I booked two Business Class seats on South African Airways from Johannesburg (JNB) to São Paulo (GRU) for my January trip to the Masai Mara and South America.
Availability of business class award space on South African Airways
South African (Star Alliance) consistently releases award space from JNB or CPT to GRU for two Business Class seats 358 days in advance that can be booked through partner programs like ANA, Aeroplan, and Avianca LifeMiles. However, the award space quickly disappears and must be booked asap.
Seats.aero search results
I searched for award space availability on 6/1/2027, and I found the following results (see image below).
Best ways to book South African Business Class with partners
Option 1: ANA Mileage Club – Lowest Points but higher taxes
- ANA charges just 58,500 miles for this 10-hour Business Class flight with low cancellation fees.
- Taxes are around $ 300 USD, which is not bad for a premium cabin but high compared to Aeroplan or LifeMiles.
- If you like this option, you should transfer MR points to ANA well in advance (2-3-day transfer time).
Option 2: Aeroplan
Aeroplan is the next-best option, but I did not choose it because its cancellation fees are higher.
Option 3: LifeMiles
- LifeMiles charges the most miles of the three options (see image above), but I ended up using them to complete the booking since I had some leftover LifeMiles and I get free cancellation as a Plus member.
- For some reason, I was unable to get 10% off this particular Star Alliance redemption despite being a LifeMiles Plus member (see image below).
Conclusion
Traveling from South Africa to São Paulo is the only nonstop Business Class redemption with decent availability for two passengers when booked 11 months in advance. Seats.aero alerts come in handy for booking these flights as quickly as possible.