If I apply for an L visa in my passport will it affect my flight crew status?

I will be traveling to mainland China to visit a friend who has been living there for over a decade. I am a flight attendant and my airline (US carrier) does fly there. I do not believe I have travel rights to China right now through the airline because my current base does not fly there direct. If I need to travel there in the future for my airline will it be a problem if I have an L type, expired or not, in my passport? I'm asking because someone told me I could not use the same passport to enter as crew if it had a personal travel type in it.

Thank you.