From the markets of Marrakesh to the quintessential South African safari, the African continent has many wonders to behold. Whether you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of penguins in Cape Town or the Great Migration across the Serengeti, here are a number of good options for booking award travel to Africa. Below, you’ll find the best ways to get to Africa in economy or business class using partners of the major transferable bank currencies.
This post has been updated for 2026, including the key details you need to know about how to book, where to get the miles, award chart changes, and cancellation policies
What are transferable currencies?
If you want to use airline miles, it’s great to have transferable points. Transferable point programs let you transfer your points to any of several airline programs. This is appealing because it gives you the freedom to book many different flights through many different methods, some of which are strikingly cheaper than others. If you’re not familiar with transferable points programs, please check out our guides:
- Amex Membership Rewards Complete Guide
- Bilt Rewards Complete Guide
- Capital One “Rewards miles” Complete Guide
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide
- Citi ThankYou Rewards Complete Guide
- Wells Fargo Rewards Complete Guide (coming soon)
It’s worth noting here that most airline programs roughly split up North Africa from South or South and Central Africa, offering different prices depending on where you’re going in Africa. However, some programs include Morocco in Europe, while others consider Egypt part of the Middle East. Those kinds of classifications can sometimes lead to sweet spots for getting to a continent, which you may then leverage with a sweet spot for travel within a single continent or region.
Best Way to get to Africa with points and miles
The deals below are sorted alphabetically. Remember that the lowest price isn’t the entire picture: be sure to consider which airlines levy fuel surcharges and the ease of amassing the miles for your chosen award. See each description for where to search, how to book, and which partners you can use to transfer. It is always best to confirm availability before transferring miles to ensure the award you seek can be booked with the miles you intend to use.
Economy Class
Air France / KLM Flying Blue
- The short story: Monthly Flying Blue Promo Awards can sometimes offer excellent value between the US and Europe, and Flying Blue considers several countries located in North Africa to be part of its "Europe" pricing model (including Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and the Canary Islands). Once in Africa, keep Flying Blue in mind for intra-Africa awards on Kenya Airways.
- Miles required: Varies. Economy class awards to Europe (including those North African countries listed above) are often available from as low as 10K-15K one way during Promo Rewards sales from select airports.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirFrance.us (you’ll need to create a free Flying Blue frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AirFrance.us. Can also book via phone or app.
- Change and cancellation fees: €70.
- Key warnings: Flying Blue does add significant fuel surcharges, although usually much less than SkyTeam partner Virgin Atlantic.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You, Marriott Bonvoy, Wells Fargo.
American Airlines AAdvantage
- The short story: American charges 40K for partner awards each way in economy class and allows a routing exception so you can fly on either Qatar or Etihad to get to Africa. Alternatively, fly Royal Air Maroc to Casablanca for 30K one-way since AA has classified Morocco as part of Europe.
- Miles required: 40K miles each way in economy class to Africa (or 30K miles each way in economy class to Morocco).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AA.com. Alternatively, use the Etihad site to search for "Saver Guest" space.
- How to book awards: Book online at AA.com or over the phone.
- Change and cancellation fees: None for award tickets. Note that Web Specials can not be changed, but can be canceled and redeposited without a fee.
- Key warnings: Finding space can be tough, but if you can, it's an excellent use of American Airlines miles.
- Transfer from: Citi Thank You, Marriott
ANA Mileage Club
- The short story: ANA has good award pricing between North America and Africa/Middle East on Star Alliance airlines (note that they include almost all of Africa in their definition).
- Miles required: 35K one-way in economy class. Fuel surcharges are passed on, but can be avoided with the right partners. Find partners that do not add fuel surcharges in this post.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA’s website.
- Change and cancellation fees: free to change / 3,000 miles per passenger to cancel.
- Key warnings: High fuel surcharges are assessed by some carriers; others have none or low surcharges (avoid Lufthansa Group airlines to avoid high surcharges). The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features. Transfers typically take 2-3 days from Amex Membership Rewards or a week or more from Marriott, so there is a risk of award space disappearing while you wait for a transfer.
- No fuel surcharges on: Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, United.
- Low fuel surcharges on: ANA, Asiana, LOT Polish, Turkish (higher than the others but low by comparison to some)
- Transfer from: Amex, Marriott
Atmos Rewards
- The short story: Atmos Rewards can be a good value for travel between the US and Africa in economy, especially when you consider that they allow a stopover, even on a one-way award.
- Miles required: Starting at 27.5K - 42.5K each way in economy class, including a stopover. Atmos' quarterly "Global Getaways" promotions can cut those prices in half. Premium economy seats start at 30k one-way. Sometimes, connecting itineraries price in a lower distance band than expected.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AlaskaAir.com.
- How to book awards: Book online at AlaskaAir.com. Some more complicated tickets may have to be booked over the phone with Alaska Mileage Plan at 1-800-252-7522.
- Change and cancellation fees: None for award tickets. There is a non-refundable $12.50 partner booking fee, which is waived for Atmos Summit cardholders.
- Key warnings: Multi-partner itineraries, outside those that include British Airways or American Airlines, are still impossible to book as a single ticket.
- Transfer from: Bilt, Marriott Bonvoy
Avianca LifeMiles
- The short story: Avianca LifeMiles offers competitive pricing for Star Alliance awards with no fuel surcharges.
- Miles required: Officially, 40K each way in economy class to South Africa (which includes most of Africa) or 42.5K each way to North Africa (and the Middle East). Note that there is sometimes variance (See: The secret LifeMiles award chart), though we are not aware of any such pricing anomalies to Africa.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account).
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle, but also possible.
- Change and cancellation fees: Theoretically, $50 within a region, though flights between regions can cost $200 to cancel.
- Key warnings:
- Availability at LifeMiles.com often doesn't match what you’ll find at United.com or Aeroplan. Phone agents usually do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. While it can be possible to book via E-mail, it is very slow and frustrating. ALWAYS check the LifeMiles site before transferring points.
- LifeMiles expire after 12 months of inactivity. Redeeming Miles does NOT count as activity, but buying miles or transferring from a bank partner does.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Wells Fargo. Also can transfer from Marriott Bonvoy.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- The short story: Cathay Pacific has reasonable pricing for single-partner oneworld redemptions, particularly those requiring connections, since they charge based on cumulative distance.
- Miles required: 27K miles one-way for a cumulative distance of 2,751 to 5,000 miles, or 40K one-way for up to 7,500 miles.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AsiaMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Asia Miles frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AsiaMiles.com. Can also book via phone.
- Change and cancellation fees: $50 or 7,500 miles if done online / $90 or 13,500 miles if done over the phone (fees are per person, per sector) for changes. $120 or 17,000 miles to cancel.
- Key warnings: Fuel surcharges are moderate, depending on route and origin.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards (at a 5:4 ratio), Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
Etihad Guest (for Royal Air Maroc)
- The short story: Etihad Guest offers ok value for flying on Royal Air Maroc between the US and Casablanca.
- Miles required: 28K miles each way in economy class plus about $120 in fuel surcharges one-way between North America and Casablanca.
- How to find awards: Search for award space at RoyalAirMaroc.com or AA.com. (You’ll need to create a free Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer account to search at the Royal Air Maroc website).
- How to book awards: Book on Etihad's website or call Etihad Guest at 1-877-690-0767.
- Change and Cancellation fees: Etihad has a punitive cancellation policy for all award bookings, whereby you’ll lose a significant chunk of miles for cancelling your flight. No cancellations or changes are permitted to any tickets within 72 hours of departure, and cancellations are not allowed at any time for Value Tickets. Free changes and cancellations are allowed more than 72 hours before departure for Deluxe tickets. Cancelling comfort tickets more than 72 hours pre-departure will cause you to lose 25% of the fare, while changes can be made for an AED 200 fee. More than 72 hours before departure, changes are allowed for value tickets for a fee of 600 AED.
- Key warnings: Etihad also has a brutal expiration policy: miles will are valid for a period of 18 months, and that can only be extended if you take a flight with Etihad or a partner airline and credit it to Etihad Guest.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards (ends 6/1/26), Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Citi Thank You Marriott Bonvoy
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (for Air France / KLM)
- The short story: Virgin Atlantic offers excellent economy-class pricing on Air France/KLM, particularly from the Eastern US, but since the US is split into two zones and you'll find African countries in four different zones, it can be very confusing. Premium Economy can also be an excellent deal (see the full Air France Premium Economy chart on this page).
- Miles required:
- East Coast North America & Caribbean (Zone 6) to:
- Zone 2 (Eastern Europe and North Africa, which includes Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia): 20K miles each way off-peak / 30K peak
- Zone 3 (Middle East and Russia, which includes Egypt): 25K off-peak / 35K peak
- Zone 4 (Central Africa): 24.5K off-peak / 34.5K peak
- Zone 5 (Southern Africa, Indian Ocean & Indian Subcontinent): 28K off-peak / 38K peak
- West & Central North America & Central America (Zone 7) to:
- Zone 2 (Eastern Europe and North Africa, which includes Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia): 23K miles each way off-peak / 33K peak
- Zone 3 (Middle East and Russia, which includes Egypt): 28K off-peak / 38K peak
- Zone 4 (Central Africa): 28K off-peak / 38K peak
- Zone 5 (Southern Africa, Indian Ocean & Indian Subcontinent): 31K off-peak / 41K peak
- East Coast North America & Caribbean (Zone 6) to:
- How to find awards: Search for available space at VirginAtlantic.com
- How to book awards: Book online at VirginAtlantic.com. See: Book Air France & KLM with Virgin Atlantic Miles.
- Change/Cancellation fees: $100. If your original taxes were less than $100, Virgin Atlantic will allow you to simply forfeit the taxes.
- Key warnings: The zone-based award chart for Air France/KLM flights can be a bit confusing at first, but the nice thing about booking Air France/KLM flights with Virgin Atlantic miles is that Virgin Atlantic does not charge each segment separately, as it does with other partners or its own flights. In this case, you'll pay the regional prices even if connecting. Fuel surcharges can be brutal, up to almost $300 each way.
- Transfer from: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Marriott, Bilt, Wells Fargo
Business Class / First Class
Air Canada Aeroplan
- The short story: Air Canada Aeroplan includes Africa in its "Atlantic" zone, meaning that the award pricing range matches that to Europe and you could even add a stopover in Europe en route to Africa for 5K additional miles one-way. Lap infants are just 2,500 miles. Note that Air Canada, Emirates, Etihad and United awards are priced dynamically, with no maximum cap.
- Miles required: Ranges from 60K to 110K in business class based on distance (add 5K miles for a stopover). First class ranges from 90K-140K one way. Add 5,000 miles for a stopover on a one-way. See more chart information here.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirCanada.com (you’ll need to create a free Aeroplan frequent flyer account to search).
- Change and cancellation fees: Changes cost "$100" for "Lowest" fare awards; there's no fee to change Flex or Latitude awards. Cancellations cost $150 for most standard awards if done online at AirCanada.com (or $175 online for most awards via a call center). Other flex awards are free to change or cancel.
- How to book awards: Book online at AirCanada.com. Can also book via phone. Lap infants must be added to your reservation over the phone.
- Fuel surcharges: Aeroplan no longer adds fuel surcharges to awards.
- Transfer from: Amex, Chase, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Marriott
American Airlines AAdvantage
- The short story: American charges just 75K each way for partner awards in business class and allows a routing exception so you can fly on either Qatar or Etihad to get to Africa. If you can find a Qatar QSuites space, that may be a particularly comfortable business-class experience.
- Miles required: 75K miles each way in business class.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AA.com. Alternatively, use the Etihad site to search for "Saver Guest" space.
- How to book awards: Book online at AA.com or over the phone.
- Change and cancellation fees: None for award tickets. Note that Web Specials can not be changed, but can be canceled and redeposited without a fee.
- Key warnings: Finding space can be tough, but if you can, it's an excellent use of American Airlines miles.
- Transfer from: Citi Thank You, Marriott
ANA Mileage Club
- The short story: ANA's business-class pricing to Africa is very competitive compared to what most programs charge for the same flights.
- Miles required: 65K one-way in business class. Fuel surcharges are passed on, but can be avoided with the right partners. Find partners that do not add fuel surcharges in this post.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or ANA's website (though ANA requires searches to be round trip, so it is easier to find availability by searching one way at United first).
- How to book awards: Book online at ANA’s website.
- Change and cancellation fees: free to change / 3,000 miles per passenger to cancel.
- Key warnings: Some carriers assess high fuel surcharges; others have none or low surcharges. The ANA website interface is not particularly user-friendly or modern-looking, so it may take some time to get used to the search features. Note that transfers to ANA are not instant. Transfers typically take 2-3 days from Amex Membership Rewards or a week or more from Marriott, so there is a risk of award space disappearing while you wait for a transfer.
- No fuel surcharges on: Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Air China, Air New Zealand, Avianca, Copa Airlines, United
- Low fuel surcharges on: Asiana, LOT Polish. Note that surcharges on Turkish are in the $300's each way.
- Transfer from: Amex, Marriott
Atmos Rewards
- The short story: Alaska Mileage Plan offers very competitive pricing for business or first-class awards between the US and Africa, and also allows a free stopover, even on a one-way award.
- Miles required: Starts at 55K each way in business from the East Coast to North Africa, 70k - 85k for much of Central and South Africa, and 110k from the West Coast to South Africa via Europe. Sometimes, connecting itineraries price in a lower distance band than expected.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AlaskaAir.com.
- How to book awards: Book at AlaskaAir.com. Some more complicated tickets may have to be booked over the phone with Alaska Mileage Plan at 1-800-252-7522.
- Change and cancellation fees: None for award tickets. There is a non-refundable $12.50 partner booking fee, which is waived for Atmos Summit cardholders.
- Key warnings: Multi-partner itineraries, outside those that include British Airways or American Airlines, are still impossible to book as a single ticket.
- Transfer from: Bilt, Marriott Bonvoy
Avianca LifeMiles
- The short story: Avianca LifeMiles offers competitive pricing for Star Alliance awards with no fuel surcharges.
- Miles required: Officially, 78K each way in business or 105K each way in first class with no fuel surcharges. It is possible to pair long-haul business-class flights with connecting segments in economy class to accrue fewer total miles. See: Avianca LifeMiles’ awesome mixed-cabin award pricing: First class for less, for ways to fly first class for even fewer miles.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle, but also possible. Finally, it may be possible to email to request a manual booking if individual segments are available but don't appear together.
- Change and cancellation fees: Theoretically, $50 within a region, though flights between regions can cost $200 to cancel.
- Key warnings:
- Availability at LifeMiles.com often doesn't match what you’ll find at United.com or Aeroplan. Phone agents usually do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. While it can be possible to book via email, it is very slow and frustrating. ALWAYS check the LifeMiles site before transferring points.
- LifeMiles expire after 12 months of inactivity. Redeeming Miles does NOT count as activity, but buying miles or transferring from a bank partner does.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Wells Fargo. Also can transfer from Marriott Bonvoy.
Etihad Guest
- The short story: Etihad Guest offer decent value on Royal Air Maroc between the US and Casablanca.
- Miles required: 80K miles each way in business class between North America and Casablanca, plus about $170 in fuel surcharges one-way. Additional segments are priced individually.
- How to find awards: Search for award space at RoyalAirMaroc.com. You’ll need to create a free Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer account to search.
- How to book awards: Call Etihad Guest at 1-877-690-0767.
- Change and Cancellation fees: Etihad has a punitive cancellation policy for all award bookings, whereby you’ll lose a significant chunk of miles for cancelling your flight. No cancellations or changes are permitted to any tickets within 72 hours of departure, and cancellations are not allowed at any time for Value Tickets. Free changes and cancellations are allowed more than 72 hours before departure for Deluxe tickets. Cancelling comfort tickets more than 72 hours pre-departure will cause you to lose 25% of the fare, while changes can be made for an AED 200 fee. More than 72 hours before departure, changes are allowed for value tickets for a fee of 600 AED.
- Key warnings: Etihad also has a brutal expiration policy: miles will are valid for a period of 18 months, and that can only be extended if you take a flight with Etihad or a partner airline and credit it to Etihad Guest.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards (ends 6/1/26), Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Citi Thank You, Marriott Bonvoy
Virgin Atlantic
- The short story: Virgin Atlantic sometimes offers better pricing for Air France and KLM business class awards than what Flying Blue does for the same flights. See the full Virgin Atlantic award chart for travel on Air France / KLM here.
- Miles required:
- For flying Air France / KLM
- During "standard season" (not peak) dates:
-
- East Coast of the US to North Africa: 66.5K
- East Coast of the US to Central Africa: 98.5K
- East Coast of the US to Southern Africa: 110K
- West & Central North America to North Africa: 110K
- West & Central North America to Central Africa: 110K
- West & Central North America to Southern Africa: 112.5K
-
- During Peak Season dates:
-
- East Coast of the US to North Africa: 76.5K
- East Coast of the US to Central Africa: 108.5K
- East Coast of the US to Southern Africa: 120K
- West & Central North America to North Africa: 120K
- West & Central North America to Central Africa: 120K
- West & Central North America to Southern Africa: 132.5K
-
- How to find awards: Search for available space at VirginAtlantic.com
- How to book awards: Book online at VirginAtlantic.com. See: Book Air France & KLM with Virgin Atlantic Miles.
- Change/Cancellation fees: $100. If your original taxes were less than $100, Virgin Atlantic will allow you to simply forfeit the taxes.
- Key warnings: The zone-based award chart for Air France/KLM flights can be a bit confusing at first, but the nice thing about booking Air France/KLM flights with Virgin Atlantic miles is that Virgin Atlantic does not charge each segment separately, as it does with other partners or its own flights. In this case, you'll pay the regional prices even if connecting. However, Virgin's fuel charges can be brutal, and have increased twice recently. Make sure to factor them in before booking.
- Transfer from: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Marriott, Bilt, Wells Fargo
List of transfer partners (how to get the miles)
The following chart shows the available transferable points programs for each of the above airline frequent flyer programs:
| Rewards Program | Amex Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) | Chase Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) | Citi Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) | Capital One Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) | Bilt Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) | Wells Fargo Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | ||
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Unknown) |
| Alaska Atmos Rewards | 1 to 1 (Instant) | |||||
| American AAdvantage | 1 to 1 (Instant) | |||||
| ANA Mileage Club | 1 to 1 (~1 day) | |||||
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Unknown) | |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1,000 to 800 (4 to 8 hours) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (1-2 days) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | ||
| Etihad Guest | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (~1 hour) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Unknown) | ||
| United MileagePlus | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | ||||
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Unknown) |
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For actual award availability, I think splitting it up between North Africa and more southern points (safari destinations) is important for people to have realistic expectations. Morocco and Egypt are 100% different points games than further south. The days of finding reasonable business availability to the south in a domestic award program are nearly gone. From the west coast, I’ve had a lot of luck with Virgin, Avios, Emirates, and even Miles & More for business and first class flights.
I can’t say that I agree with that.
While there are certainly many less seats available when compared to Europe and Asia (simply because there are so many less flights), I’ve been able to find good options to Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, etc.
Last year, my wife and I flew business from the West Coast to Rwanda, onto Kenya for the great migration and then back from Tanzania, with stopovers both ways. While we used Alaska points for Condor on the way back, and KLM between Amsterdam Rwanda, we also had options via AA, Aeroplan, and United.
It certainly is more difficult than Europe, the carriers aren’t the caliber of those going Asia, and it usually requires some advance planning, but it also wasn’t/isn’t impossible.
Good to hear that from a fellow west coaster!
We’ve been lucky to snag the 75k AA Qatar deal from LAX to Rwanda and Kenya in 2021 and South Africa in 2024. But these days it seems like Avios at calendar open is your best bet.
We also snagged flights during a Virgin transfer bonus for another safari in South Africa in 2025. 69k points LAX-LHR-JNB. What a steal. But getting home with AA meant piecemeal bookings and multiple layovers.
I think it depends on one’s tolerance for stops. But that’s just the domestic award release pattern right now. Being open to international programs gives you that 335+ day jump that is sometimes needed for safaris (which I’ve always booked 1-2 years in advance for availability), and puts it all on one ticket for you. Sure it can be done, but I don’t want people to be disappointed in the limited availability.
Cheers to the challenge!
Nice job by Nick & Tim. Have any of the Frequent Miler staff done an Egypt & the Pyramids vacation on points? I don’t see any points/miles expert write about this. Are you aware of issues? Thanks.
My wife and I stayed at the Marriott Mena House five years ago, although we paid a cash rate as it was fairly good value at the time and it meant we could guarantee a view of the Pyramids from our room. https://frequentmiler.com/marriott-mena-house-cairo-amazing-pyramid-views-bottom-line-review/
We also stayed in downtown Cairo at the Ramses Hilton. We paid cash as the rates were so cheap and we could use the Hilton Aspire resort credit.
Africa is amazing, vast, and worth the visit. Yet, flying to Africa on points is not easy, especially from the US. The days of 70K in Quite are over (not to mention, connecting in ME right now is not advised). Rarely does Delta or United (the only US carriers wit nonstops) offer anything reasonable on their own metal in business class (at least, its like 200K on United one-way in J). And wen you’re traveling for 24+ ours, you kind of want the lie-flat, if you can. I’ve done the double-redeyes all-economy connecting in Europe/ME to South Africa. It wrecks you. One idea: Aeroplan sometimes offers decent deals, like, 60-80K one-way in J on Air Mauritius via London, Paris.
So how do you suggest getting there from Midwest?
Obviously, you have to connect somewhere, probably 2+ stops, unless you do the 1-stop itinerary from, say, ORD-EWR/IAD-JNB/CPT on UA, or DTW-ATL-JNB, etc. Over the years, I’ve taken BA (LHR), QR (DOH), EK (DXB), UA (nonstop), AF (CDG), KL (AMS) from FL/NY to JNB and CPT, and similarly to E. Africa (NBO, DAR, ZNZ, JRO) for instance. Sometimes there are deals paying cash if it’s off-season, so it’s not as if you have to use points. If you’re doing a big-five safari, that’ll probably be your major cost anyway ($5-20K/person). Flights are closer to $3-5K/person in J, $1-2J in Y, if lucky. It ain’t cheap. If you opt for Cape Town for wine and culture, that’s more affordable, ironically. To each their own. Hope you make it there. I think it’s still worth it.
why no Emirates?
Art, I presume, of Vandelay Industries, we know that you travel regularly for your import/export business, but, you must know… not great time to be connecting in Dubai…
Suggestion to the team to include MileagePlus as an option. I just booked JFK into Dar and out of Zanzibar (I blame Tim for this since I read his review of the Park Hyatt Zanzibar) on Ethiopian using 80,000 United miles for each leg (all in business). Total fees were $178.83 per round trip. United doesn’t charge to change or cancel tickets. I didn’t think that was a particularly bad use of United miles especially since the fees were relatively low and I can change or cancel without penalty compared with other programs.
Agree – I’m using 80k United miles for Biz from jfk to WDH Namibia via Ethiopian. Older plane but comfy and great service to the most Africa destinations.
Hope you enjoy Zanzibar! That PH is nice (great redemption, too); perfect location within Stone Town. Well done on J with Ethiopian via UA points, too!
Just as a heads up, the PH is IN stone town…. the nice beaches on Zanzibar are primarily on the east side of the island and its a bit of a trek (cars driving on dirt roads/potholes, police taking bribes from your drivers, etc). I like nice Hyatts as much as the next guy but I cant imagine traveling all the way to Zanzibar (as I did on my honeymoon) and not wanting to actually stay on the good beaches. I spent a day in stronetown which was nice but I wouldnt plan my whole ZNZ trip around it .
ECR12, oh, I didn’t even mention beaches; honestly, we stayed at PH before and after a few nights at Mnemba, which is a totally different price-point, and one of the most beautiful little islands and beaches around. Agreed, east side is best for the beach on Zanzibar.
Yes, I completely agree. I started writing that up, but completely forgot to add it. I’ll do that today.
Have a great time in Zanzibar!
I was surprised by the omission too. Ethiopian, Turkish and Brussels fly lots of places all over Africa; and frequently the only way to get Africa to Africa award flights is with Ethiopian. These can be outstanding cpm redemptions considering the cash prices on some routes.
This seems out of date.
At least for life miles
South Africa may be the best travel destination in the world right now. You can find discussion on Flyertalk. FWIW, a nonstop coach flight from America is a smarter choice than a business class flight that requires a routing through Europe.
Why is that? A 17hr flight in coach sounds like a nightmare for me. When I was in my 20s, sure why not.
You will add approximately 8 hours to your US-South Africa trip transiting Europe — and usually much more leaving the US due to flight connection times. In no rational universe is it worth that extra transit time. Whatever extra comfort you receive in flight are more than mitigated by the discomfort of the extremely long travel time.
Just for kicks, I did fly home from JNB via Frankfurt about a year ago so I could go in biz class. The connection times westbound aren’t terrible. It was still a bad choice. In December, I flew coach nonstop on UA. Vastly superior overall travel experience. That said, many frequent travellers have this (irrational?) phobia about flying coach, so your mileage may vary.
A few more cities the flights go to outside of Morocco would be nice!
Ethiopian should be listed among ANA’s low fuel surcharge partners.
Thank you!
Can we have an associated post about how to use points/where to stay for those interested in Safari tours. It’s been on my bucket list for a while.
AI is your friend
Thanks for sharing in detail got to know so many things.
Now we need a post on where to stay using points.
Why has the etihad RAM sweet spot soured and what price is considered the saver space on RAM that’s bookable by partners? Also why not just search on AA? On that note I can’t find more than one seat on RAM for any date when search through AA
Love those photos. Was in Kruger National Park for the first time a few weeks ago. My wife and I are still talking about it. Incredible!
Qsuites via AA miles was a great way to get there and back.
Last month I flew from Washington DC to Casablanca Morocco. I spent 57,500 American airlines miles and flew on Royal Air Maroc in business class with lay flat sleeper seats