Whether to point or foot is dependant on a few things -- wind, water and weight.
To point higher you need to flatten out the mainsail and have the jib trimmed to conform to the shape of the backside of the mainsail.
However, if crew weight is heavy, seas are choppy and/or wind is light, you need to power up the sail and therefore cannot flatten it.
Bit brief, but that is the basics.
Re-read the part about the Three Ws
Rick