Deal alert: $519 round-trip flights from New York to South Africa
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Today we're seeing some very good airfares from New York-JFK to both Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa. Flights are mainly on Kenya Airways via Nairobi (NBO) though some legs on the return trip may be on Alitalia, Air France or KLM through Europe.
You can head to Cape Town for just $519 per person, round-trip while the round-trip fare to Johannesburg is a bit higher at $532.
Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more travel tips
To find a deal, head to Google Flights and enter your origin, in this case JFK, and destination cities. Scroll through the calendar function to find dates and prices. Finally, click through to book directly with the airline or an online travel agency like Orbitz or Expedia.
Airline: Kenya Airways
Routes: JFK to CPT/JNB
Cost: $519 round-trip in economy to CPT; $532+ round-trip in economy to JNB
Dates: CPT: April, May, September – October; JNB: March, October – December
Pay with: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare booked directly with the airline), Citi Prestige® Card (5x on airfare), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3x on airfare when booked directly with the airline) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on travel)
The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Here are some examples of specific flights that are available:
New York-JFK to Cape Town (CPT) for $519 round-trip on Kenya Airways and Alitalia:
New York-JFK to Johannesburg (JNB) for $532 round-trip on Kenya Airways:
Maximize your purchase
Don’t forget to use a credit card that earns additional points on airfare purchases, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel), Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express® Gold Card, Citi Premier® Card, Citi Prestige Card (5x on airfare) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on all travel purchases). Check out this guide for more on maximizing airfare purchases.