Hawaiian Airlines is now offering home COVID-19 test kits in exchange for points in a new promotion for its loyalty members.
All incoming travelers are required under Hawaii's COVID-19 entry requirements to present a negative test no older than 72 hours of boarding their final flight.
Testing for the coronavirus is now easier than ever for loyalty program members of Hawaiian Airlines. The biggest and longest-serving airline of Hawaii announced recently that it will allow its loyalty program members to redeem miles for a pre-travel Covid-19 test kit. Members can redeem 14,000 HawaiianMiles for a mail-in test kit from Vault Health.
“The airline is dedicated to ensuring the testing for its guests is both convenient and accessible” according to a statement by Avi Mannis, Hawaiian Airlines Senior Vice President of marketing.
With this in mind, the airline recently announced that its partnership with Vault Health will allow members of the Hawaiian Miles loyalty program to purchase at-home test kit using their accumulated miles, the Hawaiian Airlines senior vice president of marketing added.
HawaiianMiles Redemption For COVID-19 Test Kits
HawaiianMiles members who redeem their miles will receive a confirmation email containing a link where they can order the test kit.
After ordering the test kit through the Vault Health website, they will receive the kit through mail.
Testing involves collecting saliva samples at home while a testing supervisor will guide them via a video call. Samples taken without the testing supervisor are considered invalid.
Once the sample is taken, the members should express-ship the kit to a lab where the sample is processed and analyzed.
Vault Health CEO and founder Jason Feldman said the supervised saliva test the company offers is a convenient, safe, and reliable pre-travel test result.
He added that they are excited to work with Hawaiian Airlines and that the innovations implemented by the airline have made travel safer and easier for everyone.
Vault Health is a trusted testing partners of the State of Hawaii. The company uses an RT-PCR tests, which have a 98 percent accuracy when it comes to Covid-19 testing.
Members can expect to receive the results within 24 hours after the sample arrives at the lab. Vault Health has prioritized Hawaiian Airlines guests in line with the promotion offered by the airline for its loyalty program members.
The total turnaround time of the testing, processing, and analysis is under 72 hours which is within the limit set by Hawaiian state authorities for the results to come out prior to their departure to Hawaii.
For travelers who aren’t members of HawaiianMiles, they can still order the pre-travel test kit through the website of Vault Health. The test kit costs $119 each.
After taking the test and receiving the results, the travelers should create a Safe Travels account where they can upload their negative test results. Travelers must also print a copy of the result or save it on their smartphones so they can present it as proof of a negative test result once they arrive in Hawaii.
The pre-travel Covid-19 test kit redemption offer is the first of its kind among U.S. airlines. It is available to all HawaiianMiles members in the United States.
COVID-19 Cases in Hawaii
The announcement by Hawaiian Airlines came as the state has been averaging less than a hundred new COVID-19 cases per day for the past week. The figure is considerably lower than on August 12 when the number of cases reached 353.
A total of 16,519 Covid-19 cases have been identified in Hawaii with 95 percent of these cases among Hawaiian residents, according to the Department of Health of the State of Hawaii.
Seven percent of the Covid-19 positive patients have required hospitalization in Hawaii.
The state has implemented measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 even as it opened its doors to tourists. These measures include a 14-day quarantine for travelers who don’t present proof of a negative COVID-19 test result.
Once travelers upload their negative pre-travel test results to the Safe Travels website, they should save or print the QR code provided.
They have to present the QR code to airport officials in Hawaii. If travelers don’t receive the results before they arrive in Hawaii, they will be quarantined in their accommodations until they receive a negative result.
For travelers who receive a positive test result while in quarantine, they will be isolated for at least ten days.
The Department of Health in Hawaii will provide health services guidance to travelers while in isolation.
Companions of the positive traveler will go through a 14-day quarantine since their last contact.
With the opening of Hawaii to visitors and tourists, these measures are essential to prevent a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases. This comes amid increasing Covid-19 cases in several states on the mainland.
The more heavily-affected states of Texas and California both have already passed the one million mark in the number of Covid-19 cases.
Read More:
Hawaii COVID-19 Entry Requirements
Hawaii Drops Mandatory Quarantine For Testing
Travel Insurance That Covers COVID-19
Countries Open For American Tourists
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Disclaimer: Current travel rules and restrictions can change without notice. The decision to travel is ultimately your responsibility. Contact your consulate and/or local authorities to confirm your nationality’s entry and/or any changes to travel requirements before traveling. Travel Off Path does not endorse traveling against government advisories
EdwardV
Monday 16th of November 2020
I’m in Hawaii now, got here last Tuesday for a two week trip to visit family. I had considered the mail in test but since I live in LA it was too easy to just go to CVS instead. Same with Walgreens’s as there are ones doing testing all over the metro area. I found CVS offers the best dates and time options while Walgreens doesn’t charge. I took the CVS test on Saturday and got my result on Monday morning. Walgreens didn’t have any appointments until Sunday and I got that result Tuesday morning. Yes I took two tests because I wanted to be sure I got a result and since Walgreens doesn’t charge it didn’t cost me extra. The process of testing and all the forms and documents is pretty easy. When I showed up at the airport they just checked my code and ID and was let right through. Be sure to upload all the info including your hotel and picture as it just makes things easier. That said, not everything on the islands is open or running at full capacity. They won’t be until a lot more tourist start showing up. It’s nice to not have all the crowds but the result is your vacation experience is slightly less than you might otherwise desire. Aloha
Kashlee Kucheran
Tuesday 17th of November 2020
Hello Edward - Thank you so much for sharing this information, as it's extremely helpful for others needing to go through the same process! Much appreciated and enjoy your trip! :)