Vaccinated Travelers Get Shots At Free Travel With United Airlines
United Airlines is joining a national effort to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The airline is giving its customers a chance to win free travel, while attempting to derail a pandemic that has killed almost 590,000 Americans.
Chance to win free travel with United Airlines
As United Airlines joins a countrywide effort to encourage Americans to get vaccinated, the Chicago-based company is giving them a chance to win free flights for one year. The way it works is that new or existing members of United’s MileagePlus loyalty program must upload their vaccination records to the airline’s mobile app by June 22.
After the announcement on Monday, news of the sweepstakes was well received, with over 200,000 existing members uploading their vaccine cards. Meanwhile, United CEO Scott Kirby said on Tuesday that a further 100,000 people signed up to become members of United’s customer loyalty program on the day of the announcement.
Kirby said in a news release, “We’re proud to do our part to incentivize people to get their shot.” He added that, thanks to the vaccine, more and more destinations are opening up for travel and they know their customers are eager to fly.
What is on offer in the United sweepstakes?
According to CNN, United Airlines is offering the chance for customers to win 30 pairs of roundtrip flights for two in first class, or any other class, to any destination on their flight list during the month of June. On top of this, the airline is launching new routes to Greece, Iceland and Croatia, as well as resuming flights to Spain, France, Italy and Portugal this summer.
But that’s not all, as on July 1, United will announce five randomly selected grand prize winners of a full year of travel for themselves and a companion.
Ease of travel
Besides entering the United Airlines’ sweepstakes, customers who upload their vaccine card with the airline will save time at the airport. The airline stated that passengers will also know whether they are ready to fly to destinations where showing proof of vaccination is required.
Various states and companies have been coming up with incentives to encourage Americans to get immunized, in the hope of boosting slowing vaccination rates. This month, Target started offering $5 coupons to those receiving their vaccinations at CVS pharmacies inside its stores across the country. Meanwhile in Ohio last week, after the governor said the state would award $1 million to five vaccinated residents, there was a spike in the count of people getting vaccinated. Among other corporate freebies, donuts and marijuana are popular items offered to vaccinated adults.
President Joe Biden’s vaccination target
President Joe Biden recently announced a goal of getting 70 percent of the US population receiving at least one dose of the vaccine by July 1. However, amid hesitancy by a sizeable amount of the population, this target could be difficult to reach.
Meanwhile, public health experts currently disagree as to how much precisely of the US population needs to be vaccinated to halt the spread of COVID-19 and to reach herd immunity. However, most estimates in the medical field range from between 70 to 85 percent.
However, the chance of free travel could be a huge incentive to get travelers vaccinated after spending more than a year stuck at home.
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