Great article! Small question

It seems the last question got at the eligible territories question, but I have seen this question posted on a few other travel blogs and just wanted to confirm. A flight from Hong Kong -> Beijing -> Macau is valid under this rule? I am studying in Hong Kong with a USA passport and a visa is quite expensive! I am wondering if a workaround is to fly from here to Beijing, and simply back to Macau (taking the ferry back to HK). Apologies you're having to answer all these itinerary questions!