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Jeff Brownson

Former Content Contributor

24 Published Articles

About Jeff Brownson

Jeff was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, and didn’t take his first flight until his senior year of high school. Travel as he grew up was always by car, exploring much of the US and a bit of Canada.

Studying abroad in Copenhagen during college, and backpacking around Europe afterwards, was the next major step in a long life of travel. The wanderlust quickly took hold.

Today, Jeff can be found traveling the world solo, with groups of friends, or most often with his wife, Chrissy, and two boys, Ryan and Cole. Together with their dogs, Athena and Artemis, they make their home in Falls Church, VA, just outside of DC.

Since discovering miles and points in 2010, Jeff has traveled to over 35 countries, flying in first class, business class, and sometimes even in coach. Whether he’s staying in a hostel dorm, or in a luxury suite at a 5 star hotel, Jeff is constantly looking for the best deal to make travel as close to free as possible.

Jeff holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is a contributor to TravelingDad, and has been a featured speaker at the Chicago Seminars and Family Travel for Real Life Conferences. Follow Jeff on Instagram.

Countries Visited: 40
Favorite First Class: 
Cathay Pacific (777)
Favorite Business Class: Cathay Pacific (777)
Best Redemption Value: 4 seats to the Galapagos flying JFK-PTY-UIO-GPS-UIO-PTY-BOS on Copa and Avianca (Ultimate Rewards > United)
Favorite Type of Points: Amex Membership Rewards
Top 3 Cards in Wallet: The Platinum® Card from American Express, Citi Prestige Card, Chase Ink Plus®.

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Countries Visited

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U.S. States Visited

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Jeff's Latest Articles

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Lufthansa Boarding Process & Groups — Everything You Need To Know

Lufthansa Boarding Process & Groups — Everything You Need To Know

Lufthansa is Germany’s largest airline and has its base of operations and main hub in Frankfurt, Germany. As one of the founding members of the Star Alliance, Lufthansa has long been an innovator in the airline world. Lately, it has…

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Ryanair Boarding Process — Everything You Need To Know

Ryanair Boarding Process — Everything You Need To Know

When most people hear the term ultra-low-cost carrier, the first thing they do is cringe. The second thing they do is probably think about an airline like Ryanair. Ryanair is an Irish airline headquartered in Dublin, and it has long…

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easyJet Boarding Groups & Process — A Complete Guide

easyJet Boarding Groups & Process — A Complete Guide

EasyJet is a British airline with its main base at London Luton Airport and several smaller hubs across Europe. Known as an ultra-low-cost carrier, easyJet is one of those airlines that lots of people love to complain about — but…

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British Airways Boarding Groups & Process — Everything You Need To Know

British Airways Boarding Groups & Process — Everything You Need To Know

With primary operations based at both Heathrow and Gatwick airports, British Airways has a massive presence in both the trans-Atlantic and European airline markets. In addition, it flies long-haul flights from these London hubs to multiple cities in pretty much…

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Hawaiian Airlines Boarding Zones & Process – Everything You Need To Know

Hawaiian Airlines Boarding Zones & Process – Everything You Need To Know

One of the top dream destinations for many Americans is the exotic Pacific island state of Hawaii. Even from the West Coast, it’s a fairly long flight to get there, and it should be no surprise that many visitors fly…

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Allegiant Air Boarding Zones & Process — Everything You Need To Know

Allegiant Air Boarding Zones & Process — Everything You Need To Know

Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Allegiant Air is a leisure-focused airline with the goal of getting people to warm locations where they can relax. It has a fairly limited route network compared to larger carriers, flying to mostly smaller and…

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Spirit Airlines Boarding Zones & Process – Everything You Need To Know

Spirit Airlines Boarding Zones & Process – Everything You Need To Know

When most people hear Spirit Airlines, they tend to cringe. Spirit is put in the same category as Ryanair, EasyJet, and Air Asia, and rightly so: all of these airlines are known as ultra-low-cost carriers. That means you won’t get…

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Frontier Airlines Boarding Zones & Process — Everything You Need To Know

Frontier Airlines Boarding Zones & Process — Everything You Need To Know

Frontier Airlines is a low-cost carrier based in Denver, Colorado. It has an extensive flight network throughout the U.S., mostly to smaller cities and airports, with service to several locations in Mexico and the Caribbean. It is straightforward about its…

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JetBlue Airways Boarding Groups & Process — Everything You Need to Know

JetBlue Airways Boarding Groups & Process — Everything You Need to Know

Headquartered in New York City and with a base of operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), JetBlue Airways is quickly becoming a favorite airline of many American travelers. Though JetBlue doesn’t quite have the route network of the…

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Delta Air Lines Boarding Zones — Everything You Need To Know

Delta Air Lines Boarding Zones — Everything You Need To Know

Airlines love to make the boarding process distinctly theirs by doing things their own way, so having a clear picture of the boarding procedures of every airline you fly can be a bit of a challenge. Delta Air Lines has…

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American Airlines Boarding Groups & Process – Everything You Need To Know

American Airlines Boarding Groups & Process – Everything You Need To Know

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, American Airlines has established itself as the largest airline in the world. Whether you are looking at the number of passengers carried, the number of planes, or the number of destinations served, American Airlines leads…

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18 Valuable Benefits of the New Frontier Airlines World Mastercard

18 Valuable Benefits of the New Frontier Airlines World Mastercard

Frontier and Barclays have worked hard to improve the value proposition of the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard, and we think they’ve done an excellent job of it. A few years ago, they invited a few family travel writers (myself included)…

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5 Reasons the Brand New Frontier Airlines World Mastercard is Great For Families!

5 Reasons the Brand New Frontier Airlines World Mastercard is Great For Families!

Back in June, Frontier Airlines invited several family travel bloggers and their families (myself included) out to their headquarters in Denver to make a couple of big announcements. After looking at plenty of data, they had realized that although families…

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20 Valuable Benefits of the Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card

20 Valuable Benefits of the Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card

We’ve written many times about how valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points are if you want to upgrade your travel. In general, the more Ultimate Rewards points you earn, the better your travel options will be. Chase has a suite of…

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33 Best Tips for Family Travel (Have Less Stress and More Fun!)

33 Best Tips for Family Travel (Have Less Stress and More Fun!)

Traveling with your whole family can be overwhelming. Even though it gets easier the more you do it, you’ll run into challenges any time you travel with kids. Being prepared is one of the best things you can do to…

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Upgraded Points Launches New Family Travel Section!

Upgraded Points Launches New Family Travel Section!

We all know that Upgraded Points is one of the best sites for many different types of travel knowledge. 🙂 Whether you want to learn how to earn miles and points, how to use them for travel, or the details…

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The 16 Most Valuable Benefits of the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card [2024]

The 16 Most Valuable Benefits of the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card [2024]

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is one of many valuable Ultimate Rewards points-earning cards in the lineup from JP Morgan Chase. By itself, the card is a strong contender for your everyday spending, but when you combine the earning of the…

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The Complete Guide to Boingo Wireless for Travelers

The Complete Guide to Boingo Wireless for Travelers

When you’re traveling and need to use the internet, it’s nice to know how and where to find it. And if you’d like to avoid using a public Wi-Fi network at the airport and would like to access high-speed Wi-Fi,…

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Ultimate Guide to the Best And Worst Days to Fly & Book Flights

Ultimate Guide to the Best And Worst Days to Fly & Book Flights

No matter where I am or who I am with, the conversation eventually turns to travel. It’s what I’m passionate about, it’s what I know the most about, and it’s what I do for a living. Travel is also something…

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United Airlines Boarding Groups — Everything You Need To Know

United Airlines Boarding Groups — Everything You Need To Know

Nothing can start your trip off on the wrong foot quite like a confusing and frustrating boarding process before you even get on the plane. Airlines, however, don’t seem to recognize this issue. Either that, or it’s not a major…

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The Top 5 Reasons to Get The Amex Platinum Card

The Top 5 Reasons to Get The Amex Platinum Card

The Platinum Card® from American Express has long been one of the top premium credit cards available. Amex’s fantastic Membership Rewards program coupled with a long list of benefits has long meant that the high annual fee could easily be eclipsed by the…

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Andrew Kunesh

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Ashley Onadele

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Brandon Brunner

Former Content Contributor

Brandon was born and raised in California and really didn’t travel much growing up, even outside of his own state. While attending college, he was constantly looking to find the cheapest fares to any destination abroad, and quickly learned about the motto- “Chase the fare, not the destination”. Luckily, his first international flight was to Costa Rica (under $300 roundtrip) where that “Pura Vida” lifestyle (and Imperials) hit him hard, and he knew he had to see more.

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Brian Graham

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Caroline Lupini

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Charlie Page

Former Content Contributor

Charlie is a Senior First Officer and has been an airline pilot for nearly 15 years. He currently flies long-haul on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner after 10 years buzzing around Europe on the A320. He got into travel and aviation from an early age, fortunate enough to be taken on some great family holidays.

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Cherag Dubash

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Christy Rodriguez

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David Slotnick

Former Content Contributor

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Erin Miller

Content Contributor

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Greg Stone

Content Contributor

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Julian Kheel

Content Contributor

Julian Kheel first learned the ins and outs of credit card rewards and travel loyalty programs while flying more than 200,000 miles a year as a TV producer and director for World Wrestling Entertainment. With over 15 years of professional experience studying travel loyalty programs, Julian has served as CNN’s Senior Editor covering travel and credit cards, as well as the Editorial Director of The Points Guy, and has worked as a consultant for the Big 3 U.S. airlines.

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Lindsey Olander

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Spencer Howard

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Jarrod West

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Kellie Jez

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Nick Ellis

Editor & Content Contributor

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Christine Krzyszton

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Jessica Merritt

Editor & Content Contributor

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Katie Seemann

Senior Content Contributor and News Editor

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Amar Hussain

Senior Content Contributor

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Ehsan Haque

Content Contributor

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James Larounis

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Daniel Ross

Senior Content Contributor

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Michael Y. Park

Editor

Michael Y. Park is a journalist living in New York City. He’s traveled through Afghanistan disguised as a Hazara Shi’ite, slept with polar bears on the Canadian tundra, picnicked with the king and queen of Malaysia, tramped around organic farms in Cuba, ridden the world’s longest train through the Sahara, and choked down gasoline clams in North Korea.

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Stephen Au

Senior Content Contributor

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Chris Hassan

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