Maximizing the points you get in a season is an interesting topic. You need to go to tournaments with a SF low enough so you can get a good place, but not so low it drains away the points with a low multiplier. You also want to be sure the SF will be at least 1.0 so they are add-on points instead of replacement points.
Very very roughly, if you can beat someone with a world ranking of T or worse, at an event with an attendance of P you will finish in about place P*T. (A more accurate estimation includes your world ranking, as detailed elsewhere.) Look at the table for international points in the Athlete's Handbook, and you see that the number of points you get drops greatly after 4th, 8th, 12th, 24th, 32nd and of course 64th. Figure out what the SF will be in a tournament where you are each of those places by taking that place, dividing by T and multiplying by 4. Multiply the points for those places by its SF and see what gives you the best result.
If your `T' is 32 or better, you should go to tournaments with a SF as close to 2.0 as possible. If your T is between 32 and 128, you will do the best at tournaments with SFs between 1.0 and 2.0. If your T is not as good as 128 you shouldn't be going to WCs with the intent of earning US points.
It should be easy for anyone from the US who is going to WCs to get enough replacement points this year, since we have 4 national events and only the best 2 count. The only US points gained from WCs with a SF under 1.0 are replacement points, so you don't need to consider those except to improve your world ranking.
Going to a WC with a SF of 4.0 guarantees you a worse finish than one with a SF of 2.0, but the multiplier is capped at 2.0. So there is no reason to favor the strong European WCs. Anyone going to Heidenheim or Paris doesn't understand the system or has money to throw away.
At this point you should be ready to figure out what World Cups you want to go to this season.