To paraphrase an old saying, when the going gets cheap, the savvy get going. Right now, Business Class fares to Beijing and Shanghai are cheap as we pointed out over the last few months, most recently in our December fare alert. (See screenshot below and alert here.)
For example, Boston-Beijing is only $2,155 round-trip, whereas Boston-Hong Kong non-stop on Cathay Pacific is $7,200, a difference of $5,044 / 70%. You can easily fold Hong Kong—or countless other cities in Asia—into the trip by booking a separate ticket (about 3.5 hours).
Open-Jaw Opportunity
As we recently reported on open jaws, it’s also easy to visit two cities on one ticket and notch a stop like Hong Kong along the way.
For example, Seattle-Beijing costs about $2,600 Business Class, as does Seattle-Shanghai. The fare is valid if you fly to one and depart from the other. Two separate tickets, Shanghai to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to Beijing, costs about $700 to $800 in Business, and $300 in coach, or 55,000 miles using Cathy Pacific (Amex points partner) miles in Business Class and 35,000 miles in coach.
You can also use British Airways miles for the same flights for 35,000 miles in Business Class and 17,500 miles in coach. (But you might also take the bullet train from Shanghai to Beijing and skip the Hong Kong stop in order to see China’s new rail infrastructure firsthand: About five to six hours, at speeds up to 200+ MPH.)
But don’t stop there, because from Beijing or Shanghai you can fly to many other destinations in Asia. Use miles for short intra-Asia flights, for example Shanghai-Tokyo, which costs 30,000 miles using British Airways miles in Business Class.
So, to whet your appetite, here are eight reasons to zero in on Beijing and Shanghai right now.
- Bucket-list sights check-off: The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, in Beijing; the Bund (the original settlement) in Shanghai, Pudong, the new modern section of Shanghai that has arisen in the past 10 years.
- The chance to experience first-hand a society and economy that are changing the world.
- Relatively inexpensive five-star hotels in both cities. Or, max the luxe and stay at the Aman Summer Palace in Beijing and the Mandarin Oriental Pudong in Shanghai.
- Cultural side trips, among them a Yangtze River cruise or a visit to the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in Shanxxi.
- Take in Hong Kong, its fabulous harbor, top-notch hotels (the flagship Peninsula, the Mandarin Oriental), and vibrant dining scene.
- Get really adventurous and organize a side trip to Mongolia and stay in a yurt (a traditional nomadic tent).
- Use Beijing or Shanghai as a launchpad to visit Southeast Asia: Saigon, Bangkok, Singapore, and Bali.
- Or go even farther afield: Shanghai-Sydney in Business Class starts as low as 80,000 American miles round-trip, non-stop on Qantas.