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Thread: Redemption Help: to Africa next year
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Old Dec 20, 2008, 6:48 am
  #1  
mad_rich
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Newcastle, UK
Programs: BA Silver, IHG Gold, Hilton Gold, Hertz 5*, Avis Preferred Plus, Amex Plat
Posts: 2,080
to Africa next year

We're approaching zero-hour...

I'm sitting on 69,619 miles in my account, with a few hundred to take me over the 70k threshold when this month's MBNA miles post around Christmas. (9k from the Economist, and perhaps 7k from Hertz are possible, but unlikely before January, and I'd like to get something in the bag before any possible devaluation).

I want to make a redemption next year (dates not yet known) to visit friends in NBO and GBE (Gaborone, Botswana).

This would probably be my ideal routing

NCL-DUS-FRA-JNB-GBE (poss stopover in JNB) - LH F
GBE-JNB-NBO-ZRH-DUS-NCL (stopover in NBO) - SA/LX J (cash & miles)

1. Does anyone know which zone Botswana and Kenya are in? I'm assuming zone 6, but it could be 5.

2. Is NBO allowed as a stopover en-route from GBE-NCL? It looks like the only way out of GBE is via CPT or JNB.

3. I have no idea what dates I want to travel (waiting on decisions from both friends) - it could be any time between March & September. What's the best way of approaching this? Just book random dates and hope there is availability when I get confirmation?

4. Depending on my friends' availability, it may work out better to do the trip the other way around (ie visit NBO on the way out, not the way back). Is this achievable even if I already have the reservations above?

Thanks in advance for your brains.

Last edited by mad_rich; Dec 21, 2008 at 4:21 am Reason: corrected Gaborone airport code
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