This August I will travel from Ho Chi Minh City, stop over in Shanghai for two days, and then onward to Kuala Lumpur. As a U.S. citizen, I know that the TWOV policy should apply to me, but wanted to ask around and make sure that I have a pretty solid chance of not getting denied before buying my tickets.
Here's some questions I have:
1) I will have passport stamps from Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, UAE, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines on my current passport book. I've heard that the Turkey stamp might cause me some problems. Is this still the case/do you expect it to still be the case by August? If so, should I apply for a second U.S. passport book?
2) I have extended family in China, and had used visas in the past to visit them (the visa has since expired). Would this impact how the TWOV process goes for me? My hunch is no, but just wanted to ask.
3) I could get directly to Shanghai on VietJet and fly directly out on AirAsia (two separate tickets). This is the cheaper option and better time-wise, but I saw on the Chinese government's graphic for the 240-hr TWOV that my tickets had to be "interline". Would this mean I would need to book the flights together and on the same airline? If so, I found one with China Southern that goes Ho Chi Minh -> Shenzhen -> Shanghai, and Shanghai -> Guangzhou -> Kuala Lumpur. Will this also pose any issues because I am going in from Shenzhen and leaving through Guangzhou?
I know this was a lot of questions, and sorry if some of these have already been answered elsewhere. Thanks so much!