Air Canada to offer take with you covid test

[wdwmom3]

Not sure when this will start but this could be handy. If you are flying air Canada.

https://ca.travelpulse.com/news/air...fer-lets-canadians-pack-their-covid-test.html

 

[Susan2771]

Interesting but still expensive. Canadian government needs to look at the data and other jurisdictions about testing and fully vaxxed citizens. Thank-you for sharing the article.

 

[ohtmeal]

More expensive than BeeperMD but I still like this idea because of its certainty and quick turn around time. Thanks for sharing.
I do hope Canadian government just scrap the rentry tests though for fully vaxed.

 

[wdwmom3]

I hope they scrap the testing requirement soon as well.

 

[damo]

I'd pay $40/test for the convenience but not $150.

 

[4orm]

We were just in Disneyland and paid $125 USD for the PCR to return. I'd rather pay $150 Canadian and have done it in our hotel room. That said, it all depends on where you're going. In BYC they have free PCR testing vans all over the city.
Hoping sooner than later on an antigen will be required for returning to Canada if fully vaccinated.
It's just so expensive compared to other countries. Antigens in the Netherlands and Germany are like $5 a 2 pack

 

[Minniemoo15]

That is very cool… I like the idea of having the test with me and having control over when the test is done and knowing I will get my results on time.

 

[wdwmom3]

That is very cool… I like the idea of having the test with me and having control over when the test is done and knowing I will get my results on time.

That’s what I was thinking. Although we are flying WestJet for our next trip. So unless they do the same won’t be an option for us.

This could come in very handy though if you are travelling somewhere where it’s harder to get a test (not just for Disney). Like it would be ideal for people taking a cruise.

 

[Silvermist999]

I like the idea of the take with you test for the return trip. I don’t mind paying for it, if it means I don’t need to rent a car to get to a testing site somewhere and wasting valuable vacation time. But I’m hopeful the return testing will be scrapped sometime early next year. Fingers crossed.

 

[Minniemoo15]

That’s what I was thinking. Although we are flying WestJet for our next trip. So unless they do the same won’t be an option for us.

This could come in very handy though if you are travelling somewhere where it’s harder to get a test (not just for Disney). Like it would be ideal for people taking a cruise.

Agreed…Dh and I just canceled a December trip to Turks and Caicos because the idea of finding testing on the island to come home stressed me out. Had I known about this a week ago I would have kept our trip. Oh well. Feeling much more hopeful about our March WDW trip so that’s something!

 

[OnceUponATime15]

I like the ability to use my Aeroplan miles to pay for the tests. 500 or 1000 points per test depending on which test sounds good to me. That’s one less thing to be out of pocket for.

 

[gisele2]

Just bought 2 tests , one antigen for the USA, and one RT-Lamp for the return. It is 79$ for the antigen and 149$ for the RT-Lamp.

 

[greenclan67]

I did beepermd last Wednesday at resort at 8:45 pm. Had our results at 4 pm Thurs. I was happy with that and completely free. Better then the $40 each I paid at Shoppers to go and not 1 person asked for them or looked at them.

 

[wdwmom3]

Just bought 2 tests , one antigen for the USA, and one RT-Lamp for the return. It is 79$ for the antigen and 149$ for the RT-Lamp.

Are you flying air Canada? Just wondering if there is a way to get them if you aren’t. I know it’s pricey but the thought of not having to worry about setting up testing is appealing.

 

[damo]

I like the ability to use my Aeroplan miles to pay for the tests. 500 or 1000 points per test depending on which test sounds good to me. That’s one less thing to be out of pocket for.

You get 500 or 1000 points. The cost is 25,700 Aeroplan miles for the molecular one.

 

[cslittle999]

I don't think we would use this for a trip to Orlando but I'm definitely going to purchase the RT-Lamp test for a business trip to Las Vegas. Finding reliable testing in some cities is complicated.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

You get 500 or 1000 points. The cost is 25,700 Aeroplan miles for the molecular one.

I skimmed what I was sent… didn’t read through.. that’s disappointing

 

[2Lunds]

"Tests are conducted under the remote supervision of a Telehealth professional from Switch Health" That could be one hitch. Scheduling a time, having strong enough wifi etc...

 

[thenicefamily]

Hi! First of all - thank you SO much wdwmom2. You've just saved our group of four hundreds of dollars with your post. We in BC are being completely ripped off and still paying $100+ for Rapid Antigen Tests that we need to travel to take - sometimes a long way.

I've just ordered two kits, each containing two rapid antigen tests, online at switchhealth.ca, for a grand total of less than $40pp ($79 for each kit of 2 tests).

To be clear - you do NOT need to be flying Air Canada to buy these tests at a discount. We're flying WestJet. What you DO need to get the discount is an Aeroplan number. I had one already but, if you're not a member, there's a handy link in the order page that allows you to sign up. Skeptic that I am, I made sure I called Switch Health to confirm that we didn't need to be flying AC to buy and, they assured me that this is a new partnership that offers discounts to Aeroplan Members but, the tests themselves have been available to anyone for some time.

I also wasn't too clear on the 2 tests in 1 kit thing so I reconfirmed that the tests could be taken by 2 individuals - i.e. one person doesn't use both tests. Also, I confirmed that not all tests need to be taken simultaneously. One of our group of 4 is leaving a few days before us and she'll be taking her test before we do and, that's okay.

So, there you are, that's my experience (so far) of the Switch Health self-tests.

My next step will be to purchase the LAMP self-tests. As another poster said - they are, at the Aeroplan reduced price of $149CAN, much cheaper than any rapid paid PCR US test and they offer the convenience of taking the test when you want, where you are. No faffing about with Ubers to Walgreens or City Hall, no stressing about timely results (we're only in Disneyland for 3 precious days). So, cheaper, less stress, more Disney time - definitely the way we're going to go!

EDIT - link to purchase aeroplan - URL if link doesn't work switchhealth.ca/en/partners/aeroplan or just search Switch Health and follow the links there.

 

[wdwmom3]

Hi! First of all - thank you SO much wdwmom2. You've just saved our group of four hundreds of dollars with your post. We in BC are being completely ripped off and still paying $100+ for Rapid Antigen Tests that we need to travel to take - sometimes a long way.

I've just ordered two kits, each containing two rapid antigen tests, online at switchhealth.ca, for a grand total of less than $40pp ($79 for each kit of 2 tests).

To be clear - you do NOT need to be flying Air Canada to buy these tests at a discount. We're flying WestJet. What you DO need to get the discount is an Aeroplan number. I had one already but, if you're not a member, there's a handy link in the order page that allows you to sign up. Skeptic that I am, I made sure I called Switch Health to confirm that we didn't need to be flying AC to buy and, they assured me that this is a new partnership that offers discounts to Aeroplan Members but, the tests themselves have been available to anyone for some time.

I also wasn't too clear on the 2 tests in 1 kit thing so I reconfirmed that the tests could be taken by 2 individuals - i.e. one person doesn't use both tests. Also, I confirmed that not all tests need to be taken simultaneously. One of our group of 4 is leaving a few days before us and she'll be taking her test before we do and, that's okay.

So, there you are, that's my experience (so far) of the Switch Health self-tests.

My next step will be to purchase the LAMP self-tests. As another poster said - they are, at the Aeroplan reduced price of $149CAN, much cheaper than any rapid paid PCR US test and they offer the convenience of taking the test when you want, where you are. No faffing about with Ubers to Walgreens or City Hall, no stressing about timely results (we're only in Disneyland for 3 precious days). So, cheaper, less stress, more Disney time - definitely the way we're going to go!

I’m so glad it was useful to you. And I’m happy to hear you don’t have to be flying air Canada. Do you have a link for the tests?