There is only one key to spending points wisely:

The second half of the equation is spending the points economically and for what I call maximum Point Impact. Learn more here, but here are the keys to the castle; the description for each restaurant from reservation to execution.

Walkthroughs

Hyotei- Kyoto, Japan

1st-Class Airfare from Chicago: $51. 4-Star Hotel: $0. Meal: $45. Total: $101.

Alinea- Chicago, USA

Alinea is in in the same town I live in, so I used Uber, Craigslist, and friends to eat there for under $150- not quite my goal, but close!

Saison- San Francisco, USA

Saison is across the country in San Francisco, so I used Chase's MileagePlus Explorer, Uber, Chase's Hyatt Visa, and Gift.ly to eat there for less than $100!