Perhaps even travel via Australia and pick up the SYD-JNB flight?

Lots of interesting alternatives. Thank you. The dates are fixed, within a day or so. Therefore, while I want to have done my homework, I think I'll just need to phone and see what I'm told. I think I'll be a bit ahead of the availability online updates. I hadn't thought about RTW though some of the routings show up via HKG.

It seems to me that if I want to not have to add on JNB CPT, then I need either the daily FRA CPT *Alliance Flight or the daily BA LHR CPT flight. So the first thing I should do, at -330, is see if either of those are available and then back into how to get to LHR or FRA. Because of time changes, I think I can find about the to CPT flights before I can find out about the from US flights.

The only reason for going first is to get a pre-assigned seat on BA.

If I get the BA LHR CPT flight, I might try to use *Alliance miles for SFO LHR.

So Plan A, two legs, is to try for the two non-stops to CPT and to try to get a non-stop then from the United States.

Plan B would be three legs, and one appealing choice is *Alliance SJC IAD JNB CPT. The Dulles connection is only 1:40 but in the US I think that should be comfortable enough. I'm going to ask the same question on the Star Alliance Forum.

Plan C is four legs, and probably via MAD is a good fallback.

I haven't looked closely at real connections and days of the week.

SJC is 40 miles closer for me than SFO. LAX SJC flights are apt to be late, canceled, ... I don't like, at the end of a long trip, to get stuck at LAX so I try to avoid that option when I can.

Sylvia

If you have *A miles, perhaps you use South African Airways direct from the States? Their business class is supposed to be excellent.

Also, with a oneworld award, SFO-SYD-JNB-CPT would be a possibility on QF/BA. Though QF awards are even harder to get..

Or LHR-MRU-JNB-CPT, but MRU-JNB is only on certain days.

If using UA miles, you could route via Brazil as a possibility; South African flies to GRU.