Linear systems with structures such as Toeplitz-, Vandermonde-or Cauchy-likeness can be solved in O˜(α 2 n) operations, where n is the matrix size, α is its displacement rank, and O˜denotes the omission of logarithmic factors. We show that for Toeplitz-like and Vandermonde-like matrices, this cost can be reduced to O˜(α ω−1 n), where ω is a feasible exponent for matrix multiplication over the base field. The best known estimate for ω is ω < 2.38, resulting in costs of order O˜(α 1.38 n). We also present consequences for Hermite-Padé approximation and bivariate interpolation.