The Daily Valet. - 7/1/22, Friday

✔️ Read This Before Traveling

Friday, July 1st Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

I love to travel, but I’m not the best sport when it comes to travel delays.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

↦ We will be off on Monday, observing the 4th of July.
↦ Have a fun (and safe) holiday weekend and we’ll see you back here on Tuesday ... with an exciting announcement.

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Summer Travel Will Be Tough

This is a vacation. It’s not supposed to be miserable.

Summer 2022 is being called the season of “revenge travel.” Since everyone’s mad that their 2021 travel plans were cut short or completely ruined thanks to the pandemic, they’re booking trips to make up for lost time.

But by noon on Thursday, well over 2,000 flights had been canceled across the world and north of 16,000 were delayed, according to FlightAware. This is coming off a whopping 23,045 delays and 2,471 cancellations the day before. So there’s no reason to believe that things are miraculously going to clear up going into the holiday weekend.

Delays and cancelations are almost double what they were last year and some industry executives don’t see a meaningful improvement before fall when travel demand tends to slow down. Which means these damn staffing shortages and fewer flights will continue—leading to more disruptions and casting an ugly shadow over everyone’s planned summer trips.

But it’s not just flying. According to By the Way, travelers are also encountering high gas prices, pricey hotels and vacation rentals, and extreme weather events. (Of course, there’s still the persistent threat of COVID hanging around too.) And even those who make it to their destination find that food, alcohol and recreation prices have shot up compared to last year and pre-pandemic times, too.

And if you can believe it, for all the mess domestic travelers are dealing with, many of those crossing the pond to Europe have had it worse. Crippling shortages of security officers, check-in agents and baggage handlers are causing chaos across the continent, compounded by rail and airline strikes.

Of course, if you do find yourself trapped in some version of travel hell, all is not lost. Travel experts advise knowing what you’re entitled to in case you encounter a snafu. And negotiating can net you some serious rewards. InsideHook points out that a waiver is nice, but a $10,000 Visa gift card is even nicer. Which is good to know, because I’m the sucker who always ends up buying overpriced candy at Hudson News.

↦ Dig Deeper: The Verge examines how the TSA created two classes of travelers. (Honestly, whatever privacy I give up for my PreCheck, it’s worth it.)

Indepence Day Facts You Never Knew

I’ll admit, most of my knowledge comes from watching ‘Hamilton’

These days, July 4th is best known for flags and fireworks, backyard barbecues and (like any American holiday) plenty of drinks. It's an essential summertime tradition, but before you break out the sparklers and sunscreen, let's reflect on some lesser known facts—feel free to bring them up and impress people this weekend.

Independence Day is a pivotal date in American history. Except that—like much of U.S. folklore—it's technically wrong. American independence wasn't declared, nor was the Declaration of Independence signed, on July 4. Congressmen voted for independence on July 2, 1776, then spent two days editing Thomas Jefferson's draft of the text. It was finally dated on the 4th, but most delegates signed the document at a ceremony in August and some signed as late as November.

And years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, three founding fathers and former presidents, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Monroe, all died on July 4th. Jefferson and Adams passed on the 50th anniversary of the country in 1826 and Monroe followed in 1831.

But it was always a festive holiday. In the pre-Revolutionary years, colonists had held annual celebrations of the king's birthday. But during the summer of 1776, colonists celebrated the birth of independence by holding mock funerals for King George III. The following year, Philadelphia held the first annual Independence Day event, complete with fireworks. While the war raged on, George Washington issued double rations of rum to all his soldiers to mark the anniversary of independence in 1778. Then, in 1781 (months before the key American victory at the Battle of Yorktown), Massachusetts became the first state to make July 4th an official state holiday.

↦ FYI: Want to watch a film to celebrate? Time Out says even political cynics will be stirred by these patriotic movies and paeans to American virtue.

Partner

The next wave of banking technology is here. Now you can make quick, contactless purchases with a simple tap of your hand.

Spotify Rolls Out New Karaoke Mode

And it’s scoring how well you sing along

Well this is probably coming a couple years too late (we could've used this at the height of COVID lockdowns), but Spotify is launching a karaoke mode.

Now, you can sing along to your favorite tracks, and here's a twist: The app judges your vocal performance and accuracy, lyric-by-lyric. It sounds like it could be a fun party game.

The mode, which is being quietly tested out, has not been formally announced by Spotify yet but has been surfacing through screenshots on social media. Many users have said they updated their apps before having the feature available. Others are still waiting patiently post update.

Mashable reports that Spotify Karaoke will reportedly be available for all subscribers, not just Premium users. Once you have it, you simply tap the “Sing” icon with the microphone next to it. Lyrics will appear on the screen and so will an audio analyzer. The app uses your device's microphone to listen to your voice (a slight privacy flag, perhaps) in order to provide an accuracy score out of 100, depending on how well you've done. Let the home competitions begin!

A Weekend Pairing

‘The Bear’ + a Paloma Cocktail

In the week since its release, The Bear has quickly established itself as the surprise hit of the summer. The FX series has received both rapturous reviews and thirsty, ogling fancams. If you haven't seen it yet, it's about an accomplished young chef named Carmen (Jeremy Allen White) who returns home to run his family's Chicago sandwich shop in the wake of his brother's death.

The show offers an intriguing, character-driven glimpse into the inner workings of a restaurant kitchen through the prism of clashing egos—and a dysfunctional family work unit that somehow pulls it all together when the heat is on. Vulture calls it “instantly compelling, tense, beautiful” and Decider is already asking for a second season. So if you want a show you can start and finish in a long weekend, these entertaining eight episodes should do it.

↦ Your Pairing:In one particularly comical scene, someone “accidentally spikes” the Ecto Cooler at a kid's party. Since we can't get the green citrusy Hi-C, I'm gonna say a sparkling grapefruit and tequila cocktail is the next best thing.

In Other News

↦ Supreme Court Limits EPA in Curbing Power Plant Emissions

↦ The FCC Wants Apple and Google to Remove TikTok From Their App Stores

↦ Here’s Why Netflix Made You Wait a Month to Watch the Rest of ‘Stranger Things’

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

The best way to pack a cooler

The Nerf rocket launcher

Fried chicken buckets

Partner

What If a Debit Card Took the Shape of a Ring?

Introducing the Quontic Pay Ring

You know what's faster and easier than pulling out your wallet or even calling up the digital card on your phone? Fist-bumping. Quontic Bank is the first U.S. bank to offer a payment ring that functions as your debit card. It's available with all Quontic checking accounts, including their 1.10%* APY High Interest checking account.

There's no battery to charge and the ring itself is water and scratch resistant. It's completely secure and works at any payment terminal that accepts contactless payments. Simply curl your fingers as you would if you were going to knock on a door, but do it over the payment terminal.

As a digital bank, Quontic is able to offer some of the best rates in the country for everything from checking and savings accounts to CDs. Named the “Most Innovative Bank of 2021” by Money magazine, they offer all the services of a traditional bank, but because they're online, they're much more convenient and have no monthly maintenance or overdraft fees. And since they're digital first, they're incredibly secure. Your checking account (tied to your ring) is FDIC insured for your protection. So ... you could say that it all has a nice ring to it.

↦ Get It: For a limited time, get the Pay Ring for free when you open a Quontic checking account

* High interest checking account APY rate as of July 1, 2022.