Yep - open jaw from DXB - JNB. South African Air has a direct flight I can use United Miles for. I looked into going to Nairobi, but I would have had to burn 2 segments and wanted to use them elsewhere. The only BA leg is the last one CDG-LHR, and the agent said the taxes were low. I asked her if there were any anomalies, but she said there were just several 20-30E charges, and multiplying for 16 legs added up. I changed the itinerary so many times, it was the best gateway to start/end the trip. Would have been nice to pay lower taxes, but really wanted to be ticketed before leaving the US. Thanks again for your help!