The Daily Valet. - 6/4/21, Friday

✔️ An Ugly Credit Truth

Friday, June 4th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Feel free to hug me ...

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

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Today’s Big Story

The Ugly Credit Truth

A third of Americans say COVID changed their view on credit card rewards

There’s an entire ecosystem dedicated to gaming the credit card rewards system—the Points Guy, who’s made himself a household name, and a web of websites and influencers who teach all sorts of tricks and hacks. But according to Vox, the system is already gamed, just not in the way you might think: Credit card perks reward rich Americans to the detriment of the poor.

Every time a credit card is swiped, the bank charges a fee. It seems trivial, but those fees add up—enough to help pay for rewards like points-funded hotel rooms and cash back. To compensate, businesses often raise prices, and so cash users (who tend to be poorer) are subsidizing the perks going to credit card users (who tend to be richer). And the higher the rewards, the bigger the cost is to the unsuspecting people paying for it.

About 70% Americans have at least one credit card, and according to CNBC, most have multiple cards. The vast majority of credit card spending takes place on rewards cards, and over the years, those perks have become more elaborate as companies try to compete—higher cash back, more miles and additional hotel rooms.

If it seems like credit card companies are constantly coming up with new perks and reward programs, you’re not crazy. These days, there’s a lot of temptation to open up a new credit card, especially when there are benefits like sign-up bonuses involved. But be careful—you don’t want to open up too many new cards all at once.

What’s more, according to NerdWallet, nearly a third of Americans say the pandemic has changed the way they view credit cards rewards. And it’s mostly due to how complicated these cards and the rewards tend to be. Which could be why more than 50% of people would never apply for a credit card with annual fees.

↦ Meanwhile: What are crypto credit cards and should you get one? NerdWallet has answers.

Supersonic Air Travel Returns

United Airlines orders 15 supersonic jets to cut travel time in half ... some day

I'm excited about this one. United Airlines announced Thursday that it hopes to fly passengers on a new supersonic jetliner by 2029— resurrecting high-speed flights more than two decades after the Concorde was grounded.

The planes will zip travelers around the globe in half the time of traditional flights, for the price of a current first-class ticket. That's New York to London in 3½ hours and San Francisco to Tokyo in just six hours, for about $5,000 to $7,000.

Of course, Jalopnik notes that the company that United partnered with, Boom Supersonic, isn't exactly a household name and hasn't actually built this lovely machine. Boom Supersonic has only built a proof-of-concept plane called the XB-1, which is much smaller and hasn't even gotten off the ground yet.

Some industry observers are skeptical though about the supersonic market. One aviation consultant told the Wall Street Journal that there are only a handful of routes with enough traffic to support enough full-fare premium passengers, and not enough to justify the development and production of a supersonic jetliner.

↦ Added Bonus: The new planes will be carbon neutral and use sustainable air fuel, currently priced at up to eight times traditional petroleum-based jet fuel.

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More Countries Ban Off-Hours Business

Employees want the “right to disconnect”

There were some big upsides to working from home over the past year. But the always-on mentality that comes with WFH life wasn't one of them.

And as remote work and flexible hours become more standard, more and more employees want the “right to disconnect” from their workplace. Will the U.K. become the next region to ban off-hours communication from your boss?

According to the BBC, that's the hope of the trade union Prospect, which is asking the British government to make it officially a law. Several European and Asian countries have legislation on the books drawing a line between work life and home life.

That line has clearly been blurred during the pandemic. In the U.K., the Office for National Statistics suggests that time saved from commuting in the last year was offset by an average of six hours of unpaid overtime that employees were performing each week.

Mind the Hug Gap

As the vaccinated eagerly embrace, not everyone is thrilled

After months of isolating, hand sanitizing, and COVID testing, physical contact seems to be a bridge that some people simply aren't ready to cross. For others, that vaccine has provided a green light for casual platonic affection.

The hugs are coming. But according to Buzzfeed News, trying to abstain from such a common practice can be challenging. With offices reopening and friends finally meeting, questions arise: “What do we do? How do we approach our clients? How do we approach each other? Are there ground rules?”

Of course, etiquette, at the end of the day, is about thinking of other people, and what makes other people comfortable. So at this crossroads moment, it's perfectly fine to ask questions and state your personal boundaries.

But there's a reason why humans go in for the hug. According to a doctor who spoke with the Washington Post, a good hug, like a massage, “involves stimulation and pressure receptors, and when that happens, the whole nervous system slows down and stress hormone is reduced.”

↦ A Thought: There are, of course, more terrifying events in life than those milliseconds where you try to work out if you are expected to lean in for a hug. But it's still awkward.

In Other News

↦ U.S. Jobless Claims Drop to 385,000, Another Pandemic Low

↦ Paris Will Ban Through Traffic in City Center

↦ A Rare Coin and 5 Stamps Could Fetch a Whopping $37 Million at Auction Next Week

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Sneaker subscriptions

Gender identity terms

The Kennedy Center Honors

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This Protein Bar Does What Others Can’t

It’s more than nutrition, it’s a secret weapon

I'm actually writing this from a plane, after having gotten up two hours before my normal alarm. I rushed through the airport and skipped the obligatory junk food in favor of an IQBAR—seriously. Because not only are they tasty (these aren't your ordinary, run-of-the-mill flavors), but they work exactly as advertised.

While a lot of protein bars sneak in a bunch of unnecessary fillers and sugars, IQBARs are specially formulated with clean ingredients that are rich in compounds shown to benefit the brain and body. And their sampler pack is the perfect place to start exploring IQBAR.

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Modern Icon: Timothée Chalamet

Every generation has that one actor who’s equal parts talented and dreamy (think Leo in Titanic). There's no doubt that this time around, the mantle has fallen squarely on the shoulders of Timothée Chalamet—who has captured the admiration and interest of fans and stans galore with his arresting performances in everything from Call Me By Your Name to The King over the past few years.

But when he's not busy hosting Saturday Night Live or jetting around the globe, Chalamet has been known to pull off some of the best celebrity outfits in recent memory.

↦ Get the Look: Timothée Chalamet