US help.

[monsterbeng]

Need some help in applying ESTA online...

They asking for Family Name and First (Given) Name.

So for "Tan Ah Kow", according to the sample passport name their website provided, it should be just:

Family Name: Tan
First (Given) Name: Ah

Is the above correct?? Don't need to enter the "Kow" right?

 

[ceecookie]

Need some help in applying ESTA online...

They asking for Family Name and First (Given) Name.

So for "Tan Ah Kow", according to the sample passport name their website provided, it should be just:

Family Name: Tan
First (Given) Name: Ah

Is the above correct?? Don't need to enter the "Kow" right?

Need to enter. It's either english name or all chinese names except family name.

Family Name: Tan
First (Given) Name: Ah Kow

 

[monsterbeng]

But their sample says otherwise.... so confusing.

I applied without the "Kow" liao... would it cause problem?

Their instruction says....

1) Issuing Country
The passport country of issuance is your country of citizenship as it appears on your passport. The country of citizenship on your passport is the passport issuing authority, regardless of the country the passport was physically obtained in. Refer to PDF of Country Codes (Download Adobe Acrobat Reader) for complete listing.

2) Family Name
Enter your family name as it appears in the Machine Readable Zone of your passport.

3) First (Given) Name
Enter your first (given) name as it appears in the Machine Readable Zone of your passport.

4) Middle Name
Enter your middle name as it appears in the Machine Readable Zone of your passport.

Need to enter. It's either english name or all chinese names except family name.

Family Name: Tan
First (Given) Name: Ah Kow

 

[patryn33]

It is ok to use ah as first name.
I doing so on my American paper work.

ESTA ok with having spaces but some system wouldn't let you break up the names.

 

[Hisashiburi]

Seems like the First and Middle names in the passport are separated by < and <<

Depending on what your passport says, just follow the same pattern on your passport.

But their sample says otherwise.... so confusing.

I applied without the "Kow" liao... would it cause problem?

Their instruction says....

1) Issuing Country
The passport country of issuance is your country of citizenship as it appears on your passport. The country of citizenship on your passport is the passport issuing authority, regardless of the country the passport was physically obtained in. Refer to PDF of Country Codes (Download Adobe Acrobat Reader) for complete listing.

2) Family Name
Enter your family name as it appears in the Machine Readable Zone of your passport.

3) First (Given) Name
Enter your first (given) name as it appears in the Machine Readable Zone of your passport.

4) Middle Name
Enter your middle name as it appears in the Machine Readable Zone of your passport.

 

[cdrom85]

1) Oooh this is risky. Even in NYC, which is more mild because it's on the ocean, it could be anywhere from "clear and mild" to "clear and cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" to "chucking it down with apocalyptic snow"; it all depends on whether the jet stream is up north (so it's trapping cold arctic air north of it) or dipping down south (so the arctic air is flowing down into the northern USA). And this can change from day to day - I was in Chicago back in January and it was minus 20 Celsius, but a few days either side of my visit it was right around freezing.

It gets worse if you go upstate to Buffalo to watch the Bills. Weird local weather effects around the Great Lakes mean that Buffalo occasionally gets crippled by ridiculous ten-foot dumps of snow in the space of a day or two.

December's really tough to call, but if you pack for an apocalyptic winter and bring layers, you should be fine. (And if you see anyone from The Weather Channel setting up across the street, you might want to buy some last-minute tickets to Florida and go see the Dolphins instead.)

2) I'd lash out on premium economy, at those prices. SIN-NYC's a bloody miserable flight at the best of times; anything you can do to make it less miserable is absolutely worth it.

Thanks bro.

I'm a Pats fan through and through. There's a Pats Dolphins game in early Jan but I guess it doesnt quite cut it watching it in Miami huh?

Gonna wait for the single game tickets to be sold and pray that some reasonablepremium economy tickets are still available. I had a tough flight SIN-FRA two years ago - more bored and restless than anything else. Hence I thought to get something a bit more spacious so I can feel less claustrophobic.

 

[Hisashiburi]

Just read about this app that lets u skip the possibly horrendously long lines at usa immigration and customs.
http://mobilepassport.us/
Seems to be available for most major airports.

Basically, put in your info and on arrival, send the data and get a barcode back on your phone.
Then go to a machine and voila, get through immigration!
Only problem is that if there is no free wifi at immigration or if u dont already have local sim card, might cost a little for data roaming.


Edit: oops! only available to US and Canada passport holders...
poor sinkies.

 

[peacedout933]

Going to San Francisco for the first time - Airline Advice

This is my first time heading to the states in August. Will be coming back next year in January.

It's my first time getting tickets for such long flights.

Longest flight for me is probably to Japan.

Any tips on how I can get promotions for flights to San Francisco?

Any advice on which airline to go for and what sites to purchase the tickets?

I am looking for economy class and comfort given the long flight time.

 

[paul02]

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-international-tourist-plan

T-Mobile launched special plan just for tourists - Free SIM card, unlimited data (first 2gb at 4G) and international SMS for $30. Plan will last for 3 weeks.

Quote for next time use when in US.

 

[lcpteck]

Quote for next time use when in US.

Very nice indeed.

 

[Hisashiburi]

Can try sites like kayak,skyscanner to find fares.
U can book directly with the airlines or go through a decent 3rd party site.

For long flights,recommend premium economy if u can afford it.
Some airlines that provide it are ana,sq,cathay, eva,china southern.

U can also pay a little more n get a longer stopover in the transit city like Tokyo if using ana or HK if using Cathay.

Sometimes u get a better price if u fly out of nearby cities like KL, Penang or Bangkok.

This is my first time heading to the states in August. Will be coming back next year in January.

It's my first time getting tickets for such long flights.

Longest flight for me is probably to Japan.

Any tips on how I can get promotions for flights to San Francisco?

Any advice on which airline to go for and what sites to purchase the tickets?

I am looking for economy class and comfort given the long flight time.

 

[patryn33]

This is my first time heading to the states in August. Will be coming back next year in January.

It's my first time getting tickets for such long flights.

Longest flight for me is probably to Japan.

Any tips on how I can get promotions for flights to San Francisco?

Any advice on which airline to go for and what sites to purchase the tickets?

I am looking for economy class and comfort given the long flight time.

Going on exchange. Aug usually not cheap as uni semester starting... Returning Jan after new year like 2nd week cheaper. Travel on weekdays like Wednesday cheaper.

 

[trd2970]

My advise is to get Asian carriers and forget the US carriers as legroom is tight (ironically) and service sux

The long haul isn't that bad especially since you'll be transiting in Tokyo. Have time to walk around, stretch, check out the shops in transit area (provided time allows)

This is my first time heading to the states in August. Will be coming back next year in January.

It's my first time getting tickets for such long flights.

Longest flight for me is probably to Japan.

Any tips on how I can get promotions for flights to San Francisco?

Any advice on which airline to go for and what sites to purchase the tickets?

I am looking for economy class and comfort given the long flight time.

 

[trd2970]

Have to
Enter what exactly is spelt out in your passport

Need some help in applying ESTA online...

They asking for Family Name and First (Given) Name.

So for "Tan Ah Kow", according to the sample passport name their website provided, it should be just:

Family Name: Tan
First (Given) Name: Ah

Is the above correct?? Don't need to enter the "Kow" right?

 

[Shiny Things]

This is my first time heading to the states in August. Will be coming back next year in January.

It's my first time getting tickets for such long flights.

Longest flight for me is probably to Japan.

Any tips on how I can get promotions for flights to San Francisco?

Any advice on which airline to go for and what sites to purchase the tickets?

I am looking for economy class and comfort given the long flight time.

1) Be open for flights through other gateways. You can get to San Francisco hundreds of different ways from Singapore - through Hong Kong, Manila, Shanghai, Beijing... Don't forget about other possible ways to get into the country, as well. Instead of flying direct to SFO, it might make sense to go in through LAX (Los Angeles) or HNL (Honolulu).

My usual when I lived in Singapore was Singapore Airlines through Seoul (ICN) to SFO. It's not the rock-bottom cheapest, though - the cheapest will probably be on Chinese or Taiwanese airlines. They won't be as nice, but it'll get you from point A to point B.

Check out Hipmunk - it's pretty good at finding the cheapest flights with the least amount of pain.

2) For promotions... you can sign up to airlines' mailing lists and see if any discounts turn up, but honestly you're better off just using Hipmunk. It finds most of those discounted fares, and you don't have to get spammed.

3) Which airline... yeah, don't fly the American airlines (United, American, Delta). Their service absolutely blows, but it's still better than it was. Some American airlines (Virgin America, Hawaiian, Alaska, JetBlue) are pretty good, but they don't go trans-Pacific (well, Hawaiian does, and I love them to bits, but they don't go to Singapore).

I'd pick Singapore Airlines or Cathay if your budget stretches that far. If you need rock-bottom cheap, like I said above, look at the Chinese or Taiwanese carriers.

4) Also, as someone else said: fly midweek! Tuesday or Thursday flights will probably be a lot cheaper for you, because they're less popular days to fly.

I had a quick look on Hipmunk and found a couple of options, using Tuesday August 16th to Thursday January 19th as some sample dates: Air China through Beijing was $1100 or $1200 USD for the round trip (but with some LONG layovers in Beijing), and Philippine Airways through Manila was $1200 USD round trip with a reasonable 3-hour layover in Manila.

If you travel out a day later, on Wednesday August 17th, you can do it for just $1000 USD r/t: Air China through Beijing, leaving at 12:15am on Wednesday with a 9-hour layover in Beijing. The scheduling's absolutely miserable, but that's a pretty great price.

Enjoy the trip! You'll love it over here.

 

[cdrom85]

@Shiny Things - thanks for the midweek flight tip. Still trying to figure my way around flight bookings even after all these years.

 

[invisible999]

There is nonstop flight from Singapore to SFO via United. While I agree with Shiny and personally try to avoid flying American airlines except Virgin America and Southwest, if minimizing layovers and flight time is priority, UA's non-stop is the only option. If you purchase E+ seat, it will give you more legroom than any other airline in the economy.

For cheap options, try EVA - they are still way better than any mainland Chinese airlines. I would strongly advise against going thru China via PEK/PVG - transfer time thru immigration could be several hours.

 

[fone]

There is nonstop flight from Singapore to SFO via United.

SQ going non-stop to SFO too, just if travel date is after the start date of the new non-stop to SFO (starting Oct 23, 2016).

 

[avataar]

SQ going non-stop to SFO too, just if travel date is after the start date of the new non-stop to SFO (starting Oct 23, 2016).

If you can use priority pass, the lounge use will really add to the convenience and comfort of your travels!

 

[eleewhm]

But their sample says otherwise.... so confusing.

I applied without the "Kow" liao... would it cause problem?

Their instruction says....

1) Issuing Country
The passport country of issuance is your country of citizenship as it appears on your passport. The country of citizenship on your passport is the passport issuing authority, regardless of the country the passport was physically obtained in. Refer to PDF of Country Codes (Download Adobe Acrobat Reader) for complete listing.

2) Family Name
Enter your family name as it appears in the Machine Readable Zone of your passport.

3) First (Given) Name
Enter your first (given) name as it appears in the Machine Readable Zone of your passport.

4) Middle Name
Enter your middle name as it appears in the Machine Readable Zone of your passport.

put is as below...
if ESTA online does not allow u the space , omit the space in the First Name... Family Name / Last Name is always ur Surname... Lee , Tan , Tang , Lim etc...

the First name is always the dialetc name : AhKow Calvin, AhMeow Kelvin etc...

Family Name: Tan
First (Given) Name: Ah Kow