Originally Posted by
2stepsbehind
If she does decide on a smaller trip in August and postponing Paris until later in the fall (which I would highly suggest as she will not get the true Parisian experience in August), you might suggest Montreal/Quebec City for her birthday. It is only 9k Avios points per person round trip from NYC to Montreal (she could also rent a car and drive). She could get the 50k British Airways card and use the remaining points for a couple of hotel nights (and/or use the avios points for the car rental).
While I admire the creative thinking and the sheer practicality of this approach, I think some of y'all are too wrapped up in the miles/points culture to look at the problem from the layperson perspective.
The librarian wants to (1) Visit Paris for her (2) 30th birthday.
Montreal/Quebec City, while gorgeous and probably the closest to a European experience one can get in Canada/US, both pale in comparison to Paris. If you haven't turned 30 yet or forgot what it was like to do so, keep in mind that it can be a traumatic experience and that the best way to approach it is to celebrate the event in some grand fashion e.g. lifelong dream trip to the City of Light..
So, moving it to the off season to maxmimize mile redemption, or the other fine suggestions that have been listed, while normally helpful are impractical in this case.
Just my 2 francs :-)
Cheers