Why I Don't Have Global Entry (Even Though I Travel a Lot)

A few months ago, I got an inquiry from a publication I freelance for to write a guide to Global Entry with kids. Much to my editor's surprise, I turned the assignment down because my kids don't have Global Entry. And neither do I!

How can a super-frequent traveler like me not be one of the 12+ million people in the U.S. with Global Entry membership? I have literally every other paid air travel timesaver there is, including TSA PreCheck and Clear. I also have plenty of other travel shortcuts and creature comforts, like lounge memberships and elite status in some hotel and airline programs.

When I return to the U.S. from an international trip, however, I'm using the regular customs and immigration lines with the masses. I think many other frequent travelers should feel fine doing the same.

For all of you feeling the FOMO because you haven't gotten around to getting Global Entry yet, don't necessarily fall prey to the peer pressure. You don't need to have it. Do the math and the analysis for yourself. Depending on your travel patterns, it might well not be worth the time, hassle, or cost.

Here are all the reasons why I haven't gotten Global Entry and will not be rushing to do it anytime soon. I bet a lot of them will apply to you too.

Global Entry Basics

Before we dive into why I don't have Global Entry, here's a quick refresher on what the program entails.

Global Entry is a Trusted Traveler Program run by U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP). After passing a background check and in-person interview, travelers deemed low risk get the privilege of re-entering the U.S. after travel abroad through an expedited process. Global Entry members use separate special kiosks with minimal waits (or the Global Entry app) instead of standing in line for their passport check. Members are expected to know and follow all applicable border crossing rules or risk losing their status.

Membership costs $100 per person to enroll and is good for 5 years. (A lot of banks will offer a credit towards this fee every 4-5 years if you charge the fee to a particular travel rewards credit card.) On October 1, 2024, the rules and fees for Global Entry will change. The enrollment fee will increase to $120, but children under age 18 will then be free to join as long as a parent or legal guardian is a member or concurrently applying for membership (currently, kids have to pay just like adults).

Most people use the term Global Entry when they are talking about trusted traveler programs, but technically there are companion and similar programs. Canada has its own version called NEXUS. And there's also SENTRI which applies to crossings at the land border with Mexico. Most business and leisure travelers who visit a variety of countries will simply get Global Entry.

Why I Don't Have Global Entry

Sounds like a pretty nice perk without a massive cost, so why don't I have it? These have been the most significant roadblocks for myself and many similarly-situated travelers.

I Don't Travel Internationally Often Enough

Probably the most significant reason I haven't gotten Global Entry is that I simply don't travel internationally often enough to justify the hassle of getting it. I'm a very frequent traveler, but the vast majority of my travels are domestic. I usually only take a couple of international trips a year.

Many of my fellow Americans - even those who travel regularly - are the same. Our home country is so large that it takes a lifetime to explore just by itself. Overseas trips are expensive, especially for families buying multiple plane tickets and requiring larger accommodations. Travelers with kids of school age can also be constrained by the academic calendar and won't take a lot of time off of school to travel. That often means saving international adventures to more distant destinations for a single longer break like the winter or summer holidays.

As my kids have gotten older and they have become better travelers, we are certainly doing more internationally. In fact, I've already taken three trips outside of the country in the first half of 2024 alone. This evolution in our travel patterns could well change the Global Entry calculus for us down the road. That said, I wasn't particularly inconvenienced by regular CBP lines on those three trips this year, so it hasn't been enough to tip the scale just yet.

My Home Airports Have Short Immigration & Customs Lines

Speaking of being inconvenienced, another major reason that I haven't gotten Global Entry is that I don't think I really need it to save much time. It's been a really long time since I experienced long immigration and customs lines in my travels returning to the U.S.

The airport I return to most often is San Francisco International (SFO). In my experience, SFO usually has exceedingly reasonable and efficient lines. Maybe I've just gotten lucky, but I rarely wait more than about 5-15 minutes in them. I'm often traveling internationally during peak tourist seasons like spring break or summer vacation when you might expect lines to be at their worst. They just haven't been. (Now that I'm putting that in writing, I'm probably jinxing myself, but so be it!)

Remember that Global Entry only lets you shortcut the line when returning to the United States. It's not for entering other countries. In my experience, that's where immigration lines can be truly brutal. (Thankfully, a lot of other countries do have family lines for travelers with kids that often help.) If there was ever a product that helped with cutting immigration lines in other destinations, I'd be all over it.

Of course, depending on where you live (or where you connect as you re-enter the USA), your experience with immigration lines may be quite a bit different. Busier international gateways like New York City's JFK, Miami International, or the often-maddening LAX can be a different ballgame. Plus, certain times of year or even certain times of day (such as when a bank of multiple international flights arrive at the same time) can be bad even if an airport is generally manageable.

If you know, however, that the airports you use most aren't in the news for brutally-long CBP lines or if you mostly travel at off-peak times, Global Entry just might not save you that much time.

It Can Be a Royal Pain to Get an Interview

The last step in getting approved for Global Entry is passing an in-person interview. Depending on where you are located or when you apply, this process can be a major hassle. It's certainly been roadblock for me.

Most states only have a couple of enrollment centers at most. For example, the state in which my extended family lives, North Carolina, has just a single enrollment center at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. If you do the math, it simply doesn't make sense for many travelers to spend a day driving a major distance, waiting at an airport for an interview, paying to park, etc. - all for the privilege of saving a few minutes in line on a few international trips. If you live 3+ hours from an enrollment center, you probably wouldn't even break even on the time saved for several years, even if you are someone with a decently robust travel schedule.

And all this assumes you can even get an interview appointment in the first place. It was an almost insurmountable obstacle in 2021 and 2022 in the surge of demand when travel began to return. It's normalized a bit now, but it's hardly instantaneous.

For example, as of the date this article is being published, my closest enrollment center at SFO doesn't have appointment availability until October 7, 2024 - three months away from now. (If you happen to live near Boise, you'd be lucky to even complete the process this calendar year, with the first available appointment not until November 20, 2024!)

To be sure, there is an easier way to get the interview done with "Enrollment on Arrival." Applicants using this option get the pre-approval done first and then do a walk-in interview upon arrival from an international trip. You don't get to shortcut the line on that first trip, but you will on subsequent ones.

If and when I do get Global Entry, this is likely the method I will use. More airports than just the main Enrollment Center airports are included (in Northern California, both SJC and OAK offer Enrollment on Arrival in addition to SFO which is a regular Enrollment Center as well).

But often travelers are exhausted after returning from an international trip. It may not be practically possible or advised (especially with young children in tow) to add one more task to the end of that kind of a travel day. If you are making a tight connection, you may not have time to do Enrollment on Arrival at a point of entry either (it often takes more time than a standard CBP line).

Finally, you can also only do this if you have gotten conditional approval beforehand, which can sometimes take an inordinately long period of time with no explanation. Even if you submit your Global Entry applications many months in advance of a trip, you may find one member of your family (or several of you) hits a snag and won't have pre-approval in time.

There is an Alternative with Mobile Passport Control

Last and certainly not least, there is another reason I haven't gone out of my way to get Global Entry. There is an alternative! U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) offers another shortcut for regular customs and immigration lines at many US airports: the Mobile Passport Control App. Currently, there are 34 U.S. airports that offer MPC as an option, including all the ones I've personally ever used to re-enter the country. Best of all - this option is totally free.

I used Mobile Passport Control on my recent return from a European trip into CLT and found it super efficient. I was shunted into a different line behind one other person and was through to baggage claim in seconds. I was processed essentially as fast as all the Global Entry travelers. I set the app up in just a few minutes as I waited to board the flight, uploading a photo of my passport and entering personal information and information about my trip. Upon arrival, you then click a button to generate a QR code to show to the CBP officer along with your passport (Family Travel Magazine has a helpful guide to using the Mobile Passport app with step-by-step details.)

Speaking of alternatives, I would be remiss not to mention TSA PreCheck. Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck benefits. One of the reasons many people get Global Entry is that it's only $15 more than PreCheck alone (soon to be $35 more with the October 1 fee increase). That makes financial sense.

But if what you really use 95% of the time are the PreCheck benefits (and not the CBP ones), there is a case for getting just PreCheck. It's a whole lot easier to do the fingerprint checks for it compared to getting an interview for Global Entry (most cities and towns of any size have at least one, if not many, fingerprinting centers). Approval comes, on average, much faster. My oldest child applied for TSA PreCheck when she turned 13, and she managed to go from application to fingerprinting to approval in a total of 8 days!

The Bottom Line

For all these reasons, Global Entry hasn't been a priority for me. It's a travel benefit I really haven't missed much. Don't get me wrong, I've considered it strongly several times. The FOMO can be real. As I'm making the logical case for my decision here, I will admit that procrastination and inertia were probably also factors in my failure to get it. Had the world not shut down for several years, I probably would have gotten it back in 2020ish primarily just to check the box and feel like a real travel pro.

But that's not really a reason to spend a few hundred bucks for your family and spend your precious free time - especially for something you don't really need. If you've been wondering whether to move this task to the top of your own personal to-do list, I hope it helps you make an informed choice.

Do you have Global Entry? Have you made the decision it isn't for you? Leave your thoughts and perspectives in the comments.