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The Worst Credit Card Mistakes You Should Stop Making

The Worst Credit Card Mistakes You Should Stop Making

There are several important benefits of using a credit card to shop. You can earn rewards, build your credit and take advantage of travel points and perks. But while shopping with a credit card can be convenient, there are also certain risks you need to be aware of.

If you pay a card late or don't pay your balance in full, you can incur fees and extra interest charges that make your purchases more expensive in the long run, especially considering today's rising interest rates, fueled by skyrocketing inflation. You could also wind up jeopardizing your credit score, which could make it harder to buy a house or get a loan.

So what are the biggest mistakes well-meaning people commonly make with their credit cards -- and what can you do to avoid financial pitfalls? I spoke with experts for their suggestions, and identified some of the most dangerous credit card behaviors. For more, learn how to get out of credit card debt and why now is the right time to pay off your credit cards.

Paying your credit card bill late

Missing a payment or making a late payment on a credit card is a major no-no. Colleen McCreary, a consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma, says this is the most common mistake people make with credit cards. Your payment history is a major factor of your credit rating and accounts for more than 30% of your overall score, McCreary said in an email.

A late payment is a one-way ticket to ruining your credit, and the ding on your report won't go away for seven years. Even worse, if your credit card bill remains unpaid, your creditor could sell your debt to a collection agency, which could tank your credit rating.

The best way to avoid late fees is to set a monthly reminder to pay your bill, and at least make the minimum payment. Most credit card companies will also let you set up monthly auto-payments, so you won't skip a beat. If you're worried you may not have enough each month to cover an autopayment, remember you can always set it to pay out the minimum, the full balance or a specified amount.

The credit bureau Experian notes that some credit card issuers may provide a short grace period for late payments, while others will mark your payment late as soon as you miss your due date.

If you do pay your credit card bill on time regularly and accidentally miss one payment, call your bank as soon as possible to see if it will offer one-time forgiveness, provided you pay in full at the time of your call. Your bank might refund your late fee and interest, but it isn't required to do anything.

While some credit card companies may mark your payment late after one day, those late payments are not reported to credit bureaus for 30 days, according to credit reporting company Equifax, If you act quickly to change your issuer's decision to mark your payment late, you could avoid damaging your credit score. If you're unable to pay your bill, you can also ask your issuer if it can create a payment plan for you.

Stop paying your credit card bill late

Sarah Tew/CNET

Maxing out your credit cards

After payment history, the second biggest factor in determining your credit score is the percentage of available credit that you are currently using. Called the "credit utilization ratio," this factor is calculated by dividing the amount you currently owe by your total credit limit, or your maximum borrowing potential.

Maintaining a high balance on your credit card compared to your total credit limit will increase your total percentage of credit used and hurt your credit score.

You usually want to keep your credit utilization ratio under 30% for a good credit score, though less is better. A good rule of thumb is to use 10% of your total credit limit and pay it off each month so you're not carrying a balance. For example, if your credit limit is $5,000, you wouldn't want to borrow more than $1,500 and ideally $500 or less.

If you find your credit card limit is too low -- for example, the amount you want to charge to your card exceeds the total you can charge on a given card -- you can always ask your credit card issuer for an increase.

Maxing out credit cards could also cost you big money if you can't pay off the total by the payment deadline. "The higher your outstanding balance (the amount of money you owe), the more interest you'll pay, which can make it even more difficult to climb out of debt," McCreary said.

Making only the minimum payment on your credit card

Your minimum payment is the lowest amount that your credit card issuer will allow you to pay toward your credit card bill for any given month -- for example, $50. The minimum monthly payment is determined by the balance on your credit card (what you owe at the end of the pay period) and your interest rate. It's generally calculated as either 2 to 4% of your balance, a flat fee or the higher amount between the two. 

Making only minimum payments is one of the most common credit card mistakes, according to Katie Bossler, a quality assurance specialist at GreenPath financial wellness. 

Although making minimum payments on time is still far better than paying late or ignoring your bill, paying only the minimum can cause interest to build, making it much more difficult to pay off your balance completely.

For example, if you have a $2,000 balance with a minimum payment of $50 on a credit card with an APR (annual percentage rate) of 14.55%, it will take 56 months (or almost five years) to pay off your debt, and you'll end up paying a total of $753 in interest. However, if you make a plan to pay the balance off in a year, your payments would be $180, and you'd only pay $161 in interest.

It only gets worse as the APR goes up -- at a relatively high but not unreasonable rate of 25%, a minimum payment of $50 would take 87 months (or a little more than seven years) to pay off a $2,000 debt, with a sizable $2,344 in interest payments. Meanwhile, upping the monthly payments to the same $180 would pay off your debt in 13 months, and cost only $281 in interest.

Here's an example of how making more than minimum payments can save you significant money in interest. 

How minimum payments lead to higher interest

Credit card balance	Annual percentage rate	Monthly payment	Time needed to pay balance	Additional interest paid
$2,000	14.55%	$50	4.7 years	$753
$2,000	14.55%	$180	1 year	$161
$2,000	25%	$50	7.3 years	$2,344
$2,000	25%	$180	1.1 years	$281

The best way to avoid paying any interest at all on your credit cards is to pay off your full balance each month. If you can't do that, Bossler, the quality expert from GreenPath financial advisors, suggests pausing use of the credit card while you're paying it off, and paying more than the minimum to do so.

Taking out a cash advance on your credit card

Withdrawing a cash advance with a credit card is a big mistake. "It's the most expensive way to pay for things," Bossler said. Cash advances are a method of borrowing money from your credit line to put cash in your pocket "now."

Convenient as it may be, a cash advance uses an interest rate that is typically significantly higher than your standard APR. Most cards will also include a transaction fee of 3 to 5%. "This is not the way to go," Bossler said.

If you receive a "convenience check" in the mail from a credit card company, be careful. It could be a cash advance offer that's best tossed in the recycle bin. If you need some extra cash, it might be better to think about starting a side hustle or taking out a personal loan with a lower interest rate. Budgeting apps can also help track your spending, so you can pull back on expenses that can wait.

Chasing credit card rewards with abandon

If you're thinking of opening a new credit card account to get money back on your purchases, you can best manage rewards by considering your lifestyle. Heavy travelers should look for a card with frequent flyer rewards. If you spend a lot of money on groceries or drive your car often, look for cash back rewards for spending at gas stations and grocery stores. 

However, you shouldn't make spending decisions based on receiving rewards. "Credit cards shouldn't be used as a strategy for buying things," Bossler said. Many cards will require a minimum amount of purchases for special rewards, or a welcome bonus to tempt you into spending more than you can afford.

Credit cards with lucrative rewards can also charge higher annual fees, for example, $100 or even $500 a year. If you're not spending enough to earn that annual cost back in rewards, you might consider a card with no annual fee.

Credit card rewards can be a powerful financial tool when used wisely, but you'll need to be careful to avoid running up your balance. Thomas Nitzsche, senior director of Media and Brand at MMI, says he often sees people making the mistake of using credit cards for rewards while ignoring the growing interest on their balance. If you're chasing rewards at the expense of your budget, consider coming up with a plan to pay your balance down instead. 

Your credit score can drop when you cancel your credit cards.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Not paying off big purchases during a 0% APR period

Whether you just opened a 0% APR credit card -- which offers interest-free debt for a specific promotional period -- or a balance transfer card -- a credit card designed to accept debt from other cards -- make sure you read the fine print. Oftentimes, there's a fee to transfer your existing balance, commonly 3% of the balances transferred. Also, the introductory 0% rate only lasts for so long, typically between six and 18 months. That means you've got a limited time to pay off your balance before a higher APR kicks in. (When it does, your monthly interest gets a lot more expensive.)

To create a simple repayment plan, take the amount you owe and divide it by the number of months in your 0% APR promo period. Then pay that amount monthly to completely pay off your balance while you are borrowing without interest. For example, if you buy a $300 TV using a credit card with 0% APR for six months, making $50 monthly payments will eliminate your debt before the no-interest period expires.

Using a 0% intro APR credit card can be a good strategy to pay off your debt or finance a large purchase, but it can be risky, too. While disciplined borrowers can effectively roll balances into new accounts with 0% intro APR, Nitzche says that many people who transfer their credit card balances only make minimum payments, which can result in spiraling debt and damaged credit, leading to a point when they can no longer get approval for new accounts.

Canceling your credit cards

Even if you have paid down your balance on a credit card, there are two big reasons why you shouldn't cancel your account. Closing your account would affect your length of credit history and credit utilization ratio, two important components of your credit score. (Remember, your credit utilization ratio is the percentage of your total available credit lines across all cards you're using.)

If you close an account you're not using, your total available credit line shrinks, making your credit utilization ratio higher.

Canceling older credit cards will also shorten your credit history, leading to a significant drop in your credit score. If you do decide to cancel some of your credit cards, it's best to leave the oldest account open, as well as the one with the highest credit limit to maintain your credit utilization ratio and prevent any damage to your credit score.

It's important to note that with inactivity, credit card issuers may automatically close your account. To avoid this, Nitzche says that it's best to use each of your credit cards once in a while for small purchases.

Applying for too many credit cards

You may have heard this advice before: Don't apply for too many credit cards at once. Each time you apply for a new credit card, your credit score can drop slightly due to a "hard" credit check. 

Hard credit checks require your consent and involve a full credit summary from a credit bureau. "Soft" credit checks occur when you view your credit report or a financial company requests a summary without your consent, and they don't affect your credit score. They're used for purposes such as preapproved credit card offers.

When you authorize lenders to pull your credit history, you'll see a "hard" inquiry on your credit report. According to credit score company MyFICO, a hard pull will lower your credit score by about 5 points. While it will stay on your report for two years, the deduction to your score will usually be eliminated within a year.

Too many hard pulls on your credit in a short amount of time -- for example, applying for five store credit cards in one weekend -- could affect your credit rating more, as multiple inquiries indicate higher risks of insolvency or bankruptcy. Experian suggests waiting at least six months between applying for new lines of credit to avoid lowering your credit score.

Applying for too many credit cards at once can drop your credit score.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Not checking your billing statements regularly

How often do you check your monthly billing statement? It can be an eye opener to see how much money you really charge your credit card, especially if it's routinely more than you bring home each month. 

Spending $20 here and there may not seem like a huge amount, but it can add up quickly. Remember that increasing your credit utilization ratio (your percentage of credit used) will lower your credit score and high balances will cost you more in interest. Plus, how do you know how much you've charged if you aren't tracking your spending?

Tracking your credit card spending isn't the only reason to check your billing statement. You should thoroughly comb through your transactions to make sure there aren't any potentially fraudulent charges you didn't make. The sooner you discover you're a victim of identity fraud, the sooner you can contact your card issuer to dispute the charges and take the necessary steps to secure your credit card account.

For more tips on using credit cards wisely, learn six ways to get the most from your credit card and how to pick the right credit card.

---

Source

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The Worst Credit Card Mistakes You Should Stop Making

The Worst Credit Card Mistakes You Should Stop Making

There are several important benefits of using a credit card to shop. You can earn rewards, build your credit and take advantage of travel points and perks. But while shopping with a credit card can be convenient, there are also certain risks you need to be aware of.

If you pay a card late or don't pay your balance in full, you can incur fees and extra interest charges that make your purchases more expensive in the long run, especially considering today's rising interest rates, fueled by skyrocketing inflation. You could also wind up jeopardizing your credit score, which could make it harder to buy a house or get a loan.

So what are the biggest mistakes well-meaning people commonly make with their credit cards -- and what can you do to avoid financial pitfalls? I spoke with experts for their suggestions, and identified some of the most dangerous credit card behaviors. For more, learn how to get out of credit card debt and why now is the right time to pay off your credit cards.

Paying your credit card bill late

Missing a payment or making a late payment on a credit card is a major no-no. Colleen McCreary, a consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma, says this is the most common mistake people make with credit cards. Your payment history is a major factor of your credit rating and accounts for more than 30% of your overall score, McCreary said in an email.

A late payment is a one-way ticket to ruining your credit, and the ding on your report won't go away for seven years. Even worse, if your credit card bill remains unpaid, your creditor could sell your debt to a collection agency, which could tank your credit rating.

The best way to avoid late fees is to set a monthly reminder to pay your bill, and at least make the minimum payment. Most credit card companies will also let you set up monthly auto-payments, so you won't skip a beat. If you're worried you may not have enough each month to cover an autopayment, remember you can always set it to pay out the minimum, the full balance or a specified amount.

The credit bureau Experian notes that some credit card issuers may provide a short grace period for late payments, while others will mark your payment late as soon as you miss your due date.

If you do pay your credit card bill on time regularly and accidentally miss one payment, call your bank as soon as possible to see if it will offer one-time forgiveness, provided you pay in full at the time of your call. Your bank might refund your late fee and interest, but it isn't required to do anything.

While some credit card companies may mark your payment late after one day, those late payments are not reported to credit bureaus for 30 days, according to credit reporting company Equifax, If you act quickly to change your issuer's decision to mark your payment late, you could avoid damaging your credit score. If you're unable to pay your bill, you can also ask your issuer if it can create a payment plan for you.

Stop paying your credit card bill late

Sarah Tew/CNET

Maxing out your credit cards

After payment history, the second biggest factor in determining your credit score is the percentage of available credit that you are currently using. Called the "credit utilization ratio," this factor is calculated by dividing the amount you currently owe by your total credit limit, or your maximum borrowing potential.

Maintaining a high balance on your credit card compared to your total credit limit will increase your total percentage of credit used and hurt your credit score.

You usually want to keep your credit utilization ratio under 30% for a good credit score, though less is better. A good rule of thumb is to use 10% of your total credit limit and pay it off each month so you're not carrying a balance. For example, if your credit limit is $5,000, you wouldn't want to borrow more than $1,500 and ideally $500 or less.

If you find your credit card limit is too low -- for example, the amount you want to charge to your card exceeds the total you can charge on a given card -- you can always ask your credit card issuer for an increase.

Maxing out credit cards could also cost you big money if you can't pay off the total by the payment deadline. "The higher your outstanding balance (the amount of money you owe), the more interest you'll pay, which can make it even more difficult to climb out of debt," McCreary said.

Making only the minimum payment on your credit card

Your minimum payment is the lowest amount that your credit card issuer will allow you to pay toward your credit card bill for any given month -- for example, $50. The minimum monthly payment is determined by the balance on your credit card (what you owe at the end of the pay period) and your interest rate. It's generally calculated as either 2 to 4% of your balance, a flat fee or the higher amount between the two. 

Making only minimum payments is one of the most common credit card mistakes, according to Katie Bossler, a quality assurance specialist at GreenPath financial wellness. 

Although making minimum payments on time is still far better than paying late or ignoring your bill, paying only the minimum can cause interest to build, making it much more difficult to pay off your balance completely.

For example, if you have a $2,000 balance with a minimum payment of $50 on a credit card with an APR (annual percentage rate) of 14.55%, it will take 56 months (or almost five years) to pay off your debt, and you'll end up paying a total of $753 in interest. However, if you make a plan to pay the balance off in a year, your payments would be $180, and you'd only pay $161 in interest.

It only gets worse as the APR goes up -- at a relatively high but not unreasonable rate of 25%, a minimum payment of $50 would take 87 months (or a little more than seven years) to pay off a $2,000 debt, with a sizable $2,344 in interest payments. Meanwhile, upping the monthly payments to the same $180 would pay off your debt in 13 months, and cost only $281 in interest.

Here's an example of how making more than minimum payments can save you significant money in interest. 

How minimum payments lead to higher interest

Credit card balance	Annual percentage rate	Monthly payment	Time needed to pay balance	Additional interest paid
$2,000	14.55%	$50	4.7 years	$753
$2,000	14.55%	$180	1 year	$161
$2,000	25%	$50	7.3 years	$2,344
$2,000	25%	$180	1.1 years	$281

The best way to avoid paying any interest at all on your credit cards is to pay off your full balance each month. If you can't do that, Bossler, the quality expert from GreenPath financial advisors, suggests pausing use of the credit card while you're paying it off, and paying more than the minimum to do so.

Taking out a cash advance on your credit card

Withdrawing a cash advance with a credit card is a big mistake. "It's the most expensive way to pay for things," Bossler said. Cash advances are a method of borrowing money from your credit line to put cash in your pocket "now."

Convenient as it may be, a cash advance uses an interest rate that is typically significantly higher than your standard APR. Most cards will also include a transaction fee of 3 to 5%. "This is not the way to go," Bossler said.

If you receive a "convenience check" in the mail from a credit card company, be careful. It could be a cash advance offer that's best tossed in the recycle bin. If you need some extra cash, it might be better to think about starting a side hustle or taking out a personal loan with a lower interest rate. Budgeting apps can also help track your spending, so you can pull back on expenses that can wait.

Chasing credit card rewards with abandon

If you're thinking of opening a new credit card account to get money back on your purchases, you can best manage rewards by considering your lifestyle. Heavy travelers should look for a card with frequent flyer rewards. If you spend a lot of money on groceries or drive your car often, look for cash back rewards for spending at gas stations and grocery stores. 

However, you shouldn't make spending decisions based on receiving rewards. "Credit cards shouldn't be used as a strategy for buying things," Bossler said. Many cards will require a minimum amount of purchases for special rewards, or a welcome bonus to tempt you into spending more than you can afford.

Credit cards with lucrative rewards can also charge higher annual fees, for example, $100 or even $500 a year. If you're not spending enough to earn that annual cost back in rewards, you might consider a card with no annual fee.

Credit card rewards can be a powerful financial tool when used wisely, but you'll need to be careful to avoid running up your balance. Thomas Nitzsche, senior director of Media and Brand at MMI, says he often sees people making the mistake of using credit cards for rewards while ignoring the growing interest on their balance. If you're chasing rewards at the expense of your budget, consider coming up with a plan to pay your balance down instead. 

Your credit score can drop when you cancel your credit cards.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Not paying off big purchases during a 0% APR period

Whether you just opened a 0% APR credit card -- which offers interest-free debt for a specific promotional period -- or a balance transfer card -- a credit card designed to accept debt from other cards -- make sure you read the fine print. Oftentimes, there's a fee to transfer your existing balance, commonly 3% of the balances transferred. Also, the introductory 0% rate only lasts for so long, typically between six and 18 months. That means you've got a limited time to pay off your balance before a higher APR kicks in. (When it does, your monthly interest gets a lot more expensive.)

To create a simple repayment plan, take the amount you owe and divide it by the number of months in your 0% APR promo period. Then pay that amount monthly to completely pay off your balance while you are borrowing without interest. For example, if you buy a $300 TV using a credit card with 0% APR for six months, making $50 monthly payments will eliminate your debt before the no-interest period expires.

Using a 0% intro APR credit card can be a good strategy to pay off your debt or finance a large purchase, but it can be risky, too. While disciplined borrowers can effectively roll balances into new accounts with 0% intro APR, Nitzche says that many people who transfer their credit card balances only make minimum payments, which can result in spiraling debt and damaged credit, leading to a point when they can no longer get approval for new accounts.

Canceling your credit cards

Even if you have paid down your balance on a credit card, there are two big reasons why you shouldn't cancel your account. Closing your account would affect your length of credit history and credit utilization ratio, two important components of your credit score. (Remember, your credit utilization ratio is the percentage of your total available credit lines across all cards you're using.)

If you close an account you're not using, your total available credit line shrinks, making your credit utilization ratio higher.

Canceling older credit cards will also shorten your credit history, leading to a significant drop in your credit score. If you do decide to cancel some of your credit cards, it's best to leave the oldest account open, as well as the one with the highest credit limit to maintain your credit utilization ratio and prevent any damage to your credit score.

It's important to note that with inactivity, credit card issuers may automatically close your account. To avoid this, Nitzche says that it's best to use each of your credit cards once in a while for small purchases.

Applying for too many credit cards

You may have heard this advice before: Don't apply for too many credit cards at once. Each time you apply for a new credit card, your credit score can drop slightly due to a "hard" credit check. 

Hard credit checks require your consent and involve a full credit summary from a credit bureau. "Soft" credit checks occur when you view your credit report or a financial company requests a summary without your consent, and they don't affect your credit score. They're used for purposes such as preapproved credit card offers.

When you authorize lenders to pull your credit history, you'll see a "hard" inquiry on your credit report. According to credit score company MyFICO, a hard pull will lower your credit score by about 5 points. While it will stay on your report for two years, the deduction to your score will usually be eliminated within a year.

Too many hard pulls on your credit in a short amount of time -- for example, applying for five store credit cards in one weekend -- could affect your credit rating more, as multiple inquiries indicate higher risks of insolvency or bankruptcy. Experian suggests waiting at least six months between applying for new lines of credit to avoid lowering your credit score.

Applying for too many credit cards at once can drop your credit score.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Not checking your billing statements regularly

How often do you check your monthly billing statement? It can be an eye opener to see how much money you really charge your credit card, especially if it's routinely more than you bring home each month. 

Spending $20 here and there may not seem like a huge amount, but it can add up quickly. Remember that increasing your credit utilization ratio (your percentage of credit used) will lower your credit score and high balances will cost you more in interest. Plus, how do you know how much you've charged if you aren't tracking your spending?

Tracking your credit card spending isn't the only reason to check your billing statement. You should thoroughly comb through your transactions to make sure there aren't any potentially fraudulent charges you didn't make. The sooner you discover you're a victim of identity fraud, the sooner you can contact your card issuer to dispute the charges and take the necessary steps to secure your credit card account.

For more tips on using credit cards wisely, learn six ways to get the most from your credit card and how to pick the right credit card.

---

Source

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5 ways the world will change in 2022: CNET's predictions for the year ahead

5 ways the world will change in 2022: CNET's predictions for the year ahead

This story is part of The Year Ahead, CNET's look at how the world will continue to evolve starting in 2022 and beyond.

Even before the momentous events of 2020 and 2021 shook up the planet, the tectonic plates of culture, society and technology were already shifting and reshaping the world. The pandemic took those changes and accelerated them, exacerbated them, and in some cases, threw them into chaos. 

As we speed into 2022, one question remains: Where are we headed next?

In tech, health, money, transportation, home and family life, we can be confident of one fact: Things are changing, fast. As in years past, CNET has its finger on the pulse of the ever evolving world and we're confident our CNET: The Year Ahead stories will help you navigate these choppy waters.

During this three-week series -- which will include CES -- we'll especially tackle five themes that will shape 2022.

1. The pandemic and the future of health

COVID-19 largely caught the world by surprise. When the World Health Organization declared the pandemic on March 11, 2020, few of us suspected that it would lead to two years of shutdowns, social distancing and disruptions. Things appeared to be normalizing in mid-2021, but then the Delta variant -- and later the Omicron variant -- touched off renewed shutdowns.

Will 2022 be the year that COVID-19 transitions from a pandemic to an endemic? That's what we're all hoping, of course, but there's no going back to 2019. For example, expect more of the world to follow Asia's lead, where people have been wearing masks in public for years if they were sick (out of courtesy to the people around them) or immunocompromised. 

And, healthcare will never be the same post-pandemic. Expect telehealth to become commonplace now that a lot more people have been exposed to using video calls for health visits. And the COVID-19 vaccine will forever change the way vaccines (and potentially other therapies) are created. It's not unusual for vaccines to take a decade to develop, but these were created in 10 months using genetics and mRNA technology. This could prove to be one of the most important medical breakthroughs of the century.

2. Hybrid work and the 'Great Resignation'

Work and school were perhaps the most disrupted aspects of life during the pandemic. While schools largely returned in-person, work has been a far slower process. Many employees have decided that they prefer the work/life balance of remote work and many have migrated to be closer to family or moved farther away from city centers to have more space and fresh air.

Meanwhile, many employers have become infatuated with the productivity gains of remote work and the ability to scale down their commercial real estate holdings for significant cost savings. 

The most surprising trend that's likely to continue to gain steam in 2022 is the Great Resignation. More people are quitting their jobs and reprioritizing their lives than ever -- CNET's Farnoosh Torabi even has advice. In December, the US Labor Department reported that the number of people quitting their jobs remains at record high levels. How could we go through something as jarring as the pandemic for the past two years and not be changed by it? The Great Resignation is just one example of how those changes are manifesting themselves. 

3. Crypto, inflation and what's next for your finances 

Money and personal finance also remain in the midst of tectonic shifts. In November, inflation hit its highest level since 1982 at 6.8%. The inflation of real estate and cars will be closely watched in 2022, after eye-watering numbers in 2021. The stock market's bull run looks likely to continue with interest rates at such low levels, but its volatile swings are getting more pronounced. There's a big question about whether tech and other growth stocks have run out of steam or are getting ready for another run. 

Speaking of growth, cryptocurrencies have been breaking new highs and attracting more interest. The crypto exchange app Coinbase passed TikTok and YouTube to become the most downloaded app in Apple's App Store a couple times during 2021. Some view the world's most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, as a hedge against inflation. Politicians, athletes and others started taking their paychecks in Bitcoin in 2021. We'll see if your employer will offer you that option in 2022.

4. Space, travel and the next internet

One of 2022's most dramatic developments is the new space race. China and Russia are collaborating on a future moon base (in 2030) as well as landing a robot on an asteroid (in 2024). Not to be outdone, NASA announced its next 10 future astronauts in December with ambitions for a future Moon mission.

Private space companies SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic all sent civilians into space in 2021, and they are all teasing the promise of a future of space tourism. Their ambitions will get bigger in 2022. This will be the year that SpaceX plans to put its Starship reusable rocket and space vehicle into flight for its first missions. Speaking about Starship, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, "This is a profound revolution in access to orbit. There has never been a fully reusable, orbital launch vehicle. This is the holy grail of space technology. It is the fundamental breakthrough that is necessary for humanity to become a space-faring civilization." 

Meanwhile, SpaceX's StarLink and Blue Origin and Amazon's Project Kuiper will launch thousands of low orbit satellites into the atmosphere in 2022. Their mission to bring fast, reliable broadband internet at a reasonable price to every corner of the planet is a welcome advance. But, the side effect is tons of space debris that could disrupt astronomers' telescopes, collide with spacecraft and create massive amounts of space junk. Apparently, they've never watched the movie Wall-E.

5. The EV has arrived -- and it means business

Electric vehicles, or EVs, are poised for a huge year in 2022 after a number of breakthroughs in 2021, including the Tesla Model 3 becoming the bestselling vehicle in Europe in September. The writing is on the wall for fossil fuel-burning vehicles. The US will discontinue purchases of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, the UK will do so by 2030 and a broader coalition of countries have set 2040 as a global date for ending fossil fuel vehicles.

Musk, also the CEO of Tesla, predicted that the Tesla Model Y compact SUV will become the bestselling vehicle worldwide in terms of revenue in 2022 -- beating out the Ford F-150 pickup and the Toyota Corolla compact. But the biggest EV story of 2022 is likely to be the transition in trucks, with the Chevy Silverado EV, Ford F-150 Lightning, Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T dominating the headlines. 

Consumers should also keep in mind that a gas-powered vehicle you buy today could have its resale value drop steeply in the years ahead as demand plummets because of people transitioning away from old combustion engine technology to EVs.

The future

The changes sweeping across the planet will not slow down in 2022, even if the COVID-19 pandemic finally recedes to become endemic. Beyond the five big themes mentioned above, CNET: The Year Ahead will cover a wide range of topics to help you get your head around what's coming.

We'll leave you with one last topic you should expect to hear a lot about in 2022: the metaverse. Plenty of us would love to step into a version of the holodeck from Star Trek, and it's hard not to notice the explosion of online gaming during the pandemic. But let's keep our metaverse expectations low for 2022. A lot of work needs to be done to build better virtual reality headsets and an ecosystem of truly immersive virtual worlds. If we get a few encouraging glimpses of the metaverse in 2022, we should count ourselves pretty happy.

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Test pilots. Engineers. Physicists. A US National Team cyclist. A SpaceX flight surgeon. NASA announced its 2021 class of 10 future astronauts on Monday, and they're a diverse group of high achievers. NASA calls them the "Artemis generation" because they're likely to be heavily involved in future Artemis-program missions to the moon.

"The women and men selected for the new astronaut class represent the diversity of America and the career paths that can lead to a place in America's astronaut corps," the space agency said in a statement.

NASA's candidates, the first ones since 2017, were chosen out of a pool of over 12,000 applicants and received their official introductions during an event near the Johnson Space Center in Houston. You can watch the replay here:

The candidates will kick off two years of intensive training in January. They will learn how to operate equipment for the International Space Station, prepare for spacewalks, advance their robotic skills, learn or improve their Russian language and operate a training jet. The reward for all that work could be trips not just to orbit, but possibly all the way to the moon.

Nichole Ayers is a major in the US Air Force and a combat aviator with experience in the F-22 fighter jet. "Ayers led the first ever all-woman formation of the aircraft in combat," NASA said.

Marcos Berrios, also a major in the US Air Force, is from Puerto Rico. Berrios is a test pilot and aerospace engineer. 

Christina Birch has a doctorate in biological engineering from MIT and is a track cyclist on the US National Team.

Deniz Burnham is a lieutenant in the US Navy and a former intern at NASA's Ames Research Center in California. Burnham has a background in mechanical engineering and experience as a drilling-projects manager.

This patriotic view shows an American flag with the SLS rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. SLS will power the Artemis moon missions.

NASA/Frank Michaux

Luke Delaney is a retired major in the Marine Corps with experience as a naval aviator and test pilot. Delaney is familiar with NASA after having worked as a research pilot at the agency's Langley Research Center.

Andre Douglas has a collection of engineering degrees from multiple universities. "Douglas served in the US Coast Guard as a naval architect, salvage engineer, damage control assistant, and officer of the deck," NASA said.

Jack Hathaway, a Navy commander, is a distinguished aviator with "more than 2,500 flight hours in 30 types of aircraft." 

Anil Menon also has an Air Force background and was SpaceX's first flight surgeon. "Menon is an actively practicing emergency medicine physician with fellowship training in wilderness and aerospace medicine," NASA said.

Christopher Williams is a medical physicist and researcher studying image guidance techniques for cancer treatments.

Jessica Wittner, a lieutenant commander in the Navy, spent her military career as an aviator and test pilot. 

Most of the candidates are in their 30s. Delaney and Menon are in their 40s. NASA has stringent requirements for its future astronauts. They must be US citizens, pass a rigorous, long-duration flight astronaut physical, and hold a master's degree in a science, technology, engineering or math field, along with at least three years of related experience.

Each candidate spoke briefly during the event. Many of them talked about people who inspired them, the excitement of space exploration and the importance of teamwork. Berrios took a different route. He said he would like NASA to scale up the Ingenuity Mars helicopter to carry people, though that's probably a pipe dream.

NASA is hoping to launch its first uncrewed Artemis I test mission next year. Berrios may not get to fly a helicopter on Mars, but he might touch his boots down on the moon one day. 

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This guy sued a spammer and got 1/2000 szcsm rendelet this guy sued a spammer and got 1540 this guy sued a spammer and got a davida this guy sued a spammer app this guy sued at fault this guy sued america this guy sued after chapter this guy sued for selling

This Guy Sued a Spammer and Got $1,200 Without a Lawyer. You Can Fight Unwanted Calls and Texts, Too

This Guy Sued a Spammer and Got $1,200 Without a Lawyer. You Can Fight Unwanted Calls and Texts, Too

David Weekly was fed up with spam calls. So he did something about it.

Telemarketing calls and texts were flooding his inbox every day, making it difficult to discern between genuine calls and telemarketing ads. After a text message hit his phone in June, he decided enough was enough. He sued the spammer, and it paid off: He ended up with a $1,200 check.

"Like every other human being on the planet with a cellphone, I get a lot of spam phone calls and text messages -- I find it kind of annoying," Weekly, a technology executive and California resident, told CNET.

"I've occasionally gone after spammers by reporting them to the shortlink services they use or the web or DNS host of the spamming domain," Weekly said. But this is the first time he sued a spammer in small claims court. And it was the first time he received a check from a spammer.

Though representing yourself in court isn't the easiest process, Weekly's story shows people aren't helpless. In fact, Weekly says his experience -- which went viral on Twitter after he shared it -- has inspired many others to take action against spammers, now knowing that the law gives you the right to sue them.

How one man sued a spam caller and won

Weekly received a text message from a company in June trying to sell him workers' compensation insurance. The company didn't conceal its identity. The text gave the name of the company, a website and an email address for the person running the business. 

A quick search online confirmed the company operated out of California. Though Weekly isn't a lawyer, he knew about the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and saw this as a clear violation of the law.

The TCPA is a federal law that, among other things, prohibits unsolicited calls made to cellphones using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice (aka a robocall). Text messages are considered calls under the TCPA, according to Anne Mitchell, attorney and CEO of the Institute for Spam and Internet Public Policy. 

If a business violates the TCPA, it's obligated to pay $500 per violation or $1,500 each time it "willfully and knowingly" violates this law. If you're on the National Do Not Call Registry, the right to sue includes live telemarketing calls, which refer to spam phone calls involving a live person and not an automated system, according to Margot Saunders, general counsel at the National Consumer Law Center. 

Weekly researched the law and sent the company a demand letter stating how much they owed him and why. (Sending a demand letter prior to suing in small claims court is a requirement in California.) After 10 days passed without a reply, Weekly sued. 

"It was only about a day or two after I served them with the suit that I got a phone call and a text message saying, 'Hi, there. Looks like you've sued me. Can we talk?'" Weekly said. "Those weren't the exact words, but that was sort of the gist. He was apologetic about having done it, and he recognized that he had done the wrong thing. He asked if I could take it down a notch, and I said, 'Well, how about just a $1,200 check and we can call this thing done?'

"He agreed, and a week later, that $1,200 check showed up," Weekly said. "That was cool and surreal: I'm holding a check that somebody who spammed me sent as an apology. That's pretty neat."

In all, it took Weekly four hours to complete this entire process, and he didn't contact a lawyer or have to show up to court. He subsequently posted his story on Twitter, explaining how he sued the spammer in the thread.

Spam calls are a big nuisance, sure, but what drove Weekly to take legal action wasn't rooted in any deep animosity toward the spam callers.

"These people aren't out there to spam maliciously," Weekly said. "They spam because they did some economic calculus that says it's economically advantageous for them to do so. If even a small percentage of people who are spammed find ways to push back, you can quickly, dramatically change the calculus around whether spamming makes good economic sense."

Though not all TCPA violations are straightforward -- and it's not always easy to identify a spammer in the first place -- Weekly's story shows people aren't defenseless against spam calls. And suing is only one tool in your arsenal. Here's what you can do about spam calls and messages. 

The TCPA gives folks with the right to sue spammers.

PM Images/Getty Images

What can you do about spam calls and messages?

First, you should understand the difference between a spam call and a scam call.

Scam calls are those that are clearly illegal, designed to steal money from people. Scam calls might include people pretending to be a legitimate business (including Apple and Amazon), attempting to defraud an individual. They also include those you might receive about "your car's extended warranty" or your Social Security benefits. 

Spam calls, on the other hand, are calls that aren't necessarily trying to steal your money or information. These include legitimate telemarketing calls that you haven't consented to. 

Robocalls can be legitimate telemarketing, but they're also a large source of scams in the US. As many as 68 million Americans have reported losing money to phone scams, losing nearly $40 billion collectively within the last year, according to Truecaller's 2022 US Spam and Scam Report. Truecaller, one of the leading platforms for blocking unwanted communication, conducts the yearly review with Harris Poll. 

While you can also sue scam callers under the TCPA, it's much harder to find scammers. Often, they're overseas and use temporary numbers, making them almost impossible to find contact information for. But with legitimate businesses, you've got more of a shot of suing them and successfully collecting the damages you're owed.

You could take spammers to court, though that takes time and effort. If you don't want to go to those lengths and simply want to cut down on the number of unsolicited calls and texts you receive, there are some simpler steps you can take. 

Report it to your carrier

You can report spam calls and messages to your carrier by texting 7726 -- easy to remember, because it spells "SPAM." 

If you received a spam text message, you can forward, or copy and paste, the message to your carrier. (When doing this, take care not to open links that were sent to you.) If it's a call, you can send the caller's number to your carrier. 

Some carriers, like AT&T, may also provide online forms that allow you to file a spam complaint with more detail. Many popular US carriers also have apps that enable additional call-blocking features that aren't already included in your phone subscription. These apps, like T-Mobile's ScamShield, may include a specialized area where you can report individual unwanted communications. Verizon's app is called Call Filter and AT&T's app is called ActiveArmor. 

Sign up for the Do Not Call Registry

Managed by the Federal Trade Commission, the National Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers of individuals who have requested that telemarketers do not contact them. Companies are required to check the Do Not Call Registry before making telemarketing calls, and calling someone on the list without prior consent is prohibited.

You can sign up for the Do Not Call Registry for free in just a couple of minutes. Though it won't stop all telemarketing calls from reaching you, stopping any amount of calls is helpful. Some organizations, such as political organizations, charities and telephone surveyors, may still call you even if you're on the list.

The Registry includes a complaint form where you can report spammers. The FTC's website also includes a form to report fraud.

Read more: The FCC Wants Scammers to Stop Calling You

Implement tips from the FCC

The Federal Communications Commission is the federal agency responsible for implementing and enforcing US communications law and regulations. As such, in recent years, illegal calls have become a top consumer protection priority for the agency. Here's a list of easy tips from the FCC to help reduce unwanted communications, and protect yourself against conventional scam attempts:

• Don't answer calls from blocked, unidentifiable or unknown numbers. Hang up immediately if you answer one of these calls.
• Don't respond to questions from or interact with unwanted communications. Never respond to a question that can be easily answered with "yes."
• Never give out personal information, including your Social Security number, passwords or other identifying information. Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
• If you get an inquiry call from someone who says they represent a company or government agency, such as the IRS, hang up immediately and call the entity from an official source (including your account statement or the entity's website).

Remember: The more you interact with spam or scam callers, the more likely they are to target you further. 

The FCC's website includes a page where you can report spam communications.

Sue the spam caller or messenger 

Suing is certainly an option if a spammer has violated the TCPA, but successfully doing so will require a bit more work -- and it's somewhat complex, based on the lawyers we spoke with.

Since the Do Not Call Registry expands your right to sue to telemarketing calls of any kind (regardless of what dialing system was used or whether it's live or a robocall), enrolling is a good first step before you file suit. If you're on the Do Not Call Registry and receive more than one telemarketing call from the same caller, you have the right to sue, and you can get $500 per call or text, according to Saunders.

Mitchell argues that receiving a telemarketing call to a number that's on the Do Not Call Registry may qualify as a "willful or knowing" violation of the TCPA, since companies are required to check the Registry before making a telemarketing call. A willful and knowing violation would qualify you for $1,500 per violation.

Some states require you to send a demand letter before suing, but even if it isn't required, Mitchell says it's advantageous to send one first. That's because it's often less costly for companies to settle with you -- they can avoid court and attorney's fees -- than it would be to appear in court. Settling can also save you money in court fees and serving the defendant with the complaint. 

"It's such small potatoes for these companies," Mitchell said. "Is it going to be worth the spammer paying the court and legal fees rather than just settling with you? It never is worth it for them. And they know what they're gonna lose."

If the spammer doesn't respond to your demand letter, then you can move forward with suing in your local small claims court as a TCPA violation.

You can settle with TCPA violators before taking them to court.

Prasit photo/Getty Images

Here's what you need to know to sue a spam caller

What is small claims court?

Small claims courts are local (e.g., county, municipal) courts that manage cases with a small amount of damages, typically between $5,000 to $10,000, though some states have much lower caps. This is the easiest place to file a TCPA violation, as long as the amount of damages you're claiming doesn't exceed the court's limit. Small claims court also tends to be a cheaper and faster process. Nolo, which is one of the largest online libraries of DIY legal guides, has information on small claims courts by state. 

How do I create and send a demand letter? 

You may be required to send a demand letter before suing in small claims court, depending on where you live, so you'll want to check in with the requirements of your state. 

For example, California has a self-help guide to writing a demand letter; your state may have one too, or maybe even a template to follow. It's best to follow the instructions and language of your particular court, but Nolo has general guidelines for writing a demand letter.

How do I file a claim?

This is the first step in initiating a lawsuit. For small claims court, the initial form is typically called a "statement of claim," but depending on the court, it may simply be called a "complaint." Many court websites will walk you through the process, though some are more user-friendly than others (California and Massachusetts have particularly good websites). The form and process for filing a claim vary by court, so be sure to research your particular court. An internet search with your state or county and "small claims court" should set you in the right direction. In any case, your claim will need to outline how much and why the defendants owe you.

What is 'serving the defendant'?

Adequately giving the defendant notice that you're suing them is an essential component of any lawsuit. This is called "service of process." States differ on what constitutes adequate service. For example, a majority of states (but not all) allow you to send a defendant the lawsuit through certified mail with a return receipt requested. You'll want to check in with the requirements of your state, but getting a private company to serve the defendant is usually the easiest way to go, though it'll cost you a bit more money than doing it yourself.

The bottom line on unwanted calls and messages

At best, unwanted communications are annoying. At worst, they're a large source of scams in the US that reap billions of dollars from American consumers. But whatever the form and content of these unwanted communications, you aren't powerless against the nuisance.

It may take some time and effort, but there are things you can do to push back, including taking legal action against spam or scam communications. As Weekly said, the more people push back, the more the economic calculus changes for spammers, making it riskier and costlier to spam. 

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Labor Day Weekend Travel: What to Do if Your Flight Is Delayed or Canceled

Labor Day Weekend Travel: What to Do if Your Flight Is Delayed or Canceled

What's happening

An estimated 12.8 million Americans will fly over Labor Day weekend.

Why it matters

While air travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels, many airlines are still plagued by significant delays and cancellations.

Labor Day is here and, despite ongoing flight disruptions and high ticket prices, an estimated 12.6 million Americans will be flying over the three-day holiday weekend, according to data from travel site Hopper.

American Airlines alone estimates 2.5 million customers will board 26,400 scheduled flights through Monday. 

Many of those fliers will face delays and cancellations. On average, 23% of flights in August were delayed from departing US airports, an increase of nearly 30% compared to 2019. And cancellation rates last month were more than double their 2019 rates, as airlines mobilize to address staff shortages, pickets, weather disruptions and other issues.

By 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, American Airlines had already reported 100 delayed flights, according to the website FlightAware, and 23 cancellations. Industrywide, more than 800 flights within, into, or out of the United States have been delayed Thursday morning and 102 canceled.

Analysts don't expect schedules will get back to normal until at least the fall, when demand settles down and new hires have had time to be trained up. 

If you're flying over Labor Day, here's what you need to know about avoiding a travel nightmare, what the airlines owe you if there's a cancellation or delay, and more. 

For more travel tips, here are some great travel gadgets, guidance on renewing your passport online and 19 things to add to your travel checklist. before leaving home.

Why have there been so many delays and cancellations?

Layoffs and contract buyouts during the pandemic have left many airlines short-staffed, fueling ongoing delays and cancellations.

Getty Images

Since Memorial Day, US-based airlines canceled more than 50,000 flights and delayed over a half-million, according to NPR. Delta said it canceled 100 scheduled daily flights in the US and Latin America between July 1 and Aug. 7. Southwest Airlines nixed almost 20,000 summer flights.   
The biggest factor has been that airlines are incredibly short-staffed. When the pandemic slowed air travel to a trickle, many carriers bought out employees' contracts and encouraged older pilots to take early retirement.

As a result, from December 2019 to December 2020, the number of airline workers shrank by at least 114,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now carriers are clamoring to staff back up, but they're finding it hard to fill positions. 

The shortages extend to ground staff, baggage handlers, gate personnel and other workers, FlightAware spokesperson Kathleen Bangs told CNET. "They did a lot of buyouts during the pandemic. It's a remarkable growth period and they're just back-footed." 

It's particularly acute with pilots because it can take up to five years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to train someone to fly a commercial airplane.

"Most airlines are simply not going to be able to realize their capacity plans because there simply aren't enough pilots, at least not for the next five-plus years," United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a quarterly earnings call back in April, NBC News reported.

Extreme weather has also added to the problem: Severe thunderstorms have caused multiple delays and flight cancellations, and that's aside from hurricane and wildfire season. Aircraft can fly at lower altitudes to try to avoid storm systems, but that burns more fuel -- a dicey proposition given the high cost of jet fuel. 

How to avoid having your flight delayed or canceled

There isn't much you can do to prevent a delay or cancellation. But there are some common-sense steps that will give you a better shot at making it to your destination -- or at least relaxing at home or in a hotel room, rather than stewing in the airport.

Download your airline's mobile app to keep on top of changes to your flight schedule.

Pavlo Gonchar/Getty Images

Leave extra time for layovers. You might think an hour is plenty of time to get from one gate to another, especially in the same terminal. But if the first leg of your journey is delayed that hour can turn into 30 minutes. And with most airlines closing the plane doors about 15 minutes prior to departure, you could easily miss your connection.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Denver International Airport (DEN) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) top the list of busiest hubs over the Labor Day holiday, according to Hopper.

Don't book a late-night flight. If you miss a connection, most airlines will work diligently to get you on the next available flight. But if you booked the last flight of the day to your destination, that may mean having to wait until morning -- and either pacing through the airport for hours or booking a night in a nearby hotel. 

Download the airline's app on your phone. Opt into flight notifications and start manually checking the status of your flight regularly, at least 24 hours in advance. As soon as you hear your flight has been cut, find out if you've been transferred to another flight.

Monitor the weather at both your departure and arrival airports. Start checking the weather in both places a few days before your flight. Some airlines will actually reschedule your flight in advance of a major weather front at no extra charge. If a storm is on its way, you might consider leaving a few days earlier or later or finding a different route.

Buy travel insurance. Depending on why your flight is canceled or delayed, the airline might not comp any meals, accommodations or transport you're forced to purchase. The payout for travel insurance may not cover all of your expenses, but it will definitely be more than the cost of a policy, typically 5% to 10% of your trip cost.

What to do if your flight is delayed or canceled

Time is of the essence, so be proactive about rescheduling your flight. 

"A lot of the time you can reschedule yourself on the flight of your choice" using the airline's app, said David Slotnick, senior aviation reporter for The Points Guy. "It'll save you a lot of time and aggravation." (Like CNET, The Points Guy is owned by Red Ventures.)

If that's not possible, call the airline. Even if you get sent to an automated system, it may have a call-back function. You can still call if you're already at the airport. Do it while you're in line to talk to an agent and take whichever option is available first.

What does the airline owe you if your flight is canceled?

While some airlines are able to get you booked on a different carrier if your flight is canceled, not all can.

Dmitry Marchenko/Getty Images

In the US, if a flight is canceled because of something that is the airline's fault -- a mechanical issue or a staffing shortage -- the carrier is required to refund your ticket.

"If you get canceled for any reason -- you don't take your flight -- they have to offer you a cash refund," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told NPR. "If you'd rather take miles or a different flight, fine. But that's up to you, not them. They've got to give you a refund. That's a basic rule,"  

The Department of Transportation website mandates airlines must also refund the cost of your ticket after a schedule change or significant delay, but the agency hasn't defined what constitutes a "significant delay."

"Whether you are entitled to a refund depends on many factors -- including the length of the delay, the length of the flight and your particular circumstances," according to the DOT website. Whether a refund following a significant delay is warranted is determined "on a case-by-case basis." 

If you don't request a refund, the airline is still responsible for getting you to your destination. But it could be much later than your original flight. Under most circumstances, carriers should provide vouchers for meals and hotels.

Make your plans quickly, though: Airport hotels fill up quickly amid widespread delays and cancellations.

Some airlines will work to get you on another flight with a different airline, Slotnick said, but not every airline has relationships with other carriers. 

What are airlines doing to address delays and cancellations?

Hiring more employees. "All the airlines are doing major hiring initiatives," Slotnick said. "They're rushing to hire pilots and deploy them." They're also trying to improve work conditions for existing workers: In April, Delta announced it would start paying flight attendants during boarding, rather than just once the plane door closes.

The move, a first for a major US airline, is seen as a countermeasure to a unionization push among workers.

Scheduling more flights. Someairlines are boosting service in popular corridors when they can. "They're trying to strike the right balance between adding flights and creating some slack in the system," Slotnick said.

For example, United Airlines recently launched or resumed 30 flights between the US and Europe, its largest expansion ever. Regular flights from Denver to Munich, Chicago to Zurich and New York to Bergen, Norway, are underway, as well as daily service between Boston and London.

When fully operational, United's transatlantic route network will be more than 25% larger than it was in 2019, before COVID-19 cratered air travel.

Some airlines have ramped up their roster of scheduled flights, while others have pared down to avoid having to cancel them later.

James Martin/CNET

Scheduling fewer flights. Otherairlines are going in the opposite direction, reducing their capacity rather than risk being forced to cancel a scheduled flight. JetBlue has already reduced its May routes by almost 10%, Conde Nast Traveler reported, and will likely make similar cuts throughout the summer.

"By reducing our flight schedule for the summer and continuing to hire new crewmembers, we hope to have more breathing room in the system to help ease some of the recent delays and cancellations that we've seen in the industry," a JetBlue spokesperson told the outlet. 

Southwest Airlines, the world's largest low-cost carrier, cut more than 8,000 domestic flights in June "to adjust to capacity," the company told The Business Journals. 

Delta  "temporarily cut" some Labor Day weekend flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and New York's LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports to deal with a large number of airline crew members and air traffic controllers who have already called in sick, The Washington Times reported.

Giving passengers more notice. All the airlines are making a concerted effort to give passengers as much information as possible, Slotnick said, through text updates and other notifications.

"Even a year before the pandemic, airlines were trying to be proactive about informing passengers, even 24 or 48 hours in advance of a possible cancellation," he said.

Offering waivers
United, Delta and other carriers are offering travel waivers to passengers to encourage them to move their flights out of busy time periods. All waiving the usual flight-change fees and some are even foregoing the usual fare difference.

The Department of Transportation has stepped in to hold airlines accountable

On Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched a new website that lets fliers know what they're entitled to when their flight is significantly delayed or canceled. The Aviation Consumer Protection site has a dashboard that compares what policies are regarding rebooking, meal and hotel vouchers and complimentary ground transportation for carriers including Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United.

The Transportation Department's Air Consumer Dashboard compares offerings from major carriers.

Department of Transportation

"Passengers deserve transparency and clarity on what to expect from an airline when there is a cancelation or disruption," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. "This dashboard collects that information in one place so travelers can easily understand their rights, compare airline practices, and make informed decisions."

Buttigieg said the goal was to get the airlines to "raise the bar."

"Look, Americans have had experiences with cancellations, delays and poor customer service that just aren't at an acceptable level," he told NPR. "A lot of the airlines are not quite transparent about how and when they'll take care of passengers. "So we're going to put that information out ourselves."

Just knowing that information is out there for air travelers to see has spurred carriers to improve their offerings, Buttigieg added. 

The Department is also collecting comments on a proposed rule requiring airlines to proactively inform passengers about their right to a refund. It would also provide a clearer definition of a "significant change" to a scheduled flight and require airlines to provide non-expiring vouchers to passengers unable to fly because they contracted COVID-19 or other communicable diseases.

The proposal would also mandate carriers that receive pandemic assistance issue those passengers refunds instead of vouchers.

Are any airlines better or worse in terms of cancellations?

In 2021, Delta had the fewest cancellations of any major US airline.

Boarding1Now

Without naming names, Slotnick says that, broadly speaking, low-cost airlines have tighter margins with less slack, so theoretically you're more likely to face a cancellation.

But booking with a big carrier doesn't mean you're immune.

"The regionals have parked a lot of planes because they don't have enough staff," Bangs said. "And a lot of people who book on a major airline don't realize they're actually flying with a smaller carrier."

SkyWest, a smaller airline out of St. George, Utah, subcontracts for Delta, United, American and Alaska Airlines. So does Indiana-based Republic Airways.

Sometimes, bigger is indeed better: Last year, Delta had the best record in cancellation rates, according to The Wall Street Journal's annual airline rankings. The Atlanta-based airline scrubbed 0.6% of its scheduled departures in 2021, a third of the industry average of 1.8%.

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