thank you again to all the thoughtful folks who helped me out on this thread! very much appreciated.

as i'm leaving very soon, a few follow up questions to tie everything up please:

- how many hours prior to flight time should i arrive at JFK please? Flight 831 JFK-HKG direct is at 2:50PM. i have pre-check, and will be on First, not Business. i was planning on 3 hours but it sounds excessive. then again, better too early than too late. still, reasonable is best but i can't figure out what is smart and reasonable? Baggage-wise, i have two full sized suitcases to check in, one roller carry on. thanks in advance.

- wristwatch: during the x-ray TSA checking, one would NOT be able to have eyes ON THE TRAY itself as i'd be distracted being scanned and walking through that machine myself. as such, i'm concerned about a good watch sitting on the tray. so far, they've always wanted me to take off my watch. may i ask the best way to handle this safely and ensure that no one steals a good watch please? i do have these single watch zippered carrying cases. should i put my watch inside and put it way at the bottom of my backpack so a thief would have to reach way down to even get to the watch case?

thank you all so much!