Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.Update as of 9:45am EST Saturday - Availability is getting harder to come by, but there are still discount fares to be had! See below and book ASAP!Update as of 6:20pm EST - These fares are still available, even as low as $392 per person, through February 2016. See below for booking details and book on Orbitz ASAP - you can always cancel before tomorrow night at 10pm CST if you need to.Our friends at Stealth Trips tipped us off to this great deal for those looking to head to Africa later this year and early in 2016: flights on sale from New York to Nairobi for under $500 round-trip, which is a sizzling deal.Here are some sample deals we found:February 2016 - New York-Nairobi for $392.11 round-tripOrbitz has fares as low as $392 to NairobiNew York-Nairobi for $405.80 round-tripNew York-Nairobi for $405.80 round-trip in coach.New York-Nairobi (NBO)Dates: Decent availability in October, November, and early December; Select 2016 datesMileage: 17,974 Miles on Etihad, ticketed via Jet Airways. See below for mileage earning.New York-Johannesburg for $597.40 round-tripSign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.New York-Johannesburg for $597.40 round-trip in coach.New York-Johannesburg (JNB)Dates: Decent availability in October and NovemberMileage: 21,522 Miles on Etihad, ticketed via Jet Airways. See below for mileage earning.Chicago-Nairobi for $785 round-tripYou can also book from Chicago-Nairobi for $785 on Swiss.Chicago-Nairobi (NBO)Dates: Available for the first three weeks of NovemberMileage: Depending on routing miles will vary, but around 16,500 PQMs if booked on Swiss and crediting to United.Nairobi is a quick flight away to Mount Kilimanjaro.About NairobiNairobi is a perfect jumping off point for East African tourism and safaris. You’re only a short drive from amazing safari destinations like Tasvo East/West, the Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti/Masai Mara National Parks, and many more.Nairobi is a regional hub (and is the home base for SkyTeam partner Kenya Airways) and is a short direct flight to popular tourist destinations in Tanzania (Dar Es Salaam, Arusha / Mount Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), South Africa (Capetown, Johannesburg, and others) and many more.Earning Points and MilesBecause these tickets are bookable on Jet Aiways ticket stock for Etihad flights, the earning structure can be a bit complicated. Most of the cheap NYC-Nairobi fares are booking into Jet Airways O Class, which earns ZERO redeemable or elite qualifying miles on American. For Etihad Guest members, you’ll earn 50% of the flown miles for these tickets.Reminder: You can bank extra credit card points by using a card that maximizes airfare purchases, like 3x on airfare with the American Express Premier Rewards Gold or 2x on the Chase Sapphire Preferred. Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.You should be able to book most of these fares through Orbitz.Please report back if you’re able to score any of these deals!
