I had a blast spending 70 hours in Beijing with my brother this week using the 72-Hour Visa-Free Transit rule.

The rule requires you to enter China from one country and leave China to a third country within 72 hours among other requirements.

Since the time you can spend in Beijing under the rule is so limited, I would not fly directly from the United States to China, starting the clock when you'll be severely jet lagged.

Visa entry requirement change frequently. I will not update this post.

American Airlines' best Business and First Class are both found on the 777-300ER, its newest international plane.

The 777-300ER features fully flat beds in Business Class and First Class, plus a walk up bar on board for the folks up front.

United partner Azul, a Brazilian low cost carrier, is adding flies to the United States in December 2014.

December 1, 2014: Viracopos-Campinas (VCP) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
December 15, 2014: Viracopos-Campinas (VCP) to Orlando (MCO)

Note that Viracopos-Campinas is often called a Sao Paulo airport. It is about 50 miles from the city center and farther away than Sao Paulo's other international airport (GRU.)

These new American destinations are in addition to the 100+ destinations served in Brazil.

You can book Azul flight with United miles.

A few days ago, I hiked to Sai Wan Village and Sheung Luk Stream in Hong Kong on the advice of an American friend who'd done the hike last year.

Last week I flew United economy for eight hours from Honolulu to Guam. I shared how I got my own row in economy for a long and comfortable nap.

I also got free food on the flight.

There are a few sure-fire ways to get free food on United flights:

Fly first class or business class; Economy Plus doesn't count.
Fly an international route that offers free food in economy.

I didn't do any of that. I was just given free food from the buy onboard snacks by accident.

The card offer described in this post has expired. To see the latest top travel credit cards with big bonuses that will save you tons, check out our Top 10 List for Consumers and Top 10 List for Small Businesses.

Arrival miles are good for so much more than just airfare.

As promised in yesterday’s post on the Five Under-Priced Awards on the American Airlines Chart, today I'll post six under-priced awards on the United chart.

The basic premise of these posts and my post on the Coolest Thing You Can Do with 60,000 Miles was connecting far-flung regions into a single trip by taking advantage of under-priced awards between the regions.

Why American and United awards?

A few days ago I flew from Honolulu to Guam in United economy and got myself five seats in a row, so I could sleep during the flight.

Even at 6'4", I only needed four consecutive seats for sleep. I raised the arm rests, collected a few pillows and blankets, and had some great sleep for a few hours after take off.

Yesterday's post on the Coolest Thing You Can Do with 60,000 Miles was a hit, so I thought I'd follow up with how you can create your own THINK BIG itineraries with miles.

The basic premise of that post was connecting far-flung regions into a single trip by taking advantage of under-priced awards between the regions.