Raphael Stevens

Marco_Piunti | iStock | Getty ImagesMajor airlines are racing to add new trans-Atlantic service now that tourist-reliant countries like Croatia, Greece, Iceland and Italy have started allowing visitors from the U.S. and other nations for the first time in a year.Delta Air Lines started service to Reykjavik, Iceland from Boston on May 20. It then restarted nonstops to the Icelandic capital from Minneapolis a week later. Service from New York started May 1. United Airlines’ first service to Dubrovnik starts July 1 from its Newark, New Jersey hub. The airline plans to add July-October flights to Athens from Washington-Dulles next month on top of its service from Newark that started earlier this month.Carriers are also beefing up schedules to Spain, Portugal and Italy as those countries open up, too. American Airlines, for example, pushed up service from Philadelphia to Athens to the second half of August, and to Rome from both Philadelphia and Chicago in September — routes it expected to resume next summer.The European Union this week recommended adding the United States to a list of safe origin countries, which could make it easier for U.S. visitors to enter the 27-country bloc this summer. The EU banned them since early in the pandemic and the change is fueling airlines’ efforts to avoid another lost European summer.The quick flight launches show airlines’ scramble to drive up revenue and stem pandemic losses that total more than $32 billion for Delta, United and American combined.Airlines generally like to unveil new international destinations with fanfare several months and sometimes close to a year in advance. The long lead time gives airline marketing departments time to spark customer interest with campaigns featuring images of sun-soaked cobblestone streets or sweeping views of the Adriatic Sea. It also gives government affairs and airport teams time to secure permits and contractors to handle everything from check-in to wheelchair service to fuel on the ground long before the first flights take off.That’s out the window in the pandemic era. Airlines instead have been waiting for green lights from governments to lift travel restrictions to help rebuild international networks. Travelers have also waited longer before booking because of uncertainty caused by the pandemic.American would normally take about a year to launch a new international route like its new Miami to Tel Aviv, said Brian Znotins, American Airlines’ vice president of network and schedule planning. Planning new routes involves hundreds of employees, he said.”Those timelines have all been compressed. People weren’t booking eight and 12 months in advance. They were booking two to three months in advance,” said Znotins. His team is “moving at light speed.”Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of international network and alliances, said demand for Dubrovnik Croatia, a new market for United, was so high after the airline announced it, he called up the carrier’s vice president of global airport operations, David Kinzelman, with a request: “I would like to start it a week earlier. Can you do it?””We’re loading it relatively late and we’re putting it out there on the hope that people will book,” Quayle said. He said that demand for Croatia, Greece and Iceland has “dwarfed” demand to the U.K., which is usually its biggest trans-Atlantic destination, “because those three countries were first out of the gate.”Domestic leisure bookings this summer are near 2019 levels — with fares to match — but usually lucrative international travel continues to lag as many travel restrictions remain in place. That has forced U.S. carriers to focus more on U.S. destinations, where, in some cases they’ve deployed their largest jets that would normally fly across oceans.United said its international capacity this July is 36% of its total, down from a 45% share in 2019. And its domestic flights are only a quarter lower than two years ago, while international capacity is off by twice as much.But demand is rising for trips to Europe. Fare-tracking app Hopper said Friday that searches for Europe flights have nearly doubled from this time last month. Travel site Kayak said searches for European travel searches are down 11% compared with 2019 and that July airfares between the U.S. and Europe are averaging $929, about 6% below fares two years ago.Even as airlines add more service to Europe, demand and service are still off 2019 levels because the U.S. still bars most non-citizens who have been either in the European Union or the U.K. in the last two weeks, despite pleas from the airline and travel industry to governments on both sides of the Atlantic. U.S. citizens can visit the U.K. but still have to quarantine.But airlines are looking for any flights they can launch, and their starting point is very low.Passenger volumes between the U.S. and the top 25 destination countries in May were down more than 90% from 2019, with numbers between the United States and Italy, the U.K. and Spain down 95% or more, according to Airlines for America, an industry trade group that represents most large U.S. carriers.Covid travel restrictions have also posed challenges to airlines as they set up new flights with organizing on-the-ground facilities and staff remotely.Kinzelman, United’s global airports vice president, said that was the case ahead of the airline’s launch of Dulles to Accra, Ghana flights this year.”We couldn’t get people who normally would travel in ahead to do site audit and station visit,” he said. “In many cases just videos like this where we would say: Take your camera and let’s walk through the space. What’s a customer experience going to look like? And it was super helpful.”Kinzelman added the airline wouldn’t want to do that indefinitely but said “necessity is the mother of invention.” More

A 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L scales a rocky hill at Stellantis’ Chelsea Proving Grounds in Michigan.Michael Wayland / CNBCCHELSEA, Mich. – Jim Morrison smiles as he hears the piercing noise of rocks scraping the undercarriage of the Jeep he’s driving.”The most important thing for us at Jeep is to prove our capability,” he says scaling a rock hill at a proving ground for Stellantis, Jeep’s parent company. “That’s what took us a bit longer than everybody else. It had to be a true Jeep first.”The vehicle Morrison, vice president of Jeep’s North American operations, is driving is the 2021 Grand Cherokee L. It’s a new model for the brand that’s scheduled to arrive in showrooms next week as Jeep’s first three-row vehicle in more than a decade.By expanding the Grand Cherokee from a two-row to three-row SUV, Jeep is seeking to attract new buyers and retain current owners who previously had to leave the brand if they wanted a bigger vehicle. It’s a key growth area for the brand amid an influx of new competitors such as the well-received Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade SUVs.”It’s going to really help us grow the top-end of the business , which is good to attract new customers,” Morrison said, adding the Grand Cherokee already has a customer loyalty rate of nearly 50%.”That’s good for the profitability of the company.”Higher profitsAverage pricing for the Grand Cherokee is always near the top of the midsize SUV segment against many vehicles with three rows, according to data from Cox Automotive.Adding the Grand Cherokee L will push the SUV’s average pricing and profits even higher, according to Matt Degen, an editor with the automotive data and insights company.”They’ve needed this vehicle,” he said. “Making the Grand Cherokee a three-row SUV is really a no brainer for the brand.”Jim Morrison, vice president of Jeep in North America, speaks June 11, 2021 during an event for the new Grand Cherokee L SUV in Detroit.Michael Wayland / CNBCStarting pricing for the Grand Cherokee L will be between about $37,000 and $66,000. The top-end pricing is about $9,000 over a comparable two-row model of the current vehicle.The average price a consumer paid for a Grand Cherokee last month was $45,694, according to Cox. That’s already about $2,600 higher than the average midsize SUV.1 million sales?Prior to the coronavirus pandemic shuttering assembly plants last year, Jeep’s U.S. sales had topped 900,000 SUVs for two consecutive years.Degen believes Jeep’s domestic sales could top 1 million in the foreseeable future with the additions of the Grand Cherokee L as well as the larger Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer SUVs that are scheduled to go on sale later this year.Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, is significantly expanding Jeep production in the U.S. The automaker spent $1.6 billion to convert a former engine complex into a full assembly plant for the 2021 Grand Cherokee. It was the city’s first new assembly plant in 30 years.Workers at Stellantis’ Detroit Assembly plant which produces the new 2021 Grand Cherokee L, a new three-row SUV.Michael Wayland | CNBCThe automaker also is adding production of the Wagoneer models at a plant in suburban Detroit, bringing the number of plants producing Jeeps in the U.S. to six.”Jeep is one of those crown jewels among automotive brands,” Degen said. “The Jeep brand itself is really, really important to Stellantis overall, especially for American sales.”By the end of this year, Jeep is expected to expand its lineup from six vehicles to nine, including the Grand Cherokee L and Wagoneer vehicles. That excludes new plug-in hybrid models such as the current Wrangler 4xe and upcoming Grand Cherokee.Grand Cherokee LThe 2021 Grand Cherokee L is recognizable as a Jeep but features a new exterior design with horizonal LED daytime running lights, a wider seven-slot grille and other design elements that debuted last year on the company’s Grand Wagoneer SUV concept.2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee LFiat ChryslerThe vehicle comes standard with a 3.6-liter V-6 engine with 290 horsepower and 257 lb.-ft. of torque. A 5.7-liter V-8 engine rated at 357 horsepower and 390 foot-pounds of torque also will be available.The interior of the Grand Cherokee L features 8.4-inch or 10.1-inch touchscreen displays as well as a 10.25-inch frameless digital driver information screen behind the steering wheel. It is available in six-seat and seven-seat configurations.The company also plans to offer hands-free driving technology in the vehicle in late-2021 on 2022 model-year vehicles. More

ljubaphoto | E+ | Getty ImagesLike much of the travel and hospitality industry, travel agents took a huge hit when the pandemic struck in March 2020.However, after months of struggle and setbacks, a potential silver lining has emerged: Travel advisors’ effective advocacy for clients stranded or stymied during the global lockdown has now become perhaps their strongest selling point.”The bottom line is that the adversity of the last 15 months is not without some value,” said James Ferrara, co-founder and president of the Delray Beach, Florida-based InteleTravel network of some 60,000 home-based travel advisors. “For us, it drove customers back to a respect for professional advice and assistance.”I don’t want to sound callous in any way; I’m very empathetic,” he cautioned. “I just want people to understand that you can use a travel agent.”That’s because when Ferrara got into the business three decades ago, he saw a survey that “put travel agents somewhere below used car salesmen in terms of trust, credibility and value,” he said. “We’ve come a long way from that, and the last year has accelerated that.”More from Personal Finance:Travel advisors share theme park trip tips as industry reopensPrice trumps pandemic fears as Americans book travel againSun Belt beach, city stays top travelers summer wish listsEven before the crisis, some travelers remained loyal to advisors. “Before all of this, [planning] felt like an overwhelming process for clients who’d come to me,” said travel advisor Mike Rubinstein, owner and director of travel firm UprouteMe in Los Angeles. “They were staring at their computers, trying to sift through the mounds of information, misinformation and disinformation as far as travel goes, so I was always a help to them.”But now, more than ever, with this added layer [of crisis], I think there’s just so much value added in coming to a travel planner.”Jessica Griscavage, an advisor and director of marketing at McCabe World Travel in McLean, Virginia, recalls answering her mobile on a Friday night at the onset of the pandemic. It was her contact at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Anguilla informing her that her client shouldn’t head to the airport in the morning because the Caribbean island had just closed its borders.”The next day, we booked that client on a driving trip to Florida instead,” she said. “We were not only fighting for our clients and working to get them refunds and date changes — for those who were still willing to travel, we switched gears and got them to do something else.”Griscavage said March and April of 2020 were the two worst months of her entire career. “It happened right at spring break time, which was going to be my best spring break on record,” she said. “I was thinking ‘This is going to go away in a month and a half; it’s Zika [virus] all over again.'”Instead, lockdowns continued from spring into summer and beyond. Rubinstein said his last client traveled in February 2020. “I literally had to close down for a year to keep afloat and try to figure out how to restructure my processes,” he said, adding he enrolled in a six-month paralegal course at UCLA in case travel didn’t bounce back.Through it all, “we were just refunding and refunding, and we were fighting for our clients,” said Griscavage.Despite that nonstop advocacy, travel advisors — for the most part, women operating small businesses — didn’t get paid when clients didn’t travel, noted Zane Kerby, CEO of the American Society of Travel Advisors in Alexandria, Virginia. “Our members keep planning, replanning and rebooking, so they’re doing more work and still not being paid for it,” he said. “The pandemic revealed a real weakness in the compensation structure for travel advisors.”While there was a big push in many regions to support local shops, bars and restaurants amid lockdown, “people forgot about the other side of the hospitality industry, from the flight attendant and travel advisor to the [hotel] housekeeper,” Griscavage said. “It impacted our industry in a really bad way.”Advisors weren’t always the endangered species they sometimes seem. Once upon a time, back in the pre-internet era, you’d take a short trip to a travel agency before setting out on a family vacation or business trip. Few people had the travel know-how or connections to book airfare, hotels stays or tour packages on their own, and travel agents would handle it all for you free of charge.If you didn’t understand the value of a travel advisor before, you certainly do now.Zane KerbyCEO of the American Society of Travel AdvisorsWith the dawn of so-called online travel agencies, discount consolidator sites and travel supplier web portals in the late 1990s, consumers were able to book much of their travel themselves, at home, sometimes saving money in the process. (Gen Xers, who came of age as online agencies debuted, “were really the culprits here,” said Ferrara. ) Suppliers even started to cut travel advisor commissions altogether.Using the internet cut out “the middleman” — i.e., the travel advisor, who was paid a commission by airlines, hotel chains and tour operators — so suppliers could offer seeming bargains at their own self-service sites or at online travel agencies. Problems arose, however, with unforeseen bumps in the road — natural disasters, political crises, industry strikes — and then travelers largely had to fend for themselves.And what a bump Covid turned out to be. “When the pandemic hit, literally months of planning — for destination weddings, 50-year anniversary trips, these type of things — all this wonderful work was really all just for naught,” said Kerby. “Everything was just canceled in a matter of days — and with it, the modest commissions our members make to feed their families disappeared.”But advisors’ work has continued. Ferrara said travel supplier cancellation and change policies changed weekly, their telephone lines were jammed and travel insurance claims had to be examined.”Rules and regulations seem to change overnight,” Kerby said, citing a daily airline update he gets about safety, testing requirements and even local curfews that most travelers aren’t aware of. “That’s why the role of the travel advisor is more crucial than ever.”The consumer they’re advocating for doesn’t have a relationship with all the various suppliers necessary in order to put together a really successful trip.”And that’s worth paying for, he noted. When commissions began to be slashed two decades ago, some advisors introduced planning fees. “Some — not enough — of our members are charging service fees, which we completely believe in because they do all this work up front,” said Kerby.And it’s work in the average traveler’s best interest, according Erika Richter, ASTA’s senior director of communications. “Travel advisors aren’t only for super-luxury or the super-rich, and they’re not pushing you in one direction and marking money off the back,” she said. “The value is there.”Kerby said if advisors of yesteryear were unclear whom they worked for, commission cuts clarified things. “Even if they didn’t know it then, and they now do, we are advisors to the consumer.”According to Griscavage, advisors today often charge a fee to book airline tickets — “they’re earning every penny,” she said —  despite the ability to book yourself online because flights are constantly changing these days. “A client of mine was about to board a flight to Hawaii and it got canceled the night before,” she added. “So there is huge value in paying a service fee for airfares.”She also charges what she calls a “plan-to-go” fee, which the client loses only if they ultimately do not travel. “Going forward, you’re going to see more [advisor] fees, but I do think people need to keep in mind that if they don’t travel, we’re not compensated.”According to Ferrara, only a small percentage of InteleTravel’s home-based agents, usually top-selling ones, charge fees “as a way to be more efficient with their time.””It usually filters out the lookers,” he said, referring to window-shopping would-be travelers. Typical travel advisor fees can run as high as $500; some professionals, usually those focused on luxury, also require a daily minimum spending from clients when putting together a trip.Griscavage requires no minimum but the average is $250. Richter said advisor fees have so many variables that “there’s no one-size-fits-all.””How many people are you bringing? Where are you from? It’s complex,” she added. “But it’s something that we have to address and that we’re happy to, because the value is there. And we’re really encouraged to see that more people are seeing that value.”Whether or not to pay for travel advice is just a matter of how much travelers’ own time matters to them, Griscavage said. “We always say time is your most valuable asset, and that’s what we’re helping with here,” she said. “I’ve been on hold with a tour operator for two hours just to get an answer for my clients; that was two hours that the client didn’t have to do anything.”I think anyone who’s come through the last year would be crazy to book travel without a travel professional.James FerraraPresident of InteleTravelThe message seems to be getting through. According to Kerby, as travel bookings start to tick up once again, 30% to 40% of business now is from first-time users of advisor services.For example, this year’s The American Express Travel: Global Travel Trends Report found that 59% of travelers surveyed plan to use a travel advisor to book their next vacation. A survey from ASTA and Montego Bay, Jamaica-based Sandals Resorts, meanwhile, found that while 27% of travelers always or often used an advisor prior to Covid and 44% say they are more likely to do so following the pandemic. In addition, 94% of longtime clients plan to continue to use their travel advisor.”The future is bright,” Kerby said. “If you didn’t understand the value of a travel advisor before, you certainly do now because you realize how thin the response mechanisms are for some [travel] suppliers.”He recalled stories of cruise ships unable to dock in ports last year amid Covid outbreaks onboard. “The people who’d booked with a travel advisor didn’t worry at all,” Kerby said. “Those who’d booked on their own were on the phone and Internet incurring extraordinarily high charges trying to figure out how to get home.”Kerby said the former ASTA tagline was “Without a travel agent, you’re on your own.” The pandemic, he said, ultimately proved it correct. “Once you go and use one, you understand the value implicitly.”Ferrara is even more blunt: “I think anyone who’s come through the last year would be crazy to book travel without a travel professional.” More

Good Sport beverageSource: Good SportIt started as a secret between Michelle McBride, her son, Beau, and the business idea derived from drinking milk.McBride, 48, is the founder of GoodSport, a sports hydration drink made from milk elements. The beverage company launched in February, and after a solid start, GoodSport will seek up to $15 million in its funding round.In an interview with CNBC, McBride said her product is a “truly effective hydration” sports beverage made from cow’s milk. Early investors of the company include Major League Baseball legend Ken Griffey Jr. and former San Francisco 49ers icon Ronnie Lott.”I wasn’t trying to do something cool with milk,” McBride said. “I made it from milk because it’s the vehicle that allows us to provide superior hydration because it’s packed with electrolytes, vitamins, and carbohydrates. There’s not anything else like it.”The chocolate milk theory  McBride, a former attorney, said she searched for sports drinks that didn’t include artificial ingredients. Her son Beau is a young athlete who’s concerned about his hydration while playing baseball in high temperatures. McBride wanted to be cautious. After failing to find a sports drink they both liked, McBride researched and found chocolate milk helps hydration in athletes. So she started giving it to Beau after baseball practice.”When I did some research, I learned that it was packed with electrolytes,” McBride said. “I didn’t know, and not a lot of people do know, because that’s not what people focus on when it comes to milk.”Good Sport founder Michelle McBrideSource: Good SportWhile chocolate milk may be a good choice, it still didn’t meet other expectations.The protein in milk isn’t good while playing sports. It sits in an athlete’s stomach and can cause discomfort during exercise. And it’s not very refreshing to drink milk after sports, even if it helps with hydration.Returning from Beau’s basketball practice, McBride pitched the idea of creating a sports drink –a more refreshing version of milk. Beau approved, and the two agreed to keep it a secret.”I said, ‘Don’t tell anyone,'” McBride recalled, adding that even her husband, Jim, wasn’t initially in on the secret for months. “We called it, ‘Sports Milk.'”Eventually, that name became GoodSport.McBride quit her job at a non-profit organization and started research and development on the drink. GoodSport ultrafilters elements from milk, removing remaining proteins after farmers’ initial filtering. Essentially, it’s the part of milk that farmers don’t need. McBride labels it the “goodness of milk.””What you’re left with is a clear part of the milk that is packed with electrolytes, vitamins, and the right balance of carbohydrates that we can use to make a sports drink,” she said. “I didn’t start in the dairy industry,” McBride added. “I was a true consumer in need and wanted a natural sports drink that provided truly effective hydration. It just so happened that milk made that possible.”The secret’s outMcBride collaborated with the former director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, Dr. Bob Murray, and the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin to develop GoodSport. The company is now based in Chicago and wants to expand.GoodSports has six employees, is distributed locally, and launched on Amazon.com in March. There are currently four flavors available, and a 12-pack of GoodSport, at 16.9 ounces, is priced at $34.99 on the website. McBride didn’t provide financials around the company but said sales are “great so far” and that “the feedback from consumers has been overwhelmingly positive.”McBride said retail stores expressed “enthusiasm” about GoodSport, adding “they love the idea and the taste.”She sent CNBC samples of the product. A noticeable difference: GoodSport tastes less salty compared to other top sports beverages. And it doesn’t feel like you’re drinking milk. It’s refreshing and lactose-free.GoodSport wants to expand to Midwest states and use the new capital to launch additional flavors and fund “upfront costs such as production, distribution, and marketing.”McBride said Griffey Jr. and Lott are good partners, noting the former athletes “understand the product, the size of the market and our fit within it. But they align with and embrace the ethos of the brand.”Former MLB star Ken Griffey Jr. talks with players from the dugout of the National League team during the fourth inning against the American league team during the All-Stars Futures Game at Progressive Field on July 07, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio.Jason Miller | Getty ImagesLearning from the pastThe sports beverage market is projected to reach $36 billion by 2028, according to global research firm Fortune Business Insights. The U.S. market is dominated by Pepsi-owned Gatorade and Coca-Cola products. But, athletes, including National Basketball Association star Giannis Antetokounmpo and NFL star Aaron Donald (Ready Nutrition), have joined the space, too. So, McBride knows the field is competitive. She’s using her experience from practicing law to navigate the sector.”A legal background gives you a way of looking at things and having the perspective to identify issues that need to be resolved and then coming up with plans to resolve them,” McBride said.”I’m keenly aware of the fact that there aren’t many female sports drink founders,” she added. “It’s a tough category, but the whole process itself – turning milk into a sports drink – was tough. That’s not going to deter me.”At the moment, GoodSport has no plans to attempt a vegan line with popular oat milk products. McBride isn’t looking to compete with the top brands, either. Launching nationally and carving out her place in the sports beverage industry will suffice.”Even if we have a small slice of it (market share), we’ll have a very successful business,” McBride said. “We’ll hit our numbers. We’ll be a great investment opportunity.” More

Tom Werner | DigitalVision | Getty ImagesRetailers are making it easier than ever to make purchases with “buy now, pay later” loans.Also known as point-of-sale installment loans, they are a type of short-term financing that allow you to divide your purchases into monthly installments. Services that offer them, like Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay and Quadpay, are becoming more popular as consumers look to spread out the payments on large acquisitions, without using a credit card.”Buy now, pay later” in the U.S. grew 215% year over year in the first two months of 2021, according to an Adobe analysis. The lenders partner with retailers like Macy’s, Walmart and Peloton to offer their services.Yet before you sign up, proceed with caution. While you may be tempted with a low — or zero percent —interest rate and an easy application process, make sure you read the fine print.”It’s important to take the time to at least understand the most important details of what you’re applying for before you apply,” said Matt Schulz, chief industry analyst at LendingTree.”What you don’t know can end up costing you some money.”Here’s what to look for before you commit.Beware of overspendingThe mere use of “buy now, pay later” loans could lead you to overspending.Two-thirds of those who have used the financing said it caused them to spend more money than they would have otherwise, a LendingTree survey of 1,040 Americans found. Almost half said they wouldn’t have made their purchase if they didn’t have the option to finance.More from Invest in You:Credit report errors aren’t uncommon. Here’s how to fix those mistakes7 ways to save money on summer travelHow to resist the urge to splurge in a post-pandemic spending spree”The easier it is for people to get financing, the easier it is for somebody to overspend — especially if you are somebody who is getting a lot of these loans,” Schulz said.”Then, there is definitely the risk of overextending yourself.”Interest rates and fees”Buy now, pay later” loans have interest rates similar to those of retail credit cards, which means the APR could be as high as 30%. However, some offer promotional interest-free installment.”If you pay your balance off on time, in accordance with the installment plan, then these things can be really, really cheap and basically interest-free,” Schulz said.”When you don’t pay it on time or you make some other mistake, that is when things can get a little dicey.”You may no longer have an interest-free loan and you could be slapped with a late fee.There are also those who look to “buy now, pay later” options because they won’t qualify for a credit card, due to bad or a lack of credit. Generally, “buy now, pay later” lenders have less stringent credit checks, said Bruce McClary, senior vice president for communications at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.”If you are in that situation, the ticket to entry may come at a high price,” he said. “There may be fees or higher interest rates that you will have to deal with as a result of that.”Watch the due datesTypically, you pay your credit card bill once a month. With a “buy now, pay later” loan, you may have a bill due every two weeks, Schulz said.The unusual cadence could make it easy to forget to pay, which may then mean late fees.You may not be building creditSome “buy now, pay later” lenders don’t report your on-time payments to the credit reporting companies.”It’s easy to get your foot in the door, but getting into the door doesn’t mean you’re helping to build a credit history for yourself,” McClary said.However, they’ll let the credit reporting companies know if you’ve missed a payment.If your intent is to build credit, make sure you understand how the particular lender handles it.The allureInterest-free payment installments can be attractive — and harmless, as long as you stick with the plan. The application process is easy and doesn’t rely as heavily on past credit history, in general. They are also appealing to those who may not like credit cards.”People like these because they can be similar, more straightforward and provide more clarity than your average credit card,” Schulz said.They are also finite, unlike credit cards.”Once you have paid them off, you are done with it,” Schulz noted.”You don’t have to worry about managing available credit and worrying about the lure of going on a spending spree once you are finished paying off the loan.”SIGN UP: Money 101 is an 8-week learning course to financial freedom, delivered weekly to your inbox.CHECK OUT: 3 side hustle apps that could help you earn money — including one that’s ‘surprisingly lucrative’ via Grow with Acorns+CNBCDisclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns. More

In this articleCCLHWith more workers now returning to offices, it won’t be long until business travel also resumes, according to Hyatt Hotels CEO Mark Hoplamazian.”We are already seeing the signs of people starting to travel for work in a more affirmative way, a more significant way,” Hoplamazian said in an interview during CNBC’s Evolve Global Summit on Wednesday.”Most of the bankers, consultants and lawyers that I’m talking to are gearing up to be back on the road, so I think that will really take hold in a more affirmative way in the fall,” he said.Hyatt Hotels has seen a boon in bookings as travelers are now more willing to go on a vacation as the pandemic has waned. Its entire chain will see about 90% of the business it saw in 2019 during the two-week period around July 4.Much of that has been focused around resorts, which Hoplamazian said “are back with a vengeance.” Hyatt’s resorts are about 30% above where they were in 2019 over that same holiday period.Four in ten Americas say they intend to take a vacation that would involve a flight or a hotel booking between Memorial Day and the end of September, according to a survey from Deloitte. That compares to 42% in 2019, highlighting the post-pandemic travel rebound.People walk around the International Hotel Grand Hyatt during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic on May 21, 2020 in New York City.VIEW press | Corbis News | Getty ImagesThe drag for Hyatt has been cities and primarily cities in the North, with Hoplamazian singling out “gateway cities … that have a lot of international travel as part of their guest base over time,” including New York, Chicago and San Francisco.While this part of the year is typically a weaker time for business travel regardless, Hyatt is seeing encouraging signs.”Tech companies are talking about having mandatory office day weeks and getting back to work, and importantly getting back to travel,” Hoplamazian said.Cruise industry reboundingCarnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald said that while the cruise industry is not yet at the same point hotel resorts are at in terms of a high level of bookings, the company is “looking forward to be in a similar position very soon.””We’re extremely excited about a July restart here in the U.S.,” Donald said at the CNBC Evolve Global Summit, noting its fleet has been sailing in Europe since Fall 2020. “We have robust bookings and pent-up demand.”Carnival will be requiring passengers to show proof they are vaccinated in accordance with CDC guidelines.The CDC recently eased its warnings for cruises from the highest level, but it did recommend only fully vaccinated people take trips when sailing resumes in the U.S. Earlier this week, Royal Caribbean Group had to delay the first voyage of its Odyssey of the Seas ship after eight crew members tested positive for Covid-19.Carnival’s decision, however, puts it at odds with recent laws banning so-called vaccine passports in Florida and Texas, where its ships will depart from.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has threatened cruise operators with fines up to $5,000 per passenger if they have a proof of vaccine requirement.Asked if Carnival would be willing to pay a fine, Donald said that the company’s highest responsibility and top priorities were “compliance, environmental protection, all safety and wellbeing for everyone.””We’re going to have to comply with everybody, we’re going to have to comply with Florida and with the destinations we go to, with the CDC, with other regulatory bodies similar to the CDC around the world, and we’re confident everything will get worked out,” he said. “I’m not anticipating we’ll ever have to pay a fine, I’m confident we’ll work stuff out with the governor, the CDC and the industry.”  More

President Joe Biden speaks about reaching 300 million COVID-19 vaccination shots, in the State Dining Room of the White House, Friday, June 18, 2021, in Washington.Evan Vucci | APPresident Joe Biden on Friday doubled down on his administration’s plea to Americans to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as quickly as possible, warning the highly transmissible delta variant appears to be “particularly dangerous” for young people.”The data is clear: If you are unvaccinated, you’re at risk of getting seriously ill or dying or spreading it,” Biden said during a news conference from the White House.Delta, the Covid variant first identified in India, “will leave unvaccinated people even more vulnerable than they were a month ago,” he added. “It is a variant that is more easily transmissible, potentially deadlier and particularly dangerous for young people.”Biden said the best way young people can protect themselves is to get fully vaccinated.”Please, please if you have one shot, get the second shot as soon as you can,” he said.CNBC Health & Science Read CNBC’s latest global coverage of the Covid pandemic:Biden says delta Covid variant is ‘particularly dangerous’ for young peopleWHO says delta is becoming the dominant Covid variant globally  New Covid study hints at long-term loss of brain tissue, Dr. Scott Gottlieb warnsFive years before a vaccine can ‘hold the line’ against Covid variants, England’s medical chief says President Biden’s Fourth of July Covid vaccination goals are in jeopardy The president’s comments come as his administration’s latest goal – to get 70% of U.S. adults partially vaccinated by the Fourth of July – is on track to fall short as the pace of inoculations slows.The World Health Organization’s chief scientist said earlier Friday that delta is becoming the dominant strain of the disease worldwide. That’s because of its “significantly increased transmissibility,” Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO’s chief scientist, said during a news conference.Studies suggest delta is around 60% more transmissible than alpha, the variant first identified in the United Kingdom that was more contagious than the original strain that emerged from Wuhan, China, in late 2019.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky also said Friday that she expects delta to become the dominant variant in the United States and urged people to get vaccinated. The variant now makes up 10% of all new cases in the United States, up from 6% last week, according to the data from CDC.”As worrisome as this delta strain is with regard to its hyper transmissibility, our vaccines work,” Walensky told the ABC program “Good Morning America.” If you get vaccinated, “you’ll be protected against this delta variant,” she added.Health experts say the delta strain is particularly worrisome for young people, many of whom have yet to get vaccinated. While scientists still don’t know whether delta causes more severe symptoms, there are signs that it could provoke different symptoms than other variants.Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said the delta variant has essentially replaced alpha, the variant that swept across Europe and later the U.S. earlier this year. He said as the virus continues to mutate, the U.S. will need a higher percentage of the population vaccinated.”How much more information do we need to see that this virus mutates and creates viruses that are more contagious?” said Offit, also a member of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. “We need to vaccinate now. Get everyone vaccinated now.”As of Friday, more than 176 million Americans, or 53.1% of the population, have had at least one shot, according to data compiled by the CDC. More than 148 million Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the agency.States have offering incentives ranging from free beer to $1 million lotteries to try to convince Americans to get jabbed. On Friday, Biden touted some of those incentives, including that most pharmacies are offering 24-hour services on select days for the month of June. More

In this articleARKKCNBC’s Jim Cramer said Friday that Ark Invest’s stock-moving influence appears to be waning — at least for now.Ark Invest’s family of exchange-traded funds were some of the best performers on Wall Street last year, but have not fared well in 2021 as investors rotated away from high-growth stocks and into economic recovery plays. The “Mad Money” host said as the funds run by star money manager Cathie Wood’s firm struggled, the amount of outflows started to pick up. That has implications for the stocks that are components of the ETFs, Cramer said. “It seems pretty clear that the Ark Invest phenomenon is no longer in play,” Cramer said. “We’re not seeing major outflows here, but the era of Cathie Wood propping these stocks up with her own buying bazooka, I think, it appears to be over.”The opposite was true last year as investors started to notice how well Wood’s family of funds was performing, Cramer said, leading the firm to see a massive wave of inflows and new firepower to deploy into the market.Cramer noted that Ark’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF have started to perform better recently as growth stocks returned to favor. Indeed, the fund is up about 2.4% over the past 5 days, while the S&P 500, by comparison, is down 1.9%.ARK Innovation also rose 6% between June 7 and June 11.”Here’s the bottom line: when you look at the fund flows, Ark Invest’s no longer propping up the turbo-charged growth stocks, which makes their recent rebound feel a lot more significant to me,” Cramer said.”Maybe if this group keeps climbing, Cathie Wood can get her bazooka back, but until then the ‘WoodStocks’ will rise or fall on their own.”Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBCWant to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter – Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – InstagramQuestions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? [email protected] More