A wise author once wrote, “International travel will teach you more about business, politics, and law than all the degrees combined” (Buy Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong . . . Including Mine). As I continue to travel, I continue to learn. I am constantly reminded that I do not know everything, and that smugness is not a good quality.
My latest example is when I went to board my flight to Anguilla (see MIA-AXA: Almost Bumped on My Birthday). The gate agent pronounced it ang·gwi·luh. As a resident of Puerto Rico (see Despacito! TPOL Is Moving to Puerto Rico! Effective Inmediatamente) and a tremendous Spanish speaker, I could not help but feel embarrassed. It’s pronounced ang-gee-yah, obviously.
When I landed in Anguilla, the local immigration agent said, “Welcome to ang·gwi·luh.”
The second fun fact about ang·gwi·luh is how much money it is making from its website addresses. Anguilla owns the rights to ‘ai’ web addresses and sells them for a pretty Eastern Caribbean penny. Indeed, the Anguillian government says that in 2024 it earned 105.5m East Caribbean dollars ($39m; £29m) from selling domain names. That was almost a quarter (23%) of its total revenues last year. Tourism accounts for some 37%, according to the IMF (read How sheer luck made this tiny Caribbean island millions from its web address).
TPOL has contributed to the local economy of Anguilla both by visiting this beautiful island and by amassing a couple of .ai domains to ensure his humble rise to global dominance.
ang·gwi·luh.ai
I had planned to spend my 42nd birthday in Anguilla. American Airlines had other plans for me. Sitting in the AA Lounge D30, I tried to select seats for the 3-hour flight. I had no luck. When I went to the gate, I was told the flight was sold out and that I would have to wait for everyone to board before they could tell me whether there were two seats for Ms. TPOL and me. Thankfully, two Anguillians gave up their seats, allowing me to board. I don’t know what would have happened to my non-refundable points reservation at the Hilton Zemi Beach. I also do not know what would have happened to my Zacapa XO duty-free purchase.
Off to Anguilla.
I visited the AA Admirals Club in MIA at D30 when it was being remodeled (see Admirals Club MIA: Under Construction). Not much has changed since then. It’s as crowded as ever. And they serve the same insult to my grandmother’s hummus and the same stalks of celery. Since they won’t change, neither did I. I ordered a Bloody Mary made with complimentary Finlandia vodka along with a Miller Lite.
Overall
What was remodeled? It’s still chaos.
In 2013, I attended the Final Four in Atlanta and saw Michigan lose to Louisville. The post was titled Final 4 Free. In 2018, I went to San Antonio and watched them lose to Villanova. The post was titled Go Blue! Left Blue. Thirteen years later, I am writing again about how I went to see Michigan play for the championship. Only this time the result was different.
The first step was to book a flight from SJU-IND. That cost 13,500 AA points and $5.60. I did so before Arizona played Michigan, knowing that I could cancel up to the time of departure if Michigan lost. I also booked a return flight for 13,500 AA points and $5.60. The retail cost per flight was $1,100.
The third step was to find somewhere to stay. I could not do that in advance as all the hotels had a non-refundable policy. After Michigan beat Arizona, I found myself sitting at the airport at 1 AM Sunday morning searching for hotels. The prospect of finding somewhere to lay my head looked bleak. All I found was phantom availability in downtown Indianapolis or the unenviable option of staying at an airport hotel.
Not one to panic, I kept hitting fresh. At 3:24 AM, the Residence Inn Indianapolis Downtown on the Canal opened up for Monday night. I redeemed 39,000 Marriott points instead of $1,053. At 3:39 AM, the Aloft Indianapolis opened up for Sunday night. I used a stay certificate worth 35k + 8k Marriott points to snag a hotel that retailed for $825. Finally, I used 8,000 Hyatt points to stay at the Hyatt Place Indianapolis Airport on the recovery day after the game, instead of paying $174.
The actual retail price of this showcase showdown was $8,503.70. Out of pocket, I paid $22.40.
Thank You Trump! SYD-NAN-DFW CancelledDue to ongoing developments in the Middle East and the associated operational impacts, including fuel cost challenges, we have taken the difficult decision to suspend our Nadi- Dallas services effective September 7th.
Bula! Fiji Airways Reinstates My ReservationDespite no award availability showing, Fiji rebooked me on the SYD-NAN-LAX route, keeping my dreams of visiting American Samoa alive. Bula!
Have you seen this commercial?
This man got a stand mixer for $56.10 instead of $461! Seeing the commercial over and over again has brought me nowhere close to figuring out how Dealdash.com works. It has, however, inspired this latest purchase and, in turn, this blog post.
No Affiliate Disclaimer: I wish I were paid for promoting Williams-Sonoma.
What does a pasta maker and spiral mixer have to do with points travel? It’s simple. These transactions are used to reach the minimum spends on credit cards, making them rational purchases versus #wastefraudabuse. Somehow, I have convinced myself that having two Amex Business Platinum cards with an annual fee of $895, back-to-back, with a 20k minimum spend to hit the 200k bonus, is worth it (see 2025 What I Spent (And Received) in Annual Fees).
In the old days, I would MS my way to points balances, but today the Corleone family is completely legitimate (see I’m Done with Manufactured Spending). Now, I rationalize my excess believing that points + toys > points + shame of Vanilla Reloading (see I’m in Manufacturing, Spending).
I have an extra mat to sell if anyone is interested.
The old rule for churning was to never carry a credit balance and only churn what you can burn. While I am doing a good job with the first, I am struggling to keep up with the second.
The new rule for churning is to stop spending, knowing that cash is king, not pizza.
I wrote this post: Thank You Trump! SYD-NAN-DFW Cancelled. Here was the reaction on X, formerly known as Twitter:
Tom obviously knows nothing. He doesn’t appreciate the challenge of award availability on Fiji. Sanjay only reads headlines. I wonder if he saw this headline about his Arsenal team conceding a goal.
Festivus retorts aside, I am happy that the people at Fiji Airways are a lot kinder than my blog readers. Despite no award availability showing, Fiji rebooked me on the SYD-NAN-LAX route, keeping my dreams of visiting American Samoa alive (see I Blew It: Missing Blowholes in Samoa And Tuna in America).
Bula!
I have written extensively about the luxury of having points and being able to attend otherwise cost-prohibitive Sports Events. When Michigan made the National Championship game this year, I had to go. I had spent enough money (and points) attending the previous two National Championships, both of which resulted in an L (see Final 4 Free & Final Four San Antonio: Go Blue! Left Blue).
In this report, I will cover the following challenges:
Getting tickets to the game.
Booking flights.
Booking hotels.
And what to do in one of the dullest cities in America, Indianapolis.
Remember when the Straits of Hormuz were open? Of course, you do not, because it was not something the average person concerned himself with. Now, everyone is a geopolitical expert on Iran. And now, the average person is starting to feel the effects of our Buffoon in Chief’s war.
My comeuppance for moving to Puerto Rico in 2018 (see Despacito! TPOL Is Moving to Puerto Rico! Effective Inmediatamente) instead of running for Senator came by way of email yesterday:
Bula from Fiji Airways,We are contacting you to advise of an important update to your upcoming booking with Fiji Airways.Due to ongoing developments in the Middle East and the associated operational impacts, including fuel cost challenges, we have taken the difficult decision to suspend our Nadi- Dallas services effective September 7th. As a result, the flight on which you are currently booked will no longer operate.
Now, I am not sure what I will do. Anyone who has searched for availability on Fiji via Alaska knows and will appreciate how difficult it was for me to book this ticket (Bula! Fiji Airways Vancouver to Nadi Flight Review).
TPOL went from 35th place to 4th place as Michigan beat UConn to make my life great again. Whether A777Neo will visit Puerto Rico is the outstanding question. Next up: TPOL’s Final Four Trip Report.
Ready to welcome 777Neo to PR!
Since they won’t change, neither did I. I ordered a Bloody Mary made with complimentary Finlandia vodka along with a Miller Lite.
Overall
What was remodeled? It’s still chaos. 
This man got a stand mixer for $56.10 instead of $461! Seeing the commercial over and over again has brought me nowhere close to figuring out how Dealdash.com works. It has, however, inspired this latest purchase and, in turn, this blog post.
No Affiliate Disclaimer: I wish I were paid for promoting Williams-Sonoma.
What does a pasta maker and spiral mixer have to do with points travel? It’s simple. These transactions are used to reach the minimum spends on credit cards, making them rational purchases versus #wastefraudabuse. Somehow, I have convinced myself that having two Amex Business Platinum cards with an annual fee of $895, back-to-back, with a 20k minimum spend to hit the 200k bonus, is worth it (see 2025 What I Spent (And Received) in Annual Fees).
In the old days, I would MS my way to points balances, but today the Corleone family is completely legitimate (see I’m Done with Manufactured Spending). Now, I rationalize my excess believing that points + toys > points + shame of Vanilla Reloading (see I’m in Manufacturing, Spending).
