144-Hour & 24-Hour

I am an American citizen traveling with my wife to Beijing and arriving on a Friday morning (around 5am) and then leaving on a cruise from Tianjin two days later on Sunday afternoon to Japan. We are then arriving back in Tianjin a week later on Sunday morning and leaving from Beijing that night to Thailand. Should we be applying for the 144 hour visa free transit on the first leg and the 24-Hour visa free transit on the second?