Best air mile reward schemes in South Africa

Air mile reward schemes in South Africa  

Flying is expensive, so it pays to accumulate air miles you can spend at your leisure. We explain how to earn air miles in South Africa, and investigate which credit cards and travel rewards programmes offer the best value for money for travellers.

Tip: Our handy currency converter helps you to quickly covert the value of one currency into another.

Discovery’s Vitality Travel

Discovery partners with various airlines and travel service providers to offer discounts and miles on flights, among other benefits.

Previously, only Discovery Bank clients with paid accounts could access Vitality Travel, an integrated travel booking platform powered by the bank. However, after the liquidation of Comair in 2022, the bank introduced a no-fee account, giving all Discovery clients and Vitality members access to Vitality Travel, in order to benefit from the discounts that accrue when they demonstrate good financial and lifestyle behaviours.

“Vitality Travel is built into Discovery Bank, but any Discovery client can now easily access this [feature] by activating a Discovery account and using a free virtual debit card to make transactions on Vitality Travel,” says Mamo Ramashamole, head of Vitality Travel.

“There’s no need to have a physical Discovery Bank card or even a credit card. You’ll automatically receive free travel insurance if you’re booking an international flight.”

Vitality Travel offers a range of benefits. You can get discounts ranging from a 10% to 50% on local flights through Vitality Money (paying with a Discovery Bank card), plus up to 25% off through Vitality Health on three return or six one-way flights a year when flying with partners Airlink, CemAir, FlySafair, LIFT, and South African Airways.

You can also get up to 75% discount if you activate both the Vitality Money and Vitality Health programmes. Thereafter, you’ll receive a flat rate of 10% off local flights for the rest of the calendar year.

On international flights, you can get flight discounts of 10% to 75% with Airlink, British Airways, CemAir, Emirates, FlySafair, Qantas, and South African Airways. You can use your discount on two return international or regional flights a year, and you’ll receive a flat rate of 10% for the rest of the calendar year.

You can also book flights with an extensive list of non-partner international airlines. You won’t receive discounts but can still pay using your Discovery Miles.

When it comes to car hire, you can get 10% to 25% discount with Vitality Money, or 25% with Vitality Health, on an unlimited number of bookings. Discounts on accommodation are also available – 10% to 25% off with Vitality Money, or 25% off with Vitality Health, on unlimited holiday accommodation bookings.

If you’re a Discovery Bank cardholder, you can get up to 15% back on World Leisure Holidays packages, Contiki tours, and Royal Caribbean cruises. Pay with accumulated Discovery Miles, or with your Discovery Bank debit or credit card.

Free international travel insurance will be included, and you can buy additional cover.

Rewards depend on how you engage with Vitality programmes and Discovery products, and your monthly qualifying card spend.

“Making positive health, driving, and money choices helps you unlock greater travel rewards,” notes Celeste Williams, head of marketing, Discovery Vitality.

The Discovery Bank Gold Card account provides access to several travel benefits. For a monthly fee, you get up to 40% off six one-way local flights with partner airlines, up to 35% off two return regional or international bookings with partner airlines, up to 25% off unlimited local accommodation and car hire, and up to 15% cashback on Dream Destinations travel with Contiki, Royal Caribbean, and World Leisure Holidays.

Consider upgrading to a Discovery Bank Platinum Card account for lounge access, a Black Card for Priority Fast Track security clearance at OR Tambo and Cape Town international airports, or a Purple Card for access to discounted business class flights.

Local and international flights can be booked on the Discovery Bank app.

Absa British Airways   

The Absa British Airways Visa Credit Card, a collaboration between Absa and British Airways, allows you to earn points when you use your credit card for eligible purchases.

To qualify, you must earn at least R8,000 a month and have a good credit score.

For a monthly fee of R95, which excludes transaction fees, you get free British Airways Executive Club membership, and you can collect Avios, the points currency of the British Airways Executive Club and its partners, when you pay for flights, hotel bookings, car rentals, and more.

You can also earn Avios if you have an American Express credit card or British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card. You’ll get one Avios for every R7.50 you spend, and for every R5 you spend exclusively at British Airways.

New joiners receive up to 9,000 Avios points on their spending within the first three months – 5,000 Avios when using their card for the first time and 4,000 bonus points if spending R24,000 within the first three months.

Flights booked using Avios are known as Reward Flights and, depending on availability, you can book for any global destination with British Airways, Iberia, American Airlines, and airlines within the oneworld alliance (which has partner airlines that fly to and from South Africa).

You may pay for your ticket using Avios and use cash for any taxes, fees, and carrier charges. You can also use your Avios to upgrade a regular cash booking on British Airlines, Iberia, and American Airlines, where available.

A further benefit is that you can use Avios to make a partial payment on your next flight or holiday package. which reduces the cash cost of your booking. You can also use Avios to pay for seats and baggage when booking a basic ticket.

You can spend your Avios on thousands of hotels, tours, and experiences worldwide, as well as Avis and Budget car rentals.

South African cardholders enjoy eight complimentary Bidvest Premier Lounge visits annually (four domestic and four international).

Airlink’s Skybucks

Skybucks is Airlink’s loyalty programme for frequent flyers. A form of currency, Skybucks are valid for up to 18 months with no flight activity, and you can use them for Airlink flights. You can also “retro-claim” Skybucks for past trips, up to 90 days.

You can also use Skybucks to settle a portion of your flight cost, including upgrades. This applies to all flights, not just discounted ones.

Family pooling allows groups of up to eight members – one beneficiary and seven contributors – to share their transferable travel rewards. All members can transfer Skybucks to one another, but not that terms and conditions apply.

Benefits are tier-driven – the higher the tier, the bigger the benefit.

Credit cards that offer travel benefits 

Many credit cards offer travel benefits to cardholders. Here’s a roundup of the benefits offered by major cards.

Absa Bank

Absa offers travel benefits to clients with Gold and Premium credit cards and via Absa Rewards Travel, a website that extends exclusive deals on flights, accommodation, car hire, and more. You can use your Absa credit card to access these offers.

Absa Rewards members can earn up to 30% cashback, depending on their rewards tier, by purchasing from travel partners such as Travelstart, Avis, and Touch Down Travel Tech.

Below are the discounts on offer if you book a flight via Absa Rewards Travel using your Absa credit or debit card. Spending is capped at R7,000 per Absa Rewards member, per accrual cycle.

You need to earn at least R7,000 a month to qualify for an Absa Gold credit card. The monthly administration fee is R57. 

Gold credit card travel benefits include: 

• Bidvest Premier Airport Lounge access at a preferential rate
• Automatic basic cover amounting to R1.5 million for travel emergencies, if you book a return flight from South Africa with your credit card (check the terms and conditions)

If you earn at least R25,000 a month, you qualify for an Absa Premium credit card. The monthly administration fee is R97.

Premium credit card travel benefits include:

• Complimentary access to Bidvest Premier domestic and international airport departure lounges for 12 visits a year, and access at preferential rates thereafter
• Automatic basic cover amounting to R3 million for travel emergencies (terms and conditions apply)

Couples, families, and groups receive discounted rates when travelling. 

Standard Bank

For R25 a month, you can use your qualifying Standard Bank credit card to earn UCount Rewards points via the bank’s rewards programme.

If you’re a private banking customer, you enjoy various flight benefits, including earning up to 50% of your base fare in Rewards points when booking domestic and international flights through the UCount Rewards Travel Mall, an online facility that allows you to redeem Rewards Points for travel-related products and services.

Terms and conditions apply, so check the fine print. Note that the current benefits will expire on 31 December 2024, and be replaced by new ones.

Private banking credit cardholders can access Standard Bank, Bidvest, and international lounges that subscribe to the Mastercard Travel Pass lounge network. The number of lounge visits a year depends on the type of credit card you have, and whether you’ve met the minimum monthly spending threshold.

The spending thresholds for private banking credit cardholders are:

• Titanium – R8,500
• Platinum for professionals – R8,500
• Platinum for private banking – R10,000
• World Citizen – R15,000

For example, if you have a Titanium credit card and book and pay for a flight on 12 December 2024, you must have spent R8,500 or more between 16 October 2024 and 15 November 2024 to qualify for the offer.

The table below sets out the rewards per tier.

The offer is limited to a maximum spend on the base fare:

• Titanium – R3,000 per fixed cycle
• Platinum – R6,000 per fixed cycle
• World Citizen – R8,000 per fixed cycle

For example, if you have a Platinum credit card, you will receive a percentage back on the total base fare on the flights purchased, up to a maximum spend of R6,000 per fixed cycle.

If you’re a UCount Rewards member, you can take advantage of the UCount Rewards lounge offer of a preferential rate at Bidvest Premier Lounges when redeeming your UCount points. 

Nedbank

Greenbacks and American Express Membership Rewards programme

Nedbank offers travel rewards through its Greenbacks and American Express Membership Rewards programmes.

The Greenbacks loyalty programme rewards you for managing your money well through cashback on card purchases, discounts from Nedbank partners, and unlimited earnings when using the bank’s Greenbacks-linked American Express credit card. The membership fee is R30 a month.

To apply for this card, you must earn at least R17,000 a month before tax and have a good credit score. American Express Platinum credit cardholders are automatically enrolled in the programme, while Gold and Corporate cardholders must register online or at a Nedbank branch.

The programmes benefit you in several ways.

Paying with a Greenbacks-linked Nedbank card earns you discounts from Nedbank partners such as online shopping mall Avo SuperShop, which offers discounts via Greenbacks Travel. Discounts can be up to 30% off flights with LIFT, Qatar, and SAA, and depend on your Greenbacks reward level (from 1 to 4).

Using your American Express Platinum credit card for payments earns you 1.5 membership reward points for every R5 spent on eligible transactions (including local and international purchases, but excluding cash withdrawals, fuel purchases, garage card and other transactions).

American Express Gold and Corporate credit cardholders earn one membership reward point for every R5 spent.

Through American Express’s relationship with integrated tourism group Tourvest, membership allows you to use their points for travel expenses, including booking flights and accommodation. You can also convert your membership reward points to use through the British Airways Executive Club, the South African Airways (SAA) Voyager programme, and the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Other benefits of the American Express Membership Rewards programme include:

• Free access to Bidvest Premier Lounges at major South African airports
• Access to more than 1,200 airport lounges worldwide, if you have a Platinum card
• In-hotel credit of $550 at more than 1,000 properties worldwide when you book through Fine Hotels + Resorts

 As an American Express cardholder, you get basic automatic travel insurance for local and international journeys when you purchase an air ticket using your American Express credit card. Note the terms and conditions.

Nedbank is the issuing bank for the SAA Voyager Premium and Gold credit cards. You can redeem your Voyager Miles to pay for available airfares on SAA-operated flights.

You also get exclusive access to Voyager promotions 24 hours before they are made public to redeem Miles for SAA’s periodic JourneyBlitz redemption seat sales.

You can hire a car from partners such as Europcar, and convert your Voyager Miles to AvoPoints to use for Avo SuperShop purchases. You can also convert AvoPoints to Voyager Miles to book flights.

FNB

FNB clients can travel for less with eBucks Travel and access a range of benefits when booking trips on the FNB or RMB Private Bank apps.

FNB Easy Bundle and Aspire accounts 

Your travel benefits are determined by the highest-tier FNB account you hold. For example, if you have both an FNB Easy Bundle cheque account and an FNB Aspire credit card, your travel benefits will be based on your Aspire account, which means you’ll get R100 off one-way domestic flights and bus tickets. 

Your Annual Discount Savings is the total rand value of eBucks Travel savings you’re allocated annually. This amount is determined by your highest-tier FNB transactional account and allocated at the time of your July eBucks payout. These savings can be used for bus tickets if you’re an Easy Bundle client, and bus tickets and selected domestic flights if you have an Aspire account.

If you have an Aspire account and available Annual Discount Savings balance, your family members can also travel at a discount.

Children or young people aged two to 24 with an active FNB Youth account qualify for the same travel discount as the main Aspire account member – for example, R100 off a one-way flight or one-way bus ticket. The young person needs to be linked to the member’s family banking profile on the FNB app.

A spouse or partner with a separate account, and linked to the main member’s FNB family profile, also qualifies for R100 off when booking a flight on the family banking profile.

As an FNB Aspire client, you can gain access to SLOW Lounge visits by booking flights through eBucks Travel on the FNB app, using your Aspire Fusion or credit card.

You can add your spouse to your flight booking, and if they have a qualifying FNB card, they can get two free SLOW Lounge visits a year by generating a QR code on the FNB App and scanning it at the lounge entrance.

You can also access an additional two SLOW Lounge visits each for children aged two to 18 if you add them to your flight booking. They must have active, linked free FNBy, FNBy Islamic, or FNBy Next accounts, and be loaded on your family banking profile.

If you have a free Global account and a physical or virtual card, you can also access international airport lounges internationally.

You can access free global travel insurance, order currency with free delivery on the FNB app, and earn eBucks on overseas spend through FNB Smart Spend.

FNB Premier, Private Clients, Private Wealth and RMB Private Bank accounts

Your travel benefits are based on your highest-tier FNB or RMB Private Bank transactional account. If you have an FNB Premier Cheque account and an RMB Private Bank credit card, for example, your travel benefits will be based on your RMB Private Bank account.

Annual Discount Savings (see the section above) apply, and can be used for some domestic and international flights, QuickBus tickets, selected products at the eBucks Shop, and domestic car hire.

Your family members can also obtain eBucks Travel discounts if you have an Annual Discount Savings balance. If you’re the main member, children aged two to 24 qualify for the same travel discount – for example, 40% off if you’re on reward level 5. This benefit depends on them having active FNB youth accounts and being linked to your family banking profile.

If your spouse or partner with the same account is linked to your FNB/RMB Private Bank family profile, they also qualify for your 40% discount when you book flights for them on the profile, and have available Annual Discount Savings.

Your travel discount percentage depends on your eBucks reward level. The higher the level, the higher the discount. Note that terms and conditions apply.

Domestic discount partners include LIFT, FlySafair, Airlink, and Avis, while international discount partners include Air France, Emirates, and KLM.

Domestic car hire bookings are discounted according to your reward level at the time of booking, and the discount deducted from your Annual Discount Savings.

You can book domestic car hire at up to 40% off as often as you want.

Your number of free SLOW Lounge visits a year depends on the type of FNB or RMB Private Bank account you have, and your eBucks reward level. The higher the level, the more visits you get.

Booking domestic or international flights with eBucks Travel can unlock bonus SLOW Lounge visits for you and your family. All travelers included in the booking should hold qualifying FNB or RMB Private Bank accounts.

Private Wealth and RMB Private Bank clients can also access Bidvest Premier Lounges where a SLOW Lounge is unavailable.

Are airline rewards always worthwhile? 

The best air miles programmes in South Africa can help you save, if you travel regularly and spend as prescribed. However, they’re especially useful if you’re a business traveller, since you can often earn rewards for expenses covered by your company.

 “While you’re on a business trip, you can earn points that can get you upgrades, free flights, or even access to exclusive airport lounges,” says Bonnie Smith, GM of Corporate Traveller, a leading travel management company in South Africa.

 “These perks not only make your travel more comfortable – they can help you stay productive and refreshed.”

 The secret to getting the most from loyalty programmes is understanding their benefits and how to qualify for them. Air miles are often seen as a way to get free or discounted flights and upgrades. However, in most cases, the benefits are more about savings than receiving special treatment.

Remember that the value of air miles can change, and added fees and taxes can dilute their benefit. Also, when partnerships between airlines and banks or other service providers end, the benefit could end abruptly.

Misperceptions about rewards programmes

A common misperception is that rewards programmes help you “score freebies”, says Smith. “While perks such as free flights are great, the real value lies in the overall travel experience, for example, priority boarding, lounge access, and making your trip smoother and more comfortable.”

Another myth is that you need to be a frequent flyer to benefit. “Flying often helps, but you can earn points in so many other ways, such as staying at certain hotels and renting cars,” she points out. 

Loyalty programme tiers

Even if you’re starting at the bottom tier of a travel loyalty programme, there are ways to quickly see benefits, Smith notes. Using a co-branded credit card can provide a boost, especially through sign-up bonuses and rewards for everyday spending.

 “Also, take advantage of promotions that offer double points or other bonuses. They’re a great way to climb the loyalty ladder more quickly,” she advises. 

Check your existing credit card for travel reward benefits

If you already have a credit card, explore the travel benefits it offers. Some features may need to be activated at a cost, so find out how to access them.

When considering a credit card for airline rewards, assess how long it will take you to reap the benefits. A more expensive card, such as the American Express Platinum card, will earn you points faster.

Importantly, consider your personal and financial circumstances. If you’re not a frequent flyer, it may make sense to shop around for a more economical flight, rather than taking on the potentially high monthly costs of a credit card.

Tip: Is debt holding you back? Consider consolidating your debt to help you get back on track financially.