WalletHub Report: 2022’s Best & Worst Airlines

 

With airline ticket prices expected to keep going up due to rising oil costs and the U.S. closing its airspace to Russian aircraft, WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best Airlines, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary. WalletHub's study focuses not just on price but also many other aspects of the air travel experience, such as safety, delays, baggage issues, animal incidents, passenger complaints and more.

WalletHub 2022 Oscars Facts: 94th Academy Awards By The Numbers

With 2021’s box office revenue nearly 60% below pre-pandemic levels but the 94^th Academy Awards just 11 days away, WalletHub today released its 2022 Oscars Facts report, which includes an infographic filled with fun facts about the event as well as a Q&A with a panel of entertainment experts.

Here are some highlights from the report:

• $42.9M: Total cost of the Oscars ceremony.
   
• $10M: Cost of the look for an A-list actress attending the Oscars.
   
• 28%: Share of this year’s Oscar nominees who are women (lowest percentage in three years).
   
• $24.7K: Cost of the 50,000 square foot Oscars red carpet.
   
• $400: Current value of the 24-karat gold-plated Oscar statuette.
   
• 1^st time: The Oscars telecast will have a host in four years (Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall, and Amy Schumer will split the hosting duties).

WalletHub: Denver Is 2022’s 4th Worst Large City for College Basketball Fans

Source: WalletHub

With March Madness less than a week away, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its March Madness Stats & Facts infographic, as well as its report on 2022’s Best Cities for College Basketball Fans (with accompanying videos and expert commentary), to help get hoops lovers psyched for this magical time of year.

To find 2022’s top spots for NCAA hoops, WalletHub crunched the numbers on more than 290 cities using nine key metrics. They range from the number of teams per city and the winning percentage of each to stadium capacity and social-media engagement.  

Denver as a College Hoops Haven (1=Best, 145=Avg.):

• 286^th – Winning Percentage
• 220^th – Conference Championships
• 142^nd – Min. Season-Ticket Price
• 291^st – Social-Media Engagement
• 275^th – Stadium Capacity

Denver ranks 275^th overall and 55^th among large cities.

For the full report, please visit:
http://wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-for-college-basketball/32944

March Madness Stats & Facts

• $13.8B: Corporate losses due to unproductive workers during March Madness.
   
• $1.16B: Annual revenue for the NCAA in 2021, more than double the amount earned in 2020 and toping pre-pandemic revenues ($1.12B).
   
• $8.1M: Salary for college basketball’s highest paid coach, Kentucky’s John Calipari (vs. $1.2M combined for University of Kentucky’s president and the state’s governor).
   
• 46X: Difference between the average NBA rookie’s salary ($3.3M) and a D1 men’s athlete basketball scholarship for a year ($71.4K).
   
• $10B: Estimated amount wagered on the 2022 NCAA tournament (roughly 30% more than the amount wagered on Super Bowl).

WalletHub Reports: 53% of Americans plan to buy less gas in 2022 + Best Gas Credit Cards

With gas prices on the rise and war in Ukraine creating further uncertainty for consumers’ budgets, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its editors’ picks for 2022’s Best Gas Credit Cards to help drivers save money, along with a new survey to gauge consumer sentiment.

Key takeaways included:               

• Lower Gas Demand: 53% of Americans plan to buy less gas in 2022 compared to 2021.
   
• Planning Travel Around the Pump: 70% of people consider the price of gas when making travel plans.
   
• Most Wanted Reward: 72% of Americans want rewards on gas more than any other type of travel purchase.
   
• Mandatory Test to Get a Credit Card: 34% of Americans think each individual should have to take a test to get a credit card, just like a driver’s license.
   
• Monthly Savings to Justify a Gas Card: Almost 1 in 4 people would get a gas credit card if they could save at least $15 at the pump monthly.
   
• Price Dictates Gas-Station Selection: 55% of Americans choose where to get gas based on price.
   
• Gas Prices vs. Bad Traffic: 141 million people dislike high gas prices more than bad traffic.
   
• Best Gas Rewards Credit Card: The USAA® Cashback Rewards Plus American Express® Card is the best gas rewards credit card, offering 5% cash back on up to $3,000 spent per year on gas and an initial bonus of $200 after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days.
   
• Best Gas Station Credit Card: The Speedway Credit Card is the best gas station credit card, offering 50 points / $1 spent on both gas and in-store purchases made at Speedway, as well as an initial bonus of 25,000 points after spending $500 in the first 3 billing cycles.

WalletHub Study: Denver Ranks in the Top 15 Best Places for Valentine’s Day

 

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner and America’s sweethearts having spent $21.8 billion on the holiday last year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022's Best Places for Valentine’s Day as well as accompanying videos. It also released its nationally representative 2022 Valentine’s Day Spending Survey, which found that 70 million Americans expect their partner to spend less this year compared to last year.

To determine the most romantic yet affordable cities for celebrating the Day of Hearts, WalletHub compared 100 of the largest U.S. cities across 27 key metrics, ranging from florists per capita to forecasted precipitation to the cost of a three-course meal for two.

Celebrating the Day of Hearts in Denver (1=Best, 50=Avg.):

• 21^st – Restaurants per Capita
• 44^th – Cost of Three-Course Meal for Two*
• 21^st – Chocolate Shops per Capita
• 11^th – Percentage of Residents Who Are Fully Vaccinated
• 15^th – Jewelry Stores per Capita
• 17^th – Florists per Capita
• 24^th – Avg. Beverage Price*
• 25^th – Greeting-Card Stores & Gift Shops per Capita

*Cost data adjusted for the median household income of the city.

Valentine’s Day Spending Survey – Key Stats

• Some People Prioritize Financial Stability. Almost a third of people say money matters more to them in a relationship now than it did before COVID.
   
• Bad Credit Might Keep You Single. Compared to last year, 37% more Americans say they wouldn’t marry someone with bad credit.
   
• People Are Less Inclined to Go Into Debt This Year. 17% fewer Americans think a Valentine’s Day gift is worth going into credit card debt this year compared to last year.
   
• More Men Say V-Day Debt is Worth it: Men are 29% more likely than women to think a Valentine’s Day gift is worth going into credit card debt.
   
• Financial Infidelity Hurts: Over half (53%) of Americans feel that financial infidelity can be worse than cheating.
   
• Keeping Secrets About Money Hurts Relationships: 30% of people say financial secrets are the worst relationship problem in 2022.

 Valentine’s Day Facts

• $23.9 Billion: Total Valentine’s Day spending projected for 2022 ($175.41 per person celebrating).
   
• $235 vs. $119: Men will spend almost twice as much as women, on average, for Valentine’s Day 2022. 
   
• $10.7 Billion: Amount Americans will spend on jewelry ($6.2B), flowers ($2.3B) and candy ($2.2B).
   
• 26%: Share of marriages that begin online.
   
• 33%: Overall online dating activity increase across the U.S. between February 1 and February 14.
   
• 58%: Share of Americans who say that romantic gestures are more important to them now than they were pre-pandemic.

WalletHub: 10 Financial Resolutions for 2022

Making a realistic budget and sticking to it, looking for a better job, and staying on top of your credit are among the top 10 New Year’s Financial Resolutions for 2022, according to WalletHub.