana which should be cheaper. Check out consolidators too (check your newspaper, or NYTimes Travel section). They will be cheap, but may not get you miles.
..
And maybe check out other airlines like China Airline, or Asiana which should be cheaper. Check out consolidators too (check your newspaper, or NYTimes Travel section). They will be cheap, but may not get you miles.
..
Best bet for you to try getting expert advise on travelling to and from The People's Republic of China is China Travel Service.
http://www.chinatravelservice.com/
They can help you with airfares, and the visa as well.
There aren't any 'student' fares to Asia.. these fares still exist to Europe, but asian fares are so cheap anyway.
Mar 31, 2005, 5:50 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: HKG
Programs: Priority Club Plat
Posts: 12,311
U.S - Hong Kong fares are usually around $800. July might be slightly higher, but it's not peak. You should not have to spend more than $1,000 for a flight, except during Christmas holiday.
Right now, it's still a little early to book as most airlines won't put the cheap fare classes into the reservation system. Wait a little. Or try a travel agent in your area that specializes in Asian travel - they can get tickets from various consolidators for about $800.
The Cathay All-Asia Pass doesn't fit your need. July travel means an extra $350; Beijing isn't included, and Shanghai requires $400 extra.
Just buy a cheap roundtrip fare to Hong Kong, and purchase the rest of your trip in Hong Kong or after you get into China. You don't need a visa for HK, but need one for China. Don't apply too early as it's only valid for 90 days.
Right now, it's still a little early to book as most airlines won't put the cheap fare classes into the reservation system. Wait a little. Or try a travel agent in your area that specializes in Asian travel - they can get tickets from various consolidators for about $800.
The Cathay All-Asia Pass doesn't fit your need. July travel means an extra $350; Beijing isn't included, and Shanghai requires $400 extra.
Just buy a cheap roundtrip fare to Hong Kong, and purchase the rest of your trip in Hong Kong or after you get into China. You don't need a visa for HK, but need one for China. Don't apply too early as it's only valid for 90 days.
Apr 1, 2005, 3:33 am
#7
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,031
building on rkkwan's insights, let me chime in with my own thoughts.
coming from mco, you'll most certainly find the best deals on aa and nw because they can get you all the way on their own metal.
but, you should not book through them; you should use a travel agent. some of the most competitive are based in ny city; just jump on google and pinpoint those in chinese communities. call at least 3 (preferably 5). i would budget $800-900, provided your dates are somewhat flexible.
do an open jaw (e.g. into hk, out of pek). neither nw nor ua charge a premium for this in most cases. the advantage of the open jaw is that you won't have to throw down an extra $250 to get back to hk. secondarily, pek is much closer to ord than hkg is.
if you have to go back to hk, definitely fly to shenzhen instead; you'll save at least $100.
those asia passes are worthless with respect to china.
intra-china flights are pretty cheap in general (less so during the summer); don't even think about booking them stateside.
ps- your student status won't help you much. while agencies like council and sta cater to students, many bucket shops (that serve the rest of us, as well as students) blow them away.
coming from mco, you'll most certainly find the best deals on aa and nw because they can get you all the way on their own metal.
but, you should not book through them; you should use a travel agent. some of the most competitive are based in ny city; just jump on google and pinpoint those in chinese communities. call at least 3 (preferably 5). i would budget $800-900, provided your dates are somewhat flexible.
do an open jaw (e.g. into hk, out of pek). neither nw nor ua charge a premium for this in most cases. the advantage of the open jaw is that you won't have to throw down an extra $250 to get back to hk. secondarily, pek is much closer to ord than hkg is.
if you have to go back to hk, definitely fly to shenzhen instead; you'll save at least $100.
those asia passes are worthless with respect to china.
intra-china flights are pretty cheap in general (less so during the summer); don't even think about booking them stateside.
ps- your student status won't help you much. while agencies like council and sta cater to students, many bucket shops (that serve the rest of us, as well as students) blow them away.
Last edited by moondog; Apr 1, 2005 at 4:48 am
Apr 1, 2005, 5:08 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: HKG
Programs: Priority Club Plat
Posts: 12,311
UA, NW and CO all can bring you to Hong Kong and Beijing on their own metal. [CO starts PEK service 6/15.] NW and UA also has service to Shanghai (PVG). UA and CO can bring you to Hong Kong or China with one-stop (via Chicago or Newark respectively), while NW means two stops (MSP/DTW, plus Tokyo).
In general, NW usually has the lowest fares, because of that extra stop. UA has the most service to China and Hong Kong. [At least 3 daily flights to HKG, and two each to Beijing and Shanghai.] Their prices are also very competitve, and many travel agents can get good fares on them.
In general, NW usually has the lowest fares, because of that extra stop. UA has the most service to China and Hong Kong. [At least 3 daily flights to HKG, and two each to Beijing and Shanghai.] Their prices are also very competitve, and many travel agents can get good fares on them.
Apr 1, 2005, 10:33 pm
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: PHL (and sometimes BKK)
Programs: aa/ua gold; mar titanium. SPG till I die.
Posts: 15,648
I agree with the bucketshops but also don't discount STA. I went to Shanghai over spring break and spent $725 from SAN which is a real expensive place to fly out of internationally (same price from LAX, cheapest I found, even checking travel agents). Plus i got all the miles. Went to HKG on a ticket through them as well for $600 right for NYE so I got a steal there IMO.
Go with moondog's suggestion about flying from HKG/Shenzhen to Beijing, Can buy the tix in HKG for Shenzhen flights and they're usually 30-50% cheaper.
HKG will be RAGING hot though... just a thought.
I may also be going there, not sure, may also do what you're doing and loop through beijing but not sure, my parents want to go to cancun.. again
ohh btw, no one should be laughing at you.. we all had to get our passport cherries popped at some point.
Go with moondog's suggestion about flying from HKG/Shenzhen to Beijing, Can buy the tix in HKG for Shenzhen flights and they're usually 30-50% cheaper.
HKG will be RAGING hot though... just a thought.
I may also be going there, not sure, may also do what you're doing and loop through beijing but not sure, my parents want to go to cancun.. again
ohh btw, no one should be laughing at you.. we all had to get our passport cherries popped at some point.
Last edited by civicmon; Apr 1, 2005 at 10:35 pm
Apr 2, 2005, 1:17 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: east coast USA
Programs: Skyteam/Delta Silver Medallion, Starwood Gold Preferred
Posts: 403
wow thanks alot for all your help...i'll let you know once travel plans materialize but i think i'll wait a few more weeks before booking 
^
^
Apr 2, 2005, 2:00 pm
#12
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: NWA, UA Silver. Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,395
student travel
From one student traveler to another, check out www.studentuniverse.com you have to register with their site and have your school send a official letter stating you are a student. i went grb-lgw and it cost 412.00 all in. they have decent prices and specials every now and then. check it out. also get your student id card. it will cost about 22 bucks, but its the official student id and will be able to use it at many places that give students a discount.
mitch
mitch
Apr 4, 2005, 9:38 am
#13
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Beacon Falls, CT, USA
Posts: 1,609
I've used both www.statravel.com and www.studentuniverse.com in the past. Not only do they offer cheap cheap student air travel (I believe you need a .edu email for one of them) but their change and cancellation fees are usually VERY low...
Have a blast!
Have a blast!