General, “优点” and “缺点” are used for talking about someone . "好处“ and ”坏处“ are used for talking aboout something. e.g:1. 他的优点是他很自信，缺点是不够耐心。 2.阅读的好处是可以增长见识。 3.对我来说，跳舞没有坏处。

In most cases they can be used interchangeably. And 优点 and 缺点 are used in pairs as acronyms and so are 好处 and 坏处 . The former are more formal, because they have “点” which means bullet points (you only use bullet points when you write formal emails right:)) The latter 好处 and 坏处 are more causal. And actually they literally mean "benefits" and "dis-benefits" . In some cases , you can only use "好处“ not "优点". e.g. 你要给他点好处，他才会帮你。（You need to give him some benefits, then he will help you). Here, you can't use "优点".

Hi Stephen, Yes, 优点and 好处 are pretty similar but mean different things. We use 好处 to mean what benefits we gain from doing something. However we use 优点 to mean what advantages something has over others of the same kind. 做俯卧撑有很多好处。which implies that you gain a lot of benefits from doing pull ups. 做俯卧撑有很多优点。which implies that doing pull ups has some advantages over other sports. BTW, 对……有/没有好处 is a typical collocation Please let me know if you have any further questions.

也许把它们译成英语它们很相似，但是，对于汉语来说，它们是完全不同的词，母语者不会混用它们，试着看看汉语的解释吧。