Both of us had been collecting miles on United MileagePlus for quite some time. With the miles we had collected so far, I was scouting for destinations we wanted to visit and where we could maximize our miles.
Africa was at the top of our list, and I was trying to figure out how we could do the most with that. We had enough miles between the two of us for three one-way tickets from India (Central Asia region) to South Africa (Africa region), which meant that we would need to purchase one one-way ticket for one of us.
As it turns out, a one-way flight from India to South Africa was almost twice as expensive as a one-way flight from South Africa to India. After a lot of research and award searches, I was finally able to zero in on our travel plans.
Our first flight would be on EgyptAir on Sunday, 25th December, leaving Mumbai at 2:20 AM. We would reach Cairo at 5:35 AM with a 17-hour layover in Cairo π. Our next flight on EgyptAir would leave Cairo at 11:35 PM and reach Addis Ababa the next morning at 3:15 AM on Monday, 26th December. We would then connect onward to an Ethiopian Airlines flight at 8:15 AM, reaching Cape Town at 2:15 PM. I booked this itinerary as award tickets for both of us.
| Date | Flight | From | At | To | At | Airline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUN 25 DEC | MS 969 | MUMBAI, IN (BOM) | 02:20 | CAIRO, EG (CAI) | 05:35 | EGYPTAIR |
| SUN 25 DEC | MS 851 | CAIRO, EG (CAI) | 22:35 | ADDIS ABABA, ET (ADD) | 03:15(+1) | EGYPTAIR |
| MON 26 DEC | ET 847 | ADDIS ABABA, ET (ADD) | 08:30 | CAPE TOWN, ZA (CPT) | 14:15 | ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES |
After spending 4 days in Cape Town π, I was able to put together a return itinerary with day-long layovers in both Johannesburg and Addis Ababa. We would leave Cape Town at 6:00 AM on Friday, 30th December, on a South African Airways flight reaching Johannesburg at 7:55 AM. After about 15 hours in Johannesburg π, we would connect to an Ethiopian Airlines red-eye flight leaving at 11:35 PM and reaching Addis Ababa the next morning at 6:00 AM on Saturday, 31st December. After about 17 hours in Addis Ababa π, we would take another Ethiopian Airlines red-eye flight leaving at 11:35 PM and reaching Mumbai the next morning at 7:15 AM on Sunday, 1st January. I planned this itinerary as one award ticket and one paid ticket with the same flights.
I tried booking all these flights on the United website, but my payment transaction would not go through. I then called the MileagePlus customer service number, and they were able to book the flights for me. They also waived the telephone booking fee because I was unable to complete the booking on the website due to a technical error.
I also booked two separate one-way tickets for myself: from Cape Town to Johannesburg on South African Airways, and then from Johannesburg to Mumbai on Ethiopian Airlines directly on each airline’s website to match the award ticket itinerary for the return journey.
| Date | Flight | From | At | To | At | Airline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRI 30 DEC | SA 302 | CAPE TOWN, ZA (CPT) | 06:00 | JOHANNESBURG, ZA (JNB) | 07:55 | SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS |
| FRI 30 DEC | ET 848 | JOHANNESBURG, ZA (JNB) | 23:35 | ADDIS ABABA, ET (ADD) | 06:00(+1) | ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES |
| SAT 31 DEC | ET 640 | ADDIS ABABA, ET (ADD) | 23:35 | MUMBAI, IN (BOM) | 07:15(+1) | ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES |
With that, we were all set for our week in Africa, thanks to United MileagePlus.
90,000 miles redeemed | 3 one-way tickets
3 countries | 3 airlines | 4 new airports
