US help.

[Erwinlow]

$5 ain't too bad actually. but not sure whether the SGD/USD conversion is good?

when i use those ATMs that do not belong to my bank....i usually pay between USD3-5 too.

banks exchange rate...won't be that good as compared to money changer for sure...

ahh. do you live in US?

 

[cormet]

If I use a debit card to make the booking for the car,must I present the same card at the counter, or can I present a credit card?

 

[devilish_me]

banks exchange rate...won't be that good as compared to money changer for sure...

ahh. do you live in US?

yup...i'm on the east coast. when i need to access my SG money...i'd usually TT. didn't realise i could perhaps just withdraw at ATM. since TT i also incur quite a bit of charges both at SG and over here.

the credit card exchange rates aren't too bad actually. if the rates are kinda like the credit card ones...then it's ok la

 

[genie47]

My turn to contribute.

Heading into SF.

Booked hotel there. The Grant Plaza Hotel. Will be in SF for 4 days 3 nights.

Booked Southwest to fly from SFO to LAS.

Hotel booked there for the night is Luxor.

Next day will head out to Kanab, UT. Booked the Holiday Inn Express there. Will use Kanab as a base to explore all the four national parks and most importantly, GC North Rim. Very few people go to North Rim. The usual Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP and if got time, will visit Horseshoe bend and the Vermillion Cliffs.

Drive back to LV. Might ssrr Valley of Fire SP and Lake Meade scenic drive. Booked the hotel opposite the Luxor. The Excalibur.

Next day early in the morning, fly to Chicago with UA. Siong siah. 3hr flight. This part onwards is company training trip. Wife coming with me. Will tour Chicago with their greeter service. Then wife fly back and I head out to Iowa.

 

[genie47]

For people going to LV and renting cars.

www.mccarran.com/pdf/SR25201RentACarBrochureWeb.pdf

Very convenient.

 

[Erwinlow]

My turn to contribute.

Heading into SF.

Booked hotel there. The Grant Plaza Hotel. Will be in SF for 4 days 3 nights.

Booked Southwest to fly from SFO to LAS.

Hotel booked there for the night is Luxor.

Next day will head out to Kanab, UT. Booked the Holiday Inn Express there. Will use Kanab as a base to explore all the four national parks and most importantly, GC North Rim. Very few people go to North Rim. The usual Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP and if got time, will visit Horseshoe bend and the Vermillion Cliffs.

Drive back to LV. Might ssrr Valley of Fire SP and Lake Meade scenic drive. Booked the hotel opposite the Luxor. The Excalibur.

Next day early in the morning, fly to Chicago with UA. Siong siah. 3hr flight. This part onwards is company training trip. Wife coming with me. Will tour Chicago with their greeter service. Then wife fly back and I head out to Iowa.

I stayed at the King George Hotel in SF and it was great. Location was excellent.

Just curious, why Luxor in Vegas? How much did you pay per night? Heard the hotel rooms are not in the Luxor pyramid itself but adjacent to it?

I stayed at the Flamingo GO rooms and MGM while I was there... Both were great. Paid about 60usd and 70usd respectively.

 

[cormet]

Erwin! Do you remember where to buy cheap tickets for musicals/magic shows/circus in Vegas?

 

[vernon_wmk]

http://www.tix4tonight.com/ Check their locations here. If you are looking for specific shows or seat tiers, go early as some are limited.

 

[Erwinlow]

Yep ^

Tix4tonight is the place. They have a few booths around the strip and 1 in downtown if I'm not wrong. Where are you staying in Vegas?

Vernon, not sure for the different shows but for the David Copperfield show that I watched, I paid for the tickets at the tix4tonight booth, got the receipt/ticket, then went to MGM to get my seats allocated/assigned.

Walao wish I could go back to US sometime soon. :/

 

[cormet]

Thanks guys! there happens to be one where i'm staying How much did you save for david copperfield?

 

[alexljy]

Hmm, so must go down to the place to check the shows avaliability? Online like cant find anything in their website.

Btw, how's the buffet in Vegas compared to SG ah? Considering if I should try the Buffet of Buffets

 

[vernon_wmk]

Erwin, what I mean is tiering, eg. usd120, usd100, usd80, etc. Specific seats will not be assigned at tix4tonite.

cormet, saving varies, but usually they will show it to you at the display there.

alexljy, must go down to check the shows availability. But most hotels at vegas don't offer free internet anyway.

Buffet in vegas is ok, nothing too fantastic. Have tried paris, flamingo, mirage, bellagio, planet hollywood. They don't serve sashimi, and usually I'll just whack the crab legs. carvings are nothing special.

 

[cormet]

Erwin, what I mean is tiering, eg. usd120, usd100, usd80, etc. Specific seats will not be assigned at tix4tonite.

cormet, saving varies, but usually they will show it to you at the display there.

alexljy, must go down to check the shows availability. But most hotels at vegas don't offer free internet anyway.

Buffet in vegas is ok, nothing too fantastic. Have tried paris, flamingo, mirage, bellagio, planet hollywood. They don't serve sashimi, and usually I'll just whack the crab legs. carvings are nothing special.

Btw read that belloagio and wynn's buffets are highly rated. Wondering if the crab legs are available for lunch as well? or only dinner..

 

[vernon_wmk]

Only had lunch at PH before and they do not serve crab legs then, usually will not be along the strip during day hours.

Bellagio is nothing special lar.

 

[genie47]

I stayed at the King George Hotel in SF and it was great. Location was excellent.

Just curious, why Luxor in Vegas? How much did you pay per night? Heard the hotel rooms are not in the Luxor pyramid itself but adjacent to it?

I stayed at the Flamingo GO rooms and MGM while I was there... Both were great. Paid about 60usd and 70usd respectively.

Booked the Grant Plaza from Travelocity. USD297.87 for the 3N.

For the Luxor, I bid for the price at Priceline.com.sg

Got it for SGD162.10 inclusive all taxes and charges.

Kanab, from priceline.com (USA) for USD330 for 3N.

As for Excalibur, I got it from Zuji.com.sg through linkpoints website. Got it for SGD167.07.

Car rental is the last thing I have not done yet and most likely go with Dollar.

 

[Erwinlow]

Thanks guys! there happens to be one where i'm staying How much did you save for david copperfield?

Ehhhhhhh. Can't rmb exactly but I think it was about 40%. Different shows got different % of discounts. We bought the cheapest ticket at about 70usd I think. But got pretty good seats as I went to the box office at MGM(David Copperfield is at MGM) early to get my seats allocated.

 

[Erwinlow]

Hmm, so must go down to the place to check the shows avaliability? Online like cant find anything in their website.

Btw, how's the buffet in Vegas compared to SG ah? Considering if I should try the Buffet of Buffets

MGM buffet was decent. Tried their bfast and lunch buffet as I had 2 free buffets that came with my stay.

Anyway, the buffet for buffets is not exactly cheap imo. Isn't it like 50usd for a 1 day pass? How many buffets can you eat in a 24hour span? 3 at most? There's SO much good food in Vegas! Some Michelin starred restaurants also go for like 30% discounts at the tix4tonight booths. Buffet @ Flamingo was 70% off once. Would definitely recommend you to try 1 of those Michelin starred restaurants. Much cheaper over in Vegas as compared to S'pore. Those celebrity chef restaurants in MBS over here are hell exp.
Joel Robuchon @ MGM, a 3 Michelin star restaurant have a 3 course set for 50usd. not sure if they still have it now. that was about 1month ago.

You can also hunt for happy hour specials, some places have happy hour that starts from like 11pm, up to 6am. Like steak and hashbrown(their hashbrown is like rosti) for 8usd?

I went into Wynn to take a look at the spread. Their crab legs were huge. Spread looked really good, better than MGM for sure. In fact there was quite a queue when I was there at 6+pm. Their dinner buffet usually starts at 4.30pm so do check the exact timings.

p.s you can check out tripadvisor, search "las vegas forums". I got ALOT of help from there whilst planning my trip. search for buffet of buffets, there was a thread on it and quite a lot people not recommending ppl to buy it lol. though i have not tried any of the hotels in the buffet of buffets.

 

[alexljy]

Thanks for the info. I guess I ll look into the tix4tonight thing abit more.

Anyway on that note, has anyone been to Mount Rainier in Seattle before? Worth doing a overnight self-drive trip to visit?

 

[Erwinlow]

Thanks for the info. I guess I ll look into the tix4tonight thing abit more.

Anyway on that note, has anyone been to Mount Rainier in Seattle before? Worth doing a overnight self-drive trip to visit?

Np... More than willing to help. Btw some ppl will start queuing before the booths open.

 

[stoopadity]

Will be travelling to Los Angeles, Las Vegas & San Francisco this weekend on free & easy... basically here are some of my own research i found which could benefit some of u...

1) hotels in las vegas are cheap ! can always wait 1 or 2 weeks before your actual date to book it... i could have saved USD$30 if only i have waited compared to the price i paid since 1 month.

2) book'ed my hotel via www.orbitz.com and use the following coupon / promotion code : hotel5 or fabsave5 (for las vegas only)

3) if you plan to shop : http://www.premiumoutlets.com/centers/index.asp and join as member to download more coupons for futher discounts

4) always always read review on the stuffs you are planning to do : www.tripadvisor.com

basically, i can't comment much as i haven't travel yet, but will definitely provide feedback after 2 weeks to see if my free & easy trip works out as planned...