In my experience, Global Entry has been a lifesaver. From helping me make my connection on time to enabling me to save more than an hour of traffic when returning from Canada, the subscription has been well worth the price for us. Well, in a bit of bad news, the price for the service will be increasing — but you still have time to outrun this hike.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the price of a five-year Global Entry membership will increase to $120 on October 1st. Ahead of that, though, you can apply for the current $100 fee. By the way, as the CBP notes, this is the first time in more than 15 years that the price has risen, so it’s been a long time coming.
With Global Entry, you’ll be able to access priority lanes when re-entering the United States at many major airports and cruise ports as well as some land crossings. On top of that, the service includes TSA Precheck, which can not only save you time in line at airport security but also allows you to keep your shoes on as part of the screening process. In most cases, you’re also able to keep your 3-1-1 liquids and laptops in your bag when going through TSA Precheck lanes, although availability can vary.
On that note, there are some issues related to Global Entry. For one, the program still has an apparent backlog of applicants, with the CBP site quoting an estimated wait time of four to six months. Plus, the interview locations may not be convenient (although CBP does also offer interviews on arrival at select airports). Because of this, if you don’t plan on traveling internationally, you may be better off just sticking with TSA Precheck. In fact, while the price of Global Entry is on the rise, CBP recently lowered the TSA Precheck price to $78 for five years.
If either program sounds enticing but you don’t want to foot the bill yourself, then you might want to consider a new credit card — or see if your current card offers a perk for Global Entry/TSA Precheck application fees. You may be surprised to learn that this is a fairly common benefit, even among credit cards with modest annual fees. At this point, it’s unclear whether these cards will be updating the credit to cover the full $120 fee come October. We’ll have to wait and see.
For those who travel internationally with some frequency (or plan to) and don’t have a credit card that will cover the cost, it may behoove you to get your Global Entry application in now before the October price adjustment. Of course, even at $120, I think the five-year membership is definitely worth it for the right travelers. And, if it’s not right for you, then TSA Precheck is also an outstanding option.