Rachel Neff

Hello,

I booked rewards travel for my honeymoon trip to Thailand. I had done research before hand that indicated even if I flew through China, no visa would be needed because I was transiting. However when I booked the trip through United, it indicated that I would need a Passport and Visa. So has anyone completed a similar trip, is United likely to deny boarding if I don't have a Visa?

Second question, my connecting flight in PEK is Thai Airways, will I get a boarding pass for that flight when I check in for my flight in CLT? I've traveled internationally and switched carriers before and it seems to vary. Sometimes I get a all my tickets at check-in and sometimes I need to stop by the Customer desk of the second airline upon arrival and get a boarding pass. I'm not sure I can clear customs without an appropriate boarding pass.

Anyone who has completed similar trips who can advise would be appreciated.

jsloan

Welcome to FlyerTalk, and congratulations in advance. Sounds like a great trip!

You should print out all of the relevant information before departure, including your entire itinerary, as well as the results for a Chinese transit from this page, which is United's gateway into the common system the airlines use to determine travel documentation (known as TIMATIC). Be sure to specify that your destination is Thailand and that China is a transit point, not a destination. Then, if anyone asks about a Chinese visa, point out that it's not necessary for a transit passenger (assuming you and your fiancé are traveling on a qualifying passport, including US).

I have always gotten boarding passes for all segments at check-in when flying United and Thai, but, if you can't, there's a transfer desk at PEK before you go through your document / security check. By carrying a printed itinerary to go along with everything else, you'll have something to show if you're not able to get your boarding pass, because you're right -- you should expect to be asked about it at least once.

How long is your layover at PEK? Chinese airports are notorious for delays, as the military can close airspace at any time.

FYI: You will go through customs and immigration at BKK; just follow the signs for Phuket connecting passengers.

Have a great trip!

golferjoe

Boarding passes, probably, if booked on one PNR. If not, you can go to Transit Desk or counter, which will be clearly marked for missing BPs. It is not a problem. It likely will be before you get to the main part of the terminal, and before any of the below-mentioned checkpoints.

United knows that no visa is necessary when transiting PEK.

However, have patience as you will go through at least 3 security checkpoints where they will review or stamp your passport. I found the English spoken by the security and transit desk folks to be surprisingly good.

In the Thailand travel section of FT there is good info on Phuket.

Kacee

Very solid advice. Just a minor correction, OP will go through immigration at BKK, but customs at HKT. Just follow the signs at BKK for HKT passengers. There's an excellent thread in the TG forum, which includes a pic of the signs at BKK: MUC-BKK-HKT Immigration

jsloan

Thanks for the correction. That's what I remembered as well -- but the relevant page on the BKK site said otherwise (Step 3: Undergo the Customs inspection to declare your belongings).

Edit: http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com/e...-boarding-pass is the relevant page. I paste that here because I just realized how difficult it is to distinguish between links and text on the new site design (maybe it's just me, or maybe it's just visited links, but either way

Rachel Neff

My connection time in PEK is 2 hours on the way their and 2.5 hours on the way. Which was the longest connection I could find on the Rewards flights options.

Rachel Neff

Also thanks to everyone for the quick feedback. I almost freaked out when I saw the United listing out visa requirements.

Kacee

It's generic and often wrong.

For example, they'll tell me I need a visa for Hong Kong, which is simply not true.

Classic Thai confusion You definitely stay airside and go nowhere near your bags at BKK.

I hope they're going to fix the way links are being displayed.

EWR764

At EWR they will do a visa check, but I've never had any issues explaining to the agent that I am in transit without a visa. A printout of the TWOV guidelines and onward itinerary is helpful, but you won't have a problem.

StuckinITH

At EWR there should be no problem since the agents there are used to seeing many passengers transiting through PEK. The problem is at CLT where the agents see less passengers transiting through PEK or other airports in China. But with the recommendations given above to have a printout of the TIMATIC and of the whole itinerary, the OP should not have problems.

jsloan

No problem. FYI, US citizens are eligible for a 10-year multiple-entry Chinese visa, although applications must be done in person (you can use a visa service if you don't have convenient access to the embassy or consulate). It's not a bad idea to get one if you anticipate traveling to or through China after this one trip, or even if you have to spend the night in Beijing due to a missed connection.* It definitely isn't a requirement, though.

Those connection times are reasonable if everything is on time. Your connection will be entirely within Terminal 3, which keeps things as simple as possible. You won't have a ton of extra time for shopping or lounge-hopping, though. The lines for transfer security can be pretty long. If there is an airspace closure or other issue, UA (as the late-delivering carrier) is responsible for getting you to HKT.

Thanks. It's good to know my memory hasn't departed me completely. :-)

* Note, though -- a visa is not required at PEK, even if you end up having to spend the night. What you would need in that case is a hotel confirmation and a boarding pass / itinerary printout for the next day, and then you'd need to go through the Transit Without Visa lanes and show that information to the immigration officer. You'll be stamped for a limited-validity entry -- basically, it'll give you the right to go to the hotel and around the greater Beijing area, and then get back on your connecting flight. Basically, don't freak out, but if you think you might go back in that direction, a visa could simplify things for you. But I'm guessing you have a lot of other things to plan between now and then.

Rachel Neff

Yeah I'm definitely more worried about the conversation at check-in in CLT. I probably should have specified the check-in agent. I guess I'll just print out all the documentation as others have stated and make sure that we have plenty of time.

Kacee

I wouldn't worry about it. You're on a single ticket and Timatic will show that you don't need a visa. Never a bad idea to bring a print-out with you, but I'd be really surprised if there's any issue.

jbeckett

I transited through PVG once - SNA-SFO-PVG-HKG. The gate agent in SFO carefully checked my itinerary when she saw that my passport did not have a China visa, but there was no problem. If you are not on one ticket, make sure to have a printout of your flight itinerary at hand.

tryathlete

it’s apparently a bit more complicated in PEK than PVG, but you have no need for a visanif you’re transiting. You will need to look for signs that dir ct arriving passengers who are transiting so as not to go through normal customs lines. You’ll probably get your boarding passes for Thai in PEK.