A look at what each offers and some tips on how to expedite your interview process.
Updated August 2024 to include CLEAR information
Ok, so anyone who does any amount of travel with regularity, say a couple times a year, can most certainly benefit from the Trusted Traveler Program (TTP). When it comes to these programs you have a few options: TSA Pre-check, CLEAR, and Global Entry. Which one you choose depends entirely on the type of travel that you typically do. There are also differences on the requirements when it comes to minors traveling with their parents. What’s the difference between the three? Glad you asked.
TSA Pre-check
TSA Pre-check costs $85.00 and it will give you a shorter and faster experience when clearing security in US airports. In addition to a dedicated security line, you will also not be required to remove shoes, belts, or lightweight jackets and you can keep the laptop and small liquids in your carry-on. Adults all have to have their own TSA Pre-check but any children 12 and under can accompany their parent/guardian through the expedited security. There seems to be a bit of a grey area regarding the kids aged 13-17 here though. The TSA website indicates that they may accompany their parent provided that their boarding pass is marked with a Pre-check indicator, but then it continues to say that kids may randomly be denied the indicator which means you need to queue in the regular security line. Probably best to avoid the roulette game and obtain a TSA Pre-check for the teens as well as the adults. Your pass is valid for 5 years so it works out to $18.00 a year per person. Money well spent.
Global Entry
Global Entry on the other hand operates a bit differently. The cost is $100.00 and it too is valid for 5 years. Benefits of this card include TSA Pre-check (yup, everything in the above paragraph applies to GE card holders too) as well as the ability to clear US customs when returning from international travel being MUCH easier. Instead of filling out forms and then lining up with all the other weary travelers to interview with the customs officer you get to go to a separate area that has kiosks and simply enter information in there. In most cases you won't even have to enter any information, you will just stand there and let the camera take your picture. Then you proceed to the customs agent who will just compare the screenshot he gets to your physical face and you are done. This is not to say you can't be flagged for a screening, those are random and apply to everyone, but it is unlikely and you’ll be sailing through customs most of the time without breaking a sweat. This also applies to some international airports like most Canadian airports, Dublin Ireland, and some Caribbean locales. Sounds great but there is a big difference here between GE and Pre-check when it comes to kids.
Unlike the TSA version, children (infants included) will need their own GE.
A Bit of Confusion
A little more on that last aspect needs to be said. Having just recently gone through the process I found some apparently contradictory information on the TTP website and the log-in.gov website. For those unfamiliar with the latter, in order to apply to the TTP programs you will need to create an account on it at the outset. Where my confusion came was when I went to see the requirements for my little one. On the TTP website it indicates, correctly, that all children regardless of age must apply for their own GE card and ergo must create a log-in.gov account as part of the process. When I went to view the conditions for creating an account I noticed a line that indicated the applicant testifies that they are not under the age of 13. Wait, what? So, I have to create an account that I am not allowed to create? Needless to say I was unsure how to proceed. I wrote a query to their help center and, surprisingly, got an answer the next day.
The answer was that they were both correct. I did need to create an account for my child, but it was me creating it and not her. Subtle difference, I know, but a key one. I needed to generate a unique email for her and then use it to create the account. Once I did that, further in to the process I was able to identify myself as the parent or legal guardian. Presumably once one enters the age of the child, it will automatically spawn this information entry field. Would have been nice to have that right as the first step to avoid confusion but nonetheless, there it is. Hopefully anyone else facing this dilemma can find this tidbit useful!
Ok, next step is the application for GE. Pretty straightforward. Obviously, be completely honest with your responses. After a while, it can take months apparently, you should get a notification in your email that you’ve been conditionally approved. Once you are conditionally approved you need to schedule an interview at one of their locations where they will ask some basic questions, predominantly pertaining to your answers on the application and then you get fingerprinted and photographed and it’s done.
Not so fast though. Getting an interview for the GE program is, well, a nightmare unless you can use some tricks.
The Interview
Some airports have a process where they offer Enrollment on Arrival (EOA) which basically means you can do your interview when arriving from an international destination. In the case of Canadian airports, you can actually interview in Canada prior to boarding your plane (because those traveling to United States from Canada clear US customs at the Canadian airport). Don’t rely on the EOA process though if you are arriving at a very busy airport like JFK as I have heard many cases where the person was turned away due to the volume of people.
So, your other option is to book an interview using the link they provide in your dashboard. You open the scheduler up on the TTP website and see a whole list of locations. Hopeful, you click a couple only to find that there are either none available or that they are at least a year from now. Crazy! Some airports might have better availability but the bulk of them are completely booked. Don’t give up yet though! Just because it says that when you check it doesn’t mean you are waiting that long. In fact you are very likely to get in within a month but you need a bit of help.
Appointment slots are created or existing ones canceled at random times it would seem. I spent a couple hours cycling between my home airport and JFK watching for a slot to randomly open. No luck at my home airport but JFK actually had 4 different times open up while I was searching, one as soon as the following day. The times didn’t work for me as I was not going to be in NY at that juncture so I passed on them.
The Solution to a Faster Interview
Not wanting to spend any more time at the computer in an attempt to get lucky I did a bit of looking around on Google. Enter the cavalry. There are (at least) two apps out there that constantly scan the airport schedules for appointments and , when one opens up, will send you a notification. The two I found were Appointment Scanner and Global Interview. Both of these seemed to offer the exact same service so I made my decision based on cost. Appointment Scanner costs $29.00 for a month of service at which point it terminates and if you haven’t gotten an interview by then you’d need to pay again for the next month. Global Interview costs one time fee $4.99 for the app download in the Apple Store so that was the one I opted for.
Now one thing should be noted. These services are only going to give you a notification of an available appointment, you still need to log in and actually secure the appointment. That being said, I was initially missing my notifications because I’d silenced them by accident ( I had to specifically add the app to the allowed apps in the new Apple Focus settings) and then it seemed every time I got an alert I was driving, or sound asleep, our even once I was just out walking and tried to log in with my phone. It was too slow though and by the time I was logged in the appointment was gone. The JFK appointments I’d seen earlier usually lasted 2 minutes at best.
Stay Alert and Get Rewarded
Anyhow, finally I was sitting at my workstation one afternoon when I got a notification and I was able to jump in quickly and secure it. This was about 10 days after downloading the app and the appointment was within a month so not too bad at all. Got one for my daughter shortly afterwards too. Yes, the kids need to interview as well and, depending on age, may get fingerprinted. The moral of the story is that you need to act quickly once you do get that notification. Neither of the apps require a subscription. Global Interview is only available for Apple via a purchased download at the Apple store while Appointment Scanner is web based and you can use it for any device so that may be a factor in your decision to choose one over the other.
A Look at CLEAR
CLEAR is a membership program that allows its members to quickly verify their identities at biometric security kiosks. The paid membership Clear Plus is required for use at airports, while CLEAR membership is free for those who only wish to use it to enter partner stadiums and arenas. CLEAR Plus costs $189.00 annually and as of January 29, 2024, CLEAR Plus is available at 58 airports nationwide (United States). There are some international airports that participate in the "Reserve" program. Clear Reserve is a free service that allows travelers to book a time slot and dedicated lane for airport security during peak travel times. CLEAR uses a Pod system with biometric information so it is very likely you will sail through security with no wait. As with the TSA-Pre-check, children under 18 may accompany a parent through the CLEAR line without needing to enroll for it themselves.
Does CLEAR Plus come with TSA Pre-check?
In short, no. CLEAR is an independent company while TSA is a government program. You can use CLEAR to apply for the TSA Pre-check however and they will submit your application for you at a cost of $78. You may also choose to bundle when you buy CLEAR Plus for a cost of $199.95 for both which grants you the 5 years of TSA Pre-check and will have the Clear Plus membership renew yearly as usual. There are a few credit cards that also reimburse a CLEAR Plus membership with the American Express Green card doing so.
So Which TTP Should You Pick?
If you travel internationally often it is a bit of a no-brainer: Global entry will serve you the best especially since it includes TSA pre-check. Domestically CLEAR is accepted at far fewer airports than TSA Pre-check but it can result in much faster lines or in many cases no wait in line at all. TSA Pre-check sometimes can still be a long wait even if it does mean you don't need to remove shoes, laptops etc. CLEAR is also only good for one year, but if you do a lot of domestic travel, especially to locations that have the service, then it might be worthwhile. In those cases I'd recommend buying the bundle so that even at non-CLEAR airports you still gain the advantage of having the TSA Pre-check.
Summary
Whichever one you pick, they all will make your travel experience a little bit better. Decide based on your own travel patterns and destinations. Or get them all if that is what suits you best!
Some other quick tips on the Global Entry program:
Declare everything correctly! The includes any and ALL types of food. By which I mean, chips, chocolate bars, pre-packaged sandwiches, everything. Believe it or not, if you fail to declare these items and you just happen to be selected at random for a check, you may lose your Global Entry status and in some extreme cases may be looking at charges. Don’t risk it!
Not all airports are even going to have you fill out a customs form on the kiosk. Several times we've just walked up to one, had our picture taken by it, and then went straight to the customs officer who simply verified our picture to the person in front of him and said "welcome home". I have also had to enter total dollar value for purchases and declare no fruits, veg, or other prohibited items at other airports so I cannot say exactly how the system operates. Just be honest and follow the guidance and you'll do fine.
As noted in the updated CLEAR section, some credit cards will pay you back the fee for the application. I know that the Capital One Venture card ($95.00 annual fee) will refund the amount up to $100.00 when you use their card to purchase GE or TSA.
For a list of the Venture card perks and other cards we use for travel upgrades and freebies, read about our favorite ones in this post.
Thanks for reading and I hope you found some of this information useful.
Happy Travels!
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