I’m supposed to write these posts after calling and seeing if there is a retention offer. While I will make that call out of curiosity, I can write this post ahead of time to say that based on this email, I am confident that I will not receive a strong retention offer.
Even if I receive a higher offer, I cannot justify the annual fee of $695. Do you recall when the annual fee was $450? That was a big deal back then. Amex will say that the perks of the card offset the annual fee. I disagree.
I don’t care about the $10 monthly wireless credit. It is a pain to have to remember to use my card every month not to miss out on the savings. After purchasing digital photo frames, Wonderboom speakers, podcast Shure microphones (which I have yet to use), I have nothing left to buy from Dell. I tried to hire an employee for Bachuwa Law using my Indeed credits, but the caliber of candidates left more than much to be desired. I have yet to see my Adobe purchases credited, an ongoing fight that I have yet to resolve. Trying to make use of the airline statement credit is more difficult than ever. Desperate to use it, I became a member of the Spirit Saver$ Club. These examples show that Amex’s benefits require more work than they are worth. Above all, why would anyone pay the annual fee when you can, T’s & C’s permitting, apply for this card over and over and over again?
Keep Vs. Cancel: Amex Business Platinum
The Etiquette of Things: Shopping Carts
The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book, The Etiquette of Things: Things You Didn’t Know Were Things. It is based on my annoyance with society as a whole and my Angry Professor persona (catch up on all Angry Professor posts here). Here are other excerpts:
- Etiquette of Things: Comedy Cellar NY
- Reclining Your Seat Is a Right
- Sitting in the Middle When Aisle Is Available?
- Playing Your Music in Public
- Elevator Etiquette, Pushing Your Floor Number
- Seat Etiquette: Prisoner’s Dilemma
As society becomes angrier, humans care less and less about their actions. Performing the simplest task becomes a major inconvenience. After exiting my favorite place, The Home Depot, I encountered such apathy by way of orange carts littering the parking lot. Like throwing trash on the ground instead of finding a trash can, it seems like it is too much to ask people to return the carts back to their designated space. I become enraged when I try to pull into a spot, only to see a shopping cart in the way. While that is bad, seeing this was more infuriating.
What does this have to do with travel? Nothing directly. But it should come as no surprise when we see more and more videos of people fighting on planes or a grown man complaining about a baby crying on board an aircraft. Manners are no longer required. It’s every jerk for himself. Trying to call out or correct such behavior only results in more disharmony, if not violence. As a result, the non-deplorables stay silent while social norms are eviscerated.
Perhaps I should change the title of the book from The Etiquette of Things: Things You Didn’t Know Were Things to The Etiquette of Things: Things You Should Know Are Things. Maybe that will remind people to act accordingly. Ultimately, it won’t make a difference because nobody reads anything anyway.
Why I Joined Spirit Saver$ Club
Why did I join Spirit Saver$ Club? Is it because the economy is falling into a recession? Is it because TPOL is going broke? While points hoarders can only hope for a recession and while I have spent too much on remodeling the Puerto Rico villa (see House Hunters Puerto Rico: TPOL Finds His Home), those are not the reasons that I joined. In need of a flight to Jamaica Carnival (see Puerto Rico to Jamaica: Oh No, Not Spirit! Wait, Why Am I Connecting through Panama?), the only affordable option was on Spirit. With an expiring credit from a previously unused flight, I decided to try out this infamous airline. Proactively, I decided to pay for my carry-on bag versus risking an exploitative charge at the airport (100 GBP Carry-On Bags? Scammed by Ryanair & Trips.com). Simultaneously, my Amex Business Platinum card’s annual is due this month. Having not used the $200 Amex travel credit, I loaded up the Spirit extras including a premium seat. With funds to spare, I also decided to enroll in the Spirit Saver$ Club which costs $69.95 for the year. Per Spirit’s website, here are the benefits of joining this exclusive club. Spirit Saver$ Club members will benefit from:
- Discounted fares
- Discounted bags
- Discounted seats (NEW!)
- Discounted Flight Flex (NEW!)
- Discounted Shortcut Security (NEW!)
- Discounted Shortcut Boarding (NEW!)
- Atlanta
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Chicago–O’Hare
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- Detroit
- Fort Lauderdale
- Hartford
- Miami
- Newark
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Tampa
Who else is a Free Spirit?
TPOL’s Out of the Office
I’m out of the office creating more content for my blog (see Carnival Jamaica: TPOL Goes to Candy Land Next Week). Please contact my secretary if you have any urgent matters. 
Bargaining Price Guide: Bookmark It!
I’m the best negotiator. Though sometimes, to save a few pounds, I waste a whole day (see Sharm el-Sheikh Taxi: For 40, I Bring You Camel, Tomorrow & Guns & Butter: Cairo Travel Guide). To save you both money and time, I have created the Bargaining Price Guide Page. There, I will keep tabs on all tabs. If you find a better deal than I received, I would love to hear about it.
El Clásico! Tickets, Game, Pre & Post Libations Guide
El Clásico is part of The Adios Puerto Rico, Hola España Trip Report. Read TPOL in Madrid: Why A Second Residency?
There are many things one should do before one dies. People who don’t do such things refer to this as their ‘bucket list.. Those who do such things refer to them as living. To ‘live’ in Madrid, means going to El Clásico, the showdown between two bitter rivals: Real Madrid and Barcelona. The game is not the same with the departure of Ronaldo from Real Madrid and the transfer of Messi from Barcelona. However, regardless of who is in the uniform, the game is the game. Here’s how to get it done: Transport Why bother with the metro or Bolt when you can walk (see Bolt vs. Metro vs. Walk: How to Get Around Madrid)?
Tickets
As expected, the game was showing sold out online. Unlike the World Cup, I refused to purchase overpriced tickets from third-party vendors (see The Guide to Buying Tickets for the World Cup And Other Big Events). A part of this Madrid residency experiment was to do as locals do. That meant waiting until the last minute to see what became available.
At the stadium, I was approached by many scalpers offering tickets. An expert on ticket scalping in the US (see New Orleans Jazz Fest: Ticket Scalping Primer, Ohio State vs. Michigan: Advanced Ticket Scalping, Michigan Ohio State: A Case Study in Ticket Scalping, Ticket Scalping NYC: Know Before You Go, Ticket Scalping NYC: The Follow-Up), I have no knowledge for securing real tickets at a low cost abroad. Before engaging in that process, I went to the ticket counter to see if anything was available. Indeed, there was. Though 200 euros per ticket is expensive, I have no problem paying the retail value for authenticity.
Souvenirs
I am not a rabid fan of club football. For decades, I have tried to pick a team but never could. I refuse to cheer for Man United because they are the Yankees of the Premier League. I couldn’t hop on the Barcelona bandwagon because doing so would be akin to cheering for the Lakers. I never liked Real Madrid because there’s something about Ronaldo that is off-putting. Like a child choosing a team, I settled for Man City because I liked the colors and because one of my favorite players/trouble makers Balotelli, aka Super Mario, aka the Dennis Rodman of football, was on the side for a passing moment.
To support my home team, I went with Real Madrid and purchased this smart scarf for 15 euros.
TPOL’s Tip: A hat goes for 20 euros (see Bargaining Price Guide).
Wine & Jamón
The tailgate at this game was different than at home. Instead of burgers and brat, it was vino and Jamón and not just any jamón ibérico, the finest in the world. 
TPOL’s Tip: Miajón Of Castuos is located at P.º de La Habana, 19, 28036 Madrid, Spain
Game Time
As we made our way to the stadium, the sun went down but not the energy.
No Alcohol
Remember the criticism that there was no alcohol allowed in the World Cup (see Arab’s World Cup: What We Got Right, What They Got Wrong)? That was an exaggeration. There was no alcohol at the games but plenty at hotel bars and watch parties. The same was true of El Clásico. Alcohol was not available in the stadium unless you were sitting in the VIP section. Per this article, this has been the case since 1990. “De acuerdo con el artículo 67.3 de La Ley 10/1990 del 15 de octubre de 1990, el gobierno español prohibió la venta de toda clase de bebidas alcohólicas en los estadios durante las competencias deportivas, para prevenir violencia entre los aficionados.” Like in Buenos Aires, this is done to prevent violence among the fans (see Too Dangerous? River Plate Stadium Review Buenos Aires).
Vibrant Stadium
Unlike the World Cup, this event was full of energy (see World Cup Day 1: USA vs. Netherlands). 
The starting lineup and serenading are incredible. Listen to these chants. They are not saying ‘we love Barcelona.’
Facilities
The stadium has a capacity of 81,044, though it is currently being renovated.
Overall
There’s a reason that El Clásico is on my list for one of the best sports events I have attended (see Wide World of Sports: The Best of Where I’ve Been). It’s the same level of hate as Michigan vs. Ohio State, but instead of cross-state rivals, it’s cross-country ones.
One for Controversy: My Follow-Up to the President’s Plane
On July 24, 2018, I wrote, Dear Mr. President, Leave Air Force One’s Paint Job Alone. That was quite an impassioned post that elicited all sorts of responses. For my own records, I was compelled to write the follow-up that Trump’s hideous plan had been discarded. The beautiful baby blue remains. Here is a rendering per CNN.
I would have liked to say how far we’ve come as a country since then, but five years later everyone is still talking about Trump. Post-presidency and Covid, I am happy that I have mostly moved on from such topics as they no longer dominate my travel life. Interestingly, readership has dipped as a result. Perhaps this post will get the numbers going again.
Puerto Rico to Jamaica: Oh No, Not Spirit! Wait, Why Am I Connecting through Panama?
Puerto Rico to Jamaica is part of Carnival Jamaica: TPOL Goes to Candyland.
Do you know how far Puerto Rico is from Jamaica? Better yet, do you know where either one is on a map? I will be honest and admit that I did not know that Jamaica was next to my next-door neighbor DR/Haiti. Indeed, Kingston is only 710 miles away from San Juan. It is only fitting, given the efficiency for how everything runs on this island, that these are my routing options.
I’m sure everyone can recognize Florida in the first map, but for those who are not experts in geography or airport codes, the bottom route is San Juan to Panama City, Panama. That’s right, I have to fly from the Caribbean to Central America to go to the Caribbean. Option A is a distance flown of 1646 miles. Option B is a distance flown of 1739 miles. Before you decide which one is worse, let me inform you that Option A consists of a JetBlue flight to FLL then Spirit to KIN. Option B is Copa business. Lucky for me and lucky for you readers, I am doing both.
Puerto Rico’s inefficient routing is why my Rum Rum Trip Report isn’t humming along. Do you recall when I had to fly from San Juan to New York to go to Antigua (see Just Got Home & Now I’m Leaving Again)?
Carnival Jamaica: TPOL Goes to Candy Land Next Week
This is the resumption of yet another Trip Report. This one is called Carnival Jamaica: TPOL Goes to Candy Land.
I have been to two carnivals in my life: one in Rio (see Guns & Butter: Rio de Janeiro Travel Guide) and one in Trinidad (see Last Minute Trinidad Carnival Guide! Everything You Need to Know And Stuff You Will Figure Out On Your Own!). I was ready to go to my third, but Covid killed that idea in 2020 and 2021 and then a ruptured Achilles ruined that idea in 2022 (see Jamaica Carnival Postponed).
After years of waiting, I am happy to say that I am finally going next week. My band is Bacchanal Jamaica and the theme is Candy Land. I have no idea what I am getting myself into but am ready nonetheless.
Steven Wins TPOL’S March Madness Bracket!
It’s not even tip-off and the winner of TPOL’s March Madness can be declared. It is my fixer, Steven. By fixer I don’t mean the one in the news these days. I mean my general contractor. You have one year to claim your prize. And if you don’t, I won’t remind you, nor will I extend this offer to a runner-up.
