US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Summer flights to JNB

My daughter wants to visit her friend in South Africa, flying out in May and returning in July. She also has a voucher for $800 from a bump last year. Any hints on when to book, how to book, partner airlines, etc.? Thanks for your help.

My daughter wants to visit her friend in South Africa, flying out in May and returning in July. She also has a voucher for $800 from a bump last year. Any hints on when to book, how to book, partner airlines, etc.? Thanks for your help.

Is it a US voucher?

If it is, she can get no closer to JNB than ATL. Vouchers almost always have to be used on that airline's metal.

You should be able to use the US voucher to FRA on US metal, but then you'd need a seperate ticket on LH for FRA to JNB.

You should be able to use the US voucher to FRA on US metal, but then you'd need a seperate ticket on LH for FRA to JNB.

A pretty inefficent way to go though. SA (I think now *A) flies non-stop from JFK and ATL.

Of course cost is the important part. Just an FYI.

A pretty inefficent way to go though. SA (I think now *A) flies non-stop from JFK and ATL.
Not quite *A yet - IIRC rumors were saying April or so. Also, at least the JFK flight stops in DKR (was coincidentally checking that yesterday).

A pretty inefficent way to go though. SA (I think now *A) flies non-stop from JFK and ATL.

True, but just think of all of the miles you would earn :)

SAA should become a member of *A sometime this year, not exactly sure when but once they do that will become the most efficent way to get to JNB. Until then most of the method involve transiting in Europe.

Not quite *A yet - IIRC rumors were saying April or so. Also, at least the JFK flight stops in DKR (was coincidentally checking that yesterday).

SA flight 202 from JFK to JNB is nonstop on Tue,Thur,Fri and Sat. Flight 204, which runs on Mon,Wed and Sun has a stop. Flying to FRA and connecting vs. flying to JFK and connecting shouldn't be a huge total trip time difference.

So, if you have $800, you might as well burn it up on the PHL-FRA segment and then buy a US Codeshare, or a LH metal ticket to JNB from there. A PHL-FRA nonstop in the summer will be close that amount, anyway.

Actually, if price is the primary concern, I'd probably use the voucher to reach London instead; there are more carriers in the LHR-JNB market (VS, BA, SAA all have nonstops) than FRA-JNB, and consolidators regularly offer discounts on this route. Yes, this would require a transit from LGW to LHR but that is a small price to pay (and fairly easy too). You should also check FRA, MUC, CDG, AMS, MAD, and FCO (the other cities US flies to in Europe) just in case you can find a deal from one of those cities to JNB and use the voucher for that flight... but my general feeling is still that London is the best transit point... because if earning miles wasn't the priority I'd take VS in a heartbeat.

SA flight 202 from JFK to JNB is nonstop on Tue,Thur,Fri and Sat. Flight 204, which runs on Mon,Wed and Sun has a stop.
Oops, I stand corrected.