Kruger National Park, Table Mountain, Cape Town and the wineries in Cape Peninsula, along Route 62, and in Constantia. These are the things to come to mind for me when I think of South Africa. A question that always pops up in my head is what are the best ways to fly to South Africa?
South Africa has 2 major airports. One is located in Johannesburg (JNB) and the other in Cape Town (CPT). For US travelers, you’ll find more nonstops flights from the US into Johannesburg. United does fly a seasonal flight to Cape Town from Newark so that’s 1 nonstop Cape Town option. Routes requiring a stop will likely route you through Asia, Europe, or the Middle East.
Best Credit Cards to Use to Fly to South Africa
American Express, Chase, and Citi are the primary transferable points that I use. In addition, Capital One and Marriott can help you do two things. One, diversity your points. Two, access redemptions you’ll only find through airlines that partner with Marriott like Alaska Airlines.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is my workhorse card that earns 3X points on travel. For an equivalent Amex card, the American Express Gold earns 4X points on travel. On the Citi front, the Citi Prestige earns 5X points on flights. If you want 5X points on flights booked with the airline and lounge access, give the the American Express Platinum a look.
One of the best business credit cards to start with is the Chase Ink Business Preferred. It earns 3X points on travel. Amex has a card to check out in its American Express Business Platinum. This card earns 5X points on flights booked with the airline and comes with lounge access.
Best Ways to Fly to South Africa
There are a couple of important things to note when reading this best ways to fly to South Africa list. One, the transfer partners for each airline are shown below. Two, award prices, outside of ANA and Korean Air, are shown one-way. Simply double the number of miles to determine the round-trip price.
- Amex – ANA, Cathay, Etihad, Virgin Atlantic
- Capital One – Cathay, Etihad
- Chase – Virgin Atlantic
- Citi – Cathay, Etihad, Virgin Atlantic
- Marriott – All
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Alaska Airlines and its Mileage Plan program are likely familiar to US travelers. Its award program is well known for 2 reasons. One, competitive award prices when flying its partner airline flights. Two, the ability to book a stopover on a one-way flight.
Easily earning Alaska Airlines miles can be challenging from some. This can be considered a downside to the program. However, if you focus your spend on co-branded Bank of America Alaska Airlines credit cards and Marriott credit cards, you’ll be on your way to earning enough miles for a flight.
With 62,500 Alaska miles, you can book a Cathay Pacific one-way business class flight to South Africa. With 50,000 Alaska miles, you can book a Cathay Pacific one-way economy flight.
What makes this redemption even better is that you can book stopover. So you can fly to Hong Kong from the US, stopover for a few days, and then continue on to Johannesburg. How could you not love that?
Here’s the Mileage Plan booking process:
- Search for flights on British Airways
- Call Alaska Airlines: 800-252-7522
- Confirm availability over the phone
- Book the flight over the phone
ANA Mileage Club
The ANA Mileage Club program is one I’ve come to love. There are many reasons for this but 2 stand out to me. One, ANA offers competitive award pricing on its own flights. Two, ANA offers competitive award pricing on its partner airline flights.
Having to book round-trip partner airline flights and fuel surcharges are downsides with the ANA program. If your goal is flexibility, programs like Asiana Airlines allow you to book one-way award flights. If you want to fly airlines with high fuel surcharges like Austrian and Lufthansa, you’ll want to use Avianca or United to book the flight.
With 105,000 ANA miles, you can book a round-trip Star Alliance business class flight to the Africa and Middle East region. Not to be outdone, 64,000 ANA miles gets you a round-trip Star Alliance economy flight.
The ANA booking process is as follows:
- Search for flights on United
- Confirm availability on ANA
- Complete the booking online
Asiana Airlines Asiana Club
Another Star Alliance program to check out is Asiana Airlines Asiana Club. One of the main reasons to use this program is because of its competitive award prices. Quite simply, Asiana Airlines has some of the lowest award prices you’ll find.
Easily earning Asiana Airlines miles and fuel surcharges are reasons to shy away from Asiana Club. The main way to earn Asiana miles is to put your spend on Asiana Bank of America co-branded credit cards and Marriott credit cards. These may be challenging ways to earn miles for some travelers.
For flights to the Africa region, 60,000 Asiana miles gets you a one-way Star Alliance business class flight. For those wanting a premium experience, 80,000 Asiana miles gets you a one-way Star Alliance first class flight.
There’s an extra step required when booking flights through Asiana Airlines:
- Search for flights on United
- Call Asiana Airlines: 800-227-4262
- Confirm availability over the phone
- Complete the booking over the phone
Etihad Airways Etihad Guest
The Etihad Guest program is one that requires creativity. The reason is because Etihad has individual airline partnerships. You’ll need to know which airlines fly on which routes. With that said, one of the best Etihad sweet spots is to fly Royal Air Maroc to Africa.
Etihad partner flights can’t be booked on its website. For this reason, many will consider this a drawback with the Etihad Guest program. However, the Etihad agents I’ve talked to were great and easily able to book my award flights over the phone.
For Royal Air Maroc flights to Morocco, you’re looking at 44,000 Etihad miles to book a one-way business class flight. And yes, that’s insane pricing! Flying one-way in economy is also a steal at 22,000 Etihad miles.
If you’re looking to fly from Morocco to South Africa, you’ll need to book a separate cash or points flight. Royal Air Maroc doesn’t fly between Morocco and South Africa.
In the past, we’ve seen transfer bonuses from Amex and Citi to Etihad. If the timeline of a transfer bonus works for you, the award prices listed above become even more attractive.
Etihad’s booking process is as follows:
- Search for flights on Royal Air Maroc
- Call Etihad: 877-690-0767
- Confirm award availability over the phone
- Complete the booking over the phone
Korean Air SKYPASS
Korean Air SKYPASS is a program that’s has a ton to love about it. This airline program has competitive award prices, including for partner airline flights to the Middle East, Africa region from the US.
The award booking process and the ability to easily earn Korean Air miles are 2 things to be cautious of with the SKYPASS program. Partner airline flights must be booked round-trip. On the earning side, putting your spend on Marriott and co-branded US Bank Korean Air credit cards are the main way to earn its miles.
With 120,000 SKYPASS miles, you can book a round-trip business class SkyTeam partner airline flight. If you want to fly in economy, 80,000 SKYPASS miles gets you a round-trip SkyTeam partner airline flight.
Booking SkyTeam partner flights looks like this:
- Search for saver-level flights on Delta
- Confirm award availability on Korean Air
- Complete the booking online
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is the most interesting options on this list. The reason is because of Virgin Atlantic’s airline partnerships. Virgin Atlantic partners with both Delta and South African. These airlines offer a number of flight options to Africa from the US.
There aren’t many downsides with Virgin Atlantic. Not being able to book all partner airline flights on its website may be one. However, the Virgin Atlantic agents I’ve worked with were competent.
For Delta flights to the Africa / Middle East & Asia region, 60,000 Flying Club miles is what you’ll need to book a one-way business class flight. For South African flights, 75,000 Flying Club miles books a one-way business class to South Africa.
There are 2 South African Airways options that are interesting as well. One, 25,000 Flying Club miles gets you a one-way business class to Senegal. Two, 55,000 Flying Club miles lands you a one-way business class flight to Ghana.
The Flying Club booking process with Delta is as follows:
- Search for saver-level flights on Delta
- Confirm availability on Virgin Atlantic
- If the flight can’t be searched online, call Virgin Atlantic: 800-365-9500
- Complete the booking online or over the phone
Here’s the booking process for South African flights:
- Search for flights on United
- Call Virgin Atlantic: 800-365-9500
- Complete the booking over the phone
Conclusion: Best Ways to Fly to South Africa
South Africa is a country that’s always at the top of my travel list. And how could it not be? It has everything. Wine, beaches, and safaris! What got me even more interested was watching Kara and Nate’s South Africa vlogs. If you’re at all interested in visiting, check the vlogs out.
What make your best ways to fly to South Africa list? Are there airline programs that you recommend? Please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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