Name:
Ann Hanson

FFP miles spent:
180,000

Hotel points spent:
21,000

Approximate fees:
$100

Airline(s) / Routing:
Northwest Airlines/KLM:
Wichita-Memphis-Dallas-Amsterdam-Johannesburg-Cape Town-Amsterdam-Dallas-Memphis-Wichita

How booked:
Northwest call center (existed in 2007) required due to KLM partner flights.

Type of award(s):
Coach

Hotel(s):
Sheraton Arabella Cape Town (now Westin)

Month/year of trip:
November 2007

South Africa — City and Safari

All the miles/points were earned through flying and hotel stays. Booking the trip (several months in advance) was a breeze! The best part was the add-on side trip from Johannesburg to Notten’s Lodge, a private camp adjacent to Krueger National Park. For a $1,700 package including air, four days and three nights lodging, all meals and three daily safari treks I saw the African Big Five–lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and Africa buffalo–and met the best camp crew ever! No communication with the outside world and I loved it!

The hardest part was the beginning. The trip almost fell apart due to a 90-minute delay on my flight from Wichita to Memphis, which I found out from flightstats.com at 0315–three hours prior to departure. So I had to jump in the car and drive 3.5 hours to Kansas City for a nonstop to Dallas to catch up with my routing–not a nice way for Northwest to treat a Platinum passenger!

However, all is forgiven. I LOVED this trip and can’t wait to do it all again!