There is a $635 fare to Shanghai for the Lunar New Year. Combine that fare and the allowed stopovers (with the step by step instructions from our last The Stopover post from San Francisco) we were able to price out:
- 3 days in Hong Kong
- 10 days in Shanghai
- 3 days in Tokyo
for $669.
If you can make our dates work, enjoy. This is an inexpensive way to visit 3 countries for little more than just visiting Shanghai. Please use the step by step instructions The Stopover post to search and buy this.
Sailing in Hong Kong – Photo: Prachanart Viriyaraks via Flickr, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)
Sample Travel Dates:
- February 17th: San Francisco – Hong Kong
- February 21st: Hong Kong – Shanghai
- March 2nd: Shanghai to Hong Kong
Basic – Shanghai Fare Rule:
Before we get started, let’s have the basic fare rule for the Shanghai fare:
- Valid for travel on the outbound between February 17th – 19th. Two stopovers are permitted for $100 each. One per direction, none in Guam. There is also a $685 fare for travel most of February. Using that fare, with the stopovers, it will price in the mid-$700s.
How to Search for Availability:
- Please read our step by step instructions from our last The Stopover post
Fare Class:
- United: K
- All Nippon Airways: K
- Cathay Pacific / Dragonair: S
Elite Qualifying Dollars:
- $551.01
Routing:
- SFO – HKG (Hong Kong) – PVG (Shanghai) – NRT (Tokyo) – SFO. Segments within Asia can be operated by Dragonair, Air China, Cathay Pacific, or All Nippon Airways
Mileage:
United will be revenue based mileage earning starting March 1st, 2015. Miles will be earn base on elite qualifying dollars multiple by 5 as base level earning and up to 11 for 1K level members. We will be showing the 2015 base mileage earning for all United fares going forward to show how negative the changes are for a majority of United flyers.
- 2014: 13,948 miles or 4.8 cents per mile. When crediting to United, you will earn 12,609 miles or 5.3 cents per mile (elite qualifying) — less redeemable miles if you return after March 1st. The Dragonair/Cathay segment can be credited to Cathay Pacific or British Airways at 25% or 191 miles.
- March 1st, 2015: 2,755 miles or a difference of 9,854 miles.
How to Book:
- Please read our step by step instructions from our last The Stopover post
Accommodations
- TripAdvisor - One of the leading hotel meta-search engines. Find the lowest hotel prices from 200+ sites.
Car Rentals
- Rental Cars - One of the world’s leading car rental agencies. Includes all the major brands like Hertz, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise etc.
Activities and Tours
- Viator – The world's largest marketplace for destination activities and tours
Background Information:
China:
- Visa: US Citizens – required prior to arrival. $140. Other nationals, check the TIMATIC Visa Database
- Currency: Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY) – $1USD = 6.08 CNY
- How to Visit Shanghai or Beijing for Up to 72 Hours without a Visa
Hong Kong:
- Visa: US Citizens – Not required. Other nationals, check the TIMATIC Visa Database
- Currency: Hong Kong Dollar (HKD). $1USD = 7.8 HKD
Japan:
- Visa: US Citizens – Not required. Other nationals, check the TIMATIC Visa Database
- Currency: Japanese Yen (JYP) $1USD = 119.94 JPY
Tips for saving when using credit cards at international destinations:
- No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards to save on international purchases
- Don’t get hit with Dynamic Currency Conversion
- Get your taxes refunded when shopping
- How to Avoid International Data Roaming Charges
For more of the latest cheap San Francisco / Bay Area Flight Deals:
* The Flight Deal will receive a commission if you use the accommodation or car rental affiliate links to make a booking or apply and is approved for a credit card using our link above. Thank you for your continuing support.
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Three Countries? Are you counting the USA as one? Because Hong Kong and Shanghai are in the same country…
@Eric – While Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. It has its own immigration and customs — Hong Kong does not require a visa for US passport holders. China does. For all intend and purposes, its a separate country. It also has a different legal system than China. They also hold different passports than Chinese citizens.
Regardless of whether or not it functions like a different country, it still is part of China. The Chinese military is responsible for it’s defense and has a garrison there, the Basic Law only guarantees the status quo for 50 years, and then there’s the saying “One Country, two systems.” Key phrase there being one country.
I realize that it is a very distinct and different part of China, as is Macau, but that doesn’t make them their own countries. Further, the entire point of the protests in Hong Kong is that Hong Kong wants more autonomy and wants to be able to elect any cadidates they want. However, China is not allowing that to happen. If Hong Kong were its own country, they would not have to protest again Beijing insisting that they approve of candidates.
What about Taiwan? Should The Flight Deal consider that part of China as well Eric when they post deals like this?
Murkier… but at least Taiwan is sovereign, has a military of its own, and considers itself to be separate, whereas Hong Kong does not consider itself to be sovereign. It doesn’t really matter, as the deals are good either way. But Hong Kong is pretty clearly part of the country of China, even if it operates independently for the most part.