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Best Cards For Flights To Africa
Updated on Thu, 05 Feb 2026
Africa is a region, much like Europe, where low taxes matter just as much as low award prices. Programs like American, Alaska, and Aeroplan often beat Flying Blue and Delta, even when mileage prices are higher, simply because surcharges stay reasonable. The cards below offer the most reliable ways to get to Africa using points.
Our Rankings
1 | Citi Strata Elite
The Citi Strata Elite tops our rankings for cards to use when flying to Africa. Because there is no single airline that clearly dominates award flights to the region, we chose the Strata for its partnerships with three of the strongest options: American Airlines, Air Canada, and Avianca. Together, they offer competitive pricing in both points and taxes for flights to North, Central, and Southern Africa. Citi is also the only transferable points system that partners directly with American, which gives it a meaningful edge. If you're looking for business class, American has great pricing to northern Africa with very low taxes. While the Strata Elite carries a high annual fee, its large signup bonus, Priority Pass membership, and four Admirals Club lounge passes help justify the cost.
Honorable Mentions
2 | Bilt Palladium
The top card from Bilt is a strong contender here because of its exclusive partnership with Alaska. Alaska has some of the best business class award options to Africa, and its economy pricing is competitive as well. Don't forget you can also utilize their stopover program, even on one-way award flights. Taxes are low on both. Bilt also transfers to United, whose only other transferable partner is Chase. While United’s points pricing is generally higher, taxes remain low, which still makes it a viable option. If you’re comfortable putting most of your spend on a single card, Bilt is a compelling choice thanks to the ability to earn points on housing payments. If you prefer spreading spend across multiple cards, Amex sits just behind Bilt as another strong alternative.
Honorable Mentions
3 | Amex Platinum
The Amex Platinum sits just behind Bilt as a 2B option due to its partnerships with two strong contenders and two that can work in the right situations. Both Avianca and Air Canada were discussed above, and each offers strong economy options with reasonable points pricing and relatively low taxes. Air Canada also has solid business class availability, again with comparatively low fees. Lifemiles is generally best reserved for economy redemptions, where the value is strongest. Flying Blue and ANA are more situational options for Africa. While points prices can be low, taxes and surcharges can be extremely high, especially on return flights. Still, Flying Blue is worth checking, as it sometimes offers the lowest points pricing in economy. Beyond redemptions, the Platinum’s premium lounge access and high-end travel perks add meaningful comfort on such a long journey.
4 | Capital One Venture X
Capital One is similar to Amex in that it shares three key transfer partners: Air Canada, Avianca, and Flying Blue, all of which we discussed above. Where the Venture X stands out is in its simplicity and cost. The annual fee is lower than the cards ranked above it, and the $300 annual travel credit, which must be used through the Capital One portal, plus the 10,000 anniversary points, can effectively cancel out the fee with very little effort. The card also offers lounge access through Priority Pass and Capital One lounges. Another advantage is the ability to erase any travel purchase with points at a 1¢ per point rate. While that redemption rate isn’t what we typically recommend shooting for, it’s a useful fallback option should you want or need it.
5 | Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase Ultimate Rewards don’t unlock the absolute cheapest award flights to Africa, but strong transfer partners like United and Air Canada still make a Sapphire card a reliable option, especially if Chase points are what you already have. We wouldn’t recommend opening the Sapphire Reserve solely for a trip to Africa, but it does offer some useful perks if you already hold it or will take advantage of its benefits. The $300 annual travel credit applies to any travel purchase, not just portal bookings like the Venture X, which is a meaningful advantage. You also get Priority Pass access and Chase Sapphire lounges, though you will have to work harder to get value out of the coupon book style of statement credits to justify the high annual fee. If the high fee and benefit structure don’t appeal to you, the Sapphire Preferred is a solid alternative with the same transfer partners, just without lounge access.
6 | American Airlines Citi AAdvantage Globe
The Citi American Airlines AAdvantage Globe card is the airline’s mid-range option and a strong fit for flights to Africa. Its signup bonus often rivals the higher–annual fee Executive card, but at a much lower cost. While it only includes four Admirals Club passes instead of full lounge membership, those are most useful when departing the US anyway. American offers excellent partner award pricing to Africa with consistently low taxes, and business class redemptions to North Africa stand out as a particular sweet spot.
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