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Few places on earth evoke a sense of adventure and exploration like South Africa. In addition to the amazing national parks and the wealth of history, flying into Johannesburg opens up travel opportunities to neighboring countries and the best safari and wildlife tours on the planet. Over in Cape Town, you can surf world-class waves and take a scenic hike up Table Mountain.
Unfortunately, South Africa is thousands of miles from the U.S. and an expensive destination to reach — especially in the pointy end of the plane. But if you play your cards right, you can avoid expensive cash fares and fly to South Africa in some of the best business-class products in the world for a reasonable cost using points and miles.
Here's a look at five frequent flyer programs that offer great value for flights to South Africa.
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Air France–KLM Flying Blue
Savvy award travelers know the Flying Blue loyalty program can unlock great value for flights to Europe. However, your miles can take you much further than Paris or Amsterdam. You also can use them to get to South Africa — to both Cape Town (CPT) and Johannesburg (JNB).
According to Flying Blue's zone-based award charts (warning: PDF), prices for long-haul travel to Africa from North and Central America start at the following for one-way tickets:
- Economy: 35,000 Flying Blue miles
- Premium Economy: 65,000 Flying Blue miles
- Business: 95,000 Flying Blue miles
On top of the mileage cost, you'll also come out of pocket for $135–$420 in taxes and fees, depending on the class of ticket you reserve.
Part of what makes using Flying Blue to book your South African getaway appealing is the program's free stopover policy. Relaxing in Paris, Amsterdam, or a number of other European cities is a solid way to break up all the long-haul flying.
For awards that feature a connection between Air France and/or KLM flights or partner airlines, you can stop over in the connecting city for a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of one year. To add a stopover, you'll need to call Flying Blue's customer service line.
Moreover, we've seen South African cities on the monthly Promo Rewards several times, offering 25% or more off the cost of an award ticket.
Earning Flying Blue miles
Compared to the other options, Flying Blue commands one of the highest mileage premiums for flights to South Africa. However, the pros of using Flying Blue outweigh the cons. Flying Blue miles are some of the easiest to earn, making these awards ultra-accessible from several angles.
Outside of transferring credit card points to Flying Blue, U.S. residents can also pick up the $89 annual fee Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard® and earn Flying Blue miles on everyday spending.
Related: Do Flying Blue Miles Expire?
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
You can book Alaska Mileage Plan partner award tickets to Africa from the contiguous United States and Canada at the following costs:
- Economy: 55,000 Mileage Plan miles
- Premium Economy: 72,500 Mileage Plan miles
- Business: 110,000 Mileage Plan miles
- First: 165,000 Mileage Plan miles
Alaska Airlines has a long list of partner airlines, but three offer consistently good value for flights to South Africa: British Airways, Condor, and Qatar Airways.
Of the three, Condor's pricing is the most appealing. Compared to the other carriers, its awards are the most readily available, and the tax and fee component is a palatable $96 in all classes. Even better, if you're flying economy, the price you'll pay for an award is less than what Mileage Plan publishes as the starting price for awards to Africa.
Like Flying Blue, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan also offers complimentary stopovers. So, if you're trying to fly Condor from New York (JFK) to Cape Town (CPT), you can book your itinerary with a stopover in Condor's hub in Frankfurt (FRA). However, note that you'll pay a little more in taxes.
Earning Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles
Alaska Mileage Plan miles are broadly considered one of the most valuable airline currencies you can earn. And part of the reason for that high value is that they're difficult to earn. Presently, there are only a handful of ways to earn Mileage Plan miles, including:
- Fly Alaska Airlines and its partners.
- Bank a welcome bonus on the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card or the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card.
- Transfer Marriott Bonvoy® points to Mileage Plan at a 3:1 ratio, and earn a 5,000-point bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points you transfer.
- Earn miles through Alaska's shopping and dining portals.
- Book travel through one of Alaska's partner brands.
Related: Do Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles Expire?
American Airlines AAdvantage®
No matter where you want to go in the world, there's a high chance that American Airlines AAdvantage miles can get you there. And yes, that includes the South African cities of Cape Town, Johannesburg, and even Durban.
To get to South Africa with AA miles, you'll likely find yourself on a flight operated by British Airways or Qatar Airways. Even better, the prices you'll pay for awards are reasonable — especially when considering all the ways to earn AAdvantage miles.
Of the two carriers, Qatar Airways is the best option on price. In economy, you'll redeem 40,000 miles for a one-way ticket or 75,000 for a business-class ticket. And if you're lucky, “business class” means Qsuite. The tax component is a reasonable $42.80 on Qatar awards to Africa and $82.40 on the return.
British Airways offers two additional classes of travel to South Africa — premium economy and first class — but the carrier-imposed surcharges on BA-operated flights are staggering. Business and first-class tickets are subject to more than $800 in fees alone.
However, British Airways generally has a wealth of award space bookable with AAdvantage miles, making this a still-great option if you need to get to South Africa but don't want to wait for a Qatar award to come online.
Unfortunately, American Airlines doesn't offer free stopovers, but you can use a layover for a maximum of 23 hours and 59 minutes, provided your itinerary features a connection this long. That's more than enough time to splash around in the Doha airport pool.
Earning American Airlines AAdvantage miles
American Airlines isn't a transfer partner of any credit card point programs outside of Bilt Rewards, which allows for conversions at a 1:1 ratio. However, there are numerous ways to earn AAdvantage miles that don't require transferring credit card points to American Airlines:
- Fly American Airlines or its partner airlines.
- Apply for an American Airlines credit card and earn a welcome bonus.
- Transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to American Airlines at a 3:1 ratio.
- Earn miles through AAdvantage eShopping or AAdvantage Dining.
- Fill out e-rewards surveys, earn miles on Bask Bank savings, and more.
Related: The Complete Guide to Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles and Loyalty Points
United Airlines MileagePlus
United Airlines flies to Cape Town and Johannesburg, but there's a low chance you can get a great deal on those flights by booking with United MileagePlus miles. You'll have to wrangle United's dynamic award pricing and hope you strike gold. This is especially true for tickets in the carrier's Polaris business class cabins.
Alternatively, you can look to United's Star Alliance partner Ethiopian Airlines for fair award pricing to South Africa. United scrapped its partner award charts back in 2020, so there's no defined “starting at” pricing for awards to Africa or anywhere.
However, you can routinely find award space to CPT and JNB on Ethiopian Airlines for roughly 50,000 MileagePlus miles one-way in economy or 88,000 in business class. The tax component is incredibly friendly, too.
While it might be harder to maximize on flights to South Africa, taking advantage of United's Excursionist Perk is a creative way to get more out of your miles. Effectively, you can get an extra award flight for just the taxes and fees provided you abide by certain rules. Namely:
- The flight itinerary must start and end in the same region.
- The perk must be used in a different region than where travel began.
So, if you wanted to fly from the U.S. to South Africa and back in Ethiopian business class, checking out both Cape Town and Johannesburg in the process, the cost breakdown would look the following:
- Newark (EWR) to Johannesburg (JNB): 88,000 MileagePlus miles plus $5.60
- Johannesburg (JNB) to Cape Town (CPT): 0 MileagePlus miles plus $8.70
- Cape Town (CPT) to Washington, D.C. (IAD): 88,000 MileagePlus miles plus $63.60
Overall, it's a great way to break up your travel and see another place or two for no more miles than you'd already redeem for a round-trip ticket.
Earning United MileagePlus miles
Like most other major U.S. airlines, United has a bevy of co-branded credit cards that offer big welcome bonuses and MileagePlus miles on everyday spending. But outside of picking up a United credit card, you can earn MileagePlus miles in a handful of other ways:
- Fly United and its partner airlines.
- Using United's online shopping portal.
- Transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to United MileagePlus at a 3:1 ratio. You'll also earn a bonus of 10,000 United miles for every 60,000 Marriott points you transfer.
- Buy United miles.
You can also transfer select credit card currencies and hotel points to United:
Related: Do United MileagePlus Miles Expire?
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Depending on your appetite for carrier-imposed surcharges, Virgin Atlantic can present a quality option for award flights to South Africa. At the bottom end of the carrier's pricing from the United States, you can expect to pay:
- Economy: 22,500 Flying Club points
- Premium Economy: 42,500 Flying Club points
- Upper Class: 105,000 Flying Club points
The mileage cost isn't that bad, because it is easy to accrue Virgin points. However, the kicker with Virgin Atlantic awards is the high cash component. At a minimum, you'll pay between $300 and $616 for a one-way award from the U.S. to Cape Town or Johannesburg, depending on the cabin.
Virgin Atlantic offers a stopover in London with its “Layover in London” program. By booking a multi-city itinerary, you can give yourself extra time to explore London before heading onwards to South Africa. However, you'll have to pay a couple hundred extra dollars in taxes and fees on these bookings. For example, the tax component on the Upper Class award in the itinerary above jumps to $894 when you add the stopover — an increase of nearly $280.
Related: Overlooking Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Can Be Costly
Earning Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points
Virgin points are extremely easy to earn, which is one of the key reasons why Flying Club is worth a look if travel to South Africa is on the horizon. You can transfer several currencies to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, allowing you to build up a point balance quickly.
Related: Do Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points Expire?
Final Thoughts
If South Africa is on your bucket list, one of the best ways to get there is to use points and miles. At a minimum, five frequent flyer programs offer compelling award prices for the flight over, leaving extra money in your pocket to go out and explore all the country has to offer.
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