Award Sweet Spots

Community

borski

award-sweet-spots

Catalog of high-value award redemptions where points dramatically outvalue cash. Tiered by legendary/excellent/good with current rates, devaluation history, and booking caveats. Includes Oceania and South Pacific plays (Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji) and transatlantic business-class sweet spots.

Overview

Publisher	borski
Repository	`travel-hacking-toolkit`
Skill name	`award-sweet-spots`
Stars	690
Forks	75
Bundled files	Instructions only
License	MIT
Links	Skill source Repository

Markdown instructions
A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.
Works with any LLM
AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.
Self-contained
Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.
Open source
Published by borski on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Award Sweet Spots AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
Choose "Install from GitHub".
Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit/tree/main/plugins/travel-hacking-toolkit/skills/award-sweet-spots
Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.

Store

Installed

Skills

Add skills

Import one or more skills from a public GitHub folder or a local .skill or .zip archive, or SKILL.md file.

From GitHub URLFrom .skill, .zip, or SKILL.md

GitHub repo or folder

https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit/tree/main/plugins/travel-hacking-toolkit/skills/award-sweet-spots

Points to a single skill folder, or any folder that contains multiple skills. Public repos only.

CancelContinue

Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit.git /tmp/travel-hacking-toolkit
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/travel-hacking-toolkit/plugins/travel-hacking-toolkit/skills/award-sweet-spots .claude/skills/award-sweet-spots

Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Award Sweet Spots in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Award Sweet Spots on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Award Sweet Spots is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

Loaded only when it is needed
The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.
Switch models mid-chat
Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Award Sweet Spots

Reference data: data/sweet-spots.json

When making recommendations, cross-reference against known sweet spots. If a route matches a sweet spot, flag it prominently.

Tier System

Sweet spots are ranked by tier:

Legendary: Outsized value that travel hackers build entire trips around
- Examples: ANA First via Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt All-Inclusive via World of Hyatt
Excellent: Consistently great value, reliable availability
- Examples: Iberia Avios to Madrid, Qatar Qsuites via various programs, Virgin Atlantic economy to London
Good: Solid value but may have caveats like devaluations, limited availability, or surcharges

Devaluations Matter

Always check the devaluation_date field in data/sweet-spots.json. If a sweet spot was recently devalued, mention the old vs new rates so users understand the change. A "legendary" tier sweet spot from 2023 may only be "good" or even "poor" today.

How to Use This Reference

When a user's search returns options that match a known sweet spot:

Flag it prominently in the output. "This is the legendary Iberia Avios to Madrid sweet spot."
Show the current rate vs cash value.
Note any caveats (surcharges, booking-window restrictions, devaluations).
Compare against the next-best option to make the value concrete.

Oceania / South Pacific Sweet Spots

Getting to Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific on points is hard — demand is high, distances are long, and premium cabin space is scarce. Proven plays, ranked:

Air New Zealand business via Virgin Atlantic (Excellent) — 62.5K one-way from the US, 45K from Hawaii. The same flights United sells for 110K. Availability is the bottleneck: rare in advance, opens inside 30 days. Phone booking only. Reachable from Amex, Chase, Citi, Bilt, Wells Fargo, and Capital One (via Virgin Red).
ANA Mileage Club business to Oceania (Excellent) — roughly 68.5K+ one-way on ANA metal (seasonal, under the June 2025 chart; one-ways now bookable) with wide routing via Japan or direct on Air NZ. No fuel surcharges on United, Air Canada, or Air NZ. Limitation: reachable only from Amex MR (plus Marriott at a poor ratio). Verify current rates on ana.co.jp — avoid its still-hosted pre-June-2025 legacy chart pages.
Aeroplan business to Oceania (Good) — 75-115K one-way, but the killer feature is adding an Asia stopover for +5K miles, turning Australia into Asia + Australia. No fuel surcharges. Reachable from Amex, Chase, Capital One, Bilt.
Air France LAX-Tahiti nonstop (Good) — ~30K economy one-way on one of the few US-Tahiti nonstops. Business (~113K) is usually poor value; economy is the play. Watch for Flying Blue transfer bonuses.
Atmos/Alaska to the South Pacific (Good) — HNL-Kiritimati on Fiji Airways in the lowest distance band is a perennial steal, and HNL-Tahiti/Rarotonga on Hawaiian is cheap. Free stopover, no change/cancel fees. Reachable only from Bilt (plus Marriott).
United MileagePlus business (Good) — 85-100K on United metal, ~110K on partners. The most lenient routing rules, but partner space is almost always cheaper via Virgin Atlantic (62.5K) or ANA.

Oceania-specific warnings:

Availability is the real constraint — points prices matter less if there are no seats. Search early and often for premium cabins.
Peak season is Dec-Feb (Southern Hemisphere summer); award space is hardest then.
Air NZ via Virgin Atlantic is the best value but hardest to find — realistic only inside ~30 days.
Surcharge traps: BA Avios on Qantas metal carries heavy surcharges. Stick to each entry's no-surcharge carriers.

Booking Windows

data/sweet-spots.json also has a booking_windows section. When a user asks about flights far in advance, check when award space opens for that airline. Some programs (Aeroplan) release space 358 days out. Others release 11 months. Knowing the window prevents wasted searches.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Award Sweet Spots AI skill do?

Why use Award Sweet Spots on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Award Sweet Spots is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Award Sweet Spots in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit/tree/main/plugins/travel-hacking-toolkit/skills/award-sweet-spots. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Award Sweet Spots?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Award Sweet Spots?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Award Sweet Spots with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Award Sweet Spots AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by borski under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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Overview

Installation

Install in TypingMind

Install in another agent

Use it in TypingMind

Works with any AI model

Skill instructions

Award Sweet Spots

Tier System

Devaluations Matter

How to Use This Reference

Oceania / South Pacific Sweet Spots

Booking Windows

Frequently asked questions

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