I used to joke about Traveling While Arab. I can share many stories about when I was ‘randomly searched‘. I never thought that being profiled was that big of a deal. That changed when my dad called to ask if he could travel to Aruba under Trump’s initial executive order which restricted entry into the United States for those with visas or green cards from a list of countries that included Iraq.
I said, “Dad, you’re an American citizen with an American passport. Don’t be crazy.” Paranoid, he went as far as to ask the general counsel at his work if it was a good idea to travel. The lawyer said it would not be a problem but cautioned against traveling with an Iraqi passport.
The Iraqi passport comment was amusing. While it may be useful to have a second passport from the EU or the UK, I am confident that the overwhelming majority of Iraqi Americans are not holding dual citizenship and those that do have an Iraqi passport aren’t vacationing with it.
While my dad had nothing to fear, the same could not be said about my uncle who only has a green card. Theoretically, under Trump’s travel ban, my uncle, who has been in the US longer than I have been alive, could not have gone to Canada and returned until the moratorium was lifted.
The ‘good’ news came this week when Trump took Iraq off of the list. I put good in quotes because the ban still applies to Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, and Iran. For immigrant families who came from those countries and have prospered in the US, this ban is an insult. It is divisive. And, most importantly, it is ineffective. The leaked results from a study from the Department of Homeland Security, show that country of origin has little to do with the propensity to commit terrorist acts. Instead, it found that homegrown terrorism posed was a bigger issue. The attackers in Paris were born in Europe. The San Bernardino killer was born in the United States. And the list goes on.
Correlating country of origin with the likelihood of becoming a terrorist is as stupid as linking rap music with criminal behavior. The real problem is integration and assimilation, something that a travel ban will not promote.
Trump’s New Travel Ban: My Family Can Now Travel
The Club At SJC: The New Bloody Mary Queen?
Oh look, a Priority Pass lounge. Will it be yuck or will it be great? It was great. My Alaska flight was cancelled to LAX. I was rerouted to San Jose and spent twenty minutes in the lounge drinking and eating breakfast.
First, I have to say that the service at the lounge was top-notch. I cancelled my Citi Prestige and had yet to activate my Priority Pass on my Amex Platinum but the woman at the front help me get that situated without having to wait outside like a trespasser.
Next, the lounge itself was very nice. Its use by ANA which may be the reason why.
Moving on, the food selection was pretty good for a domestic lounge. I had scrambled eggs, potatoes, and a freshly toasted bagel. What’s better than a toasted bagel with cream cheese? One that is prepared for you.
Moving on more, there was a great selection of drinks. From pineapple to apple juice, Kirin to Sierra Nevada, and Fanta ginger ale, everything was available.
Last, and the reason we came walked from gate 27 to gate 12, was for the Bloody Mary. Previously, I voted the Bloody Mary at the Alaska BoardRoom in SEA #1. Now, I’m not so sure. The bartender took great care in preparing this special mix. And she used Tabasco mixer which is one of my favorite hot sauces in the world.
For presentation, the SJC Bloody Mary wins. For taste, I still go with the one at SEA.
Off to Guadalajara!
The Points Of Life Is Writing for The Points Guy
I told my friends that I published an article for The Points Guy today. Many of them who aren’t in our profession asked, “I thought you were the points guy?” Since I started blogging almost 3 years ago, I have had to deal with the similarity of my blog’s name and TPG’s.
The following is the reaction I receive when people realize that I’m TPOL, not TPG:
As a legal contributor for TPG, I will write about international law and travel. My first article, What to Do When Locked Up Abroad, went live yesterday and hopefully it is one of many to come. In the mean time, I will continue to write consumer arbitration posts on Frequent Miler, but the TPOL you know and love will keep his thoughts on points, partying, and pho exclusively on thepointsoflife.com
Thanks for listening to any of the voices inside of my head,
TPOL
Alaska Cancelled My Flight: What Am I Owed?
‘What am I owed?’ How’s that for incessant entitlement? And now for the facts of the situation:
Montana is no place for TPOL which is why I’m expatting it out of here with the help of readers who will decide where I live next. (vote here) To make life bearable (and to make money), I commute between the wilderness, New York, and abroad. Tonight, I was supposed to go to LAX to catch my flight to Guadalajara, Mexico.
I drove 100 miles to MSO airport and upon arriving learned that my flight was cancelled due to mechanical issues. With nowhere to go, I called Alaska who told me to check into a hotel and they would reimburse me for my troubles. No longer homeless, my next issue is that I arrive five hours later to Mexico than anticipated and will miss a meeting as a result.
I actually booked this trip with my Alaska Airlines card to hit the min spend so I don’t think I have the travel protection that other cards offer. I’m calling on my readers to tell me what remedies are available as my legal expertise are limited to international and consumer arbitration. If a corporation rips you off, I can fight for you. (see my guest blog series The Fine Print on Frequent Miler.) If you’re arrested or detained overseas, I can be helpful. (see my inaugural post What to Do If Locked Up Abroad, on the TPG) If it’s a DOT issue, I’m useless.
Since my phones don’t work in this state, I skipped doing the research and went for a beer and burger at the famous Mo Club.
Training for the Tropics: Week 3 Improvement?
- MuscleEgg: the best protein to get in shape
- TRX Ropes: the best way to workout on the road.
- Lil Guys Health and Fitness Program. Fill out the online questionnaire in its entirety. (In the ‘Were you referred by someone?’ entry, tell them TPOL sent you. In the ‘how did you hear about us’ entry, put in my trainer’s name, Eddie Larios.)
Week 3 was better than week two but I’m not even close to getting into a groove. I should specify that my goal is to gain size not get cut. It’s easy to get into shape by following TPOL’s Tahiti Diet, it’s another thing to get big bro. The worst part about this exercise plan is having to measure everything I eat. Sometimes I’m tired, sometimes I start cooking before I remember to measure, and sometimes I just don’t care. Tracking the calories half the time is pointless because at the end of the week, I have incomplete data. I have the same problem at the gym where I skip exercises I don’t feel like doing and count my reps here and there. The good news, if there is any, is that I am not that weak. I did 4 sets of 205, 2 reps each and some deadlifts at 225. I record these blooper videos and send them to my trainer for feedback. I’m sure my back was curved on the deadlifts. Keeping track of the diet and the workouts is very tedious. The reason I am not quitting is because the program (and this blog series) keeps me accountable. I could go back to chicken and broccoli and look good for my trip but that is not the goal that I set for myself. This week I’m in Guadalajara and Scottsdale for golf. Let’s see the discipline on the road.
Where Is TPOL’s New Home Country? Voting Now Open
Okay, so I had to get rid of the cold countries on the list, something that nomadlist.com claims it can do but just freezes instead. I lived in the frozen tundra of Mongolia so I’m not doing anything cold again. You don’t go to school for ten years to struggle through winter. I appreciate all the votes for Iceberg, Russia but Putin isn’t going to sway this election. Here is the amended list with more comprehensive rules:
- Fast Wi-Fi
- Less than $1500 a month to live.
- Low Crime
- Safe for Women
- No Cold Weather: Did that in Mongolia, the coldest and most polluted capital in the world, and have nothing to prove now. (Ironically, the website kept freezing when I put warm/mild climate but cold entries will not count, so don’t bother voting for them.)
- Can’t have visa hassle.
- Voting closes on September 1st.
Vote Where TPOL Moves Next! And I’ll Go There
So last time I decided to move abroad, it didn’t work out so well. (see Mistake of Mongolia) Google Mongolia now and you’ll quickly read how Mongolia is standing on a literal gold mine. What they don’t tell you is that the there is next to no chance that the resources will leave the ground. I was promised the world and then constructively deported – without a paycheck.
But that was the past. Today is the present. With the development of my cloud based consumer protection law firm, Bachuwalaw.com, which has grown tremendously from my opportunity to post The Fine Print on Frequent Miler, I am once again ready to leave the US for adventure. This time, I won’t have to rely on a snake in the grass boss to [not] pay my wages.
Apologies, I got sidetracked from being positive.
The question is where should I go. The land is so big. The choice is so infinite. We’ll let fate decide.
Actually, this time, I am going to have my readers decide. Barring an unforeseeable change in circumstances, I am leaving America after the Michigan Ohio State game this November. You just have to tell me where to go. For those that want to be rid of me, this is your opportunity to send me to Ketchikan, Alaska. (shout out to my Young Pope fans)
I used a great website, Nomad List, to come up with a list of options. The homepage for the site is pretty spectacular. It shows a ranking of the best cities to live and has the Internet speed, temperature, and cost of living for each place. These are the requirements:
- Fast Wi-Fi
- Less than $1500 a month to live.
- Low Crime
- Safe for Women
- No Cold Weather, did that in Mongolia, the coldest and most polluted capital in the world, and have nothing to prove now. (Ironically, the website kept freezing when I put warm/mild climate but cold entries will not count, so don’t bother voting for them.)
- Can’t have visa hassle
Angry at Amex Platinum Too!
There’s no reason TPOL should be up at 7AM unless he’s coming home from a Chinese disco. This early hour has me in a foul mood. I just ranted about the SQ deval and now I’m sounding off on Amex increasing its annual fee on the platinum card from $450 to $550. Gary has a run down of the changes so I’ll spare myself the trouble of using my touchscreen to write them out and you the suspense of asking if that increase is worth it. It isn’t.
For $100 more you get 5x points on hotels booked through Amex’s portal, (something I never do), a tin card (that’s so 2012 Sapphire bro), and $200 in Uber credits, sort of. Card holders receive 11 months of a $15 Uber credit and $35 Uber credit in December. Someone in marketing must’ve thought they were pretty clever to put the remainder in December. And the credit is only valid in America, so no Uber Cairo for me.
Why not give the $200 credit as it is incurred? Is this Amex’s way of making sure I don’t burn the card after using the credits early in the year? (As you know, burning is one of the few ways this card can be destroyed) Letting unused Uber credits go to waste because I’m out of the country makes this ‘enhancement’ a deval in tin clothing. I haven’t decided if I’ll keep or cancel but it’s not looking good for Amex.
Have we become so desensitized to annual fees that $550 seems reasonable?
SQ Deval Notice Means Nothing
You know what really grinds my gears? Devaluations. You know what annoys me more? The recommendation to book now before the deval goes into effect.
Yesterday after everyone including Kellyanne Conway reported on another hit to the points game, I searched for the unicorn of award tickets- two seats on an a380 from JFK-FRA. I started as far out as I could, mid February 2018, and worked my way back to November. To the shock of none, there weren’t any seats. In fact, in the bottom right corner there was a pop up ridiculing me with the caption ‘1200 people searched for this itinerary today ‘.
To toot my own horn, I have flown Suite Class before and the 777 from Asia and to Moscow. Consequently, it will not be the end of humanity if I can’t find another go under the old price, though the window is closing on the mile high opportunity. Still, it is irritating that the deval is coming like an unstoppable rebel force and I can’t do anything about it. It’s also disingenuous that I’m told to try.
Anyone book a380 flights to Germany and beyond? Anyone know someone in the SQ call center? Need to get on the VIP waiting list.
No Citi AA Retention Offer: Why That’s A Good Thing
This is a first. I called to close my Citi AA Platinum Select card and waited for the retention offer. The agent said, “If I close this, I can’t reopen it.” She didn’t ask why I was closing it or anything. I said if you want to credit me the annual fee, I’ll keep it open. She replied that there were not any retention offers on this account. No 2x, no 5x, no get $95 back when you spend $1000. It’s a relief to close the card out and not deal with another offer that I have to meet, another spend that I have to make, or another deal for points that I can’t pass up. Sometimes this game gets tiring and I don’t feel like dealing with it. Citi made it easy for me today. Anyone else feeling the burden of entitlement?
