Shanghai Introduction –

There have been a lot of great airfare deals in 2016. One of them has been traveling to Shanghai on American. The pricing has been as low as $400 round trip but it has averaged around $550. On one of the sales at the $500 price point, I purchased a trip about two months prior to the flight.

When booking there were two options for traveling to Shanghai. Either from Dallas Fort Worth on the 787 or from Chicago on the old 777-200. To me it was a no brainer and I selected the routing via Dallas Fort Worth on the Dreamliner. At the time of booking I requested to use a system-wide upgrade certificate to upgrade from economy to business. The flight was on waitlist at the time and it remained on waitlist through the day of the flight. I would be traveling on Friday and Sunday, which are heavy business travel days to the region so I was not expecting the upgrade to clear.

The outbound flight did not clear; however, I had a great seat in the economy cabin in the Main Cabin Extra section at the front of the plane.

This is my second trip to Shanghai. The first trip occurred during 2015 when I stayed at the Hyatt on the Bund and explored the area near the water. It was a fun trip and I enjoyed seeing some of the sights.

In 2015, I obtained a 10-year visa that allows for multiple entries into China. I do not live near one of the Chinese embassies or consulates, so I used a service called Allied Passport. They are a great provider. The service was efficient and I received my passport/visa in less than one week from the time I sent it. Apply using my link and you can save $5.

For this second trip, I had a limited time, so my plan was to do some sightseeing in one of the other areas of the city.

I planned on taking the MagLev train to connect to the subway; however, several people told me it would be better to get in the taxi line and take one to the hotel as it would only cost about $25. Based on this advice, I decided to take a taxi from the airport and then use the subway and MagLev Train to return to the airport.

I returned to Shanghai for my second visit and have put together the following trip report:

• Shanghai Trip Report – Intro
• Shanghai Trip Report – Minneapolis to Dallas
• Shanghai Trip Report – Admiral’s Club at DFW – D
• Shanghai Trip Report – Dallas to Shanghai
• Shanghai Trip Report – Grand Hyatt Shanghai
• Shanghai Trip Report – Sightseeing in Shanghai
• Shanghai Trip Report – VIP Lounge Shanghai
• Shanghai Trip Report – Air China First Class Lounge
• Shanghai Trip Report – Shanghai to Dallas
• Shanghai Trip Report – Hyatt Regency DFW Airport
• Shanghai Trip Report – Admiral’s Club DFW C
• Shanghai Trip Report – Dallas to Minneapolis

I hope you enjoy the trip report.

Let me know if you have suggestions on what to do the next time I visit China.