Global Entry renewal

[thinfool]

Last week our email contained a notice that it was time to renew our Global Entry membership.  I dutifully sat down and did so on Friday.

Today (Sunday) in our email was a 'status change' notice so I went to our GE accounts to check.  Both were renewed, no problem for the next 5 years.  New cards are available but not required because a member rarely, if ever, is asked to show his card.  Only the membership number is relevant.

It was mildly pleasing to be notified in less than 48 hours that our membership has been reviewed and renewed.  

[CruiserBruce]

Might want to share this over on Cruise Air, where there is a recent thread on the topic. Very reassuring,  as we need to renew ours this fall.

[zekekelso]

Nice to hear. Giant PITA to get the first time, glad I won’t have to do it again. 

[capriccio]

thinfool - thank you for this posting!  I have to renew my GE next month and my DH has to in October so this is great and helpful news. That's interesting that they aren't distributing new cards since I know it is one of the accepted forms of identification at the airport TSA security checks but I'm guessing few people used it. 

 

I'm just glad we won't need to schedule another interview.  In April I renewed my passport and, for some reason no one could/would explain to me, I was required to appear in person to get my GE record updated.  Luckily it didn't involve a scheduled interview and was only a half an hour away from my house but it was a PITA.

[winemama]

my wife and I both renewed our GE  i was renewed with no visit..my wife had to schedule an appointment  They told us it was the luck of the draw

[neverbeenhere]

1 hour ago, winemama said:

..my wife had to schedule an appointment  They told us it was the luck of the draw

What used to be called the booby prize. 

[capriccio]

I just received a reminder that my GE card would expire in a month.  In addition to providing the renewal instructions it included:

 

Due to a significant increase in application volume, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is extending the grace period from 6 months to 1 year for any Trusted Traveler member who has a valid membership and who has submitted a renewal application. This means you will continue to receive full benefits for 1 year while U.S. Customs and Border Protection is finalizing your renewal application.

 

It looks like they are experiencing and/or anticipating backlogs similar to those occurring with passport renewals.

[njhorseman]

On 7/18/2021 at 11:04 PM, capriccio said:

That's interesting that they aren't distributing new cards

i don't think that's what the OP said. He said " New cards are available but not required". The fact that they're available means you can get one if you wish. If you want to use your card for TSA purposes you can get a new one.

[capriccio]

40 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

i don't think that's what the OP said. He said " New cards are available but not required". The fact that they're available means you can get one if you wish. If you want to use your card for TSA purposes you can get a new one.

You're right!  I wonder if a new card requires visiting the office or if a picture can be uploaded.  If I find out when I apply for my renewal I'll post it.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, capriccio said:

You're right!  I wonder if a new card requires visiting the office or if a picture can be uploaded.  If I find out when I apply for my renewal I'll post it.

Coincidentally, my wife just applied for renewal and got her approval this morning, only two days after submitting her application. The renewal notice emphasizes that you don't need a card for air travel and in looking at the website it's not clear how you would actually go about getting a new card.  I couldn't find anyway to upload a picture and my first impression was that you might have to make an appointment at one of their applicant processing centers to get one. Admittedly I didn't bother to dig into every nook and cranny of the website to see if there was an easy way to get a new card simply because we don't really need the card right now. 

[capriccio]

I completed my Global Entry renewal around 4 pm on Wednesday, 7/21 and received my renewal approval at 3:40 am today, 7/23.  Best of all, no need for an interview!

 

Regarding the GE card there is a highlighted note:  You need to carry your membership card only if you'll be traveling by land between the United States and Canada or Mexico. You do not need the Global Entry card for travel by air.  You can request a new card by completing another screen that has you chose a reason but I didn't go any further since I don't need it.

 

 

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

55 minutes ago, capriccio said:

I completed my Global Entry renewal around 4 pm on Wednesday, 7/21 and received my renewal approval at 3:40 am today, 7/23.  Best of all, no need for an interview!

 

Regarding the GE card there is a highlighted note:  You need to carry your membership card only if you'll be traveling by land between the United States and Canada or Mexico. You do not need the Global Entry card for travel by air.  You can request a new card by completing another screen that has you chose a reason but I didn't go any further since I don't need it.

 

 

 

 

Just got my e mail notification of upcoming (6 months away) expiration of my Global Entry.

 

Another value of your GE card is when getting off ships in some ports, the GE card will get you into a GE line for Immigration, which typically moves very fast. Ft Lauderdale and Seattle have this. Other ports may as cruising ramps up.

 

Your GE card can also move you through various security lines as a "Trusted Traveler". This happened to me at Toronto in 2018...but both security lines moved pretty slowly.

 

Our GE card almost always travels clipped to our passports.

[KS&JW]

I am curious, if you renew early and don't wait until the month or two prior to your expiration date, does that shorten the 5 years on your renewal?  My understanding is you can renew anytime in the year prior and I thought about doing it at 11 months just to make sure it happens in time.  But I'm not sure if doing that would shorten my 5 years.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, KS&JW said:

I am curious, if you renew early and don't wait until the month or two prior to your expiration date, does that shorten the 5 years on your renewal?  My understanding is you can renew anytime in the year prior and I thought about doing it at 11 months just to make sure it happens in time.  But I'm not sure if doing that would shorten my 5 years.

No. The expiration is 5 years from your birthday after your signing up, or renewing. DW and my birthdays are in January....when ours was due to expire. Just applied to renew ours today...it will still expire 5 years from our January birthdays whether we apply today, or in  December.

 

Applied today because we realized this issue today, and because we are traveling quite a bit the next 4 months...hopefully.

[njhorseman]

On 7/21/2021 at 11:43 AM, njhorseman said:

Coincidentally, my wife just applied for renewal and got her approval this morning, only two days after submitting her application. The renewal notice emphasizes that you don't need a card for air travel and in looking at the website it's not clear how you would actually go about getting a new card.  I couldn't find anyway to upload a picture and my first impression was that you might have to make an appointment at one of their applicant processing centers to get one. Admittedly I didn't bother to dig into every nook and cranny of the website to see if there was an easy way to get a new card simply because we don't really need the card right now. 

 

On 7/23/2021 at 8:05 AM, capriccio said:

I completed my Global Entry renewal around 4 pm on Wednesday, 7/21 and received my renewal approval at 3:40 am today, 7/23.  Best of all, no need for an interview!

 

Regarding the GE card there is a highlighted note:  You need to carry your membership card only if you'll be traveling by land between the United States and Canada or Mexico. You do not need the Global Entry card for travel by air.  You can request a new card by completing another screen that has you chose a reason but I didn't go any further since I don't need it.

 

 

 

 

OK...the mystery of how to get a new card upon renewal has been solved. My wife received her new card in the mail this afternoon, only 5 days after receiving her renewal approval notice and 7 days after submitting her renewal application. It uses the picture that was taken 5 years ago. You have to go on line to activate the new card when you receive it.

[CruiserBruce]

We applied on Saturday...got our "Change in Status" e mail last night (Monday). Need an interview for both of us. Wonder how random interviews are? We are scheduled for Sept 23...earliest we could do was a couple of interviews on Sept 20 at SFO. No Zoom appointments available for many months. Guess they have stopped Zoom interviews.