In WSBA it's pretty straight-forward, as long as its a USAC race then and field/distance limits are met then there are points to be had.
Our weekday races don't have a permit (or officials, or good finish-line cams), so it makes sense they don't count. And they used to count for 5->4 but not anymore. However there are $10 primes and bragging rights up for grabs, so it's still a lot of fun to show up.
The one thing that sucks around here is that OBRA is all special and WSBA/USAC won't count points from there... that's a long drive for bragging rights & gift certificates.