Is Global Entry worth it?

I remember the first time I used it. I was at DFW and I got through passport control and then had to wait for my luggage it was so quick. As I waited I noticed the line for customs for non GE was huge with folks with loads of luggage each. When luggage came I was the 2nd person in line for customs and got right through. Yes, it is worth it.

We have Global Entry and Clear.

In 2022, arriving in Detroit from London, we had 1:30 between flights. I was pretty concerned about it, but we literally had time to spare and had it sit for several minutes waiting to board our departure plane.

Returning from Italy in 2023 via JFK, I took note of the time that the seatbelt sign turned off and stood up to deplane. From the time we stood up in our arrival plane, to sitting at our gate for our flight home was 45 minutes.

We also have Clear and on the 2023 flight it made a huge difference. We still have Clear and it is "free" with one of our credit cards, but I am not sure I would pay for it now, as we have not "used" it since 2023--digital id lines have been faster for us.

Global Entry - yes it is worth it!!!

Agreed.

I only travel about once a year and I have to be thrifty but it is well worth the money.

Makes coming home so much easier. There is no line. Agents are friendly. I look in a computer and that is it. I go through.

It is so easy that I can not remember vey many details but so far have only used it twice.

And keep in mind, it also includes TSA Pre for when leaving home.

To answer the question, yes, absolutely. I fly internationally via LAX. With Global Entry I bypass lines and am out the door while others make up those long lines.

I too think it is worth it.

We have Clear as well. The checkpoint that we use at SEA has one that is Pre/Clear only. We always head to that one. I do the camera thing there and get escorted directly to the agent and then to get scanned.

Global Entry 100%

Clear -i get it for free—-and that’s overpriced imho. Never assume the clear line will take less time. At my home airport, Atlanta, it’s dramatically slower than regular precheck

I appreciated Global Entry. Perhaps the best was at a passport check in Vancouver before boarding an Alaskan cruise. There was a long line for passport, but no one waiting for Global Entry.

Now that I live overseas and rarely travel to the US, I'm not spending $100 to renew. Instead, I'm using the free US Government Mobile Passport Control app. It worked very well for me entering in DC last year.

The free Mobile Passport Control app works for me too. Quick entry at Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Just an FYI, on our last 2 overseas trips, my wife and I used the free Mobile Passport Control app and were through immigration faster than our friends who used Global Entry. May not always be the fastest, but very simple to use, no cost and no interview required.

No questions, no passport. Just go. I think the entire time it took to enter the kiosk area to the time I walked past baggage claim was about 30 seconds.

On a recent return through ATL, the GE facial recognition kiosks were the very first setup in the massive room, no line, and without breaking stride we walked past the officer who welcomed us by name and waved us through. Maybe 20 seconds in that room...

The GE experience has improved immensely in recent years. This was my first return through ATL in a decade, but my usual arrival airport is DFW and it is very fast there, too.

Worth every penny. All I got to do is stand at the kiosk correctly for my facial recognition.

Yes! My experience exactly coming in thru SLC in October.

I had an extremely short transit time to catch the flight to Spokane from SLC, we were about 15 minutes late and was sweating it. I was in Delta One, 4th one off the plane. Walked quickly thru their new international terminal and watched the guy ahead of me go quickly thru GE. I stepped to the machine, it flashed a green and go. I started walking to the Border Control officer who leaned out of his booth and called out "Pamela? Did you bring back anything more than you usually do?", I laughed and said No. He said you are good to go. Honestly, I never broke stride.

To me the system has gotten SO much better since I first got GE. I was always having to faff around with the fingerprint pad and could never get all four fingers at the right pressure plus getting a picture of my face instead of the top of my gray head. Then there was a jerk of an officer I used to get in Seattle who somehow didn't believe an older woman should be traveling internationally on her own, lol. Haven't gotten him in a few years so I hope he is gone. This last entry was the quickest ever!

I love GE too. I'm always amazed at how I don't have to do anything but step up to the machine for a few seconds. Then I approach the CBP officer, who calls me by my name and tells me I'm good to go.

My Chase United Airlines card covered the cost so obviously it was worth getting.

I sometimes had good luck with Mobile Passport before I had GE, though for a few years it wasn't available in ATL, my home airport. Then when it came back (2022 or 2023) sometimes there wasn't a Mobile Passport lane open. I encountered that situation at Newark once too.

If you only travel once or twice a year internationally, it might not be worth it. It took ten months for me to be conditionally approved and then I had to go to the airport for the interview. But I love having GE. It's saved me loads of time.

Global Entry is included with Nexus, which costs less (huh?). When I got my first Nexus card, I paid the $50 fee by mail in Canadian funds, so I save even more. Apparently, you have to live a border state to get Nexus, though. Nexus also includes the Canadian version of Global Entry (which might also be called GE, for all I know), which came in handy when flying into Vancouver from London.

We had a small line in Philly in December, but nothing compared to the non-GE line. Numerous planes land around this time. All personnel were friendly and helpful. Yes, I found it worthwhile as deplaning in Philly is not always pleasant or quick.

Frank II, I had your same experience in San Francisco in November. No waiting at any time!

Maybe the question of "worth it" depends on how much it costs for you and how often you travel internationally. For me, even if it only expedited that one time I really needed to hurry, it would be worth it. Someone that only travels abroad once every five years or so, or is not connecting to another flight, might not find it a value.

According to CBP website the NEXUS card only works at GE kiosks when entering via Canada.

Stan, you don't use the Nexus card for GE, but GE "status" is included in Nexus approval (as is TSA pre-check). and it's both US and CA GE.

Nexus card, I paid the $50 fee by mail

It’s now the same fee as GE, $120

Apparently, you have to live in a border state to get Nexus

The interview has to happen at the border, but one can live anywhere

I got mine, but my husband still needed to do his interview. Anyway, flying into Charlotte NC from the Caribbean he would try to get his interview on arrival. Was informed that it closed 30 minutes previously. The lines for regular entry filled a massive auditorium sized room. We decided I would use my new global entry and go get our bags then wait for him. Anyway, I basically walked through, waited for and got our luggage and then waited another hour for my husband to make it through the line. Hopefully he gets his interview on Wednesday when we fly back into RDU - no reasonable appointments at CLT unless he was to take a day off work just for that and drive an hour each way. My interview was in Detroit with no wait. So, while the interview can be a hassle, we think it's going to be worth it.

Oh, and we each used a different credit card that rebates the fee, so it was free for us to get except for our time.

Charlotte is a Mobile Passport facility, why didn't he download the app and use it there?