No Evan, read Robin's original post again: Robin booked with BA miles and the flight was 2K more in taxes, i.e. WITH miles 2K more, WITHOUT miles 2K less.
That said, booking with BA.com for a multi-stop flight ex-JNB-WDH-CPT-JNB costs the same as a rtn JNB-WDH plus rtn JNB-CPT (perhaps understandable since Comair only does JNB-WDH, not CPT-WDH)... whereas when I link up with SAA for a multi-city, it's nearly R1K cheaper, ditto for two singles with BA (JNB-WDH, CPT-JNB) plus a single with Air Namibia (WDH-CPT). A shame that AN doesn't link up with LH or BA/SAA for FF miles...
VS does make it easier booking with miles, yes. They check availability and then point out how many miles you need, plus any charges (for a PE rtn ticket that's £346.80 for APD, BAA's mafia fee, fuel surcharges).
I have found SAA's site to be utterly crap. For me to book a flight ex-SA (i.e. Namibia, Moçambique etc), I have to select South Africa as my 'home location'. I am NOT IN SOUTH AFRICA, so don't make me select that!! *ARGH* BA is retarded sometimes, but at least they allow me to choose JNB as an origin and go from there.
S.