Air France and KLM still have Johannesburg on sale for about $800. Star Alliance carriers (United, Lufhansa, Brussels Airlines, Air Canada and Swiss Air) also have a similar fare but it doesn’t earn miles with United or US Airways. Instead, we recommend that you spend slightly more for the $894 fare with Air France that does earn 100% mileage with Delta. The distance between New York and Johannesburg via Air France is over 18,000 miles. At a super conservative valuation of a penny a mile, that’s worth $180. In essence, by spending about a hundred dollars more, you will come out ahead at least $90.

Skyline, Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo: ThisParticularGreg, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)

Sample Travel Date:

• February 17th, 2014 – February 25th, 2014

Fare Availability:

• Valid for travel from November 1st – 30th or January 10th, 2014 – March 10th, 2014. Use ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search and flexible month search to see availability — enable advanced routing codes and enter “/ f .. RLPR5US” on the outbound field and “/ f .. RLPR5US” on the return field to search only this fare. This code will search for the $894 mileage earning fare. Must purchase by March 31st, 2014 (THIS WILL NOT LAST until then)
• If you don’t care about miles (we believe that’s a huge mistake) and want to save the $94, on the advance routing code fields, enter “af+” to search for only Air France availability.
• Beginner’s Guide on How to Use Matrix by ITA Software
• How to Read Airfare Rules and Use It to Your Advantage

Partner Fare Class:

• R

Routing:

• JFK – CDG (Paris) – JNB (Johannesburg) – CDG – JFK. Use NYC as the search criteria

Mileage:

• 18,112 miles or 4.9 cents per mile. Air France partners with Delta. This $894 fare in R class will earn 100% mileage with Delta SkyMiles. Remember to provide your SkyMiles number at check-in to receive your miles. DO NOT CREDIT THIS TO KLM’s program, as it will only earn 25%. Credit to Delta!

How to Book:

• Use dates found on ITA Software Matrix Search and book on AirFrance.US
• Receive 2% back with TopCashBack.com(*), use TopCashBack.com‘s AirFrance.US link book to receive the 2% saving
• Chose the fare that add up to $894. At the confirmation screen, make sure it says Class R. If it is V, it will not earn any miles!

Background Information:

• Visa: US Citizens – not required. Other nationals, check the TIMATIC Visa Database
• Currency: Rand – $1USD = 10.09 South African Rand (ZAR)

Tips for saving when using credit cards at international destinations:

• No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards to save on international purchases
• Don’t get hit with Dynamic Currency Conversion
• Get your taxes refunded when shopping
• How to Avoid International Data Roaming Charges

For more of the latest cheap New York Flight Deals:

• Go to the The New York Flight Deals page

* The Flight Deal will receive a cash bonus if you use the TopCashBack affiliate link above to create a TopCashBack account and make a subsequent booking.

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The Flight Deal does not sell travel products or services. We provide you with information about third-party travel suppliers’ offers, and link you to their sites. The information posted by The Flight Deal is valid at the time of publication. However, we have no control over the suppliers, and we therefore do not warrant or guarantee that their offers will not change or become unavailable. Nor are we responsible for their products, services or site content. Please see their sites for their most up-to-date offer information and all applicable terms and conditions.