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GLOBAL ENTRY OR PRE-CHECK — WHICH IS BETTER?

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TSA Pre Check in Expedited Screening sign at airport

The TSA’s Global Entry program has been around for several years now. It allows you to bypass the long Immigration lines when entering the country and, instead, electronically scan your passport and answer the regular inbound questions at a special kiosk.

Airport_SecurityThe process takes only a few minutes, gives you a print-out for Control, and speeds you toward the luggage carrousel.

To obtain Global Entry membership, you must answer questions online at www.globalentry.gov, pay a non-refundable $100 application fee, and submit your application. When your application has been approved, you will be able to choose an appointment time at an official TSA processing center. These are located at major airports around the country.

At your TSA appointment, you will receive a verbal screening, have your fingerprints taken and entered into the government system, have your passport processed for the Global Entry system, and receive a short demonstration on how to utilize the airport kiosks when entering the country.

The whole process takes about half an hour and is valid for five years. You will want to be sure that your passport is valid for a 5 year period, since you will be registering this information for your Global Entry membership.

The TSA Pre-Check program was initiated by individual airlines and offered to selected frequent flyers in their mileage programs who were deemed low risk travelers. There was no application process to enter the Pre-Check program, and you only qualified for the Pre-Check line when traveling on your sponsoring airline.

It was strictly for domestic flights and allowed you to go through a special airport security lane without removing your jacket and shoes and also permitted you to keep your toiletry bag and laptop inside your luggage. The Pre-Check lines moved quickly and made business travelers much happier.

Recently, however, children under 12 years old have all been automatically transferred to the Pre-Check program, since they are not considered security risks and were already allowed to keep their shoes on when passing through Security.

Airport_Picture-Chicago_ConcourseIn a move to open Pre-Check up to other qualified travelers not already in the program, the TSA has now announced an application program similar to the Global Entry enrollment. They propose to eventually open 300 processing centers around the country, although only a handful are available so far.

To qualify, you would be interviewed, fingerprinted, background checked, and pay $85. If approved, you would retain this membership for 5 years. It would apply to flights on all domestic airlines at airports with Pre-Check Security lanes.

Both the Global Entry and Pre-Check programs have a similar enrollment process, although I think the Global Entry program is better for the following reasons.

  1. At present, there are 31 Global Entry enrollment centers around the country located at main airports, but only 4 Pre-Check enrollment centers open as of January 1, 2014.
  2. Global Entry membership offers quick Immigration passage back into the country, along with automatic Pre-Check status on all domestic airlines, while Pre-Check is only for TSA domestic flight screening lanes at the airport.
  3. Global Entry requires a passport to register, but Pre-Check only requires a driver’s license. If you never travel outside the country, Pre-Check would provide an adequate program for domestic travel.

Will you apply for Global Entry or Pre-Check membership to get through the Security lines quicker?

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