u/pixelsthattravel

Need an e-sim for 30 days for my upcoming travel to the US. My current provider is Airtel and their packs are frightfully expensive. I was looking at options from Saily, and there is a 10GB pack that is available at half the price of Airtel.

Would 10 gb be sufficient? I will have access to wi-fi at my hotels + relatives house. And I plan to download offline maps for wherever I go.

On the issue of OTP for my India based payments - am trying to enable auto-pay wherever possible + pay a few days in advance where autopay cannot be enabled. I have also read (Chatgpt/Gemini) that if I keep my airtel sim "active" but as a secondary sim, I will still get my banking related sms for OTP etc. and will not be charged. Has anyone experienced this? I am hoping my WhatsApp and Telegram will still be active as my airtel sim is still active (though secondary).

Saily does not give a "phone number". Incase I have to use a phone number, has anyone had any experience with apps like Textnow?

Any other recommendations on e-sim?

Need an e-sim for 30 days for my upcoming travel to the US. My current provider is Airtel and their packs are frightfully expensive. I was looking at options from Saily, and there is a 10GB pack that is available at half the price of Airtel.

Would 10 gb be sufficient? I will have access to wi-fi at my hotels + relatives house. And I plan to download offline maps for wherever I go.

On the issue of OTP for my India based payments - am trying to enable auto-pay wherever possible + pay a few days in advance where autopay cannot be enabled. I have also read (Chatgpt/Gemini) that if I keep my airtel sim "active" but as a secondary sim, I will still get my banking related sms for OTP etc. and will not be charged. Has anyone experienced this? I am hoping my WhatsApp and Telegram will still be active as my airtel sim is still active (though secondary).

Saily does not give a "phone number". Incase I have to use a phone number, has anyone had any experience with apps like Textnow?

Any other recommendations on e-sim?

I am planning to fly Delta- From Las Vegas to NYC and from NYC to Buffalo and back (to NYC). I plan to book the Main basic ticket as I am on a budget and I do not really care what seat they give me. What I really care about is my carry on. I will be carrying a camera back, that is within their carry on limits. If forced to gate check (as I would be in the last boarding zone), can I refuse as I will have camera and lens (hence expensive electronics) with me? The bag is fairly compact and can fit under the seat infront of me easily.

Planning to stay two nights and paying $11 extra gives me an option to get $75 food credit. Naturally this can be used only on premises. Is there a catch somewhere? I guess MGM would have quite a few restaurants on its premises. Any reasons not to select this option while booking a room?

I am flying economy (B-777) from Dubai to the US. It will a 14 hour flight. Should I spend $$ to book a twin seat at the back of the plane, or would a regular aisle seat in some other row be just fine. Does the extra gap and only two seats makes it more comfortable than sitting on a row with 3 passengers. The price to prebook a twin seat is almost twice that of a regular economy seat. Happy to spend that money if the benefit is worth, else could spend that amount on something else during the trip.

As the title suggests.

I am visiting the US (for the first time) and have an option to spend a night in Vegas late August/ early September. I do not know when I will come to the US next and as a photographer, was keen to walk down the strip at night, and yes, put a penny in a slot machine and not work a day more in my life (I know, not gonna happen).

So the plan is to reach Vegas around 2.00 pm (flying domestic from another city in the US), and after checking into the hotel by 4 ish (NYNY or Flamingo maybe- am on a budget), walk around a few casinos. then towards the night, walk up and down the strip, take pictures, people watch and call it a night.

I was initially planning to do two nights, but not sure if I want to go to the neon lights museum (heard that cameras are not allowed). So effectively with just a night there, I might have to give Fremont street a pass as well (too cheap to Uber lol).

Have to fly to NYC the next day, so might have to leave the hotel by 9.30 am or 10.00 am to catch a flight around noon, so not sure if there is something I can do in the morning except getting ready to go to the airport.

With just a night in Vegas, am I missing something significant as far as the "Vegas experience" is concerned? I guess to experience any place properly 3- 4 days too would be less, but that is something I cannot afford at the moment.

I am a fairly conservative spender with spends totaling around 6-8 lakhs a year across everything- fuel, insurance, utility payments etc. This may increase by a lakh or two if I am traveling in that year. Also, I will not use a credit card to pay my kids school fees if there is a 2.5% markup, instead prefering to do a bank transfer. I have the usual bare basic cards from Axis and ICICI (including amazon pay)

I have a foreign trip coming up (personal) and am expected to spend around 4- 5 lacs on that. Plus I might travel abroad more frequently in the coming years. A friend is aggressively pushing me to apply for Axis Magnus Burgundy. I do not qualify as my monthly take home is a little less than what is required due some deductions for ESOP etc.

While my friend is pitching the benefits- esp the air miles my discomfort with that card is due to:

• The high annual fees
• My general lack of trust in the reward programs due to devaluation
• Feeling that there will constant pressure to "swipe" the card
• Forex charges for currency conversion that will add around 18-20K (approx.) for the upcoming trip

My friend has this card and talks about how he is funding a few of his international air travel tickets solely on basis of rewards points. However, he is also a big spender.

Should I look at Scapia- the thought of spending 4 lakhs but no rewards points does not appeal to me, but 0 forex charges makes up for it. I tried applying for Uni X gold but the app doesn't go through with the video KYC.

Or should I consider any other card?

Thanks much in advance for your suggestions.