I’ve been using my qf points on Cathay which has loads of availability. The only flight I could find on qf was chc sydney on emirates a380 first. Otherwise nothing in classic rewards. Not even as platinum. Sigh.

I buy esim from nomad. I use them all over the world. No issues. Better value than roaming or even a local sim.

Oh and on the lounge front you star gold will not give you any lounge access on Airlink. No lounge in Windhoek anyway! Sq does have a partner lounge in Johannesburg which is just ok.

Airlink is no longer part of SAA or star alliance. I recently managed to book my bags all the way from Windhoek to Singapore via Johannesburg then Doha on QR. They have a new code share. Johannesburg is generally not great for thru check bags in my experience which often involves collecting ...

I was denied a martini. In their gin bar in London and also in sg first and melb first lounges.