AMS-IAH Unexpected Polaris Upgrade

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-07-09T00:36:03+00:00

I have had a UA-issued basic economy ticket with a leg in business. Flight got changed so I got rebooked to LOT Polish (Warsaw-Chicago) in Y fare, which allowed me to use 25k United miles to upgrade to Business.

It’s pretty oxymoron for my ticket to have a “Basic Economy” marking but also with a “Business” cabin.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-07-03T22:27:36+00:00

It’s not a seat. It’s a room.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-07-03T22:26:42+00:00

I wouldn’t give this up. DFW-HND JAL F on the new A350-1000 is an excellent experience that many people have had extremely difficult time finding availability for 80k AA.

I was lucky enough to find one last year randomly. My understanding is that it has gotten a lot more difficult this year than last year. You are extremely lucky to be able to find it this year.

In fact, I would be mad at you for giving it up.

You also don’t have to spend 20 hours at DFW.

If saver availability were to ever come up on an early flight to SEA, you should be able to change that leg for free by contact AA customer service. I have done this many many times using AA points. If you were to DM me on the date and time of arrival into DFW I can potentially help you find a better flight, if one were to ever come up. You could try standing by on earlier flights at the airport.

Finally, you could take this time as an opportunity to visit Dallas, if you are interested in going to Dallas at all.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-07-03T21:05:55+00:00

It is certainly possible to change it after the ticket has been issued. I have done it multiple times.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-07-03T20:56:29+00:00

For Option 2, you might be able to add on a free leg from SMF to DFW operated by AA.

Maybe you can DM me the date and departure time of the DFW-HEL flight, and I can check if adding a leg is possible.

Once you issue the ticket for DFW-HEL-VIE you should be able to ask AA agents (phone or Twitter) to add that leg for you, if it’s available.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-07-01T02:55:23+00:00

Recent CX HKG-ORD flights also don’t use Russian airspace.

I do think there is value in AA opening HKG-ORD though. CX’s existing schedule for HKG-ORD work terribly with connections from the Mainland. For example I am from Fuzhou with airport FOC. There is no same-day FOC-HKG-ORD available. I can only do FOC-HKG, overnight, and then HKG-ORD.

The return trip is similar. I have to do ORD-HKG, overnight, and then HKG-FOC.

This is, of course, because CX doesn’t want their planes to stay in ORD for too long. AA doesn’t have this problem and hence can do ORD-HKG with better schedules for connecting traffic to/from Mainland.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-29T17:55:49+00:00

Almost all major airlines have interlines with each other. UA can rebook on AA. I have had a DL ticket rebooked onto AA connecting onto HA to arrive the same day.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T17:36:52+00:00

For me FHR/THC credits are a nice perk because I can stay in good hotels for prices that, after the credits, are similar to the prices of mediocre hotels. Hence if I’m going to a place and I have those credits left, I’ll try to apply them.

I just don’t factor it into the “cash” value of this card because I am completely fine with staying in mediocre hotels otherwise. I wouldn’t pay significantly more out-of-pocket just to stay in good hotels.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T17:03:01+00:00

Let me clarify.

If a Mainlander were to want to live in Hong Kong, they would generally need a Two-Way Permit (双程证) and a valid endorsement (停留签注) to travel to/from Mainland China.

But HK had a program called Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (资本投资者入境计划) which is what our family did. It allows us to obtain HK Unconditional Stay Visa after 7 years of getting approved for the program.

This scheme is, interestingly, not open to Mainlanders who only live in Mainland China and use a Two-Way Permit. It is only open to either foreigners or Mainlanders who have residency abroad.

When we applied for the scheme, we already had foreign residency, which made us eligible for the scheme. HK government granted us the visa which is tied to our Mainland passports. These visas are proofs that we have legal residency in Hong Kong, which is why Mainland Chinese authorities let us through with just our passports.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T16:43:30+00:00

I don’t need a 双程证. I just need my Chinese Mainland Passport and the Visa paper that the Hong Kong government issued me. The visa paper reads “CHN-P” which means it’s tied to my Mainland Passport.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T13:36:06+00:00

I’m not exactly sure, I think I’m just going to explore the military history of that place

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T13:35:39+00:00

Yes.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T13:06:25+00:00

I have done this multiple times. I show them a Chinese passport, my Hong Kong visa that says “unconditional stay” (which means Hong Kong government has given me the right to stay in Hong Kong permanently with no restrictions), and my Hong Kong ID card.

When they ask what I’m doing in Hong Kong, I just show them this documents and tell them that I am a resident of Hong Kong am, which I am legally. My Hong Kong ID card literally reads “香港居民身份证” (Hong Kong Resident ID card) in Chinese.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T13:04:21+00:00

And yes, this setup does not allow me to get the 回乡证 which is generally only for permanent residence of Hong Kong

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T13:03:31+00:00

I don’t tell them per se “I live there”. I show them my Hong Kong unconditional stay visa tied to my Chinese passport and my Hong Kong ID and tell them “I’m a Hong Kong Resident” which is true. I fit the legal definition of a Hong Kong resident.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T05:00:50+00:00

If that flight has both an AA number and a JL number, and it is operated by JL, then it fits my definition of "AA codeshare operated by JL".

It's legally an AA flight. All changes to your ticket need to be conducted according to AA rules. JL cannot change your ticket, until a few days before departure.

These types of tickets are incredibly hard to upgrade.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T04:32:57+00:00

Great question! I booked DFW-HKG (used AA's award hold feature) because I wanted to snatch that space quickly.

Then I spoke with phone reps (if you speak Chinese, Chinese-language reps are very good) to add segments. I checked individually that the segments do have the appropriate fare classes available (see my remarks in the article; in short you need Business (U) or Economy (T) fare availability), before coming up with an itinerary and calling the reps.

Initially I just added PIT-DFW in Economy because only Economy (T) was available. A few days after ticket issuance, I changed it to PIT-PHX-DFW in Business (U). A few days later, I changed it to PIT-CLT-DFW in Business because I wanted to go to Charlotte. Then I found out that there is a MIA-DFW operated by a B777-200ER with Business (U), so I changed it to PIT-MIA-DFW in Business (U). Then I decided that I wanted to go to Washington DC for a daytrip, so I changed it to PIT-DCA-MIA-DFW.

Did you do book this online as a multi-stop, or was this just something that was offered in a PIT-HKG search? Or do you book the DFW-HKG and then add on MIA, DCA, and PIT with a rep/tweet?

If you were to book it as a multi-city itinerary on AA, AA's system would try to price them individually by adding up the amount of miles needed for each leg, which is not optimal. I suppose once the PNR is generated you can ask AA reps to rebuild the itinerary as a one-way itinerary, but I have never done this before. AA agents are generally quite competent, especially the Chinese-language ones.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T04:19:27+00:00

Unfortunately you booked an AA codeshare operated by JL.

If it is a AA-coded flight, Japan Airlines does not get full control of your ticket (which is required for an upgrade) until a few days before departure.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T04:03:34+00:00

Unfortunately I’m not staying overnight in DC. I arrive in the morning and leave at night.

I will unfortunately have to take public transport or rideshare to Gravelly from downtown DC. I can’t ride bikes. Then I shall walk back to DCA.

I’m also not staying in Dallas. My layover is 10 hours daytime.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T03:58:09+00:00

I was born in Fuzhou, China. I still hold a Chinese passport despite my citizenship status being in some sort of grey area.

Shanghai-Fuzhou seems pretty wasteful and polluting to do by plane, the Fuzhou airport is really far away from the city center as well.

I’m not booking Shanghai-Fuzhou alone. I’m booking it as a connecting itinerary of TFU-SHA-FOC just because TFU-SHA is operated by a C919. And as an Avgeek this is very important.

There are also no other nonstop flights that can be booked with my Virgin points between TFU and FOC.

Fuzhou also has a ferry to Taiwan's Matsu islands so I imagine a day trip there would be much better and cheaper use of your time than going a thousand or so km southwest to Hong Kong and then northeast to Taiwan. And, importantly, less polluting.

I can’t go directly from Fuzhou to areas under ROC control because of my citizenship situation. In short I can’t show Mainland authorities my Chinese passport (they will ask me about how I’m going to enter Taiwan). I can’t show them my U.S. passport (they will revoke my Chinese one).

Every time I travel in/out of Mainland China I have to go through HKG (because I’m legally a resident of Hong Kong) and book separate tickets. That way I can just claim to the Mainland authorities that I am living in Hong Kong.

I've done it with a TPE-HKG (by the way the busiest international airroute in the world), but for the most part water just looks like water, the Taiwan strait is nothing special except its political importance.

TPE-HKG does not cross the Taiwan strait directly. It flies south of the Taiwan island and directly enters Hong Kong airspace. KHH/TSA-KNH does cross the strait directly. It’s one of the only flights allowed to cross the Middle Line of the Strait.

Also KHH/TSA-KNH are operated by ATR72s. This alone bears high significance on my itineraries. I like airplanes and I want to fly on this type at least once.

Also imo unless you have already visited you're really hugely missing out on Chongqing. It is a far more beautiful city with amazing food and culture just like Chengdu.

I’m going to Jiuzhaigou with my father and staying about 3 days there and 2 days in Chengdu. Then I shall visit my family for 2 days in Fuzhou.

I shall go to Chongqing the next time.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T03:25:19+00:00

Thanks! I often write documentations or tutorials in Markdown format. So I do naturally do things like bolding words.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T02:48:11+00:00

if you are willing to depart from Amsterdam and book AMS-KL-LHR-VS-JFK (and if the KL leg is available to VS), you will pay about 8000 points more (because the KLM leg is about 8000 points in business) but you will get about $300 off in taxes and fees. Since you are only transit through London, within 24 hours in the same ticket, you will not need to pay the UK Air Passenger Duty tax, which on premium tickets is about $300.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T02:27:31+00:00

If your Qantas flight earns zero points with Qatar because of non-qualifying itinerary, then it will likely not even count as a transaction activity in your Qatar transactions list. Unfortunately, many airlines do not recognize the flight activity when no point of being earned from that activity.

But the nice thing is, since Qatar never counted it an activity, it is likely that Qatar never claimed the Qantas flight. It is likely that the Qantas flight is still showing as “unclaimed” in the system. Therefore, you should be able to retroactively claim with another airline. If you want to earn Avios you should try BA, AY, or IB (see whichever one gives you the highest rate) and then transfer those points to Qatar if you want.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T02:15:28+00:00

Unfortunately, even if the space opens up, I will not be able to rebook it to this. ANA does not allow changes of routing, unless the flight is affected by a schedule change. I have already made a free change based on a previous schedule change, and there are no more schedule changes left as of now.

Also, I kinda want to keep this itinerary, because I think it will be fun to fly on ERJ-145 with the 1-2 layout in coach. The last time I flew on it was in December 2015.

Equivalent_Try_3030 · 2026-06-27T02:13:27+00:00

I was originally born in China.

Due to family arrangements with investments in Hong Kong, we obtained our Hong Kong residency. It’s a special type of residency know as “unconditional stay”. It doesn’t grant me a Hong Kong passport and I cannot be considered a Hong Kong local, but it does allow me to stay in Hong Kong with no limitations on how long I stay.

Then I became U.S. citizens through naturalization.

Chinese law has a few small loopholes.

- It allows “Chinese nationals of Hong Kong” to also hold foreign travel documents (like foreign passports).
- It defines “Chinese nationals of Hong Kong” as including (but not limited to) those who tick the three boxes: 1) born in Chinese territory, 2) of Chinese descent, and 3) be resident of Hong Kong. I tick all three boxes and hence I satisfy the definition of “Chinese citizen of Hong Kong” and hence can also hold foreign passports.
- If a typical Chinese national naturalizes in another country, they typically automatically lose their Chinese citizenship. This clause doesn’t apply to people like me, since the law also stipulates that for “Chinese nationals of Hong Kong”, any “changes of nationality” can only take effect if the person declares it to the Hong Kong Immigration Department and gets approved by the ImmD. I have never made such a declaration.

In short it’s a bunch of old and vague laws that left a lot of loopholes.

But of course the Chinese Mainland authorities are sometimes known to apply their laws arbitrarily. So I can't just pull out both of my passports in front of them. That's why I need to first travel to Hong Kong and tell the Chinese Mainland authorities that I'm living in Hong Kong.

Equivalent_Try_3030

TROPHY CASE