Questions and Answers

Hi,

I’m starting to plan a trip for my family to South Africa for next summer with miles (flying Business/First).

We prefer to fly to JNB, and as you know, the only 2 non-stop options from the US are Delta from ATL and South African from JFK.

I know these 2 options may not be the best redemptions mileage-wise and I may be better off with a layover in Europe or the Middle East but my family really prefers the non-stop options.

On that note, I’d really appreciate if you could tell me which are the best redemptions for those 2 options. So far I only looked at booking direct through Delta and 175k pp/each-way seems to be the lowest fare on DeltaOne.

Thanks!

P.S. I am counting mainly on my Amex points for this. I also have some points with Chase and Citi that may help.

I’m not sure Delta releases saver space on ATL-JNB much and I’m not too keen on SAA releasing space either. Amex points do transfer to Delta, if you decide to go that route. SAA also flies IAD-JNB so at least theres an extra option. If space does come up on SAA, you can book via United (transfer from Chase) or Aeroplan (transfer from AMEX)

Though If youre not based in ATL, IAD, NYC, you need to connect anyway so Europe or the Middle East might be better.

If you must have non-stop, the Delta options will cost you dearly, but will be available at [I]some[/I] price. South Africa releases [I]some[/I] space, but rarely more than two seats in business class.

For a family trip, a connection in Europe is going to be most realistic. I’d look at booking Air France or KLM through Delta, which you can do 11 months prior to departure.