It will definitely be a family affair at Sunday’s (Feb. 9) Super Bowl LIX. At least according to Jason Kelce. The retired Philadelphia Eagles great confirmed to People that Taylor Swift will be on hand at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans to watch boyfriend Travis Kelce‘s Kansas City Chiefs take on the Eagles in their bid to become the first-ever NFL team to win three championships in a row.
Asked who’s traveling to the Big Easy for the game, Jason Kelce said, “Yeah, I think everybody’s coming in,” before he got specific about the guest list. “I mean, I don’t want to speak for everybody, but I think obviously, our whole family. I believe, obviously Trav and Taylor, and his family and his friends. I mean, Trav always travels like, full,” Jason said.
“Even when he’s in regular season mode… he’s always got a bunch of his friends there. It’s been this way his whole career,” Jason said of his tight end younger brother, who is looking to add a fourth total Super Bowl ring to his collection. “He’s kept in touch much better with a lot of the people from our hometown. So there’s always a loaded contingency for the Kelces, wherever we’re at.”
Swift, of course, has been a regular presence in the family skybox at Chiefs games over the past year and a half, including at the thrilling AFC championship game against the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 26 that helped punch the Chiefs’ ticket to the big game for the fourth time in five years.
She was also on hand last year when the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas, where she partied with friends Ashley Avignone, Ice Spice and Blake Lively, as well as Kelce’s parents, Jason Kelce and her own parents.
When Travis took questions from reporters on Monday, he was, naturally, asked if he plans to pop the question to his longtime love at the game. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he said with a smile in response to the long-swirling engagement rumors that have followed the couple for much of their relationship.
At press time a spokesperson for Swift had not returned a request for comment on the singer’s plans for Super Bowl Sunday.
Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs), a lesser-known discount scheme, can help those who don’t qualify for free prescriptions reduce their medication costs.
Available to anyone in England who pays for their prescriptions, PPCs are particularly beneficial for individuals with more than one monthly prescription.
However, if you only have one prescription per month, the savings might be minimal or could even result in additional expenses if you opt for the three-month certificate.
It’s worth noting that there’s a separate PPC for people receiving prescribed hormone replacement therapy, which has a different price and application process.
The standard PPC comes in two forms: a three-month certificate costing £32.05 and a 12-month certificate priced at £114.50. To put this into perspective, a single NHS prescription item currently costs £9.90.
A PPC covers an unlimited number of your own prescription items during its validity period, excluding support tights. You also have the option to spread the cost of a year-long certificate over 10 monthly instalments.
If you’re only getting one prescription a month, it will cost £29.70 over three months and £118.80 a year, making it not particularly cost-effective for those with just one prescription.
However, two prescription items a month costs £237.60 a year, meaning the certificate would save you £123 a year or £27 over three months.
Those receiving four prescription items every month can make a staggering saving of £360 a year or £86 over three months. PPCs can be purchased online through the NHS site or over the phone on 0300 330 1341.
For people on eligible prescription hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, a specialised PPC is available for £19.80 for 12 months. This will cover all of your eligible prescriptions during that time regardless of how many different medications you need and will save money if you require more than two per month.
However, if your medication isn’t eligible under the HRT PPC it may be better to get a standard PPC which may cover the prescriptions. You can buy HRT PPCs online or through the phone on 0300 330 2089.
Brooks Nader‘s new Instagram photos were all about fur coats as she went braless to embrace her wild side in snow-filled Wyoming. Her latest social media dump was a continuation of her previous photo series from the wilderness area of Jackson Hole. In her recent carousel, Nader exhibited her bold side, delivering a risqué pose by wearing nothing underneath her coat. The following portraits captured more looks with fur galore and a touch of cowboy fashion.
Brooks Nader flaunts her ‘casual sunrise moments’ in new photos
Recapping her “casual sunrise moments,” Brooks Nader dropped new Instagram photos with fur coats and a far-from-casual braless look. In the first still, Nader went overboard with the fur, going all out in an animal-print coat and nothing underneath to brave the snow-packed setting of Jackson Hole. Showing off her wild side, Nader dared to pose alongside a wolf as they stood tall inside the truck with the first rays of sun shining bright on them. In addition, she paired her fit with denim a furry trapper hat, and leather gloves.
The remaining photos in the carousel exhibited the reality star in more furry coats. The second slide also comprised a racy snap of her posing in a partially unbuttoned shirt and layering it with another warm-looking coat. Nader again paired the fit with denim, leather gloves, and an eccentric neckpiece with gorgeous blue embellishments. The next images further captured the true cowboy essence and her unique fashion elements and looked like a continuation of her previous post.
Last month, Brooks Nader dropped similar photos from Wyoming outside the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar as she posed inside the Ford Bronco with the wolf. The picture showed the canine holding onto the roof frame of the windshield while the former “Dancing With the Stars” contestant drove. However, the new post comprised the cropped version of the stills only displaying Nader, styling another fur coat with a cowboy hat and gloves. She looked fearless looking away from the camera with stunning full-face makeup.
It’s a case of one-and-done for Rebecca Minkoff, who has announced she is leaving Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York City after filming just one season of the long-running reality series.
The handbag designer revealed the news in an Instagram post on Tuesday night (February 4) following the conclusion of the show’s 15th season, which wrapped up with a two-part reunion special.
“2025 is a new beginning for me and with current events in the world, I am reminded the importance of family, friends and community now more than ever,” Minkoff wrote. “The last month has given me a new perspective on wanting to focus on my wildly amazing 4 kids, my supportive husband, my business of 20 years, the Female Founder Collective, my podcast and MY BOOK.”
Minkoff joined the RHONY cast in Season 15 in a “friend of role,” meaning she appeared in a recurring capacity instead of a full-time cast member. Throughout her time on the show, she struggled with confrontation, particularly when challenged on her Scientology beliefs. In one instance, she got into a heated debate over the topic with her co-star Brynn Whitfield.
“As much as I have learned along the way with this franchise and fans, I want to reprioritize the things that mean the most to me: designing, giving back, supporting women and raising my family,” she continued in her statement. “I am truly grateful for the experience, the friendships and the fans that have been part of this RHONY chapter. Time to turn the page.”
During Tuesday’s reunion, Minkoff said her co-stars’ questions about Scientology didn’t seem genuine. She also hit back at a fan who said she should “stop normalizing cults” by talking about Scientology on the show.
“That is a bigoted term. It’s hate speech to keep calling a religion a cult,” Minkoff told host Andy Cohen. “I’m tired of the attacks.”
Speaking with Us Weekly ahead of Tuesday’s show, Minkoff admitted to going into RHONY “with rose-colored glasses.”
“It’s a tough show. It can be very tough personally. You’re dealing with relationships,” she shared. “I never regret anything. I’m done with regrets. I learned so much and it was incredible for business. I made some good friends out of it.”
One of the best ways to extract value from the Hilton Honors program is by leveraging Free Night Rewards on the Amex US Hilton credit cards.
Hilton’s Free Night Rewards can unlock some incredible stays around the world for zero out-of-pocket, so in this article, we’ll take a look at everything you need to know about these potentially very powerful instruments.
How to Earn Hilton Free Night Rewards
For the most part, you’ll need to have started your journey with US credit cards in order to rack up Hilton’s Free Night Rewards.
The good news is that it’s pretty easy to take the first step along this journey, as you can earn your first certificate pretty much immediately with a single US credit card application.
1. Amex US Hilton Aspire Card: Free Night Reward Every Year
The Hilton Aspire Card is the only credit card that gives you an annual Free Night Reward every year as an ongoing perk, without having to “work” for it through spending.
Note that the Hilton Aspire’s Free Night Reward is earned immediately in the first year.
This makes it superior to the corresponding Free Night Awards on, say, the Canadian Marriott Bonvoy co-branded credit cards, which are only earned as an anniversary benefit starting in the second year.
In addition to the free night that you get just for holding the card, you can also earn a second free night every year if you spend $30,000 (USD) on the Hilton Aspire in a calendar year, and a third free night every year if you spend $60,000 in a calendar year.
Alas, that’s probably out of reach for most of us, and the return on spending probably isn’t worthwhile even if you could spend that much.
2. Amex US Hilton Surpass Card: Free Night Reward Upon Spending $15,000
In addition to the Hilton Aspire, the Hilton Surpass Card allow you to earn a Free Night Reward upon spending $15,000 (USD) in a calendar year.
After the instant Free Night Reward from the Aspire Card, this is the Free Night Reward that is most easily within reach year after year, although it does require a fairly significant spending capacity to achieve.
The strategy here is to prioritize spending on the Surpass Card since its spending requirement is lower than the Aspire Card’s.
3. Amex US Hilton Cards Welcome Bonuses
The Amex US Hilton credit cards frequently offer different types of elevated welcome bonuses. In the past, in addition to higher amounts of Hilton Honors points, the cards have occasionally also offered Free Night Rewards as part of the signup incentive.
For example, in the past, the Amex US Hilton Card, Hilton Surpass Card, and Hilton Business Card have all offered a Free Night Reward as part of the signup bonus in addition to their usual points totals.
Earning a welcome bonus with Free Night Rewards tends to be more valuable than only getting Hilton Honors points, since Free Night Rewards have uncapped redemption potential (as we’ll discuss below).
Therefore, if you aren’t in a rush to apply for one of the Hilton cards, consider timing your application during a promotional bonus with a Free Night Reward attached to come out ahead.
4. Amex US Hilton Cards Spend-Based Promotions
Lastly, the Amex US Hilton cards have also been known to offer the occasional spend-based promotion for existing cardholders, with a Free Night Reward on the table if they can reach a certain spending threshold in a given time period.
For example, in the past, Amex US Hilton cardholders have been targeted for a promotion in which they could earn a Free Night Reward simply by spending $8,000 (USD).
There’s no predicting when these promotions may come around, but it’s certainly very rewarding when they do.
It’s best to register for these promotions using a Hilton Surpass Card if possible, since the spending you complete would also help you progress towards the annual $15,000 (USD) threshold for a Free Night Reward as part of the card’s benefits as well.
How to Redeem Hilton Free Night Rewards
Hilton’s Free Night Rewards get deposited into your account within eight weeks of earning them. Generally speaking, they tend to show up a lot sooner than eight weeks, shortly after meeting the criterion that was used to earn them.
You’ll receive an email confirming the arrival of your Free Night Reward, which will also mention an expiration date for your certificate. This is the date you must stay by, not book by.
Free Night Rewards are valid for 12 months from the date of issuance, so you’ll want to make sure to make a booking before the expiry date.
Redeem your Free Night Reward
The Hilton Honors website allows you to track your Free Night Rewards on your online dashboard, but it doesn’t allow you to redeem these certificates through the online booking engine.
Instead, you’ll have to call Hilton Honors at 1-800-446-6677 to make your redemption. Before calling in, you’ll first want to conduct a search on the Hilton Honors website to decide where to redeem your certificate.
You’ll need to look for a “Standard Room Reward” on your chosen date – if a standard room isn’t available and only “Premium Room Rewards” are showing, then you won’t be able to apply your Free Night Reward to the stay.
Properties excluded from Hilton Free Night Rewards
Notably, there is a list of excluded hotels that do not qualify for Free Night Reward redemptions, which you can find on the Hilton website.
These are largely Hilton Grand Vacations, all-inclusive, or residence-style properties. Thankfully, most of the best hotels in Hilton’s portfolio are not on this list and remain eligible for booking a free night.
Strategies for Maximizing Hilton Free Night Rewards
With the two Hilton co-branded credit cards, it’s theoretically possible to rack up four Free Night Rewards per year.
However, it almost certainly doesn’t make sense to aim for the free nights at the $60,000 (USD) spending thresholds.
Even if you intended to redeem these certificates in the Maldives where you might otherwise pay $2,000+ (USD) per night, you’d still most likely come out even further ahead if you placed that $60,000 (USD) in spending on another card(s) instead.
Therefore, some Hilton Honors members could earn up tothree certificates per year if they can stump up $45,000 (USD) in spending across the Hilton Aspire and the Hilton Surpass.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of members will probably be satisfied with one certificate per year from simply holding the Hilton Aspire year after year.
On the redemption side, as with all instruments like these, the key to maximizing value lies in booking a hotel that would otherwise cost as much in cash as possible, while still remaining true to your travel goals and the places you want to visit.
Because Hilton Honors is largely a dynamically priced program, we can use the points price of a hotel as a barometer for assessing the value you’re getting from your Free Night Reward:
The most expensive properties are priced at 150,000 Hilton Honors points per night for a Standard Room Reward, including the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi.
Other top-tier properties are priced at a maximum of 120,000 Hilton Honors points per night for a Standard Room Reward.
In general, any property that would otherwise cost you 80,000 Hilton Honors points per night represents a good use of the Free Night Reward. This price point corresponds to a cash price of about $400+ (USD).
In general, you’d maximize the value of your Free Night Reward by doing one of the following:
Redeeming at Hilton’s higher-end luxury brands like Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, and LXR
Redeeming for far-flung aspirational destinations like the Maldives or Bora Bora
Redeeming for very popular places during peak season, like Hawaii over the winter
Now, some of the luxury hotels in major cities might make for a fun one-night hop, but if you’re going to the Maldives or Bora Bora, you’ll certainly want to stay longer than one night.
In that case, you’ll want to combine your free night with a Hilton Honors points redemption to chain together a longer stay.
(Just keep in mind that you can unlock the Fifth Night Free benefit when redeeming Hilton Honors points, but not when redeeming Free Night Rewards.)
Finally, if you’re earning points with a spouse, then the sheer power of the Hilton Aspire Card ought to be harnessed by both yourself and your partner.
As a household, you’d earn at least two Free Night Rewards every year, which you could redeem back-to-back for a luxurious getaway once a year, all while enjoying top-tier elite treatment as Hilton Diamond members.
Conclusion
Hilton’s Free Night Rewards are one of the strongest benefits of the Hilton Honors program and the suite of co-branded cards issued by American Express US.
Compared to Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton’s Free Night Rewards are stronger in many ways: you can earn them immediately in the first year, and you can redeem them for the best luxury hotels in the portfolio with no upper limit.
If you’d like to experience some world-class hotel stays without paying out-of-pocket, then diversifying into Hilton Honors – and in particular, getting the Hilton Aspire Card – is a great strategy for doing so.
Now, the 24-hour roadside stalwart is making a statement about the breakfast staple—by adding a 50-cent surcharge (per egg) to orders nationwide.
Waffle House notes, “Rather than increasing prices across the menu, this is a temporary, targeted surcharge tied to the unprecedented rise in egg prices.”
Egg prices have increased by 50% over the past year, and in some cities, like New York, customers might be paying $1 per egg at the grocery store—a dozen cage-free eggs at Whole Foods were selling for $11.99.
And it’s not just hitting Waffle House. Local news outlets from Tampa, Florida to Upstate New York report that area restaurants are grappling with rising prices by making changes in-house, from switching suppliers to even changing recipes.
Nissan is set to call off merger talks with rival Honda, a source said on Wednesday, abandoning a $60 billion-plus tie-up that would have created the world’s no. 3 automaker and raising questions about how it will drive a turnaround by itself.
Talks have been complicated by growing differences between the two Japanese automakers, two people familiar with the matter, both of whom declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said earlier.
Nissan shares slid more than 4% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which temporarily suspended trading in the stock after a Nikkei Business Daily report that it would pull out.
Nissan will reportedly call off merger discussions with Honda. AFP via Getty Images
Honda shares continued to trade and finished the day up more than 8%, in a sign of apparent investor relief.
The development will raise fresh questions about how hard-hit Nissan, which is in the middle of a turnaround plan and aims to cut 9,000 employees and 20% of global capacity, can ride out its latest crisis without external help.
Honda, Japan’s second-largest car maker behind Toyota and Nissan, its third-largest, said in December they were in talks to create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, bulking up in an industry facing a huge threat from China’s BYD and other electric vehicle entrants.
Reuters reported earlier that Nissan could call off talks after Honda had sounded it out about becoming a subsidiary.
Nissan balked because this was a departure from what was originally framed as a merger of equals, one source said.
Nissan and Honda said in separate statements that the Nikkei report was not based on information announced by the companies and that they aimed to finalize a future direction by mid-February and announce it at that time.
The auto giants previously planned to decide the direction of the integration by the end of this month. REUTERS
Honda, whose market value of about $51.90 billion is more than five times bigger than Nissan at 1.44 trillion yen, was increasingly worried about its smaller rival’s progress on the turnaround plan, said a second source.
The tie-up talks have coincided with disruption posed by potential tariffs from US President Donald Trump.
Tariffs against Mexico would be more painful for Nissan than for Honda or Toyota, analysts say.
Nissan shares plunged Wednesday after reports that the merger talks were stalled. AFP via Getty Images
“Investors may get concerned about Nissan’s future [and] turnaround,” said Morningstar analyst Vincent Sun. “Nissan also has a larger risk exposure to US-Mexico tariffs than Honda and Toyota”.
Nissan has been hit harder than some rivals by the shift to EVs, having never fully recovered after years of crisis sparked by the 2018 arrest and removal of former chairman Carlos Ghosn.
“The news saying that Nissan did not want to be a Honda subsidiary appears to highlight that control was a contentious issue,” said Christopher Richter, Japan autos analyst at brokerage CLSA. “Without being able to have control, Honda appears to be walking away.”
Nissan’s long-term alliance partner Renault had said it would be open in principle to the merger.
The automaker owns 36% of Nissan, including 18.7% through a French trust.
Nissan and Honda had initially said they planned to decide the direction of the integration by the end of January, but that was later pushed back to mid-February.
Sources told Reuters last month that Nissan’s smaller alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors, which had considered joining the merger, might not do so.
Every week, The Post will bring you our picks of the best one-liners and stories from satirical site The Babylon Bee to take the edge off Hump Day.Want more of a chuckle? Be sure to click the links.
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The FTSE 250 index of medium-sized companies does not always get the same level of attention as the blue-chip FTSE 100.
But I own some FTSE 250 shares and like the fact that up and coming firms can offer growth prospects that might be harder to find when looking at mature companies.
Poorer performance than the FTSE 100
So, if I had put £1,000 into the FTSE 250 a year ago, what would that investment now be worth?
During the past 12 months, the index has increased in value by 8%.
Therefore, if an investor had put £1,000 in 12 months ago, it should now be worth around £1,080. That is not bad, in my view, but it is also notably below the 13% capital growth achieved over that period by the FTSE 100.
There are dividends too. The yield is currently 3.3%. Again, not bad I feel, although not quite as attractive as the 3.6% currently offered by the FTSE 100.
Why I don’t buy the index
The FTSE 250 is supposed to contain growing companies, so what might explain its recent underperformance versus the blue-chip index?
All companies face risks, but smaller companies may lack the resources and experience to handle them as well as mature firms that have been around for decades (or in some cases, for centuries).
Also when a FTSE 100 business loses enough value it gets booted into the FTSE 250 and vice versa.
So the smaller index loses some companies that have growing share prices, while FTSE 100 businesses that decline sharply enough move down into the FTSE 250. Ocado is an example.
That means that the FTSE 250 almost by design has some disadvantages compared to the bigger index.
But the main reason I do not invest directly (for example, through a fund) is the same for both: I prefer to try and find individual shares I think can potentially do better than the index overall.
As an example, consider a share I used to own: Hollywood Bowl (LSE: BOWL).
Over the past year, its price has fallen 5%, substantially underperforming the index. Its dividend yield of 4.3% is better, but even considering that, an investor would have done worse putting £1,000 into Hollywood Bowl shares a year ago than the FTSE 250 overall.
Yet the business is profitable and is growing handily, thanks both to its UK business and to rapid expansion in Canada.
Is this a short-term share performance problem, then?
No. Over five years, the Hollywood Bowl share price has lost 1%. Then again, during that period the FTSE 250 overall has gone down 4% so Hollywood Bowl has done a bit better in relative terms (although not by much, frankly).
With large customer demand, an extensive network of bowling lanes (and some miniature golf sites) and a proven business model, I see a lot to like about Hollywood Bowl.
But one risk is a weak economy hurting consumer spending on leisure activities like bowling. So although I like the investment case, the current price-to-earnings ratio of 16 is a bit high to grab my attention. I will not be investing again just yet.
With a fresh £20,000 Stocks and Shares ISA contribution limit at my disposal this April, I turned to ChatGPT to help me build the perfect FTSE 100 portfolio.
I told the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot I wanted to balance risk and reward with a mix of growth and income stocks across different sectors. While I’d never treat AI as a stock tipper, I was curious to hear its view.
Its first pick is a share I bought last year (but sometimes wish I hadn’t): spirits giant Diageo. ChatGPT plucked this from the consumer good sector, describing it as a global drinks powerhouse that “offers solid dividends and pricing power in an inflationary environment”.
It admits that the economic slowdown has hit revenues but didn’t mention the thing that really worries me – Gen Z isn’t so fixated on alcohol. That worries me.
A balanced spread from the FTSE 100
ChatGPT’s second pick is also one I own: insurer and asset manager Legal & General Group, from the financial services sector.
Its shares have idled lately but it does offer a brilliant 8.5% trailing dividend yield. ChatGPT highlights “strong long-term demand for financial planning services” while warning that it’s sensitive to market downturns. I love this one.
AI’s third pick is a share I’ve held in the past, and would like to hold again: Rio Tinto, from the mining and commodities sector. ChatGPT calls it a “reliable dividend payer”, neglecting to mention that it cut shareholder payouts in 2023. To be fair, it does have a 7% trailing yield today.
Rio Tinto shares have been hit by the struggling Chinese economy and volatile commodity prices. But worth considering at a low valuation of just eight times earnings.
The fourth pick is another stock I hold: Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, from the technology and growth sector. This has been flying lately, although it’s taken a knock from Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek and Donald Trump’s trade wars. But I can’t knock its inclusion as a growth stock, albeit a volatile one.
I also asked ChatGPT to pick one stock it particularly likes. It chose one I don’t hold: pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN).
AstraZeneca is a top stock, but pricey
Now the UK’s biggest company, my robo-adviser called AstraZeneca the “cornerstone” of its ISA portfolio saying: “It combines resilience with innovation, making it an attractive option for both capital appreciation and stability”.
It said AstraZeneca continues to expand its research and development pipeline and with “blockbuster drugs such as Tagrisso and Imfinzi driving revenues, it’s well-positioned for sustained growth”.
Drug development’s an expensive and uncertain process and my chatty chum warns: “Regulatory approvals and clinical trial outcomes may influence its success”. Meanwhile, patent expirations pose a potential threat to revenue streams, requiring a steady flow of new medicines to offset losses, it adds.
I’m concerned that pharmaceutical companies are in the Trump administration’s firing line, while Astra’s shares aren’t cheap, trading at around 36 times earnings. That’s why I’ve resisted buying.
But I can’t argue with ChatGPT’s logic. And I won’t dispute its conclusion that “this portfolio offers a blend of stability, income, and growth”.
For investors considering how to build a Stocks and Shares ISA, this wouldn’t be a bad start. But they should research the risks as well as the rewards.
