US help.

[Shiny Things]

Thanks for prompt reply.
ANY IDEA IS IT POSSIBLE TO buy a physical Sim card for data plan at Logan airport Boston ON ARRIVAL ,which brand is trouble free ?

Annoyingly enough, I don't think this is possible. T-Mobile is my default "trouble-free" recommendation, I've been pointing international visitors to T-Mo for years... but I don't see any of their stores in Boston Logan.

 

[owenowenno]

Annoyingly enough, I don't think this is possible. T-Mobile is my default "trouble-free" recommendation, I've been pointing international visitors to T-Mo for years... but I don't see any of their stores in Boston Logan.

Based on the following link;https://www.t-mobile.com/store-locator?page=1&search=Boston,%20MA,%20USA
nearest t mobile is 1.2 miles away from Logan airport ,

Border St & William C Kelly Sq​

192 Border St, East Boston, MA, 02128

So arrival , does it mean at LOGAN airport ,there are no shops selling other brands of Sim card?
or there are airport retail shops selling some form of Sim cards?

 

[petromax]

Hi, wanted to ask, is there any shops selling SIM (not e-SIM) card at LAX ? Is it recommended to buy sim card at airport or at walmart/convenience store? Do they have kind of "tourist SIM" and "local SIM"?

 

[Shiny Things]

Hi, wanted to ask, is there any shops selling SIM (not e-SIM) card at LAX ? Is it recommended to buy sim card at airport or at walmart/convenience store? Do they have kind of "tourist SIM" and "local SIM"?

I'm pretty reliably informed that you can buy SIM cards at LAX, but they charge extortionate prices - so I'd recommend going to a T-Mobile store near your hotel and buying a SIM card there.

There's no "tourist SIMs" or "local SIMs" - T-Mo sells the same plans to everyone.

 

[belgarathc]

I am thinking of simply activating myrepublic US roaming at sgd35 for 1 gb for convenience. Kinda costly if I use more than 1 gb though.

I am reading up on local transport in NYC. From https://omny.info/, it seems that I can simply use my credit card or debit card for metro and bus rides like we do in Singapore? Anybody knows if there is need to register anything before I start using? We are landing at LGA and I read that we can take bus then transfer to metro to get to Manhatten.

 

[Shiny Things]

I am reading up on local transport in NYC. From https://omny.info/, it seems that I can simply use my credit card or debit card for metro and bus rides like we do in Singapore? Anybody knows if there is need to register anything before I start using? We are landing at LGA and I read that we can take bus then transfer to metro to get to Manhatten.

Nope, there's nothing to register. You just tap your card (or Apple/Google/Samsung Pay!) as you go through the turnstile, and it Just Works. It's great!

The MTA has excellent guides for tourists explaining how to get to and from the area airports.

That said, though: if you're coming from LGA, my advice would be to just suck it up and take a taxi/Uber to your hotel. The public transport connections to LaGuardia are famously awful, and it's going to be a lot faster and less stressful to pay for a taxi, especially if you're dragging a bunch of luggage with you.

 

[dilphinus]

I am thinking of simply activating myrepublic US roaming at sgd35 for 1 gb for convenience. Kinda costly if I use more than 1 gb though.

I am reading up on local transport in NYC. From https://omny.info/, it seems that I can simply use my credit card or debit card for metro and bus rides like we do in Singapore? Anybody knows if there is need to register anything before I start using? We are landing at LGA and I read that we can take bus then transfer to metro to get to Manhatten.

You'll get a better deal with Starhub Prepaid Roaming. 4 weeks 4 GB at S$25.

I used that in 2017 when I went to North America for 3 months.

https://www.starhub.com/personal/mobile/mobile-phones-plans/prepaid-cards/happy-roam.html

 

[nez]

Hi. I am travailing to San Francisco. Arriving at SFO. Will be there for 2 months +

I have an iphone 13 (1 physical SIM + 1 eSIM)
- Where should I get the eSIM from and any recommended carrier (with calls but mainly for data)?
- Can I just use my iphone (swip at the gantry) for trains like MRT?
- Can i use my iphone to make payment?

Thanks

 

[belgarathc]

Nope, there's nothing to register. You just tap your card (or Apple/Google/Samsung Pay!) as you go through the turnstile, and it Just Works. It's great!
The MTA has
excellent guides for tourists
explaining how to get to and from the area airports.
That said, though: if you're coming from LGA, my advice would be to just suck it up and take a taxi/Uber to your hotel. The public transport connections to LaGuardia are famously awful, and it's going to be a lot faster and less stressful to pay for a taxi, especially if you're dragging a bunch of luggage with you.

Thanks, we are already in NYC and figured out that we can simply use our credit card or debit card like in Singapore on public transit. We also took public transit from LGA to our accommodations near Times Square. It wasn't that bad but we didn't have that much luggage.

 

[belgarathc]

You'll get a better deal with Starhub Prepaid Roaming. 4 weeks 4 GB at S$25.
I used that in 2017 when I went to North America for 3 months.
Happy Roam Data Roaming Service | StarHub Mobile
All packed up and ready to travel? Don't forget to get the StarHub Happy Roam too! Find out more about Happy Prepaid Data plans and how to activate here!

www.starhub.com

I read a lot of good things about it and we bought that for our last US trip few years ago. Somehow it couldn't get activated on the first day and worked intermittently for us. Ended up we still activate Singtel Roaming. Not sure what I did wrongly but since then I prefer to go for current sim card's Roaming packages.

 

[Shiny Things]

Hi. I am travailing to San Francisco. Arriving at SFO. Will be there for 2 months +

I have an iphone 13 (1 physical SIM + 1 eSIM)
- Where should I get the eSIM from and any recommended carrier (with calls but mainly for data)?
- Can I just use my iphone (swip at the gantry) for trains like MRT?
- Can i use my iphone to make payment?

Thanks

Nice, welcome to the west coast best coast!

1) T-Mobile is always the right answer for tourists. Once you're settled in, go to the nearest T-Mobile store; they'll sort you out.

2) Unfortunately, San Francisco hasn't gone full pay-with-your-credit-card like New York has. The easiest move is to get a Clipper card (which you can buy at any BART station), and load it up with some stored value.

Clipper is the stored-value card for the SF area, and it'll get you on Caltrain (which runs to Palo Alto and San Jose), BART (which runs to SFO), and Muni (which runs around San Francisco), as well as a bunch of local bus networks.

3) Yep. The US has been astonishingly slow to adopt Apple Pay/EMVco Mobile/whatever you want to call it, but you'll find the vast majority of places accept it these days.

 

[nez]

Nice, welcome to the west coast best coast!

1) T-Mobile is always the right answer for tourists. Once you're settled in, go to the nearest T-Mobile store; they'll sort you out.

2) Unfortunately, San Francisco hasn't gone full pay-with-your-credit-card like New York has. The easiest move is to get a Clipper card (which you can buy at any BART station), and load it up with some stored value.

Clipper is the stored-value card for the SF area, and it'll get you on Caltrain (which runs to Palo Alto and San Jose), BART (which runs to SFO), and Muni (which runs around San Francisco), as well as a bunch of local bus networks.

3) Yep. The US has been astonishingly slow to adopt Apple Pay/EMVco Mobile/whatever you want to call it, but you'll find the vast majority of places accept it these days.

Appreciate the advise, thank you

 

[nez]

Nice, welcome to the west coast best coast!

1) T-Mobile is always the right answer for tourists. Once you're settled in, go to the nearest T-Mobile store; they'll sort you out.

2) Unfortunately, San Francisco hasn't gone full pay-with-your-credit-card like New York has. The easiest move is to get a Clipper card (which you can buy at any BART station), and load it up with some stored value.

Clipper is the stored-value card for the SF area, and it'll get you on Caltrain (which runs to Palo Alto and San Jose), BART (which runs to SFO), and Muni (which runs around San Francisco), as well as a bunch of local bus networks.

3) Yep. The US has been astonishingly slow to adopt Apple Pay/EMVco Mobile/whatever you want to call it, but you'll find the vast majority of places accept it these days.

Another question, so mean its better/a must to bring the physical credit card?
They do accept credit card payment?

 

[patryn33]

Hi. I am travailing to San Francisco. Arriving at SFO. Will be there for 2 months +

I have an iphone 13 (1 physical SIM + 1 eSIM)
- Where should I get the eSIM from and any recommended carrier (with calls but mainly for data)?
- Can I just use my iphone (swip at the gantry) for trains like MRT?
- Can i use my iphone to make payment?

Thanks

$40 for 10gb a mth.
https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans
$60 for 10gb for 3mth. On T-Mobile network
https://www.mintmobile.com/plans/

 

[nez]

$40 for 10gb a mth.
https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans
$60 for 10gb for 3mth. On T-Mobile network
https://www.mintmobile.com/plans/

Thanks bro.

 

[Crimsom]

Anyone been to west coast in recent years?

1) Do most places (supermarket, petrol station, restaurants etc.) take paywave/contactless payment?

Or are magnetic stripe based transactions still common there?

2) Need to keep plenty of "small" notes for tipping? For like housekeeping, etc.

 

[Hungry kid]

Anyone been to west coast in recent years?

1) Do most places (supermarket, petrol station, restaurants etc.) take paywave/contactless payment?

Or are magnetic stripe based transactions still common there?

2) Need to keep plenty of "small" notes for tipping? For like housekeeping, etc.

1. Yes, many places do accept CC payment, even small taco stands also accept. Not really swipping the card but more of chip(insert card) or contactless. many patrol station offer cheaper prices if paying in cash.
2. Yes, small change 1s or 5s are good for tipping

 

[belgarathc]

Back from NYC trip and sharing what we did and personal ratings. Ended up not going for any day trips to Niagara Falls and nearby cities as advised by most forumers given we only have a week. Thanks for all the tips!

Guided tours
- NYC "free" walking tour 4/5 (covers downtown Manhattan, informative 6 hour tour)
- Full-Day NYC Boroughs and Coney Island tour 4/5 (touch and go but very entertaining and informative tour guide)
- NYC Circle Line Cruise 3/5 (passengers were too loud so sometimes we couldn't hear the guide's commentary)

Self guided
- Staten Island 4/5 (free ferry from South Ferry in Manhattan, some outlets at Staten Island, try to coincide a visit with a performance at St George)
- Woodbury 4/5 (took the Woodbury bus which is very comfortable and well organized, quite decent savings)
- Central Park 3/5 (really crowded even though we visited in the morning)

Performances
- Jerry Seinfeld 2/5 (some repeated jokes from his Neflix shows, not sure if we were seated too far but couldn't catch what he said sometimes)
- MJ 4/5 (great singing and dancing)
- NBA Match Knicks vs Pacers 4/5 (great atmosphere)
- School of Rock 20th Anniversary Screening at St George where part of the movie was filmed 5/5 (small low-key local experience, fantastic value at just USD 20 which included pre screening local band performance and post screening artiste interview)

Restaurants
- Original Soup Restaurant 5/5 (can take away and eat at Central Park)
- Ellen's Stardust Diner 5/5 (long queues but fast turnover, great singings, humble Broadway experience)
- Fraunces Tavern 3/5 (historical place but nothing special about the food, go if you are visiting Wall Street or Staten Island)
- Joe's Pizza 4/5 (crazy long queues but that's part of the experience)
- Katz's Delicatessen 5/5
- Junior's 4/5
- Ess a bagel 5/5
- Aquaboil 5/5 (lunch sets are value for $)
- Grand Central Oyster Bar 4/5

Notes
- Most places offer free Wifi. We managed with just 1 GB of data each person for 6 days of travelling. But we don't post photos on WhatsApp or Social Media. There are a few T Mobile stores in Manhattan if you need them.
- You can use your credit card/debit card on MTA buses and NYC subway. No need to buy any store value cards. There is a weekly (Mon to Sun) fee cap if you take more than 12 trips.
- LGA to downtown is pretty straightforward (free Q70 bus from airport to Jackson Heights Subway, then subway to downtown). It is USD 2.75 a person vs probably USD 50 for a cab.
- Read up on New York's history and current affairs to get a better appreciation of the city. There are some good documentaries on Netflix too.
- Times Square area is probably the best place to stay if money is not an issue. Private room at AirBnB within walking distance to Times Square should cost at least SGD 200 a night.

 

[patryn33]

Anyone been to west coast in recent years?

1) Do most places (supermarket, petrol station, restaurants etc.) take paywave/contactless payment?

Or are magnetic stripe based transactions still common there?

2) Need to keep plenty of "small" notes for tipping? For like housekeeping, etc.

your CC no magnetic strip or chip? So concern with contactless payment

tipping culture went over the top, 20% these days. Even Tabao ask for tip.

 

[Crimsom]

your CC no magnetic strip or chip? So concern with contactless payment

tipping culture went over the top, 20% these days. Even Tabao ask for tip.

I had some concerns on the security as magnetic stripe more prone to clone and frauds

Thinking whether should I activate the magnetic stripe.