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Sorry this is off-topic regarding Negril but I think some of you on this board are frequent travelers so I thought I'd ask here. Has anyone applied for either of these and is it worth it?
I read somewhere that the pre-check lanes are closed often at a lot of the airports which I believe defeats the purpose. In your experience are the pre-check lanes open more often than closed?
If you have Global Entry does it save you a lot of time by skipping the lines at Customs & using the kiosks?
I got a GOES card this summer. We went to Europe and it was very quick skipping the lines for immigration. Those using the regular kiosks still had to wait to get to an immigration officer. I've used it domestically as well, very nice not having to remove shoes, belts, etc. I just came back from Vegas last night, there wasn't a lane at the first entry point I went to so I walked over to where there was one. There was a huge line, but pre=check only had one person in front of me. At $100 for 5 years I think it's well worth it.
First, it depends totally on the airports you use. My local airport has 2 gates and only one security line, so precheck/GOES is worthless to me outbound. Then, it depends how often you fly. Returning from international travel, I tend to fly through PHL and the wait for baggage is always so long that skipping the 10 minute wait for immigration is irrelevant.
The list of airports with GOES is at http://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-tr...ntry/locations. Note that neither Montego Bay nor Kingston are on the list. And I don't know where you went in Europe, but it doesn't appear to help much if any there.
Unless you fly really often, I can't see the effort and expense being worth it. For once or twice a year, no way.
We have it and works great for us as we're traveling through Chicago o'hare. Much shorter lines leaving with pre check and upon arriving at o'hare. Does absolutely nothing for us entering or leaving Jamaica.
Just to clarify, it doesn't do anything in Europe, it was when we came back in through Minneapolis that it helped.
Thanks all. NoWorries4 me - we fly thru Chicago Midway usually so I hope its the same. I am an impatient person so I'm thinking it might be worth it to me. (Jamaica is great therapy for my impatience)
Its very similar to Club Mobay, some trips its totally worth it and others its a waste. I had my GF beat me thru TSA in Las Vegas and she went thru the regular line while I went thru Pre-check. Other times it has saved me a good 15 or 20 mins. Like some said for our JA trips it makes no diff because our local airport only has one line open that early.
I agree with Ron...it's hit or miss but when it hit it's on point...my return from JA on Tuesday the line was extremely long atleast an hour or so wait and I was able to walk right through no check bags so I was out in 15mins...I was so HAPPY I had the Global it definitely was a HIT! You cant go wrong getting it :)Quote:
Originally Posted by RonMon
The Global entry nearest interview location is in Chicago which is 2 hours away. The TSA precheck interview location is 1/2 hour away. Would the difference be worth the drive & day off work? As far as I can see the only difference is getting thru Customs faster, right?
KitchenBeeotch- it has nothing to do with customs, it gets you through Immigration much quicker.
If you have a lot of connecting flights I think it's worth it. TSA precheck as someone else mentioned is not at all gates, but not hard to walk to a gate that has it. I got it because a lot my American flights connect through Miami and I hate all the waiting and lines. Oh and yes, not having to remove shoes, jackets and laptops is good as well, but I mostly got Global Entry because of my connecting flights. BTW the interview took me about 5 mins, in and out process.
My kids came through customs/immigration at midway last year and said it was a breeze compared to o'hare. I don't think I'd personally drive that far for the interview. We live 10 minutes from o'hare so it was easy for us to do.Quote:
Originally Posted by KitchenBeeotch
BTW...I'm listening to the tree frog sing right now in Negril as I'm typing this!
TSA great Application for Global on desk for when I get home :)
The last several times we traveled we were randomly selected for TSA Precheck. Definitely prefer it. When I heard they were going to not allow random selections I looked into the options. The Global Entry seemed best for us as we also do some international travel and our normal return airports have extremely long immigration lines it seems. Did the application, quick appointment for interview, interview was no problem, and got the cards in the mail very quickly. Don't know how well they will work. Will find out in December when we fly on our next international trip.
Thanks everyone! NoWorries4me, ENJOY!!! ( :
I knew about Global Entry but hadn't gotten around to making the application when I arrived at O'Hare after a Jumbo Jet from India. I watched the people on my flight breeze through Global Entry while I waited in line over 45 minutes with hundreds of passengers from the jumbo jet who looked ill and were coughing - A LOT.
They had the passengers in the lines for US citizens to help speed their entry, so it might have been an unusual situation.
I got my Global Entry card right after that.
Can you combine the trip for your interview with a day of shopping or sightseeing? I'm an hour, 15 min away and made a day of it with a friend. Well worth the time and money.
Definitely nurse Marcia! Looking at my ticker, I don't think I have enough time for this trip but we'll most likely get it for future travels. :)
Global Entry is worth every penny. Would have missed my connector flight last year in Atlanta on way home if I didn't have the special "GOES" line to walk past hundreds as we cleared customs. Plus Global Entry gets us in "Pre-Check" lines going thru security in any airport.
Cost is $100 per person for 5 years. TSA does a thorough background check on you so they can put more effort on people without "Known Traveller Numbers" - we are still checked, but it is much faster because we have our own security path.