I’m thinking of signing up for the Global Traveler program. This would speed my passage through airport check-in security, and also speed my passage through immigration/customs when returning from overseas.
If you’ve signed up for either TSA’s “Pre” program or CBP’s Global Traveler, what was your experience like? I understand there’s a background check and interview involved. Just how intrusive are these? Not that I have anything to hide, I just wonder how much they’re going to ask me.
The interview was quick and easy. No intrusive questions whatsoever.
Lasted about 10 minutes. I’ve been grilled worse by ICE officials when returning from Canada.
Same as above. I signed up shortly after they began rolling out the program in 2012 and it took about 10 minutes.
I’ve been directed to the pre-check line a handful of times and it is awesome. I don’t travel enough for it to be worth paying for, but if the rest of it is as easy as the posters above say, it’s worth it.
Don’t do it. In fact no one else should sign up for the program.
The current benefit is that the majority of people traveling are not TSA pre-check, so those lines move much more quickly. The more people that become pre-check, will slow that line down more and more.
I never signed up for anything, but my gf’s company set up Pre-checked status for her. The first few times I traveled with her I came up Pre-checked, and ever since then when I’ve traveled alone I come up Pre-checked.
No complaints here.
The lines do move faster, because of the shoes, laptop and liquids rules. So, even with increased numbers, it’s still a better experience.
In the link provided in the OP, the NEXUS pass seems like the better deal. It’s cheaper, and it grants both pre-check and Global Entry benefits. Am I missing something?
When there are 100 people in line for TSA pre-check and 25 in line for normal screening. I’ll probably choose the normal screening.
Me too (maybe). But I’ve never seen the lines even equal, let alone 4:1 in favor of precheck.
:eek:
I read something in the Nexus benefits about expediting entry into Canada and figured I hardly ever go there, so I stopped reading. But sure enough, it’s only $50 and includes all of the benefits of Global Entry (which goes for $100), plus easier entry into Canada. Weird. Makes me wonder why anyone would go for Global Entry instead of Nexus.
I had an interview for NEXUS several years ago, and it took 10 minutes like others have said. After that lapsed, I got a regular Pre-check pass, and the interview was maybe a minute. I’m not sure if it was so much quicker because I was already in the system, or if Pre-check is generally quicker. My NEXUS interview also had to be at the customs office of the airport, but that might be because the system was new back then.
I’ve seen the Pre-check line maybe twice as long as the regular line on rare instances (like heavy business commuter times), and the Pre-check line was still significantly faster. No taking off shoes, no unpacking your laptop and liquids, just walking through the detector instead of standing there for a scan all speed things up, along with people generally knowing what they’re doing. I’d probably still pick the Pre-check line even at 4 times as long.
The interview was nothing to remember, it pretty much confirmed the information on your application. The nice think about the Global Entry lines is that everyone seems to know the drill. You don’t get a lot of befuddled twits who seem to have wandered into an airport the way you do in general population.
I wouldn’t sweat this too much. For now, most airports have one or two lines dedicated to Pre-check. As more people are enrolled in the system, a 2/8 split of pre-check/regular can become a 4/6 split and so on. My airport opened the second line last year, and at times they’ve temporarily gone to three during peak periods.
I wish I knew what you base your “most airports” data on. In the last 12 mos.–Long Beach-Pre-check lane closed, midday. Phoenix-6am flight-Pre-check lane closed that early in the morning. Newark (fuck the Newark airport)-Pre-check lane closed, 10am weekday. We’ve gotten used to being thrilled when the damn lane is available.
For some reason I’m TSA-Precheck, but I have no idea why. I never signed up for it, but it fairly consistently appears on my boarding passes when travelling with Delta.
Threadjacking a bit, but does anyone have any idea why/how this happened?
Sorry, my post was unclear. I meant most airports with dedicated Pre-check lines have only one or two. With more people in the system, the number of lines should increase. And with more people in the system, I’d expect airports like the ones you list to keep their Pre-Check lines open more regularly.
Sorry for the hijack, but I must be misunderstanding something: The security checks exist to ensure no bad stuff gets on the airplane. But if you pay, they won’t check you or your stuff?
Isn’t that basically extortion? If I decide I want to blow up a plane, I just have to pay $50 or whatever to get my goods aboard?
You still go through screening, but it’s not as rigorous. Instead of a full-body scan, you use a metal detector. You keep your shoes on and your little bag of liquids stays in your luggage. But all the restrictions of what you can carry on still apply, and your bag still goes through the scanner.
The process is to identify low-risk individuals, allowing TSA to focus more attention on those who might be higher risk. It’s not just a matter of paying $50, it’s also going through a background check to determine if there’s anything in your history that might suggest an increased risk.
Maybe it’s a little easier to sneak something on board through the Pre-check line, but I’d guess it’s not a big difference. I know TSA sometimes runs tests of trying to sneak fake devices through security; I’d be interested if there’s been comparisons of the Pre-check and regular lines.