The Big Picture
Fly to South Africa for as cheap as 18,000 points per person. Between January and June 2024, there is tons of availability with up to 9 seats available in Virgin Atlantic’s economy class between the US and Cape Town and Johannesburg through Europe.
Examples of routes in economy (priced per person one way)
- JFK, BOS, IAD to CPT = 22,500
- MCO, MIA, TPA to CPT/JNB = 25,000
- ATL to CPT= 25,000
- ATL to JNB= 27,000
- AUS, SEA, LAS, SFO, LAX to/from CPT/ JNB = 27,500
- JNB to JFK, BOS, IAD= 22,500
- JNB to ATL, TPA, MIA, MCO= 25,000
- JNB to AUS, SEA, LAS, SFO, LAX= 27,500
If you prefer Premium Economy or Upperclass, you may find fares from 42,500 per person in PE or 105k per person in Upperclass.
Not only is there wide open availability early next year, but Chase has a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic through Nov 15, 2023. This knocks the price down to as low as 18k in economy, 33k in PE, and 81k in Upperclass (all priced one way for one person).
While you can transfer directly from Chase, AMEX, and Citi to Virgin Atlantic, Capital One is actually only partners with Virgin Red (not Virgin Atlantic). This is no problem as you can link your Virgin Red account to your Virgin Atlantic account, and then you will be able to book your flights on Virgin Atlantic using your Capital One points as usual.
All of the dates below have confirmed availability for at least 2 passengers with up to 9 seats available. If your party is larger than 9 people, call Virgin Atlantic to check availability and book. You may also call Virgin Atlantic to hold the flights before you transfer points if you wish.
If you have any trouble selecting “Show Price in Points” change “one way” to “multi-city” and then directly back to “one way”. It’s a glitch, but this should fix it.
Available Dates
Outbound
LAX-CPT
Jan 6-31
Feb 1-7, 10-29
March 1-20
LAX-JNB
Jan 7-31
Feb 1-29
March 1-20
SFO-CPT
Jan 5-31
Feb 1-7, 10-29
March 1-20
SFO-JNB
Jan 6-31
Feb 1-29
March 1-20
LAS-CPT
Jan 6-31
Feb 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10-29
March 1-20
LAS-JNB
Jan 6-31
Feb 1-7, 9-14, 16-29
March 1, 3-7, 9-18
SEA-CPT
Jan 4-31
Feb 1-7, 10-29
March 1-20
SEA-JNB
Jan 5-31
Feb 1-29
March 1-20
April 16-30
May 1-9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 29
June 2, 3, 7-14
AUS-CPT
Jan 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 28, 31,
Feb 2, 4, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28
March 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20
TPA-CPT
Jan 10, 12, 17,19, 21, 24, 26, 28, 31
Feb 2, 4, 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28
March 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20
MCO-CPT
Jan 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30
Feb 4, 11, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28,
March 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20
MIA-CPT
Jan 9-31
Feb 1-6, 10-29
March 1-20
MIA-JNB
Jan 9-31
Feb 1-29
March 1-14, 16-20
ATL-CPT
Jan 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30, 31
Feb 2, 4, 6, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28
March 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20
ATL-JNB
Jan 14-16, 18, 20-31
Feb 1, 3-8, 10-13, 18-21, 25-27
March 4, 13-18-20
JFK-CPT
Jan 7-31
Feb 1-6, 10-29
March 1-20
JFK-JNB
Jan 7-31
Feb 1-29
March 1-20
April 16-30
May 1-31
June 1-15
IAD-CPT
Jan 7-14, 16, 18-21, 23, 25-28, 30
Feb 1-4, 6, 10, 11, 13, 15-18, 20, 22-25, 27, 29
March 1-20
IAD-JNB
Jan 7-14, 16, 18-21, 23, 25-28, 30
Feb 1-4, 6, 8-10, 11, 13, 15-18, 20, 22-25, 27, 29
March 1-20
BOS-CPT
Jan 7-31
Feb 1-6, 10-13, 15-29
March 1-20
BOS-JNB
Jan 6-15, 17-22, 24-29, 31
Feb 1-5, 7-12, 14, 16-19, 21-26, 28, 29
March 1-20
Return
JNB-LAX
Jan 15-31
Feb 1-29
March 1-20
JNB-SFO
Jan 15-31
Feb 1-15, 17-29
March 1-20
JNB-LAS
Jan 17-26, 28-31
Feb 1-10, 12, 13, 15, 19, 22, 25, 28, 29
March 1, 3-14, 16-19
JNB-SEA
Jan 14, 15, 17-22, 24-26, 28, 29, 31
Feb 1-5, 7-12, 14-19, 21-29
March 1-20
JNB-AUS
Jan 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30
Feb 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29
March 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19
JNB-TPA
Jan 16-21, 23-28, 30, 31
Feb 1-4, 6-8, 10, 11, 13-16, 18-29
March 1-14, 16-19
JNB-MCO
Jan 18, 21, 22, 24-31
Feb 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 19, 21, 22, 25, 28, 29
March 1, 3-14, 16, 17
JNB-MIA
Jan 15-31
Feb 1-8, 10-16, 18-29
March 1-20
JNB-ATL
Jan 15-31
Feb 1-16, 18-29
March 1-20
JNB-JFK
Jan 15-31
Feb 1-10, 12-16, 18-29
March 1-20
JNB-IAD
Jan 17-20, 22, 24-27, 29, 31
Feb 1-3, 5, 7-10, 12, 14-16, 19, 21-24, 26, 28, 29
March 1-20
JNB-BOS
Jan 15-31
Feb 1-16, 18-23, 25-29
March 1-20
Recommend Cards to Book This Deal
Be sure you pay your taxes and fees with a card that offers a variety of travel insurances. Cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or The Platinum Card® from American Express are great options to protect you on your travels.
