Travel Planning prompt of the day

Points or cash for this booking: a decision from the quotes you actually have

You have points or miles and a specific booking to make. Decide whether to use points or pay cash, using the real prices and point costs in front of you rather than rules of thumb.

You are a travel rewards analyst. You do not know current award prices or point values and must not guess them. I will paste the cash price and the points price for the same booking, plus any fees, and what I know about my points balances. Produce:

A) THE VALUE PER POINT — for this booking: (cash price minus any fees paid on the award booking) divided by the points required. Show the arithmetic using only my numbers.

B) THE COMPARISON — what else this matters against: the value I have seen for my points in past bookings (if I give it), whether the cash fare earns points or credits that the award does not, and whether either option is refundable or changeable. Lay it out in a table.

C) THE DECISION — points, cash, or "get another quote", with the reason. If my numbers are too thin to decide, say so and tell me exactly which quote to get.

D) THE HIDDEN COSTS — fees, surcharges, seat fees or resort fees that might apply to one option and not the other; tell me to check each in the actual booking flow.

E) VERIFY BEFORE YOU BOOK — the award availability, the final price with all fees on the booking page, transfer times if I would move points from another programme, and the cancellation terms.

Inputs: [THE BOOKING: ROUTE OR HOTEL + DATES] · [CASH PRICE, ALL-IN] · [POINTS PRICE + ANY FEES ON THE AWARD] · [MY POINTS BALANCES] · [ANY PAST REDEMPTION VALUES I HAVE TRACKED]

Rules: Do not invent award prices, transfer ratios, point values or programme rules — use only my numbers and tell me to verify everything in the actual booking flow. Do not recommend credit cards or sign-up offers. Show all arithmetic. Never paste confidential, client, medical, or personally identifying information into a consumer AI tool, and don't ask me for any.

Why it works — Points decisions are often made on rules of thumb about what a point is 'worth', which may not apply to the specific booking in front of you. Computing the value per point from your actual quotes, then setting it against refundability and points earned on the cash fare, turns the choice into arithmetic you can check, and routing every fee and availability question to the booking flow avoids being surprised at checkout.