Originally Posted by DrDoom

That's really good advice and information, and it is in agreement with my research. I don't have enough points to get to South Africa with British Air, so I will have to go with Star Alliance. SA Air flies direct to Cape Town from London, and direct to London from Johannesburg. So, I'm going to try this: fly US Airways direct to London, stop there for a few days, then take SA down to Cape Town. Return on SA from JNB to London or New York, then home to Charlotte on a *A partner. We'll see if it works! Good to know the business class seats on SA go flat, since the LHR-CPT is a red-eye. Thanks for your help.