After telling people to stay home, Hawaii is ready for travelers to come back next month
Hawaii has had a rather tumultuous reopening experience, to say the least.
But now, Hawaii is preparing to truly welcome back travelers, according to Hawaii Gov. David Ige, who is targeting a Nov. 1 reopening.
"It is now safe for fully vaccinated residents and visitors to resume nonessential travel to and within the state of Hawaii," said Ige, according to local news station KHON. "We want to invite and encourage fully vaccinated visitors and residents to travel for business or leisure, transpacific and interisland."
The Aloha State initially reopened to visitors in the fall of 2020. Since then, it instituted mandatory pretravel testing and only began waiving that requirement for fully vaccinated visitors in July. Then, in August, the state asked tourists to stay home due to rising COVID-19 cases.
Even though Hawaii is open for travel, there are still pretty strict entry requirements. The Safe Travels Program remains in place, but fully vaccinated travelers no longer have to get a pretravel test or quarantine upon arrival. Under these guidelines, individuals vaccinated anywhere in the U.S. can skip testing and quarantine mandates, starting on the 15th day after completing their vaccination.
Vaccinated travelers must provide a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card with their name, birth date, type of vaccine, date(s) vaccine was administered and lot number(s) for each vaccine dose. Additionally, travelers must create an online account and register with the State of Hawaii Safe Travels Hawaii web program -- and this is not optional.
The only way out-of-state visitors who are not vaccinated can skip the mandatory 10-day quarantine is with proof of a negative COVID-19 test from a trusted facility.
Unvaccinated U.S. travelers 18 and older must register through the mandatory Hawaii Safe Travels online program. Within 72 hours of departure time, each traveler 5 or older must undergo an approved COVID-19 test with negative results through Hawaii's trusted testing and travel partners. The negative test result must be in hand when boarding your final flight leg to Hawaii. Travelers must complete the Safe Travels health questionnaire 24 hours before departure and then produce the code for local officials upon arrival in Hawaii.
Unvaccinated travelers who don't have proof of an approved negative test must quarantine for 10 days.
Hawaii has recorded over 82,000 cases of COVID-19 and nearly 900 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. After a worrying surge in cases and deaths in August and September, cases have decreased, which the governor cited for the decision to reopen for nonessential travel. Currently, 70% of residents are fully vaccinated.
Now that Hawaii is welcoming travelers with open arms again, you're probably wondering how to get there -- and where to stay. If you're planning a trip to the Aloha State, there are several ways to get (and stay) there using miles and points. Check out these guides about using your points and miles to travel to Hawaii and where to stay when you're there.
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| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.