1/ David here, founder of PointsGPT. My mom's financial advisor told her to get a points credit card. So she did. Then she had points and no idea how to use them. This is why I built PointsGPT. 🧵

Cathay business, LA to Sydney via Hong Kong: from 119,000 Asia Miles one way. Citi to Asia Miles is 1,000 to 1,100 through Nov 14 on Strata Premier, Elite or Prestige: about 109,000 Citi points. Catch: the Hong Kong layover is capped at 24 hours. Find the seat, then transfer.

Delta One, New York to Accra: 230,000 SkyMiles round trip plus $319 in a flash sale. Book by Oct 29, fly Jan 25 to Feb 6. Lagos and Dakar are 230,000 too. Catch: most Delta cards take 15% off (195,500), but Marrakech is 612,000. Spend SkyMiles you hold, not Amex transfers.

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, Los Angeles to London: from 41,000 Virgin points one way. Capital One to Virgin is 1,000 to 1,300 through Nov 20: about 31,600 miles. Chase, Amex, Bilt: 1:1. Catch: Saver seats only, and taxes and fees from $375.30. Find the seat, then transfer.

Aer Lingus business, Boston to Dublin: from 50,000 Avios one way off-peak. Capital One to BA is 1,000 to 1,200 through Oct 31: about 41,700 miles. Chase, Amex, Bilt: 1:1. Catch: move the Avios from BA to Aer Lingus, and business seats are scarce. Find the seat, then transfer.

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, New York to London: from 29,000 Virgin points one way. Capital One to Virgin is 1,000 to 1,300 through Nov 20: about 22,400 miles. Chase, Amex, Bilt: 1:1. Catch: Saver seats only, and taxes and fees from $496.90. Find the seat, then transfer.

British Airways business, New York JFK to London: from 63,000 Asia Miles one way. Citi to Asia Miles is 1,000 to 1,100 through Nov 14 on Strata Premier, Elite or Prestige: about 58,000 Citi points. Catch: about $236 in fees on the date seen. Find the seat, then transfer.

Singapore economy, Frankfurt to New York JFK: 19,250 KrisFlyer miles one way in November, down from 27,500. Book by Oct 31, SQ26 only, westbound only. Blackouts Nov 1-3, 25-27 and 29-30. Catch: no changes, no cancellations, online only. Good for a one-way home from Europe.

JAL economy, US to Japan: 18,900 miles one way, down from 27,000. Book by Oct 31, fly by Feb 28. Rove to JAL is 1,000 to 1,500 through Oct 31: about 12,600 Rove miles. Catch: fuel surcharges on top, no Boston, JAL-operated flights only. Price the fees before you transfer.

Cathay business, SFO or LAX to Hong Kong: from 91,000 Asia Miles one way. Citi to Asia Miles is 1,000 to 1,100 through Nov 14 on Strata Premier, Strata Elite or Prestige: about 83,000 Citi points. Catch: no-fee Citi cards get 770 per 1,000. Find the seat, then transfer.

Premium economy to Europe from Austin, Chicago, Las Vegas or Miami: from 30,000 Flying Blue miles one way, down from 40,000. Book by Oct 31, fly by Mar 31. Around $220 in taxes. Amex 25%: 24,000. Rove 40%: about 21,500. Both end Oct 31. I'd use it for a winter overnight.

Qatar business, US to Doha: from 70,000 Avios one way off-peak, 94,500 peak. Citi Strata Premier 25% on 50,000+ Avios (ends Oct 31): about 56,000 points. Capital One 20% to BA (ends Oct 31): about 58,400 miles. Chase, Amex: 1:1. Catch: off-peak only. Find the seat first.

Iberia business, NYC or Boston to Madrid: from 40,500 Avios one way, off-peak. Capital One 20% to BA (ends Oct 31, 11:59 PM ET): about 33,800 miles, then move the Avios to Iberia. Chase, Amex, Bilt to BA: 1:1. Catch: off-peak dates only. Find the seat before you transfer.

American AAdvantage, two ways: Buy: up to 40% off through Oct 31, but 2.26 cents a mile only at 151,000+. At 30,000 it's about 3.01 cents. Non-refundable. Transfer: Citi Strata Premier, Elite or Prestige, 1:1. Citi points? Transfer. Buy only the gap on a seat you've priced.

ANA business to Japan via Virgin Atlantic: from 52,500 Virgin points one way from the West Coast, 60,000 from the East. Capital One 30% (ends Nov 20): about 40,400 or 46,200 miles. Chase, Amex, Bilt: 1:1. Catch: nonstop ANA saver seats only, booked by phone. Find a seat first.

Seattle to Europe in business: from 45,000 Flying Blue miles one way, down from 60,000. Book by Oct 31, fly by Mar 31. Light fare, no changes or refunds, few promo dates. Amex 25%: 36,000 points. Rove 40%: about 32,200. Both end Oct 31. I'd use it for a flexible winter trip.

Hyatt, two ways: Buy: 20% off through Dec 21, 2.08 cents each. 20,000 points is $416. Transfer: Sapphire Reserve is 1:1. Preferred and Ink Preferred went 4:3 on Oct 1, so 20,000 Hyatt is about 26,700 Chase. Reserve? Transfer. Preferred? Buy only the gap on a priced award.

Amex to Marriott has a 35% bonus through Dec 10. 1,000 Amex points become 1,350 Bonvoy. By TPG's October values that's about $20 of Amex points turning into about $10 of Bonvoy. I'd only do it to finish a Marriott award I'd already priced. Anyone actually using this one?

What was the first award you ever booked with points, and what do you wish someone had told you first? I'm collecting these for the next "Things I wish my mom knew" posts.

us runs through Nov 20 but the seat is the real constraint. Anyone seeing Upper Class saver space on the routes they want, or is it mostly thin at that 29K level?

stack with any of the Platinum credits, or is it mainly the points earn? That's the part I'd want sorted before choosing Amex over booking direct with the line.