Yesterday I stumbled upon a couple of very interesting Preferred Hotels in South Africa. They are all-inclusive Last Word properties with daily game drives. And while each usually costs over $1,200 per night if you pay in cash (and sometimes far more than that), they can be booked instead with I Prefer points. Don’t worry if you don’t have or have never heard of I Prefer points: The trick is to get Citi ThankYou Rewards points and a Citi Strata Premier card so that you can transfer Citi points to I Prefer at an amazing 1 to 4 ratio.
Overview
There are two interesting Last Word safari camp properties that are bookable with I Prefer points. If you follow this blog closely, that should raise some red flags for you: booking Preferred Hotels with points can be fraught with problems (details here). In this case, though, the main booking page for these properties has a prominent option to “Use I Prefer Points.” So, at least we know that they intended to allow this option. I’m not going to lie to you: booking these properties with points will probably be fraught with problems. But these appear to be bucket-list worthy and so are likely to be worth the effort.
I’m still waiting for Citi to fix an issue where I can’t transfer Citi points to I Prefer, so until that happens I can’t test out these bookings. My cynical prediction is that the website will error out somewhere in the booking process and that it will be necessary to call Preferred Hotels to get these booked. Whether or not that happens, I strongly recommend contacting the hotel directly after getting your booking confirmation in order to confirm that the property knows about your reservation and to find out if there are any other details you need to know (are there any other fees, for example?).
The two properties, Last Word Kitara and Last Word Madikwe, charge 150,000 and 100,000 points per night, respectively. That sounds like a lot until you consider that Citi points transfer to I Prefer at a rate of 1 to 4. So, with Citi ThankYou Rewards points and a premium card like the Strata Premier, the cost in Citi points comes down to 37,500 and 25,000 points per night, respectively. That’s a great deal.
Last Word Kitara
Greg’s Quick Take
Based on photos and reviews (TripAdvisor currently shows a great 5.0 review score), this place looks terrific. Elephants and other animals frequent a path by the river. All meals and two game drives per day are included. The rooms don’t really look like luxury suites to me, but I’m sure they’re comfortable enough.
One of the things I find compelling about this safari camp is that its private reserve abuts Kruger National Park without any fencing between them. As a result, the same animals found in Kruger can be found here, but without crowds of people.
Quick Facts
- Point Price Per Night: 150,000 I Prefer Points (37,500 Citi Points)
- Location: Private nature reserve near Kruger National Park
- All meals included
- Two daily game drives included
- Property features only six rooms. All are suites with river views.
A full fact sheet for Last Word Kitara can be found here.
Property Photos
All photos shown below were downloaded from the hotel’s gallery page, here.
Public Areas
Dining
Suites
Safari
Last Word Madikwe
Greg’s Quick Take
Based on photos and reviews (TripAdvisor currently shows a great 5.0 review score), I’m even more interested in this camp than the more expensive Last Word Kitara. This one includes a protected nature trail where guests can get some exercise, and it includes a watering hole right on the property that appears to be very popular with wildlife. Even better, there’s a hide where guests can safely view animals day and night. It’s fun reading reviews where people report the difficult decision of whether to go on game drives or stay on property to see animals up close.
Quick Facts
- Point Price Per Night: 100,000 I Prefer Points (25,000 Citi Points)
- Location: Madikwe Game Reserve, northwest of Johannesburg, near Botswana.
- All meals included
- Two daily game drives included
- The lodge contains six bedrooms, four with verandas
- The property includes:
- A waterhole frequented by many animals
- A hide, open 24 hours, where guests can safely get up close to animals drinking from the waterhole
- A private nature trail inside the electrified boundaries of the camp
A full fact sheet for Last Word Kitara can be found here.
Property Photos
All photos shown below were downloaded from the hotel’s gallery page, here.
Public Areas
The Hide and Watering Hole
Dining
Rooms
Safari
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It is not clear that game drives are included on the points bookings because nowhere does it say so. Meals do seem to be included at Kitara under room details but are not mentioned for Madikwe. Anyway, good luck booking this given all the issues.
The fact sheets show that the game drives are included, in general. I’m sure they don’t make an exception for points bookings.
Good find, but the reality in South Africa is that most of the accommodations are much cheaper/affordable compared to the US prices. During our 2-week self-driving tour we stayed at chain hotels, like Marriott-owned Protea Hotel at Kruger gate, to private lounges, like historic all-inclusive 5-room property in Swaziland national park, and prices are very affordable, like $100-$250 for 2 people. We did use Marriott points at Protea hotel as it was super cheap deal, although we had to pay for breakfast which otherwise included. But for the most stays just used UR points for 1.5c value (with Chase Reserve via Chase Travel portal). At one game reserve we stayed, swimming pool and private bungalows were literally surrounded by groups of zebras, herds of antelopes and some wildebeests – was so cool and surreal to swim and lounge at such setting; and the price for stay was around $150 in semi-luxurious chalet, including breakfast buffet. We also stayed at couple of AirB-nBs to get a closer feel of the local life: one was at the citrus orchard, another at Durban family house – ocean view included, both places inexpensive. For cultural immersion we stayed 2 days at Shakaland with actual Zulu tribe – one of the best experiences for us in Africa (all-inclusive with 3 daily meals, expansive semi-private cultural program with a guide, evening dance presentation, and more). It’s actually a part of Aha hotels, but can be booked elsewhere, including Chase Travel.
The safari game drives can be had for a low cost as well. The above game reserve offered them at low price, including walking safari; Kruger park has official ranger drives during the day and night for $25-$50 per person depending on length. So travelers can essentially build a la-carte menu of things they wan to experience. And the crowds are not that big, sometimes you can feel very secluded. Meals are also generally 30% cheaper in Africa, but quality is 100% better! Kruger Gate Hotel had the best buffet brie at night, outdoors with the big fire and huge grilled meat selection, all for about $25.
Happy travels!!
How did you book the game drive? Online or locally?
At location. But maybe they offer online option too. We also went on the hippo/croc water safari on the boat at Hluhluwe park, just bought tickets on the spot.
Which game reserve did you stay at that was surrounded by the zebras, antelopes, and wildebeests? And how many years ago was it? Seems like prices have really skyrocketed lately. Sounds amazing!
We have to remember though this helps him pimp Citi cards, so he’s not going to research/report these type of options. Thank you for telling us about them though!
Last Word Madikwe looks really cool! Thanks for the article and heads-up!
We also had issues transferring points from citi to preferred, we found the iprefer customer service very helpful in resolving our issues.
how many people can stay in the same room for 125/100K points?
Two adults and one child, I believe
This looks very nice. But it is very wrong to say that you would encounter “crowds of people” seeing the same animals in the adjacent Kruger National Park. I’ve spent many weeks in Kruger. With the possible exception of the Skukuza headquarters, I’ve never seen “a crowd” anywhere in the park. Kruger offers affordable game drives (about $25 each) but most people self drive themselves around the park. Occasionally, a big cat sighting can lead to a small bottleneck (like perhaps 10 cars), but never a crowd. With decent rest camp cottages going for about $110/night, Kruger is perhaps the best value travel experience in the world. Even on points, this offer would never equal that value, but would certainly be appealing to those who value and enjoy luxury experiences. A Kruger trip can be very comfortable, but not luxurious.
Hi iahphx, thanks for the post. Any other affordable safari destinations you’d recommend?
We really loved our stay at the Ndaka Lodge inside a private reserve that is about 2-3 hours drive from Durban airport. 3 years ago, it was $300 a night for a three room “luxury tent” and is all inclusive (minus alcohol, which was self-serve and self-report, and was very cheap). While we haven’t been back to do any of the true luxury properties, we absolutely loved this lodge and nothing felt cheap or budget (I also don’t want to oversell it since I don’t have experience at the $2k night places to gauge). The size of the private reserve means you don’t have to go long distances to see a bunch of animals and we saw 4 out of the Big5 (minus jaguar). It is a fenced lodge, and we saw animals from out tent window every day of the trip. Staff were great and super friendly (wife ended up insta friends with several of them). Combined with over 40 hours in Qatar Qsuites, it was an amazing trip. We would definitely go back, and combine it with something at Krugar to compare/contrast the small private reserve to the massive national park.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1055401-d4610830-Reviews-Ndaka_Safari_Lodge-Ladysmith_KwaZulu_Natal.html
How did you book the resort 3 years ago? It’s like over $1000 now for the same room when I dd a quick search online on their website.
Etosha in Namibia is also a big value safari destination.in the dry season, the wildlife tends to collect at watering holes and each camp has their own hole with flood lighting at night. I’ve self driven both there and Kruger. While both are very rewarding, I’ve decided they’re not for me for 2 reasons.
1) You can’t go off road. So if you see a lion 100 meters away from the road, that’s how close you’re going to get to it.
2) Guides are more adept at finding and spotting wildlife than tourists are. When you self drives, you see what you and your passengers see, though if another vehicle is pulled over on the side of the road, that’s a hint that something good might be there.
You’ll almost certainly get excellent elephant and giraffes sightings in both parks. In Etosha, you’ll also get excellent rhino sightings (and you might see them in Kruger, but they’re practically guaranteed in the dry season at night at the watering holes in Etosha). The problem really is predator sightings. In Kruger, I saw one lion and one hyena, both from far away, in 4 days. In Etosha, we did see a few hyena reasonably close, and a leopard from far away. But any time there were lions sighted at a watering hole, it turned into such a disgusting traffic jam of 20+ vehicles in the parking lot trying to get a look—that part really stunk.
For people that can afford it, I recommend going to a private conservatory/concession.
Agree with you on Kruger super value. Although it’s also nice to mix various accommodations into one trip, especially if you can use points to cover the cost.
I rarely see any I Prefer awards. Hopefully this one stays around.
Great find by Greg! Biggest issue for most (including myself) is accumulating enough Citi TY points.
Citi’s cards have much better general earn rates (especially for the annual fees) than the other two big banking ecosystems.
Between the Double Cash, Strata Premier, and a few Custom Cash cards, you should be able to rack up a decent number of TY points very quickly just through general spend.
If you’re struggling, you need to open up a wider variety of Citi cards and focus on strategies to hold multiple Custom Cash cards to get those higher multipliers.
But yes, the lack of multiple welcome offers on Citi cards and the complexities of combining points makes this ecosystem a lot more work for points enthusiasts.
All good points. I spend a lot of time traveling overseas for work so the only Citi card worth putting spend on is the Strata Premier as the rest have Fx fees. If only I had the old Prestige…
Good used of Citi points indeed, thanks for sharing! I actually found a pretty comprehensive rundown of a bunch of points-enabled Safari properties the other week: https://youare.travel/points_miles_university/the-possibly-definitive-list-of-how-to-safari-in-africa-on-points-in-2024/