Three years ago, my family of 5 had our TSA Pre √ appointment, we received our known traveler numbers and we have happily used the benefit at many airports. Despite Rob and I having another 2 years until we would need to renew our TSA Pre √ status, we interviewed for Global Entry.
The fact is, we are traveling a bit more internationally now. We were just in London this past summer and jealously watched as our friends with Global Entry whizzed through customs while we waited on a long line to get back in to the US. Next summer, we are talking about heading to Greece. Also, we are headed to Morocco this December, but that is with the kids, so I need to think about getting it for them too.
Global Entry is run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and allows “pre-approved, low risk” travelers an expedited means of clearing customs upon reentering the country. It is a better option than TSA Pre√ for those who frequently travel internationally because the program is designed to expedite the customs process. (TSA Pre√ does the same for the security screening process.) In addition, Global Entry travelers are automatically qualified for TSA PreCheck, but the reverse is not true. Travelers with Global Entry use kiosks that read their passports, fingerprints, and customs declarations, allowing them to bypass the customs official and the accompanying line. Currently, these airports have Global Entry locations.
There are certain eligibility requirements that you need to meet to qualify for Global Entry. See the full list of eligibility requirements for Global Entry here. Global Entry is valid for five years, after which you can renew it.
I filled out Rob and my Global Entry applications and paid the $100 fees in mid July. Shortly after that, (during which time they did a thorough background check on each of us), I was supposed to get an email/letter to schedule an interview. I may have missed it, but when I logged back in about a week later, we had both been approved (separate accounts) and I was able to schedule our interviews.
Knowing that we would both be at Newark Airport this past Tuesday for OUR FREE FLIGHTS TO ASPEN, I made us 845 AM appts. We had 11 AM flights in a different terminal at the airport. However, the process was smooth. They called us in about 9 am. Rob and I each went to a different U.S. Customs Border Protection officer and they asked us questions, took our pictures and scanned all 10 fingerprints. The actual interview took about 5 minutes. You need to bring two forms of ID to the interview, ie, your driver’s license and passport. We took the air tran to our flight terminal. We received an email soon after, THAT SAME DAY, that we will be receiving our Global Entry ID cards in the mail.
As you may guess, I have enough credit cards that offer a credit for Global Entry, so I have spent nothing for our Global Entry status. I used my Chase Sapphire Reserve card for my application fee and I used my U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite Card for Rob’s fee.
As for the kids, it will be easy to get their application fees credited. I have a lot more cards with this benefit. :-). A harder feat may be me trying to get them all together for an appointment. But at least, we don’t need to bring Rob. I think I will shoot for the Bowling Green location. I can combine it with a downtown visit. We’ll see….
If you want to apply for Global Entry, here is the site.