fly saa voyager

• Chase Bonuses
• BMO Harris Bonuses
• Axos Bank Bonuses
• Bank of America Bonuses
• Fifth Third Bank Bonuses
• KeyBank Bonuses
• Upgrade Bonuses
• Best Bank Bonuses
• Best Bank Bonuses w/o Direct Deposit
• Best Free Checking Accounts
• Best Free Business Checking Accounts
• Best Savings Rates
• Best CD Rates
• All Bank Bonuses
• Best Brokerage Offers
• Best Real Estate Offers
• Best Robo-Advisor Offers
• Best Stock Brokers
• All Investing Offers
• Best Crypto Offers
• All Crypto Offers
• Referral Deals
• Best Referral Deals
• Best Cash Back Shopping Sites
• Best Contests & Sweepstakes
• Best Online Mattress Promotions
• Best Amazon Coupons & Deals
• Best Freebie Deals
• Best Credit Card Bonuses
• All Credit Card Deals
• Advertiser Disclosure

South African Airways: The Complete Guide To Voyager Miles

South African Airways is the flag carrier airline of South Africa, linking over 40 local and international destinations across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania, from its hub in Johannesburg.

See our  best credit card bonuses here .

The Voyager frequent flyer program offers those who fly with SAA and their partners a variety of ways to earn reward miles, along with plenty of ways to use them. Keep reading for everything you need to know about SAA Voyager.

Voyager Elite Status

When you join Voyager, you’ll automatically become a Blue member after any three Base Miles transactions. Move up status tiers when you collect enough Tier Miles – by flying with SAA and Star Alliance – within a calendar year.

Once you unlock a tier, you’ll have that status for the remainder of the year until the end of the following year. Status benefits include:

Earning Voyager Miles

Earn Voyager Miles for:

• Flying on SAA and SAA codeshare, Star Alliance and non-Star partner flights.
• Staying at participating Best Western , Hilton , Shangri-La and Intercontinental hotels.
• Booking cruises with Cruise International.
• Renting cars from Avis or Europcar.

Partner airlines include:

• Aegean Airlines
• Air New Zealand
• Asiana Airlines
• Austrian Airlines
• Brussels Airlines
• Copa Airlines
• Croatia Airlines
• Ethiopian Airlines
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Shenzhen Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• TAP Portugal
• Thai Airways
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin Australia

You’ll also earn miles for:

• Filling up at Total SA.
• Loading money on a World Currency Card by Bidvest Bank.
• Purchasing from Voyager Wine Club.
• Relaxing at a spa from the Health Spas guide.

Earning Voyager Miles With Transfer Partners

Perhaps the easiest way for Americans to earn Voyager Miles is to convert Marriott Bonvoy points at a 3 to 1 ratio (with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred) or Radisson Rewards points at a 10 to 1 ratio.

Read below for more information on some of the credit cards mentioned above.

MARRIOTT BONVOY BOLD® CREDIT CARD

The Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card has an offer for 30,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months. We value these 30k points at around $270 .

This card earns 14 points per $1 at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. Other travel purchases (from airfare to taxis and trains) will earn 2 points per $1. All other purchases will earn 1 point per $1.

You’ll receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year, qualifying you for Silver Elite status.

There are no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee.

Card Review

MARRIOTT BONVOY BOUNDLESS® CREDIT CARD

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card from Chase has an offer for 3 Free Nights after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

New to the card, you will earn 3x Bonvoy points on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining. The card is also offering an Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status for every $5,000 spent.

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card earns 17 points for every $1 spent at over 7,000+ participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels. You’ll receive 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.

You’ll get a Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every account anniversary year and automatic Silver Elite Status. Additionally, you’ll receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year.

This card has no foreign transaction fees and the annual fee is $95.

MARRIOTT BONVOY BRILLIANT™ AMERICAN EXPRESS® CARD

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card has an offer for 75,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. We  value these 75k points at around $675 . 

This card earns 6 points per $1 at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy TM program and 3 points at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines. You’ll receive 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.

You’ll get a Free Night Award (redemption level up to 50,000 points) every account anniversary year, and up to $300 in statement credits each year for eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy TM program. Resort fees may apply. Other benefits include unlimited airport lounge visits with the Priority Pass Select membership and no foreign transaction fees.

This premium card comes with an Annual Fee of $450. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.

MARRIOTT BONVOY BUSINESS ™ AMERICAN EXPRESS ® CARD

The Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card has a limited time offer for 75,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. We value these 75k points to be worth around $675.

This card earns 6 points per $1 at participating hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy TM program. It’s 4 points per $1 at U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, and on U.S. purchases for shipping. And 2 points per $1 on all other purchases.

Every year after your account anniversary you’ll get 1 free night award. You can earn an additional free night award after spending $60,000 in purchases in 1 calendar year.

There are no foreign transaction fees and the annual fee is $125. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.

Redeeming Voyager Miles

Please note, redemptions have been paused until further notice.

Spend your Voyager Miles on:

• Flights with SAA and more than 35 airline partners, including Star Alliance carriers.
• Upgrades on SAA flights.
• Rental cars with Europcar.
• Merchandise with FlySAA Duty Free.
• Merchandise with Wine-of-the-Month.
• Vouchers with Uber, Cruises International, and Health Spas guide.
• Flight simulation with SAA Flight Simulator.
• Charitable donations.

Voyager Miles expire 36 months from the date they were earned. One year is calculated from April 1 to March 31. Keep your account active with any earn or burn activity at least every three years.

Voyager Tips & Tricks

• Best value awards are partner airline flights between the United States and South America. Economy seats are 50,000 miles roundtrip, and business class is a steal at 75,000 miles.
• We also recommend roundtrip intra-North and South Asia flights with 32,200 miles in business or 47,900 in first class.
• Stay away from upgrade awards, which are only available by sector, to the next highest level of service and are subject to high taxes, surcharges and fees.

Bottom Line

A Star Alliance member, South African Airways Voyager lets you earn and burn miles with any partner airline. Plus, the program offers relatively high earning potential with point transfers from Marriott Bonvoy and Radisson Rewards .

Want a Star Alliance frequent flyer program that allows American Express Membership Rewards® point transfers instead? You’ll want to check out Air Canada Aeroplan or Singapore Airlines .

READ MORE: SEE THE BEST BANK BONUSES HERE AND THE BEST INVESTING BONUSES HERE .

Diana Mason

My passion for travel eventually led me away from the 9 to 5 office life and into the embrace of freelance work. Born in Cali and raised in Philly, I am a creative professional with a delightful knack for words. When I'm not gallivanting across the globe, you can find me writing (of course), teaching yoga, and dreaming of my next big adventure.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. Disclaimer: These responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. It is not the bank advertiser's or any other entity's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Get new posts by email:

Recent articles, trustmark $25 bonus: open a student checking account – ends 6/30/24.

Coca-Cola® The Heroes Sweepstakes (Win a Disney Cruise, Ends 6/30/24)

*Advertiser Disclosure: The credit card and banking offers that appear on this site are from credit card and banking companies from which MoneysMyLife.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). MoneysMyLife.com does not include all credit card and banking companies or all available credit card and banking offers. This content is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. This site may be compensated through the bank advertiser Affiliate Program.

© 2023 MoneysMyLife. All rights reserved.

© 2023 moneysmylife . All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Remember Me

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Advertiser Disclosure

Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which we receive financial compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). However, the credit card information that we publish has been written and evaluated by experts who know these products inside out. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers that are on the market. See our advertising policy here where we list advertisers that we work with, and how we make money. You can also review our credit card rating methodology .

18 Best Ways To Redeem South African Airways Voyager Miles for Max Value

Senior Content Contributor

486 Published Articles

Countries Visited: 24 U.S. States Visited: 22

Keri Stooksbury

Editor-in-Chief

33 Published Articles 3134 Edited Articles

Countries Visited: 47 U.S. States Visited: 28

Director of Operations & Compliance

1 Published Article 1172 Edited Articles

Countries Visited: 10 U.S. States Visited: 20

The Pros and Cons of South African Airways Voyager Miles

1. fly emirates first class round-trip from seoul to dubai (200,000 miles), 2. fly emirates business class round-trip between north/south africa and dubai (from 125,000 miles), 3. fly emirates new first class suites round-trip between london and dubai (155,000 miles), 4. fly emirates first class round-trip between north america and dubai (240,000 miles), 5. fly emirates first class on the world’s shortest a380 flight (35,000 miles), 6. fly virgin atlantic new upper class round-trip between london and west coast u.s. (127,000 miles), 7. fly virgin atlantic upper class round-trip between london and the caribbean (109,500 miles), 8. fly ana business class round-trip between japan and southeast asia for unbelievable prices (32,200 miles), 9. fly asiana business class round-trip between korea and southeast asia for unbelievable prices (32,200 miles), 10. fly air china business class round-trip between beijing and southeast asia for unbelievable prices (32,200 miles), 11. fly thai airways first class round-trip between bangkok and japan (47,900 miles), 12. fly air india first class round-trip between jeddah and india (56,900 miles), 13. access intra-asia business class availability on singapore airlines business class round-trip (32,200 miles), 14. fly air india business class between india and israel (49,000 miles), 15. fly air new zealand round-trip from north america to oceania in business class (169,300 miles), 16. fly united round-trip between guam and asia in economy class (20,400 miles), 17. take advantage of journeyblitz awards on south african airways flights for deeply discounted flights, 18. upgrade eligible economy tickets to business on south african airways between north america and africa (from 23,000 miles), south african airways award charts, star alliance airline partners, non-alliance airline partners, awards bookable online vs. phone, award redemption rules, how to boost your south african airways voyager miles, final thoughts.

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

South Africa is quite a picturesque vacation spot, located at the southern tip of Africa. Home to some of the best wine in Cape Town and beautiful safari experiences across many ultra-luxurious game reserves throughout the country, there’s something to do for everyone.

The state-owned airline South African Airways, in operation since 1934, has hub airports at O.R. Tambo International in Johannesburg (JNB) and Cape Town International (CPT). It has maintained a boutique airline feel with numerous quirks. Although its fleet size is small, its partner list is quite large.

If you find yourself earning a stack of South African Airways Voyager miles and can’t figure out how to best use them, you’re not alone.

South African Airways Voyager has some neat attributes that make it an attractive program, provided you can get its miles. This program is unbeatable for intra-Asia premium cabin travel . You can also book Emirates premium cabin awards, though not at the best redemption price. Lastly, there’s tons of value in niche routes, such as between Guam and Asia in economy class.

On the other hand, Voyager can be quite confusing. Its routing rules are obscure, and it has many different award charts, depending on who you fly on.

Lastly, its website is built much like an early dot-com website. You’ll notice that South African Airways Voyager primarily employs a region-based pricing scheme, which leaves quite a bit of room for opportunity.

The 18 Best Ways To Use Your South African Airways Voyager Miles

South African Airways’ frequent flyer program doesn’t get much publicity in the frequent flyer or award travel world.

In fact, Voyager’s website is replete with technical glitches, the award chart is nonsensical for the most part, and there aren’t many ways to transfer points to South African Airways Voyager.

However, this frequent flyer program has  so much value , as long as you’re interested in niche routes. Some of these redemptions are competitively priced relative to the alternative and can represent the absolute best price you can pay for that particular route.

One of the quirks of South African Airways Voyager is the ability to book Emirates using miles . While the overall award pricing of Emirates awards is lackluster, there are some ways to get competitive redemption value.

If you fly to/from Dubai and the “Far East” region, you’ll pay 200,000 miles round-trip. Japan is excluded from the Far East region because it is a region itself. But, if you fly between South Korea and Dubai, you’ll have the opportunity to savor Emirates first class for 8 to 10 hours each way.

For this, you’ll pay 200,000 Voyager miles, and Emirates Skywards charges around the same price (197,500 miles.) So, if you find yourself with a ton of Voyager miles, consider using them for a round-trip Emirates first class experience.

Here is the exact route we’re talking about:

• Seoul-Incheon (ICN) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in Emirates first class for 200,000 miles + ~$118 in taxes and fees per person

Hot Tip: You’ll want to avoid commencing your trip in Dubai due to the fuel surcharges that are levied. To give you an idea, the reverse route round-trip will have $923 in taxes and fees per person. 

If business class is enough for you, you can still fly on Emirates business class for a great deal. However, the one restriction is that you can’t book Emirates award flights between Johannesburg and Dubai .

There are still many fantastic routes you can fly on. Here are some great example redemptions you can make:

• Cape Town (CPT) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in Emirates business class for 125,000 miles + ~$219 in taxes and fees
• Casablanca (CMN) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in Emirates business class for 125,000 miles + ~$289 in taxes and fees
• Durban (DUR) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in Emirates business class for 125,000 miles + ~$219 in taxes and fees

Emirates’ Game Changer first class suites  are sensational.

This ultra-exclusive, fully-enclosed first class suite is arguably the best first class product in the world. One of the routes on which this is offered is on select 777-300ER aircraft between London-Stansted and Dubai.

Unfortunately, the large  fuel surcharges and the U.K. Air Passenger Duty means you’ll pay an arm and a leg for first class.

Here’s the exact redemption you’d be making:

• London-Stansted (STN) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip for 155,000 miles + ~$512 in taxes and fees

If you’re in the market to fly directly from North America to Dubai in Emirates first class, you’d absolutely be able to make a case for using Voyager miles.

You can fly between any North American city and Dubai in Emirates first class for 240,000 miles . You’ll simply need to find award availability.

If you’re interested in maximizing your time in first class, you’ll want to book from the West Coast . Unfortunately, you won’t be able to avoid fuel surcharges on routes between North America and Dubai.

Here are some great example redemptions you can make:

• Houston (IAH) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in Emirates first class for 240,000 miles + ~$400 in taxes and fees
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in Emirates first class for 240,000 miles + ~$400 in taxes and fees
• New York (JFK) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in Emirates first class for 240,000 miles + ~$400 in taxes and fees
• San Francisco (SFO) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in Emirates first class for 240,000 miles + ~$400 in taxes and fees
• Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in Emirates first class for 240,000 miles + ~$400 in taxes and fees

If you’re looking to try out Emirates’ first class suites on a super-short flight, why not try it on the shortest A380 flight in the world ?

Cash tickets are usually over $2,000, which makes this round-trip ticket one of the most expensive flights you can get from an hourly standpoint.

Here is the exact route you can book:

• Muscat (MCT) – Dubai (DXB) round-trip in Emirates first class for 35,000 miles + ~$154 in taxes and fees

Another great partner that South African Airways has is Virgin Atlantic . This airline has offered a decent business class product in the past, though it had its fair share of complaints. However, in 2019 it launched its new business class product which is fantastic.

When you’re using South African Airways Voyager miles, it’s almost always better to fly to/from the West Coast as opposed to the East Coast, due to the negligible difference in required miles of 2,000.

You’ll pay 127,000 miles for West Coast flights round-trip, whereas East Coast will cost 125,000 miles . Here are some great example routes you can take:

• Los Angeles (LAX) – London-Heathrow (LHR) round-trip in Virgin Atlantic’s new Upper Class for 127,000 miles + ~$1,771 in taxes and fees
• San Francisco (SFO) – London-Heathrow (LHR) round-trip in Virgin Atlantic’s new Upper Class for 127,000 miles + ~$1,771 in taxes and fees

If you’re considering travel that involves London and the Caribbean, you’ll find comfort in knowing that you can redeem South African Airways Voyager miles for this endeavor.

Virgin Atlantic doesn’t have the biggest route network in the world, but it actually offers nonstop flights to the Caribbean . Here are some great example routes you can take:

• London-Heathrow (LHR) – Bridgetown (BGI) round-trip in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class for 109,500 miles + ~$734 in taxes and fees
• London-Heathrow (LHR) – Havana (HAV) round-trip in Virgin Atlantic Upper Class for 109,500 miles + ~$747 in taxes and fees

South African Airways Voyager has one of the most generous definitions of Asia of all the frequent flyer programs. Namely, it has decided to combine most of Asia into 1 region, dubbing it “North and South Asia.”

Normally, frequent flyer programs separate this gigantic continent into several regions and price awards accordingly. South African Airways has created a hidden gem for intra-“North and South Asia” flights.

In fact, these mileage prices blow the competition out of the water, which goes to show that these redemptions aren’t just competitive — they’re industry-leading .

This zone contains cities as far north as Tokyo and cities as far south as Bali, which are 7 to 8 hours away by flight. When you take this into account and look at the rock-bottom prices, you’ll see why this is a redemption you simply cannot ignore.

All Nippon Airways, or ANA , offers a fantastic business class product. When you use South African Airways Voyager miles, you can fly ANA business class anywhere within Asia for 32,200 miles round-trip .

Here are some great example routes you can take:

• Tokyo-Narita (NRT) – Yangon (RGN) round-trip in ANA business class for 32,200 miles + ~$144 in taxes and fees
• Tokyo-Narita/Haneda (NRT/HND) – Bangkok (BKK)  round-trip in ANA business class for 32,200 miles + ~$143 in taxes and fees
• Tokyo-Narita/Haneda (NRT/HND) – Jakarta (CGK) round-trip in ANA business class for 32,200 miles + ~$161 in taxes and fees
• Tokyo-Narita/Haneda (NRT/HND) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip in ANA business class for 32,200 miles + ~$153 in taxes and fees

Asiana Airlines is the second-largest airline in South Korea, with Korean Air standing in front. Asiana Airlines offers a great business and business suites product, which used to be sold as first class.

We discussed ANA route options to take advantage of intra-North and South Asia award pricing above, so let’s now talk about Asiana Airlines via South Korea. Seoul, South Korea’s capital city, is situated in the northern part of Asia, which means that the longest flight times will be on flights bound for Southeast Asia.

• Seoul-Incheon (ICN) – Ho Chi Minh City (SGN)  round-trip in Asiana business class for 32,200 miles + ~$81 in taxes and fees
• Seoul-Incheon (ICN) – Phnom Penh (PNH)  round-trip in Asiana business class for 32,200 miles + ~$90 in taxes and fees
• Seoul-Incheon (ICN) – Phu Quoc (PQC) round-trip in Asiana business class for 32,200 miles + ~$79 in taxes and fees in taxes and fees
• Seoul-Incheon (ICN) – Phuket (PKT) round-trip in Asiana business class for 32,200 miles + ~$101 in taxes and fees
• Seoul-Incheon (ICN) – Singapore (SIN) round-trip in Asiana business class for 32,200 miles + ~$101 in taxes and fees

Yet another great option to fly intra-North and South Asia with Voyager miles is Air China business class. Although Air China’s business class doesn’t have the reputation that ANA or Asiana does, for example, it’s still an excellent Star Alliance partner airline with amazing connectivity within Asia.

Air China’s business class doesn’t feature direct aisle access at all seats for the most part; instead, you’ll most likely get a 2-2-2 configuration on any wide-body aircraft. Nonetheless, it’s still a great way to fly business class for mega-cheap prices .

• Beijing (PEK) – Chiang Mai (CNX) round-trip in Air China business class for 32,200 miles + ~$176 in taxes and fees
• Beijing (PEK) – Kashgar (KHG) round-trip in Air China business class for 32,200 miles + ~$172 in taxes and fees
• Beijing (PEK) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL)  round-trip in Air China business class for 32,200 miles + ~$205 in taxes and fees
• Chengdu (CTU) – Colombo (CMB) round-trip in Air China business class for 32,200 miles + ~$15 in taxes and fees
• Guangzhou (CAN) – Urumqi (URC) round-trip in Air China business class for 32,200 miles + ~$145 in taxes and fees
• Shenzhen (SZX) – Urumqi (URC) round-trip in Air China business class for 32,200 miles + ~$122 in taxes and fees

Thai Airways is indeed one of the rarest airlines in the world to fly first class on. At one point in time, Thai Airways even offered first class nonstop to the U.S. However, times have changed, financial struggles have mounted, and Thai Airways is on a crusade to become profitable again.

Thai Airways offers first class on flights to/from Tokyo for 47,900 miles round-trip This 5.5 to 7 hour flight is hardly an ultra-long-haul flight, but it’s one of the only opportunities you’ll ever get to try Thai Airways first class.

Just to give you an idea of how phenomenal this redemption is, the next-closest Star Alliance loyalty program, Asiana Airlines Asiana Club , charges 100,000 miles, as does Avianca LifeMiles . You’re going to save over half of your miles on this round-trip flight by booking through South African Airways.

Here are the exact redemptions you can make:

• Tokyo-Narita/Haneda (NRT/HND) – Bangkok (BKK) round-trip in Thai Airways first class for 47,900 miles + ~$209 in taxes and fees

Air India doesn’t have the best reputation out there. However, it’s a solid option if you’re looking to get to India comfortably. Additionally, Air India is one of the few airlines that offer first class on medium-haul flights .

When you look at other Star Alliance partners such as ANA, you’ll find that there are very few, if any, routes shorter than 8 hours than offer first class. This is where Air India can come in handy.

Air India has extraordinary connectivity to many cities in Saudi Arabia despite not being in the same alliance as Saudia, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia. South African Airways Voyager blows its competitors out of the water when it comes to award pricing between Saudi Arabia and India. In fact, the closest runner-up comes in at 75,000 miles for round-trip first class.

Interestingly, the only reason why this routing works is that South African Airways Voyager has decided to label India and Saudi Arabia as members of “Central Asia,” despite neither being conventionally regarded as such. Saudi Arabia is normally considered a country in the Middle East, while India is normally regarded as a country in South Asia.

Nonetheless, here are the example redemptions you could make:

• Calicut (CCJ) – Jeddah (JED)  round-trip in Air India first class for 56,900 miles + ~$244 in taxes and fees
• Delhi (DEL) – Jeddah (JED) round-trip in Air India first class for 56,900 miles + ~$219 in taxes and fees
• Hyderabad (HYD) – Jeddah (JED) round-trip in Air India first class for 56,900 miles + ~$258 in taxes and fees
• Kochi (COK) – Jeddah (JED)  round-trip in Air India first class for 56,900 miles + ~$238 in taxes and fees
• Mumbai (BOM) – Jeddah (JED) round-trip in Air India first class for 56,900 miles + ~$233 in taxes and fees

Singapore Airlines is notoriously stingy with releasing award availability to partners . This is especially true with U.S. routes , where the only hope you have to book one of these coveted flights in business or first class is to redeem KrisFlyer miles .

However, one of the most notable exceptions is on intra-Asia flights . Singapore Airlines releases lots of award seats for intra-Asia flights to partners. When you couple that with the fact that South African Airways Voyager has fantastic award pricing for most of these flights, you’ll see a gold mine of value.

While Singapore KrisFlyer charges up to 47,000 miles for Saver level availability and ANA charges up to 63,000 miles for Singapore Airlines flights, South African Airways Voyager charges a jaw-dropping 32,200 miles .

• Singapore (SIN) – Bangkok (BKK) round-trip in Singapore Airlines business class for 32,200 miles + ~$62 in taxes and fees
• Singapore (SIN) – Beijing (PEK) round-trip in Singapore Airlines business class for 32,200 miles + ~$50 in taxes and fees
• Singapore (SIN) – Fukuoka (FUK) round-trip in Singapore Airlines business class for 32,200 miles + ~$54 in taxes and fees
• Singapore (SIN) – Male (MLE) round-trip in Singapore Airlines business class for 32,200 miles + ~$86 in taxes and fees
• Singapore (SIN) – Nagoya (NGO) round-trip in Singapore Airlines business class for 32,200 miles + ~$74 in taxes and fees
• Singapore (SIN) – Osaka (KIX) round-trip in Singapore Airlines business class for 32,200 miles + ~$73 in taxes and fees
• Singapore (SIN) – Seoul-Incheon (ICN) round-trip in Singapore Airlines business class for 32,200 miles + ~$60 in taxes and fees

Because India falls under Central Asia, it enjoys attractive pricing to the Middle East.

Also, Israel and Egypt are categorized as Middle East countries, which means that you’ll pay 49,000 miles for a 5- to 7-hour flight each way in business class. Not a bad deal! Here are the exact redemptions you want to be making:

• Delhi (DEL) – Tel Aviv (TLV) round-trip in Air India business class for 49,000 miles + ~$709 in taxes and fees
• Mumbai (BOM) – Cairo (CAI) round-trip in Egyptair business class for 49,000 miles + ~$354 in taxes and fees

Air New Zealand is one of the best strategic Star Alliance partners in the world. Because the Oceania region is dominated primarily by Oneworld , thanks to Qantas, Air New Zealand represents a much-needed diversification in the Star Alliance network.

It’s not the best deal out there, but you can redeem South African Airways Voyager miles for round-trip flights between North America and Oceania for 169,300 miles . Here are some great example routes:

• Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – Auckland (AKL) round-trip in Air New Zealand business class for 169,300 miles + ~$110 in taxes and fees
• Houston (IAH) – Auckland (AKL) round-trip in Air New Zealand business class for 169,300 miles + ~$110 in taxes and fees
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Auckland (AKL) round-trip in Air New Zealand business class for 169,300 miles + ~$110 in taxes and fees
• San Francisco (SFO) – Auckland (AKL) round-trip in Air New Zealand business class for 169,300 miles + ~$110 in taxes and fees

Guam is one of the most expensive, cash-intensive destinations for the flight distance traveled. United Airlines has established a stronghold in Guam, which means that the Star Alliance is extraordinarily useful here.

Round-trip nonstop flights from Guam to Japan cost a minimum of $600 to $900, so you’re definitely going to want to use miles to cushion yourself from a majority of these costs.

South African Airways will allow you to book 1 more segment, in addition to the Guam flight, which means you can extract even more value from these hugely expensive cash tickets. Here are some great example routes you can take:

• Guam (GUM) – Nagoya (NGO) – Sapporo (CTS) round-trip for 20,400 miles + ~$120 in taxes and fees ($1,600+ cash value!)
• Guam (GUM) – Tokyo-Narita (NRT) – Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) round-trip for 20,400 miles + ~$119 in taxes and fees ($2,000+ cash value!)
• Guam (GUM) – Tokyo-Narita (NRT) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) round-trip for 20,400 miles + ~$122 in taxes and fees ($5,000+ cash value!)

When you look at South African Airways’ JourneyBlitz awards, you’ll see some opportunities for outstanding redemption value. You can book flights for as little as 13,050 miles , assuming you find availability. Here are some great example routes you can take:

• New York (JFK) – Johannesburg (JNB) one-way in South African Airways economy for 14,700 miles + ~$260 in taxes and fees
• Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Accra (ACC) one-way in South African Airways economy for 13,050 miles + ~$240 in taxes and fees

Although business class redemptions are certainly possible at decent rates, it’s practically impossible to find availability on JourneyBlitz awards.

The last redemption option is an upgrade. You can pay as little as 23,000 miles to upgrade a one-way economy ticket in eligible fare classes on South African Airways to business class. The lowest level fare class you can upgrade is K, and the second-lowest level is M.

Here are some great redemptions you can make:

• New York (JFK) – Johannesburg (JNB) round-trip from $2,100 plus 70,000 miles in South African Airways business class (upgraded K-class tickets)
• Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Accra (ACC) round-trip from $2,167 plus 46,000 miles in South African Airways business class (upgraded K-class tickets)

Using Your South African Airways Voyager Miles

The main challenge of redeeming Voyager miles is the relatively uncharted territory of this obscure mileage program. There is lots to look forward to, but also a steep learning curve. You might experience long call center wait times, inexperienced staff, and even the inability to find certain mileage awards.

First and foremost, let’s talk about South African Airways’ award chart, of which there are multiple.

South African Airways has 2 award charts that correspond to flights wholly operated by South African Airways:

• JourneyBlitz awards
• Dynamic awards

JourneyBlitz awards will vary in price depending on the exact route. JourneyBlitz is much more comparable to promotional award sales than the conventional “Saver Award” availability.

Here’s how much it’ll cost to book JourneyBlitz awards:

These fares are extremely attractive in price, but availability is scarce.

On the flip side, Dynamic awards change in price and are closely connected to the revenue ticket price. As a result, the value you’ll get is so poor that it isn’t even worth considering.

Additionally, you can use Voyager miles to upgrade paid economy tickets. As long as they fall into eligible economy ticket fare classes and there’s availability, you’ll be able to upgrade your tickets using miles.

Here’s what the upgrade award chart looks like for South African Airways flights:

Furthermore, the regions are broken down into the following areas:

South African Airways’ website has outdated regions and routes, which means that the displayed cities may not have nonstop South African Airways flights anymore.

South African Airways partners with all Star Alliance airlines . Voyager offers both awards and upgrades on Star Alliance flights.

However, award flights can only be booked round-trip , and Star Alliance upgrades can only be performed on a sector-by-sector basis.

Here are the Star Alliance airlines you can redeem miles for awards and upgrades on:

Here’s how much your Star Alliance award tickets will cost when spending Voyager miles. All of these prices are round-trip since Voyager doesn’t permit one-way flights.

To price out your itineraries correctly, you can reference the following region chart:

You can also spend Voyager miles to upgrade Star Alliance flights. These are priced in the following upgrade chart:

The drawback of using Voyager miles to upgrade Star Alliance flights is that the eligible fares are extremely restrictive . You’ll only be able to upgrade full-fare economy or premium economy tickets.

These tickets run as expensive as $1,000 to $3,000 one-way , which ultimately defeats the purpose of upgrading Star Alliance tickets.

Nevertheless, these upgrades are still available for redemption.

Lastly, there are flight redemptions on South African Airways’ non-alliance partners.

South African Airways uses different award charts for each of these partners.

AirLink is a regional airline based in Johannesburg. Although it is not owned by South African Airways, it serves to connect smaller cities in South Africa to the main hub airports.

Here’s the award chart for AirLink:

Here are how the regions are broken down for AirLink flights:

You can also redeem South African Airways Voyager miles on South African Express. South African Express is a close partner of South African Airways, though it is not majority-owned by South African Airways.

Here is how the award regions are broken down for South African Express flights:

Interestingly, you can also redeem South African Airways Voyager miles for Emirates flights according to the following award chart:

Here are how all the zones break down:

You can redeem your South African Airways Voyager miles for Virgin Atlantic flights as well:

Here’s how the zones are divided for Virgin Atlantic flights:

Virgin Australia offers round-trip awards as follows:

Lastly, the GOL award chart is as follows:

Unfortunately, the technical quirks of South African Airways show up as soon as you try to redeem your miles. The online booking/search tool doesn’t actually work.

As a result, you’ll need to make all award bookings over the phone by contacting South African Airways Voyager by phone at +27-11-978-1234 or email at [email protected] .

The office is open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time (GMT+2) and Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (GMT+2).

When it comes to award or upgrade redemption rules, there is a slew of terms and conditions that you must conform to. These terms fall into 6 categories:

• Dynamic Awards
• Upgrade Awards
• JourneyBlitz Awards
• Non-Alliance
• Star Alliance Awards

Here are the most notable award terms and conditions for South African Airways JourneyBlitz Awards :

• JourneyBlitz awards can’t be canceled or refunded.
• No changes are permitted on JourneyBlitz Rewards.
• The booking class for economy is X, and the booking class for business is I.

Here are the notable award terms and conditions for South African Airways upgrades :

• Upgrades are released between 24 and 48 hours before departure.
• You need to request upgrades on a segment-by-segment basis.
• Eligible economy tickets must be in Y, B, M, or K booking classes. Also, eligible ticket numbers must begin with “083.”
• Date changes and refunds are permitted, but the fare will be subjected to the originally booked economy fare class.

Here are the notable award terms and conditions for Star Alliance award tickets :

• Round-trip tickets must be booked. No one-ways are allowed.
• You must take the most direct route possible.
• You’ll be allowed up to 6 segments per itinerary if you include domestic add-on sectors within South Africa. Otherwise, the maximum is 4 segments per itinerary.
• You have to book the departure and return ticket at the same time.
• Waitlists aren’t allowed.
• Mixed cabin tickets are allowed, but you must pay the highest cabin class price.
• No stopovers are allowed for purely domestic flights within South Africa, intra-European flights, or domestic U.S. flights.
• You’re allowed 1 stopover and 1 open-jaw on intercontinental flights only. You must return to the origin country, but not necessarily the same city.
• You can’t backtrack.

Here are the notable award terms and conditions for Star Alliance upgrades :

• You can only upgrade 1 class (economy to business or business to first).
• Miles earned will be based on the original ticket booking class.
• Upgrades are based on a per-segment basis.
• Upgrades can’t be requested earlier than 24 hours before a flight.

Here are the notable award terms and conditions for Emirates awards :

• Johannesburg (JNB) – Dubai (DXB) redemptions are not allowed
• Bookings must be round-trip.
• Date changes have a R210 (~$14) fee
• Mixed cabin bookings are not allowed.
• You have 30 days from the date of the initial booking to refund your award ticket.

Here are the notable terms and conditions for Virgin Atlantic awards:

• You must return to your origin city.
• 1 open-jaw is allowed, only if you’re leaving from a more expensive city (e.g. LHR-JFK with an open-jaw and then LAX-LHR).
• You’re allowed a stopover only in Hong Kong en route to Sydney.
• Date changes have a R210 (~$14) fee.
• You can only refund your ticket within 30 days of initial issuance.

Here are the notable terms and conditions for Virgin Australia awards:

• For infants under 2 without a seat, there’s no extra charge. All other children will be required to pay for another ticket at full cost.
• 1 open-jaw is allowed, but you must return to your origin airport.

There are many other terms and conditions, which you can view via the links provided in the list above. However, this is a summary of the most applicable rules and regulations.

As you can see, it can be quite a headache trying to keep track of all the rules across the different partner airlines.

Unfortunately, South African Airways only has 1 transfer partner: Marriott Bonvoy .

You’ll be able to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to South African Airways at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred. This means that if you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, you’ll get a total of 25,000 South African Airways Voyager miles.

To put this all together, let’s say you need 80,000 South African Airways Voyager miles. You’ll need to transfer a total of 195,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to earn this many South African miles.

Hot Tip: Although South African Airways’ only transfer partner is Marriott Bonvoy, there are lots of ways to earn lots of Marriott Bonvoy points , so don’t fret!

Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards

Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express ® Card

The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card gives you automatic Marriott elite status and helps you earn more Marriott Bonvoy points on your everyday purchases.

The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express ® Card , the latest mid-tier offering in the Marriott Bonvoy lineup of cards, offers cardholders automatic elite status and ways to earn more Marriott Bonvoy points on each of their stays and daily purchases.

• 6x points per $1 at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
• 4x points per $1 at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $15,000 in combined purchases per calendar year, then 2X points)
• 2x points per $1 on all other purchases
• Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
• 15 Elite Night Credits per year
• 1,000 bonus points per paid stay
• 1 Free Night Award (up to 50,000 points) when you spend $15,000 on the card in a year
• No foreign transaction fees ( rates and fees )
• $250 annual fee ( rates and fees )
• Free Night Award certificate is not an automatic benefit
• Earn 155,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy ® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
• Earn 4X points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $15,000 in combined purchases at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets per calendar year, then 2X points).
• Earn 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
• Marriott Bonvoy 1K Bonus Points Per Stay: Earn 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy ® bonus points per paid eligible stay booked directly with Marriott for properties participating in Marriott Bonvoy.
• With complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elites status, earn up to 2.5X points from Marriott Bonvoy ® on eligible hotel purchases with the 25% Bonus Points on stays benefit, available for Qualifying Rates.
• Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Free Night Award: Earn 1 Free Night Award after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ Card in a calendar year. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy ® points) at a hotel participating in Marriott Bonvoy ® . Certain hotels have resort fees.
• 15 Elite Night Credits: Each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express Card ® you can receive 15 Elite Night Credits toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy ® Elite status. Limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express. Terms apply.
• Plan It ® is a payment option that lets you split up purchases of $100 or more into equal monthly installments with a fixed fee. Plus, you'll still earn rewards the way you usually do.
• $250 Annual Fee.
• Terms apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 20.99%-29.99% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Card Categories

• Credit Card Reviews
• Hotel Credit Cards
• Marriott Transfer Partners
• Best Credit Cards for Marriott Loyalists
• Best Marriott Credit Cards

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant ® American Express ® Card

A premium card for Marriott fans who want perks like an annual statement credit and Free Night Award, plus a fast track to Marriott elite status.

The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant ® American Express ® Card  is a premium card designed with road warriors and Marriott Bonvoy loyalists in mind.

So is the card a worthwhile addition to your wallet?

• 6x points per $1 at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy   program
• 3x points per $1 on flights booked directly with airlines and restaurants worldwide
• 25 Elite Night Credits each year
• Priority Pass Select membership upon enrollment
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee statement credit
• Annual Free Night Award after card renewal
• Complimentary Platinum Elite status
• Steep annual fee of $650 ( rates and fees )
• 6x points per $1 is the same earn rate offered with lower annual fee alternatives like the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express ® Card
• Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• $300 Brilliant Dining Credit: Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant ® American Express ® Card at restaurants worldwide.
• With Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, you can receive room upgrades, including enhanced views or suites, when available at select properties and booked with a Qualifying Rate.
• Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy ® . 3X points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines. 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
• Free Night Award: Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy ® . Certain hotels have resort fees.
• Each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant ® American Express ® Card, you will be eligible to select a Brilliant Earned Choice Award benefit. You can only earn one Earned Choice Award per calendar year. See https://www.choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant for Award options.
• $100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit: Enjoy your stay. Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton ® or St. Regis ® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
• Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck ® : Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($100) or a statement credit every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck ® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant ® American Express ® Card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
• Each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant ® American Express ® Card you can receive 25 Elite Night Credits toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy ® Elite status. Limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express. Terms apply.
• Enroll in Priority Pass™ Select, which offers unlimited airport lounge visits to over 1,200 lounges in over 130 countries, regardless of which carrier or class you are flying. This allows you to relax before or between flights. You can enjoy snacks, drinks, and internet access in a quiet, comfortable location.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases.
• With Cell Phone Protection, you can be reimbursed, the lesser of, your repair or replacement costs following damage, such as a cracked screen, or theft for a maximum of $800 per claim when your cell phone line is listed on a wireless bill and the prior month's wireless bill was paid by an Eligible Card Account. A $50 deductible will apply to each approved claim with a limit of 2 approved claims per 12-month period. Additional terms and conditions apply. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
• $650 Annual Fee.
• Terms Apply.
• Best Sign Up Bonuses

Rewards Center

Marriott Bonvoy

• Best Credit Cards with Priority Access

South African Airways Voyager is an unexpected gem of a loyalty program. With so many different airline partners and an underutilized award chart, there’s tons of unbelievable value to be had.

Whether it’s booking $5,000 round-trip economy flights from Guam to Kuala Lumpur for 20,400 miles or booking Emirates first class, there’s tons of redemption value hidden underneath a murky frequent flyer program.

One of the biggest diamonds in the rough is round-trip intra-North and South Asia flights in business/first class, which comes in at an absolute steal of 32,200 miles in business and 47,900 miles in first class. You can fly on ANA, Asiana Airlines, Air China, Air India, and even Singapore Airlines with this redemption, thanks to the Star Alliance route network.

You’ll want to avoid conventional redemption options for the most part, such as international business or first class flights departing from North America. Remember that round-trip bookings are the name of the game here, and you’ll want to try to avoid fuel surcharges if possible, as they are all passed on.

The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Bold ® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless ® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express ® Card, click here . For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant ® American Express ® card, click here .

Frequently Asked Questions

What are south african airways voyager miles worth.

The generally accepted value of Voyager miles is around 1 to 3 cents per mile. If you’re clever about getting the most value for your miles, you can book Emirates first class or other premium cabin products on specific routes, driving your value up to 10 to 20 cents per mile.

Additionally, you can even snag 15 to 30 cents per point even on economy tickets if you’re flying on a crazy route such as from Guam to Asia.

Are South African Airways Voyager miles refundable?

Yes. You must cancel your award ticket within 30 days of initial ticketing. You must also pay a fee of R210 (~$14) per ticket to refund your award reservation. The fee is waived for Voyager Platinum and Lifetime Platinum members.

When do South African Airways Voyager miles expire?

Voyager miles expire 3 years after the year in which the miles were earned. Oddly, a year is calculated from April 1 to March 31, per the terms and conditions .

Additionally, you can extend the miles by following the terms and conditions section 11 titled “Expiry of Miles.”

Is South African Airways part of United Airlines?

South African Airways is not a part of United Airlines. It is an airline and Star Alliance partner. United Airlines is a U.S. airline headquartered in Chicago, while South African Airways is the national airline of South Africa and is headquartered in Johannesburg.

How much does it cost to buy South African Airways Voyager miles?

You can’t buy South African Airways Voyager miles at the moment.

How do I join South African Airways Voyager?

To register with South African Airways Voyager, visit this link .

Do I need to be a South African Airways Voyager member to search for awards?

Yes. However, it is best not to use South African Airways’ online website. It’s best to search via United or Air Canada and then calling South African Airways to book.

How many South African Airways Voyager miles do I have?

You can find out by logging into your South African Airways Voyager account here .

Was this page helpful?

About Stephen Au

Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.

INSIDERS ONLY: UP PULSE ™

Get the latest travel tips, crucial news, flight & hotel deal alerts...

Plus — expert strategies to maximize your points & miles by joining our (free) newsletter.

We respect your privacy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. Google's privacy policy and terms of service apply.

Related Posts

UP's Bonus Valuation

This bonus value is an estimated valuation calculated by UP after analyzing redemption options, transfer partners, award availability and how much UP would pay to buy these points.

• Cancellation
• Boarding Pass
• Excess Baggage
• Economy Class
• Business Class
• Destinations
• Travelling with Disability
• Unaccompanied Minors
• Delayed & Damaged Baggage
• Credit vouchers
• Lifetime Platinum
• Credit Card
• Claim Missing Miles
• Star Alliance
• Miles & More
• Track a Shipment (Cargo)
• Seat Selection
• Manage Booking
• Group Booking
• Travel with Child
• Business Travelers
• Payment options
• Infant Policy
• Prohibited Items
• Travel Insurance
• Reduced Mobility
• Pregnant Woman
• Customer Service – Contact
• OR Tambo Destinations
• OR Tambo Arrival & departure schedule
• OR Tambo Maps
• OR Tambo Airport: Car Parking
• OR Tambo Lounges
• OR Tambo Hotels
• OR Tambo Taxi / Transfer
• OR Tambo Gautrain Station
• OR Tambo Shuttle bus, Transfer
• Cape Town Airport
• Change Name
• Group Bookings
• Sports Equipment
• Bike/Bicycle
• Flying with infants
• Special Assistance
• Baggage Claim
• Flight Status
• Customer Service (Contact)

How many miles are required to obtain the Voyager program silver card?

As soon as the traveler reaches 30,000 qualifying miles, he will then become a Silver member.

As a Silver memebre, he will have a 25% mileage bonus on each flight, the ability to check-in at the first class counter, priority on the waiting list at the airport, priority handling of his baggage and an additional baggage allowance of 23kg.

Other benefits of the status

As a Voyager Silver member, you enjoy additional convenience and services during your travels. You get more benefits, including priority airport access, choice of seat and more:The South African Airways Silver Card has unique features. This co-branded card can earn you miles on all of your daily expenses. You can also earn Voyager miles on certain routes. You can visit the South African Airways website and select the country of your choice to apply for a Silver Card. You will find the credit card section in the “Financial services” section. Once you have applied, you will receive the details of the program.

You can earn miles on qualifying fares. Miles are accumulated once per flight sector, and one mile is earned for each ZAR you spend on your ticket. You can only earn miles once on each flight, regardless of the number of seats purchased. You must be a passenger on the flight to obtain credit. The South African Airways Silver Card does not offer miles for tickets purchased for business travel or industry discounts. Additionally, you cannot earn miles when you reserve a seat on a blocked aircraft.

If you are a Star Alliance member, you can earn miles on partner airlines using your Silver Card. This card has high earning potential and is accepted by several airlines. Marriott Bonvoy points and Radisson Rewards points can be redeemed on South African Airways. The program is also compatible with American Express Membership Rewards points. You can earn miles through these programs. Membership in the Voyager program will earn you a number of benefits, including free flights.

The SAA Voyager has many advantages. The program is a great way to earn miles and fly for free. Whenever you travel for work, you can use your membership to purchase new clothes. You can use your SAA Voyager membership to purchase goods and make reservations on other airlines. You can use your South African Airways Silver Card for this. It’s a great way to take advantage of the services of your favorite airline. It also allows you to earn bonus points by traveling to certain countries.

You can also benefit from special benefits by using your Voyager miles. The SAA Voyager rewards you with Miles for frequent travel. These Miles can be redeemed for flights, upgrades or other rewards. You can even earn exclusive benefits by referring other people to your SAA Silver Card. It’s a great way to save money while traveling. It is worth registering for the program. It’s easy to get started.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

NASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to Earth

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is depicted in this artist’s concept traveling through interstellar space, or the space between stars, which it entered in 2012.

After some inventive sleuthing, the mission team can — for the first time in five months — check the health and status of the most distant human-made object in existence.

For the first time since November , NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems. The next step is to enable the spacecraft to begin returning science data again. The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft to ever fly in interstellar space (the space between stars).

Voyager 1 stopped sending readable science and engineering data back to Earth on Nov. 14, 2023, even though mission controllers could tell the spacecraft was still receiving their commands and otherwise operating normally. In March, the Voyager engineering team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed that the issue was tied to one of the spacecraft’s three onboard computers, called the flight data subsystem (FDS). The FDS is responsible for packaging the science and engineering data before it’s sent to Earth.

After receiving data about the health and status of Voyager 1 for the first time in five months, members of the Voyager flight team celebrate in a conference room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 20.

The team discovered that a single chip responsible for storing a portion of the FDS memory — including some of the FDS computer’s software code — isn’t working. The loss of that code rendered the science and engineering data unusable. Unable to repair the chip, the team decided to place the affected code elsewhere in the FDS memory. But no single location is large enough to hold the section of code in its entirety.

So they devised a plan to divide the affected code into sections and store those sections in different places in the FDS. To make this plan work, they also needed to adjust those code sections to ensure, for example, that they all still function as a whole. Any references to the location of that code in other parts of the FDS memory needed to be updated as well.

The team started by singling out the code responsible for packaging the spacecraft’s engineering data. They sent it to its new location in the FDS memory on April 18. A radio signal takes about 22 ½ hours to reach Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, and another 22 ½ hours for a signal to come back to Earth. When the mission flight team heard back from the spacecraft on April 20, they saw that the modification worked: For the first time in five months, they have been able to check the health and status of the spacecraft.

Get the Latest News from the Final Frontier

During the coming weeks, the team will relocate and adjust the other affected portions of the FDS software. These include the portions that will start returning science data.

Voyager 2 continues to operate normally. Launched over 46 years ago , the twin Voyager spacecraft are the longest-running and most distant spacecraft in history. Before the start of their interstellar exploration, both probes flew by Saturn and Jupiter, and Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and Neptune.

Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL for NASA.

News Media Contact

Calla Cofield

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

626-808-2469

[email protected]

South African Airways

• Plan my trip
• Manage my trip
• Destinations
• SAA Holidays
• Voyager Credit Card
• Voyager Specials
• Voyager Programme Guide
• About Voyager
• Programme guide

Join Voyager Now

• Credit card
• Cheque card

Welcome to a world where your currency is Miles and your rewards are exceptional! As a frequent flyer, you already know that South African Airways Premier Rewards Programme can give you more than just the world!

Miles will expire 30 June 2020

We have extended the expiry date with an additional three months due to the rapid outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The new expiry date will be 30 June 2020.

Experience Africa in one country

Redeem your Miles for the awards below.

3,000 Miles

4,975 Miles

Health Spas

7,000 Miles

Enjoy premier rewards by activating your account online here with us. And, we can give you more than just the world!

Voyager has improved existing channels and introduced new ones, making sure our members have a wide range of ways to keep in touch with us and our team will work around the clock to provide you with friendly support, no matter the query.

Make the premium choice and join Voyager. You will enjoy the distinction of a rewarding membership. As a Voyager member you also experience special offers and unique deals.

SAA Voyager Credit Card

For the best Voyager Mile earn rate, apply for your SAA Voyager Credit Card today! More information .

Voyager guide

Discover the special features and services that make Voyager your passport to ideal travel.

Choose language and region

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Well, hello, Voyager 1! The venerable spacecraft is once again making sense

Nell Greenfieldboyce

Members of the Voyager team celebrate at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory after receiving data about the health and status of Voyager 1 for the first time in months. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption

Members of the Voyager team celebrate at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory after receiving data about the health and status of Voyager 1 for the first time in months.

NASA says it is once again able to get meaningful information back from the Voyager 1 probe, after months of troubleshooting a glitch that had this venerable spacecraft sending home messages that made no sense.

The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes launched in 1977 on a mission to study Jupiter and Saturn but continued onward through the outer reaches of the solar system. In 2012, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space, the previously unexplored region between the stars. (Its twin, traveling in a different direction, followed suit six years later.)

Voyager 1 had been faithfully sending back readings about this mysterious new environment for years — until November, when its messages suddenly became incoherent .

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is talking nonsense. Its friends on Earth are worried

It was a serious problem that had longtime Voyager scientists worried that this historic space mission wouldn't be able to recover. They'd hoped to be able to get precious readings from the spacecraft for at least a few more years, until its power ran out and its very last science instrument quit working.

For the last five months, a small team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California has been working to fix it. The team finally pinpointed the problem to a memory chip and figured out how to restore some essential software code.

"When the mission flight team heard back from the spacecraft on April 20, they saw that the modification worked: For the first time in five months, they have been able to check the health and status of the spacecraft," NASA stated in an update.

The usable data being returned so far concerns the workings of the spacecraft's engineering systems. In the coming weeks, the team will do more of this software repair work so that Voyager 1 will also be able to send science data, letting researchers once again see what the probe encounters as it journeys through interstellar space.

After a 12.3 billion-mile 'shout,' NASA regains full contact with Voyager 2

• interstellar mission

After months of silence, Voyager 1 has returned NASA’s calls

• Show more sharing options
• Copy Link URL Copied!

For the last five months, it seemed very possible that a 46-year-old conversation had finally reached its end.

Since its launch from Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 5, 1977, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has diligently sent regular updates to Earth on the health of its systems and data collected from its onboard instruments.

But in November, the craft went quiet.

Voyager 1 is now some 15 billion miles away from Earth. Somewhere in the cold interstellar space between our sun and the closest stars, its flight data system stopped communicating with the part of the probe that allows it to send signals back to Earth. Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge could tell that Voyager 1 was getting its messages, but nothing was coming back.

“We’re to the point where the hardware is starting to age,” said Linda Spilker, the project scientist for the Voyager mission. “It’s like working on an antique car, from 15 billion miles away.”

Week after week, engineers sent troubleshooting commands to the spacecraft, each time patiently waiting the 45 hours it takes to get a response here on Earth — 22.5 hours traveling at the speed of light to reach the probe, and 22.5 hours back.

Science & Medicine

This space artist created the Golden Record and changed the way we see the universe

Space artist Jon Lomberg has produced work that attempts to visualize what we can’t truly see, and to communicate with creatures we can’t yet imagine.

July 26, 2023

By March, the team had figured out that a memory chip that stored some of the flight data system’s software code had failed, turning the craft’s outgoing communications into gibberish.

A long-distance repair wasn’t possible. There wasn’t enough space anywhere in the system to shift the code in its entirety. So after manually reviewing the code line by line, engineers broke it up and tucked the pieces into the available slots of memory.

They sent a command to Voyager on Thursday. In the early morning hours Saturday, the team gathered around a conference table at JPL: laptops open, coffee and boxes of doughnuts in reach.

At 6:41 a.m., data from the craft showed up on their screens. The fix had worked .

“We went from very quiet and just waiting patiently to cheers and high-fives and big smiles and sighs of relief,” Spilker said. “I’m very happy to once again have a meaningful conversation with Voyager 1.”

Voyager 1 is one of two identical space probes. Voyager 2, launched two weeks before Voyager 1, is now about 13 billion miles from Earth, the two crafts’ trajectories having diverged somewhere around Saturn. (Voyager 2 continued its weekly communications uninterrupted during Voyager 1’s outage.)

Space shuttle Endeavour is lifted into the sky, takes final position as star of new museum wing

A shrink-wrapped Endeavour was hoisted and then carefully placed in its final location Tuesday at the still-under-construction Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

Jan. 30, 2024

They are the farthest-flung human-made objects in the universe, having traveled farther from their home planet than anything else this species has built. The task of keeping communications going grows harder with each passing day. Every 24 hours, Voyager 1 travels 912,000 miles farther away from us. As that distance grows, the signal becomes slower and weaker.

When the probe visited Jupiter in 1979, it was sending back data at a rate of 115.2 kilobits per second, Spilker said. Today, 45 years and more than 14 billion miles later, data come back at a rate of 40 bits per second.

The team is cautiously optimistic that the probes will stay in contact for three more years, long enough to celebrate the mission’s 50th anniversary in 2027, Spilker said. They could conceivably last until the 2030s.

The conversation can’t last forever. Microscopic bits of silica keep clogging up the thrusters that keep the probes’ antennas pointed toward Earth, which could end communications. The power is running low. Eventually, the day will come when both Voyagers stop transmitting data to Earth, and the first part of their mission ends.

But on the day each craft goes quiet, they begin a new era, one that could potentially last far longer. Each probe is equipped with a metallic album cover containing a Golden Record , a gold-plated copper disk inscribed with sounds and images meant to describe the species that built the Voyagers and the planet they came from.

Erosion in space is negligible; the images could be readable for another billion years or more. Should any other intelligent life form encounter one of the Voyager probes and have a means of retrieving the data from the record, they will at the very least have a chance to figure out who sent them — even if our species is by that time long gone.

JPL tries to keep Voyager space probes from disconnecting the world’s longest phone call

Keeping in touch with NASA’s two aging Voyager spacecraft is getting harder to do as they get farther away and their power sources dwindle.

Sept. 3, 2022

More to Read

Too expensive, too slow: NASA asks for help with JPL’s Mars Sample Return mission

April 15, 2024

NASA’s attempt to bring home part of Mars is unprecedented. The mission’s problems are not

March 25, 2024

Budget deal for NASA offers glimmer of hope for JPL’s Mars Sample Return mission

March 6, 2024

Corinne Purtill is a science and medicine reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Her writing on science and human behavior has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Time Magazine, the BBC, Quartz and elsewhere. Before joining The Times, she worked as the senior London correspondent for GlobalPost (now PRI) and as a reporter and assignment editor at the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. She is a native of Southern California and a graduate of Stanford University.

More From the Los Angeles Times

L.A. supervisors oppose plan to eradicate Catalina deer by shooting them from helicopters

April 27, 2024

Southern California woman pleads guilty in $150-million counterfeit postage scheme

Person stabbed after argument spills out of L.A. Metro bus, police say

April 26, 2024

Accomplice in shooting death of 6-year-old Aidan Leos pleads guilty, sentenced to time served

share this!

April 22, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

trusted source

NASA's Voyager 1 resumes sending engineering updates to Earth

For the first time since November, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems. The next step is to enable the spacecraft to begin returning science data again. The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft to ever fly in interstellar space (the space between stars).

Voyager 1 stopped sending readable science and engineering data back to Earth on Nov. 14, 2023, even though mission controllers could tell the spacecraft was still receiving their commands and otherwise operating normally. In March, the Voyager engineering team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed that the issue was tied to one of the spacecraft's three onboard computers, called the flight data subsystem (FDS). The FDS is responsible for packaging the science and engineering data before it's sent to Earth.

The team discovered that a single chip responsible for storing a portion of the FDS memory—including some of the FDS computer's software code—isn't working. The loss of that code rendered the science and engineering data unusable. Unable to repair the chip, the team decided to place the affected code elsewhere in the FDS memory. But no single location is large enough to hold the section of code in its entirety.

So they devised a plan to divide the affected code into sections and store those sections in different places in the FDS. To make this plan work, they also needed to adjust those code sections to ensure, for example, that they all still function as a whole. Any references to the location of that code in other parts of the FDS memory needed to be updated as well.

The team started by singling out the code responsible for packaging the spacecraft's engineering data. They sent it to its new location in the FDS memory on April 18. A radio signal takes about 22.5 hours to reach Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, and another 22.5 hours for a signal to come back to Earth. When the mission flight team heard back from the spacecraft on April 20, they saw that the modification had worked: For the first time in five months, they were able to check the health and status of the spacecraft.

During the coming weeks, the team will relocate and adjust the other affected portions of the FDS software. These include the portions that will start returning science data.

Voyager 2 continues to operate normally. Launched over 46 years ago, the twin Voyager spacecraft are the longest-running and most distant spacecraft in history. Before the start of their interstellar exploration, both probes flew by Saturn and Jupiter, and Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and Neptune.

Provided by NASA

Explore further

Feedback to editors

Global study shows a third more insects come out after dark

4 hours ago

Cicada-palooza! Billions of bugs to blanket America

7 hours ago

Getting dynamic information from static snapshots

Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts: Researchers find evidence of ceremonial offerings in Mexico

Optical barcodes expand range of high-resolution sensor

Apr 26, 2024

Ridesourcing platforms thrive on socio-economic inequality, say researchers

Did Vesuvius bury the home of the first Roman emperor?

Florida dolphin found with highly pathogenic avian flu: Report

A new way to study and help prevent landslides

New algorithm cuts through 'noisy' data to better predict tipping points

Relevant physicsforums posts, need help simplifying standard error formula for redshift, our beautiful universe - photos and videos.

Apr 25, 2024

Solar Activity and Space Weather Update thread

'devil' comet visible tonight 21.04.24, waves in space, documenting the setup of my new telescope.

Apr 24, 2024

More from Astronomy and Astrophysics

Related Stories

Engineers working to resolve issue with Voyager 1 computer

Dec 13, 2023

NASA hears signal from Voyager 2 spacecraft after mistakenly cutting contact

Aug 1, 2023

NASA listens for Voyager 2 spacecraft after wrong command cuts contact

Jul 31, 2023

NASA's Voyager team focuses on software patch, thrusters

Oct 20, 2023

NASA's Voyager will do more science with new power strategy

Apr 27, 2023

Engineers investigating NASA's Voyager 1 telemetry data

May 18, 2022

Recommended for you

Japan's moon lander wasn't built to survive a weekslong lunar night. It's still going after 3

Simulated microgravity affects sleep and physiological rhythms, study finds

Apr 22, 2024

'Tube map' around planets and moons made possible by knot theory

Apr 17, 2024

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter team says goodbye—for now

NASA confirms mystery object that crashed through roof of Florida home came from space station

Apr 16, 2024

NASA is seeking a faster, cheaper way to bring Mars samples to Earth

Let us know if there is a problem with our content.

Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form . For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines ).

Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request

Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.

Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.

E-mail the story

Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form.

Newsletter sign up

Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details to third parties.

More information Privacy policy

Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience

We keep our content available to everyone. Consider supporting Science X's mission by getting a premium account.

E-mail newsletter