My name is Curt Newport, and I apparently inherited a bit of a nomad’s gene from my mom’s side of the family. My mom won’t stay put, but also won’t get on a plane, so her travels are relegated to where she can drag my dad and her two dogs off to from their home in Virginia. They spend most of the year on the road, dodging undesirable weather.
I spent nearly twenty years with one company, and for nearly half of that as a Director of Training, with my “area” being “North America”. I used to travel roughly three weeks out of four. Based out of Washington DC, even the gate agents at IAD got to know me pretty well after a time. While I occasionally got to cover an assignment abroad, I always longed for more.
As a bit of a numbers guy, I began coveting airline miles/points. I had spreadsheets. I had projected points, and always was looking forward to hitting that 25000 mile threshold so that I could have a free ticket somewhere.
Somewhere along the way, and with the help of several online resources, I discovered how to make my frequent flier accounts explode. Mostly through bonus challenges, credit cards, and more, I was able to quickly stockpile points, and, as our family grew, our travel ability was not curtailed.
In 2007, both my wife and I started our own companies, which remain vibrant and successful today. Not only are all of our household expenses on an points-earning credit card, but so are all of our company expenses for each of us. Through all of them, and not counting the occasional bonus, our frequent flier accounts do not leave us wanting for much. Our transatlantic travels are always in Business Class or better, our hotel stays generally get us some upgrades, thanks to status swaps….. You get the idea.
As of the launch of this blog, in July of 2019, I have an extensive collection of passport stamps over the past 30+ years. I have loads of memories, some great photos, and lots of places to visit and revisit. Going forward, as our oldest son heads off to college, and our youngest is starting high school, we see the opportunity for more travels. This blog will serve as a notes file for us, a tips file for other globetrotters, and, if I play my cards semi-decently, might even defray some of the costs of my wanderlust.
Not only do I hope to share the sites and sounds of our journeys for our friends, but I hope to also share some thoughts on some ins and outs of some of the frequent flier programs, the bonus opportunities that have helped us through the years and countries, and capture some of the airlines and airports you may have opportunities to use.
A few years ago, returning from Belize, I found it was less miles to book Business Class on Avianca (via El Salvador) than it was to book coach on United (via Houston). My wife was skeptical, expecting the airline equivalent of a train with chickens on top, and guerilla warfare at the San Salvador (SAL) Airport. Other than having to pay $1 for a clear plastic bag for our toiletries in a gift shop, our Avianca experience opened our eyes. Having not believed that a foreign carrier could offer as nice of an experience as a carrier based in the good ol’ USA….. well, we now seek out foreign carrier opportunities whenever we have the chance.
As my blog evolves, some of the countries I have visited in the past will get some retroactive blog entries, most likely in the order of “most recent” (while I can still remember what the pictures are from), in addition to keeping up with where are journeys take us in “almost real time”.
Thanks for visiting my new blog. I hope I do not dissapoint!
Curt / Loudoun County, Virginia, USA