This is a very very good price to Shanghai with a minor or major drawback depending on how you look at it — the itinerary requires overnight layovers on both the outbound and inbound. If you have a place to stay in Chicago, great fare. If you don’t, having to pay for hotels in addition to flight, not as good.

View of Pudong from the Bund. Photo: seto_supraenergy, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)

Sample Date:

• November 14th – 22nd. Valid for travel from October 25th – December 10th and January 1st, 2013 – April 30th, 2013 for Monday through Thursday departures. Use ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search and flexible month search to see availability — enable advance routing codes and enter “aa+” on both inbound and outbound advance routing codes field to search only American Airlines availability. Must purchase 60 days advance of departure.

Routing:

• EWR – ORD (Chicago) – PVG (Shanghai) – ORD – EWR

Mileage:

• 15,512 miles or 4.1 cents per mile

Booking:

• Use dates found at ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search and book on AA.com
• Receive $1 back for using Ebates.com or Mr. Rebates prior to booking on AA.com
• AA’s risk free cancellation policy here

Background Information:

• Visa: US Citizens – required prior to arrival. $140. Other nationals, check the TIMATIC Visa Database
• Currency: Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY) – $1USD = 6.3 CNY

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

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