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Safaris, cities and lots of elephants: How I returned to South Africa this year using points, miles and cash
Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
March 7, 2022 • 21 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
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Quick summary
A 23-night South Africa trip was booked using a mix of points, miles and cash, with detailed breakdowns of flights, hotels and earnings from loyalty programs.
The itinerary included major cities and national parks, with stays at both chain hotels and park accommodations, and flights on multiple regional carriers.
The author highlights the value of redeeming points for hotels and flights in South Africa, but notes that cash rates can sometimes offer better value.
Travelers are encouraged to visit Cape Town and at least one national park, and to consider tools and passes that can help save on car rentals and park entry.
What to consider
Some loyalty program earnings and elite-qualifying nights were maximized by strategic booking and promotions.
Award availability and flight schedules can change unexpectedly, requiring flexibility and proactive rebooking.
Certain offers and redemptions mentioned may no longer be available, as noted in the article.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed, step-by-step account of how to combine points, miles and cash for an extended trip to South Africa, including specific strategies for maximizing loyalty program benefits.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Every trip is special. But, my recent trip to South Africa was particularly meaningful and a long-time coming.
I'd traveled extensively in early 2020, visiting seven countries in the first two months of that year. But, as borders started to close in mid-March, my husband and I found ourselves in South Africa.
While staying at the Protea Hotel Kruger Gate in South Africa -- doing self-drive safaris during the day and working east coast hours in the afternoon and evening -- we watched as countries around the world began closing their borders. The South African government declared a national disaster due to the coronavirus pandemic and banned travelers from the U.S.
Not much changed immediately besides hand sanitizer appearing at every building entrance. Even so, my husband quickly snagged a Virgin Atlantic Flying Club award on the next Delta flight with award availability from Johannesburg to Atlanta for just 40,000 miles and $41 per person. He correctly anticipated that the declared state of national disaster would cause award availability to dry up and flight prices to increase.
We had to wait for our flight, though, so we extended our stay at the Protea Hotel Kruger Gate by six more days. We departed from Kruger National Park's Skukuza on the last Airlink flight before the small airport shuttered indefinitely. Most airport staff came outside to wave goodbye as our plane took off. And the pilot of the small Embraer waived back using the plane's wings.
Our experience being in South Africa as the world locked down was surreal. But, it left me with a strong desire to return to South Africa, especially Kruger National Park and the Protea Hotel Kruger Gate. I wrote a story about my dream South Africa trip early in the pandemic. But, this January, we finally returned. Here's a look at our 23-night South Africa trip on points, miles and cash.
Delta business class from Mexico City to Johannesburg
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(Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Delta One business class from Atlanta to Johannesburg. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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Delta One business class from Atlanta to Johannesburg. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Delta One business class meal from Atlanta to Johannesburg. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Delta One business class meal from Atlanta to Johannesburg. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Boarding in Mexico City. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Seats from Mexico City to Atlanta. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Meal from Mexico City to Atlanta. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
Cost: $303 per person one-way (a low-fare booked through LATAM Airlines and reticketed multiple times).
Earnings: 12,650 Delta MQMs, 475 Delta MQDs, 3,325 Delta miles and 909 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (for paying with the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card).
In April 2020, we booked an inexpensive LATAM business class fare for travel in Oct. 2020 from Mexico City to Cape Town via Sao Paulo and Johannesburg for 7,230 Mexican Pesos (about $303 at the time) per person. Travel wasn't feasible in Oct. 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, so LATAM let us change our flights to May 2021.
In Feb. 2021, LATAM discontinued its Sao Paulo to Johannesburg route. LATAM rebooked us on Delta-operated flights from Mexico City to Cape Town via Atlanta and Johannesburg for travel in Jan. 2022. Delta dropped plans to serve Cape Town in June 2021. But, LATAM never recognized the change (despite notes from Delta on the ticket and many calls), which caused major issues when we reached the check-in desk for the Atlanta to Johannesburg segment.
The issues were so severe that we couldn't board our originally scheduled flight. But, Delta agents in Atlanta went above and beyond to work through the issues and we arrived in South Africa just one day late.
Holiday Inn Johannesburg Airport in South Africa. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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Holiday Inn Johannesburg Airport in South Africa. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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(Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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(Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
Cost: $88 for a one-night stay.
Earnings: 153 Loyalty Point-eligible AAdvantage miles, one IHG elite-qualifying night and 898 IHG points (for paying with the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card).
The hotel offers an airport shuttle, although you'll need an international phone plan to summon the driver. Luckily, we have Google Fi for international cell and data.
After one night, we moved on to the Hyatt House Johannesburg Sandton.
Hyatt House Johannesburg Sandton. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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Hyatt House Johannesburg Sandton. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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Hyatt House Johannesburg Sandton in South Africa. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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Treehouse restaurant and pool at the Hyatt House Johannesburg Sandton. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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Hyatt House Johannesburg Sandton. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
Cost: $391 for six nights, split into a four-night stay at the start of my trip and a two-night stay at the end of my trip.
Earnings: 9,308 Hyatt points (7,505 points from the stays and 1,803 points for paying with the World of Hyatt Credit Card) and six Hyatt elite-qualifying nights.
I qualified for World of Hyatt Globalist status for the first time last year. And requalifying for Globalist status this year is a priority for me. So, when I saw I could book the new Hyatt House Johannesburg Sandton for just $65 per night, I didn't seriously consider any other Johannesburg hotels. After all, I'll snag inexpensive Hyatt nights when I can.
Comair British Airways plane. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Comair flight. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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(Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
Cost: $71 per person one-way.
Earnings: 311 Loyalty Point-eligible AAdvantage miles (plus 282 EQMs and 29 EQDs since the flight was during the double-dipping period) and 213 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (for paying with the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card).
British Airways offers flights within South Africa through its franchise partner, Comair. As such, Oneworld elites like me can get elite benefits and earnings when flying these intra-South Africa flights. Of course, as you can see above, the earnings aren't great since the flights are relatively short. But, it's fun to fly on a British Airways livery within South Africa.
Rondavel at Addo Main Camp in South Africa. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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Rondavel at Addo Main Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Rondavel at Addo Main Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Rondavel at Addo Main Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Shower in our rondavel at Addo Main Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Towel art in our rondavel at Addo Main Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Hide in Addo Main Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Rental car at PLZ in South Africa. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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Plenty of rental cars at PLZ. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
Cost: $260 for a two-night stay.
Earnings: 520 Capital One miles (for paying with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card).
We used our weekends to explore South African national parks on this trip. After all, cell data usually isn't good enough to work remotely at national park rest camps (and Wi-Fi usually isn't offered or is extremely slow). So for our first weekend, we headed to Addo Elephant National Park near Gqeberha (formally named Port Elizabeth).
We rented an automatic rental car for three days from Budget for about $133 total. Then, we picked up some groceries and started our three-day, two-night self-drive safari in Addo Elephant National Park.
We stayed overnight in a rondavel within the park's main rest camp. The rondavel offered a shared kitchen, air conditioning, cute towel art, a private bathroom and wonderful views over a waterhole from its porch. The camp itself offered many services, including guided activities, a pool and a restaurant.
Of course, the reason to stay in Addo Elephant National Park is to self-safari. And, we spent most of the daylight hours out in the park searching for wildlife. Luckily, the wildlife viewing was excellent. Here's a quick look at some of what we saw.
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(Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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View from Spekboom Hide. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Seating at Spekboom Hide. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Elephants at Spekboom Hide. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
Earnings: 213 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (for paying with the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card).
Many airlines operate between Gqeberha and Cape Town, offering complimentary checked baggage and an inflight snack. We selected Airlink because of its pricing on an evening flight that would allow us to safari for most of our last day in Addo Elephant National Park.
Club room at the Hyatt Regency Cape Town in South Africa. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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(Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Breakfast buffet. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Hotel exterior. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Club lounge at the Hyatt Regency Cape Town in South Africa. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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Club lounge at the Hyatt Regency Cape Town. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Evening snacks at the Club lounge. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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(Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
Cost: $402 for a five-night stay.
Earnings: 8,013 Hyatt points (6,380 points from the stay and 1,633 points for paying with the World of Hyatt Credit Card) and five Hyatt elite-qualifying nights.
Cape Town has appealing Marriott, Hilton and IHG properties, among others. But, as with our Johannesburg stays, when I saw we could stay at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Cape Town for $80 per night, I didn't look further.
The Hyatt Regency Cape Town has a great location, with the Bo Kaap neighborhood next door and ample restaurants nearby. It's also just a short walk to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and an Uber to the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway base station was less than $10.
The hotel itself was pleasant, too, with a comfortable club lounge and modern room. I loved the bathtub -- it was one of the most comfortable tubs I've tried. And I earned an extra 2,022 points for every two nights during this stay, thanks to Hyatt's Bonus Journeys promotion. However, we had persistent key card issues and found ourselves actively avoiding the overly-helpful concierge each time we walked through the lobby.
Cape Town airport. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Priority Pass lounge in Cape Town. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Hoedspruit airport. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Hoedspruit airport. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
Cost: $152 per person one-way.
Earnings: 456 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (for paying with the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card).
I'd never heard of CemAir until it showed up on a Google Flights search from Cape Town to the area around Kruger National Park. But, the price and timing were right, so we gave the airline a try. Our flight departed on time with just a few passengers, so my husband and I were each able to snag a window for the flight.
The flight landed at Hoedspruit, which has no jetbridges and serves as an air force base. We picked up a nine-night Avis automatic rental car at the airport for $482 and drove toward the Phalaborwa gate of Kruger National Park.
Our car at one of the few points in Kruger National Park where you're allowed to alight. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Cost: $178 for two nights, one in Mopani and one in Satara.
Earnings: 356 Capital One miles (for paying with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card).
As I mentioned earlier, we maximized our weekends on this trip. So, we spent our second weekend in South Africa's Kruger National Park. We spent almost all of our daylight hours on self-drive safaris. And we overnighted at two different rest camps within the park, Mopani and Satara.
We spent the first night at Mopani, where we enjoyed dinner on the camp restaurant's deck overlooking a river with hippos. Our bungalow had a kitchen, bunk beds, private bathroom and air conditioning.
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Bungalow at Mopani Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Mopani Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Mopani Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Mopani Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Mopani Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Mopani Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Mopani Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Mopani Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Restaurant at Mopani Rest Camp. KATIE GENTER/THE POINTS GUY
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Dinner with a view at Mopani Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
We checked out of Mopani early the next morning to enjoy the good game viewing that often happens when the camp gates first open. We spent the day spotting wildlife and made it to Satara Rest Camp just before the gate closing time. We noticed a bat in the roofing of our originally assigned bungalow, so the park gave us a different bungalow. Our bungalow had a shared kitchen, air conditioning and a private bathroom.
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Bungalow at Satara Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Satara Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Satara Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Satara Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Satara Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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Bungalow at Satara Rest Camp. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
Infinity pool overlooking the park. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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View of the hotel from the bridge leaving Kruger National Park. (Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
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(Photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy)
Cost: 65,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Earnings: Seven Marriott elite-qualifying nights.
I enjoy staying at the Kruger National Park rest camps. But, Marriott's Protea Hotel Kruger Gate, just outside the national park's Paul Kruger Gate entrance, provides more amenities and is a great value with redeeming Marriott points.
Plus, the internet at this hotel is good enough to work remotely. As such, it's a great place to stay if you want to self-safari the first half of the day and then work U.S. hours the second half of the day.
I'll be writing more about the Protea Hotel Kruger Gate soon. But for now, here are some photos of the wildlife and driving that we saw in the park near the hotel.
Earnings: 202 Capital One miles (for paying with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card).
Airlink operates several flights each day between Skukuza airport in Kruger National Park and Johannesburg. These flights serve safari lodges as well as independent travelers who want to pick up rental cars from the airport and self-safari.
The Skukuza airport is unique in that only one airline operates from the airport (Airlink). There's security, a gift shop, car rentals and a coffee shop, but it all feels incredibly relaxed.
For the price of 75,000 American Airlines miles and $60, I got more than 23 hours in Qatar Qsuite and a 14-hour layover in Doha. Many people wouldn't want this long layover, but we booked the extended layover on purpose. After all, we spent most of our time in the Al Mourjan Business Lounge, which offers nap rooms, dining from a menu, comfortable workspace and much more.
South Africa is an award travelers paradise. There are plenty of great value hotel redemptions and ways to redeem points and miles for flights to South Africa. But, cash rates for many hotels and flights in South Africa may provide better value, especially if you book soon while travel is still recovering.
All in, my flights and hotels on this 23-night trip cost $2,077 plus 75,000 American miles and 65,000 Marriott points. I earned 1,970 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, 1,078 Capital One miles, 17,321 Hyatt points, 898 IHG points, 3,325 Delta miles and 464 AAdvantage miles on my flights and hotels. Plus, we racked up 11 Hyatt elite-qualifying nights, seven Marriott nights and one IHG night.
On your first trip to South Africa, I highly recommend visiting at least Cape Town and a national park such as Kruger or Addo Elephant. If you plan to rent a car, consider using AutoSlash to find an inexpensive rate (and track for less expensive rentals). And if you're going to visit national parks for more than a few days, consider buying an International All Parks Cluster Wild Card to save money.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
