I just tried to book the following using the online request form and I also got the response that my award exceeds the transfer limit. They state I have 2 transfers in HKG and 2 in JNB. So it sounds like I need to specifically state that I would like to use my stopovers as transfers? The connections in HKG and JNB are less than 24 hours.
JFK-SFO(stopover)-HKG-JNB-CPT(destination)
(open jaw) DUR-JNB-HKG-SFO
Is it better to just call and get this sorted out versus email? I tried to avoid the call centers because of the complaints about how long it takes.