Made any travel mistakes lately?

[sudoer]

quite easily

all plus China.

I haven't been through the process myself but I thought I had read ALL Plus China wasn't a particularly easy process?

 

[henrus]

I haven't been through the process myself but I thought I had read ALL Plus China wasn't a particularly easy process?

It’s got better, you need to download and use WeChat to scan the Accor code, after that you can login using normal Accor username/password and purchase.

 

[Seat0B]

It sounds like you are chasing status points not nights? If the latter Platinum can be gained/retained quite easily through Accor plus and all plus China.

Thanks @henrus - it looks like the ALL Plus China would need stays in China which are not in my current plans.

 

[kileskus]

Realised at boarding gate on return to Australia that I don't have my Australian passport. Checked in online with memorised passport number so the physical copy could be anywhere in the world as I've been travelling around three continents on my other passport.

Not a big deal but I've got 10+ hrs ahead of ruminating about the bureaucratic welcome home.

Drinks trolley has come thankfully, and they have some good Canadian whiskey.

 

[Seat0B]

Realised at boarding gate on return to Australia that I don't have my Australian passport. Checked in online with memorised passport number so the physical copy could be anywhere in the world as I've been travelling around three continents on my other passport.

Not a big deal but I've got 10+ hrs ahead of ruminating about the bureaucratic welcome home.

Drinks trolley has come thankfully, and they have some good Canadian whiskey.

Let us know what happens on arrival please @kileskus. You seem very calm about this. I would be rather stressed.

 

[RooFlyer]

@kileskus - have you cancelled the passport?

@Seat0B (you likely know this ...) if you have to lose your passport anywhere, coming back to Oz is the best place to do it. Passports are merely an identifying document. A citizen cannot be refused entry - its just a matter of sitting down with those nice border people and proving who you are!

 

[SBD]

@kileskus - have you cancelled the passport?

@Seat0B (you likely know this ...) if you have to lose your passport anywhere, coming back to Oz is the best place to do it. Passports are merely an identifying document. A citizen cannot be refused entry - its just a matter of sitting down with those nice border people and proving who you are!

I haven't traveled very widely but I'm surprised you could board easily without at least flashing a physical passport at somebody, even if just for an ID match with the boarding pass (electronic or paper). Out of interest @kileskus what ID did you show at the point of departure? Hope it goes smoothly on arrival... SBD

 

[sudoer]

I'm surprised you could board easily without at least flashing a physical passport at somebody, even if just for an ID match with the boarding pass (electronic or paper).

I initially thought the same but they mention having a second passport so presumably they used this.

The gate check doesn't verify the passport used for check-in is the same doc presented.

 

[henrus]

Let us know what happens on arrival please @kileskus. You seem very calm about this. I would be rather stressed.

It’s a rather normal process made even easier if you have an Australian drivers license on you. You’ll find that if there aren’t many around you’ll be through without much delay (they know you’re coming).

Every airline can uplift passengers back to Australia without a passport (provided they call the special number and get approval to do so) but you’ll find that many won’t (for example EK more hesitant than QF pending issues of flights that stop somewhere like QF2).

 

[kileskus]

Yes, it was just proving my citizenship and a slap on the wrist. The stamps are probably the biggest loss - but can always visit those countries again. Note to self: bring driver's license and Medicare card on future trips overseas.

Another dual CAN-AUS citizen friend of mine has a sketchy track record with her Australian passports (has a reduced validity limit now due to multiple losses, and once came home with an emergency passport and jetted off again with it without applying for a proper passport...). She relayed to me advice she's received at one consulate that some airlines can deny boarding as technically they have a duty to ensure correct immigration documents are in place. However, if you get there early and explain what happened, and they call the relevant authorities (for example, in Canada the border authority deals with foreign passports that are found) and you show some proof of Australian citizenship, they will sometimes let you through. Qantas are fairly lenient, while Air Canada reportedly has denied [return to Australia] in the past. Problems arise if you transit through the US.

There was an article recently published on attitudes towards flag carriers. This is one of the reasons your own flag carrier comes in handy I guess. I didn't have any issues at the gate, but had there been issues with check-in or boarding at least I was flying QF.

My friend also says you can't just get an Australian ETA on a foreign passport and return like that (though I don't know if this is a 'well you shouldn't' or a technically can't).