I think you need the physical card when returning by water as well—typically a cruise, but maybe if you’re coming on a luxury yacht as well.
This. When arriving at a US airport way past one’s bedtime after a 12-hour flight, it’s awfully nice to be shunted to The Short Line for whisking through immigration. Aft that you still have to wait for your luggage to arrive before passing through customs, but at least while you’re waiting there you can freely wander the baggage claim area, visit the bathrooms, and so on.
I do not have a cite, but I was of the understanding that if you have two credit cards in your wallet with the RFID chips, simply storing them right next to one another (e.g. in the same pocket) would be enough to stave-off a theoretical RFID theft, operating under the assumption that the two chips in close proximity would provide a confusing and unusable morass of data to any passing-by reading device. I don’t know if any of that was verified, but from the above links it sounds like this is not much of a real problem.
Huh? I thought Global Entry was all about easing the process of getting through the security checkpoint on your way to the gate, so that you could leave your shoes, belt and jacket on and your wallet in your pocket, and not about being put in the short line during the customs and immigration check on landing in the US after being overseas. Because in my limited experience, US citizens automatically get put in the short line.
Can I get a second one if I just pay the shipping?
You are thinking of Pre-Check.
Global Entry gives you expedited immigration clearance to the US. NEXUS is a US/Canada joint program that gives you expedited immigration clearance to the US and Canada.
NEXUS also gives you Global Entry, both give you Pre-Check.
Global Entry is also sometimes helpful if you are someone who, hmmm, is darker skinned and hmmm, seems to get pulled out of security lines more frequently, since it signifies that you’ve been fingerprinted and had a background check.
TSA Pre is the thing that expedites your passage through the security checkpoint inside a US airport when you are on your way to board a domestic or international flight. This is extremely handy at certain airports that tend to have very long lines at the regular security checkpoints.
CBP Global Entry is the thing that expedites your passage through customs and immigration when re-entering the US from another country.
This chart lays it all out.. You can sign up for Pre for five years for $85. For just $15, you can add Global Entry to your list of credentials as well - so if you expect to do any international travel in the next five years, this is a pretty cheap upgrade.
As others have said, Global Entry allows you to bypass the normal immigration lines. I usually travel back to the US through Dulles Airport in Virginia, and the US Citizen line is still long. Plus, there is a chance you will be randomly selected for further scrutiny. At Dulles, the Global Entry lets me go through the same line as the Air Crew, and I scan my passport, and I think my fingerprints, and then they give a quick check of my passport, and I’m out. Well worth the $100, especially as mine came free with my credit card 