Global Entry - what are you thoughts?

We are going on Med Cruise in April, a friend said it is worth it even if used just once. It is some type of perk with Capitalone, although they only reimbursed for the primary cardholder. We fly in and out of ATL, so figure they will be slammed when re-entry to U.S..

We have had GE for several years and often used it when flying through ATL while returning from our Puerto Vallarta winter home. GE does get us through immigration without delay, but then we have to wait and wait and wait for Delta to send-up our luggage. By the time the luggage arrives just about everyone without GE is also waiting right next to us...and they did not pay for GE :(. The biggest problem at ATL happens for those of us who have flight connections. After retrieving luggage one must go through a TSA Security check which does not have any special GE line. The queue can often be horrendous and we have twice missed connections because of being delayed at this TSA Check point (sometimes for nearly an hour). We are aware of at least 2 frequent flyers who have complained to Congress about this TSA problem and there have been some rumors of a new procedure at this bottleneck.. But we will not hold our breath.

Hank

We have had GE for several years and often used it when flying through ATL while returning from our Puerto Vallarta winter home. GE does get us through immigration without delay, but then we have to wait and wait and wait for Delta to send-up our luggage. By the time the luggage arrives just about everyone without GE is also waiting right next to us...and they did not pay for GE :(. The biggest problem at ATL happens for those of us who have flight connections. After retrieving luggage one must go through a TSA Security check which does not have any special GE line. The queue can often be horrendous and we have twice missed connections because of being delayed at this TSA Check point (sometimes for nearly an hour). We are aware of at least 2 frequent flyers who have complained to Congress about this TSA problem and there have been some rumors of a new procedure at this bottleneck.. But we will not hold our breath.

 

Hank

Thanks Hank, we will have a connecting flight to WPB, so will make sure we have a decent layover to cover for any long delays getting luggage and TSA.

By the time the luggage arrives just about everyone without GE is also waiting right next to us...and they did not pay for GE :(.

Except you can go to the rest room while waiting in the luggage claim area. While they are stuck in the immigration line, where they cannot.

:D

Also, GE gets you TSA Pre-Chek, so you can shorten that wait also. :D

Except you can go to the rest room while waiting in the luggage claim area. While they are stuck in the immigration line, where they cannot.

 

:D

That is enough to make it worth the price to my wife

Except you can go to the rest room while waiting in the luggage claim area. While they are stuck in the immigration line, where they cannot.

 

:D

Or go grab a drink at the bar! ;)

Or go grab a drink at the bar! ;)

That's worth price of admission right there!!

You also need the cards in Canada. The people that let you into the GE line when clearing immigration in Canada will not let you in the line without the card. And those people are Canadian workers, so they can only do what they have been told.

This right here is really interesting. I had stopped carrying my card and now its going right back into my carryon. There are several countries where I have been through immigration before leaving for the US, but had not as yet been asked to show my card to get into the proper line. Thanks for sharing this!

Or go grab a drink at the bar! ;)

Never seen a bar in the luggage area.

And if you leave that area, you cannot get back in.

This right here is really interesting. I had stopped carrying my card and now its going right back into my carryon. There are several countries where I have been through immigration before leaving for the US, but had not as yet been asked to show my card to get into the proper line. Thanks for sharing this!

You are welcome.

I was an early customer of GE. There were no cards. When the started giving out the cards, they wanted $15 for those of us who did not get them, to get one.

I did not.

I traveled to Canada and back. I went online and ordered my card. :D

Never seen a bar in the luggage area.

 

And if you leave that area, you cannot get back in.

I guess that depends on the airport. In Newark, you certainly can. You just go up an escalator from the luggage carousel and you're on a level with restaurants, shops, and bars.

Coming back into the US from Vancouver, my friends had GE (we didn't....have it now) and they were asked for the cards. The friends had the cards but had to dig through their carry-on to find them....We made it through customs before them. We will be using the GE card in a few weeks so hopefully it will save some time getting through security. The interview process was quick and fairly painless.

This right here is really interesting. I had stopped carrying my card and now its going right back into my carryon. There are several countries where I have been through immigration before leaving for the US, but had not as yet been asked to show my card to get into the proper line. Thanks for sharing this!

Very useful if you are not american,you save yourself the hassle and disconfort,and plain nastiness,of the american border control.

Very useful if you are not american,you save yourself the hassle and disconfort,and plain nastiness,of the american border control.

I believe that there are only 11 countries (plus the USA) whose citizens are eligible for the Global Entry Program. The remainder of the world is out of luck when it comes to GE. What we find interesting is that there are only 3 Western European countries on that list (UK, Germany and Switzerland).

Hank

I believe that there are only 11 countries (plus the USA) whose citizens are eligible for the Global Entry Program. The remainder of the world is out of luck when it comes to GE. What we find interesting is that there are only 3 Western European countries on that list (UK, Germany and Switzerland).

 

Hank

I know,I,as an argentinian,have global entry.But you forget that many developed countries,have esta,that makes it a bit better to transit border control than people with a tourist visa.Also,the people working there,think that everybody living below the rio grande are the same,and that all of us want to move ilegally there....:eek::eek::eek:Plenty of us,have no need or interest to do that.

I know,I,as an argentinian,have global entry.But you forget that many developed countries,have esta,that makes it a bit better to transit border control than people with a tourist visa.Also,the people working there,think that everybody living below the rio grande are the same,and that all of us want to move ilegally there....:eek::eek::eek:Plenty of us,have no need or interest to do that.

You are preaching to the choir :). We live south of the Rio (in Mexico) for about 10 weeks a year and I would spend even more time south of the Rio if it wasn't for DW who has other ideas :). We would certainly be more happy to spend more time in BA and other parts of your beautiful country.

Hank

You are preaching to the choir :). We live south of the Rio (in Mexico) for about 10 weeks a year and I would spend even more time south of the Rio if it wasn't for DW who has other ideas :). We would certainly be more happy to spend more time in BA and other parts of your beautiful country.

 

Hank

Yes,and dw has the power,lol.Donde manda capitan,no manda marinero,lol (where the captain rules,the sailor doesnt,lol)

GE is absolutely worth it for me. Not so much as a cruiser, but as someone who flies internationally for business, it's a must-have. At my home international terminal, we can have 3 arriving 747s empty out at their gates within minutes of each other. That can be something like ~900 passengers all laying siege to the same Customs hall at the same time. If you're smart, you book it from the gate to the hall to be near the head of the herd. If you don't like booking it, you get Global Entry and hang a left around the 60-person-deep lines of misery and walk directly up to a kiosk, spend 2-3 minutes getting verified and doing a declaration... and if you don't declare anything 95% of the time you just get a printout and hand it to someone on your way out of the hall. I've never been selected for screening while GE, though that's probably luck-of-the-draw if they've properly randomized it.

The other benefits don't do much for me. I've got free TSA Pre-Check through my airline's loyalty program. If you have a credit/payment card with excellent travel benefits (CSR/AMEX Platinum), GE should be a no-brainer. The card issuer will reimburse the $100 cost for sign-up and renewals every 5 years.

How much is the charge for CLEAR? I remember asking a CLEAR sales rep and was surprised how much it was and it is a monthly charge. Am I remembering correctly? IMO it would only be a good value if a person does lots of travel, like for business.

Thanks!

CLEAR seems to be $15/month or $179 a year - EVERY year, unlike the $100 for 5 years with Global Entry and Pre-check. Yikes! :o

The fewer people willing to pa ythose charges the faster those who will pay can get Cleared.

CLEAR seems to be $15/month or $179 a year - EVERY year, unlike the $100 for 5 years with Global Entry and Pre-check. Yikes! :o

Airlines pay part or all of the fee if you have status.

I think I pay $79 per year.

But fly a lot internationally, and a lot on foreign carriers that do not subscribe to Pre-Check.