Latest news with #bonusPoints
Forbes
27-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Best Southwest Credit Cards Of 2025
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards. Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards.
The Guardian
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Rugby union's bonus points barely change the Premiership table. Should we scrap them?
The business end of the domestic season has arrived and the Premiership and United Rugby Championship tables, as ever, are being carefully scrutinised. Two from Bristol, Sale and Saracens are now vying to make the Premiership playoffs with two games left while the race for the URC top eight will boil down to the final weekend. At which point some know-all will intone the well-worn mantra: bonus points will be crucial. And we'll all nod solemnly and start contemplating how Team X or Team Y can best set about scoring either four tries or losing by seven points or fewer. Without necessarily stopping to think whether the cold, hard mathematics support that supposition – or indeed ever have done. If you go and consult Dr Ellie Nesbitt, a senior lecturer in sports management at Nottingham Trent University, a very different picture emerges. Having crunched the Premiership numbers for the past 25 years, she found bonus points made a major difference to – wait for it – just 2.28% of team positions in the 24 seasons in which they have previously featured. 'Bonus points are not quite irrelevant but they're definitely not making the impact they were probably designed to do,' she says. Hang on. That hard-earned losing away point in the rain at Sale? That valiant fourth try in the dying seconds against Bath? It turns out they barely count in the wider scheme of things. Nesbitt discovered that a whopping 92% of Premiership league placings were totally unaffected by their inclusion. No fewer than 10 of those aforementioned 24 Premiership seasons would have ended up with precisely the same league table had bonus points not been included. And in the 8% of occasions where teams would have finished in another position, it still made little material difference in terms of playoff or Champions Cup qualification. Which, for the curious-minded Nesbitt, prompts wider questions. Hailing from a football background, she only became interested in rugby union because her partner was playing at Burton RFC. Watching his team constantly looking for bonus points set her analytical brain whirring. 'Even in their league they chase them. But then I looked at the data and told them: 'It didn't make any difference.' I take the caveat that it potentially creates more of a spectacle but at the end of a season the difference is so marginal. So then you start to question it. 'What is the point of all of this? Is it time for a refresh?' For me it warrants a look at the effectiveness of bonus points. But no one in rugby union seems to be bothered that they're not making an impact.' It is a fair cop. Take Sale who have claimed only nine bonus points – the second-lowest in the league – and still sit in the top four. What will almost certainly determine their final placing in relation to the Bears, as ever, will be their respective number of wins. It is more than possible the Sharks will finish ahead of Bristol with six fewer bonus points. So much for attacking rugby paying extra dividends. But let's open our minds up beyond decimal points. Nesbitt's research around competitive balance, incorporated last year into the Leonard Curtis financial report into English club rugby, invites us to contemplate a landscape totally free of such added complications. What if even the slightly tweaked French system – a bonus point for scoring at least three more tries than the opposition – is a hareng rouge? Because what if the extra layer of complexity, rather than enticing more people to enjoy the sport, is actively diluting rugby union's popularity? 'It's weird to me that bonus points only really exist in rugby,' says Nesbitt, suggesting football's relative simplicity is not an insignificant part of its appeal. 'Rugby has so many layers that it's difficult to get into. And when something is difficult to get into – whether that's sport, music or history – people switch off. I don't think rugby has helped itself over the years.' She also wonders aloud if playoff semi-finals represent another well-intentioned idea that might have had its day. The team finishing either first or second in the regular season has gone on to win the Premiership 20 times out of the past 22 editions. Nesbitt's logical academic brain tells her it would be much simpler to save everyone a ton of hassle and just stage a final between the top two sides. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Looking further ahead, she argues, the league also needs to work out who, exactly, it is trying to please. At present, amid plans to launch a franchise Premiership model in autumn 2026, she suggests it is being hampered by blurred vision. 'The reason why a franchise system works in America is because they also have the draft and a salary cap. Rugby union seems to have this half European, half American approach but it doesn't seem to work for them either way.' Rather than using bonus points as a comfort blanket, accordingly, her analysis points to a more equitable spread of talent and spending power across the league as being more important. 'The issue with rugby union is that the same patterns occur each year because no changes are made. What are your motivations? What do you want from the league? 'If they want to make it a spectacle and make people excited about rugby, I have no doubt the franchise approach could do that. But it is not necessarily going to fix all their problems.' Plenty for us all to ponder, whether you love bonus points or not, before this season's final push. This is an extract taken from our weekly rugby union email, the Breakdown. To sign up, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
Forbes
12-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Frequent Flyers Swear By This Card—Here's How Chase Sapphire Preferred Makes Travel Way Easier
Good things come in small packages: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is an all-in-one solution for travelers who are happy handling all their expenses with a single credit card. With an awesome rewards program, benefits that provide extra value and an affordable annual fee, this card can make paying for your next trip a breeze. If you've been considering applying, Chase announced that Thursday, May 15, at 9 a.m. EST, is the last day to apply for the 100,000-point welcome offer on the Sapphire Preferred via the application link on our website. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - See Rates & Fees Travel budgets are seldom as high as you'd like, but you can get an easy jump-start as a new cardholder of the Sapphire Preferred. After approval, you can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That's likely to induce instant daydreaming over how and where to use your points. The current offer ends Thursday, May 15, at 9 a.m. EST. So avoid future FOMO and apply soon to get this massive bonus. One of the things that sets the Chase Sapphire Preferred apart from other travel rewards cards is its participation in the Chase Ultimate Rewards® program. These flexible points are valuable regardless of how you redeem them: toward travel, transferred to airline and hotel partners or even cash back. Most other programs only offer one or two of these options at a fair value. Cash redemptions are worth a full cent per point, but as a traveler, you'll likely find the other redemption options more exciting. You can easily upgrade your points value by 25%, to 1.25 cents per point, when redeeming points for trips booked with Chase Travel. Nearly all flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises and even some activities are available with this option. Point enthusiasts will instead lean into the option to transfer Ultimate Rewards to partnering airline and hotel programs. Many of these transfers can lead to even higher yields if you're strategic. Chase Ultimate Rewards Partners One of the easiest ways to offset the $95 annual fee is through the card's yearly hotel credit. Each card member year, cardholders can earn up to $50 in statement credits by booking one or more hotel reservations through Chase Travel. Any hotel available on the platform and paid for with your Sapphire Preferred will qualify toward this credit, meaning frequent travelers should have no trouble using it. The Sapphire Preferred is one of the best credit cards for travel insurance—it has a wide range of coverage available at no extra cost when you book qualifying trips paid for with your card. Among its trip protections are: While you may choose to purchase a separate, more comprehensive policy for some trips, the included insurance may be adequate for others, giving you peace of mind and a wallet-friendly alternative. One of the unspoken requirements of a travel credit card is that you can rely on it wherever you go. As a Visa credit card, the Sapphire Preferred is likely to be accepted nearly anywhere that accepts credit cards, regardless of where you're heading around the world. You don't even have to notify Chase in advance of your trips. And with no foreign transaction fees, you won't have to pay for the privilege of paying by card no matter where your travels take you. For travelers seeking a straightforward yet powerful tool to navigate the world, the Chase Sapphire Preferred emerges as a compelling travel companion. By neatly packaging valuable rewards, practical benefits and low fees, this card can enhance your journeys and fuel your travel aspirations. Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author's alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners.
