TSA Pre-check vs. Global Entry
Have you ever cut in line in front of 400 people? I have and it was ahhhmazing! Well, except for the looks of contempt from all those still waiting in line. But, I’ve been there too, and totally understand.
Let me back up though. If you’ve ever travelled through a US airport you’re sure to know what TSA pre-check is. If not, it’s a separate line you can use at airport security that gets you through much faster. You don’t have to remove your shoes, belts, or light jackets, take out liquids or laptops, and generally I’ve found the agents, while still thorough, move you along a little more quickly. The TSA website claims that, “In January 2020, 94% of TSA Pre✓®passengers waited less than 5 min.” To use this magical line you must have “TSA pre-check” printed on your boarding pass. Back several years ago you could sometimes get this designation by chance. Nowadays they are much more strict on this and require that you go through the application process.
A few years ago we applied for TSA pre-check and went to the airport to do the paperwork, fingerprints, and interview. The cost is $85 per person and it’s good for 5 years. Another bonus: children 12 and under traveling with you can go through pre-check, too! If you do all your traveling domestically, this is probably all you need. I can attest that when traveling with friends who go through the regular security line I’m usually all the way through, have grabbed a water bottle and a magazine, and still have to wait 10 minutes for my friends to get through their line.
So we’ve established that TSA Pre✓® gets you to your flight faster. What about getting back home? That’s where Global Entry comes in. After several international trips spent waiting in long lines at customs I decided to look into just what Global Entry was all about. It turns out that with Global Entry you can skip the long customs lines by checking out through a kiosk with your passport, declaring anything you’re bringing back, and then handing the printed out receipt to an agent on your way out the doors. Also…your Global Entry pass includes TSA Pre-check!! The fee for Global Entry is $100, so my recommendation is to pay the additional $15 and get both. You never know when you might need it.
Truthfully, I was a little leery of giving the government all of my information, going through the background check, and all that it seemed to entail. The reality is this: all of that information is out there anyway and hello…I have nothing to hide!! So, last year before heading to St. Barts for Spring Break, I applied for Global Entry for all four of us. (Something to note: each family member must apply, regardless of age. You cannot bring anyone with you through Global Entry if they have not been granted the designation, including your children.)
After you apply online and provide all required documentation you’ll be asked to set up an interview. This can be the tricky part. It’s best to start this process well ahead of any upcoming trips. Most DHS offices that offer these appointments are at major airports. We were lucky that there was also a local office in our town that offered limited time slots for interviews. I was able to get my son’s and my application through quickly enough to get appointments before our trip. My husband and daughter took a little longer. By the time their applications were through and we were asked to set up an interview, the only appointments available before our trip were in towns 8+ hours away!!
This is how I ended up skipping ahead of 400 people in the Atlanta airport. We took our trip to St. Barts and our return flights home took us through Atlanta. We had a good two hour layover and I figured we had plenty of time. Since we had flown from St. Martin to ATL we had to go through customs and immigration and then back through security to take our next flight to get home to Houston. As we walked down the corridor toward customs the crowd of people ahead of us stopped and appeared to be in a line. All of the regular customs kiosks were down and the roped off lines to get to the customs agents were completely full. We were in a line to get into that line!
At that point my husband suggested that my son and I go ahead and use our newly minted Global Entry cards. I had planned to stay with the group (we were traveling with another family, too), but realized our predicament. It could take hours to get through this line and we could miss our next flight! So we took off around the line with all of the people staring us down. It took less than 5 minutes to use the kiosk and get through security. Which, by the way, closed the TSA pre-check lane after we went through.
We made it to our gate, checked in with the gate agents to let them know that our party was stuck but on their way, and still had time to grab a bite to eat. I was so relieved to see our group walking up to the gate an hour and a half later. Our plane was boarding and they literally had to walk right on with no time to stop. Luckily we all made the flight, but this experience really made me realize that it is worth the trouble to be able to use these programs!
