and I never applied for it. It just showed up on my boarding pass one day.

A friend of mine applied for the Global Entry clearance and said it wasn't a huge deal. She had to go up to Portland, OR to finish the process. It can't be done from just anywhere. (We are in Southern Oregon). She thought it was worth it.

Maybe it comes from using Delta almost exclusively for several years, though I don't know why that would make me appear more safe. At any rate, I love the shorter lines and not taking my damn shoes off.

Our daughters went to college in the Boston area (and whose damned idea was THAT! - "Go ahead, you can look at schools anywhere.&quot
and we live in Southern Oregon.

Love not having to take my shoes off too! And don't have to take my toiletries bag out of my suitcase.

Love them both. Travel a lot to Europe and the return flights through JFK or Atlanta well beyond easy. At some point, this may get crowded but I don't think I've ever waited in line more than about 5 minutes to use a verification machine and then it's virtually a wave through at the desk. No line.

The PreCheck stuff is a mixed bag. Most trips out of Cincy I'm glad I have it. I think there are about 5 TSA agents working here now. Other airports, the lines are sometimes about equal so no benefit for PreCheck.

The benefit for me is the predictability of the TSA line when I'm heading out of town. Sometimes the regular line is nothing but we've had 25-30 minute lines sometimes. With PreCheck, it's usually about 5 minutes max (and I love not digging out the computer/doing the shoes/taking off belts etc)

My 2 cents.

PS (on edit): when we got our Global Entry, the waiting time for an airport interview was about 6 weeks. Our daughter ended up getting hers at SFO where the office is open 24/7 (even though the site says 9am-6pm...go figure)

PPS : process no onerous. Questions were pretty benign. Felt like a normal interview getting on an international flight in europe. Included fingerprinting but I was already in the system so no big deal.

We have TSA Pre-Check and are considering Global Entry for international travel.

Hope the wait will be shorter than 6 weeks, but we don't have any plans to travel abroad before that time frame, so we can wait if need be.

The application process was not terribly onerous.
After mailing in my info I had a face to face out at Kennedy Airport, had my fingerprints taken and a pic snapped. Don’t remember how long it took to get approval - it was close to eight years ago.
Love coming back from overseas. Breeze going through the check points.
Worst part of the return is waiting for the bags.

My interview was maybe ten minutes mostly spent talking about the interviewer's son. Not joking.

Edit. It includes pre-check, so you basically get all the international goodies for $15. I got my card about ten days after the interview, and scheduling the interview was about a week out. If you fly at all frequently and are even pondering international flying, it's a no-brainer. I used to get pre-check as a frequent flyer courtesy, but TSA stopped doing that and now the only way to get it with any reliability is pre-check or something similar. Even if you're flying out of one of the rinky-dink airports on a regional jet to a hub, it usually gets you something, albeit not always the smooth sailing you get at a major airport.

Too funny about the interviewer. It's good that Global Entry includes TSA Pre-Check.

I'm not sure what you can get for $15.

Also, Global Entry fee needs to be paid every 5 years when you renew.

And for $100 you get Global Entry, which includes Pre-Check $100-$85=$15 extra for the international goodies.

Since we live very close to Canada, we found out that the Nexus Pass was a better and less expensive option. When we cross the Canadian border, we take an expedited lane that can save hours. For our boating trips to and from Canada, we get express entry by radioing or phoning in our assigned clearance numbers. Like Global Entry, we get TSA Pre-Check as trusted travelers.

There's an interview involved.

My wife and I went in together. During the interview they wanted to talk about my military experience.

I suspect the interviewer was trained to detect if somebody was lying. So the questions are innocuous, but will reveal if you are not being truthful.

It's nice to have a card. "Trusted Traveler". Getting through Security is faster. I suspect the airline upgrades based on that as well. The big thing is when you come back into the U.S.. You bypass the line and go to a kiosk machine and you're in.

I use both of them as part of my job and it is worth every penny. Interview appointments are the bottleneck; I had to wait 90 days to get an appointment at my local airport but there are shorter waits depending on where you are.

At the interview they will ask you why you want Global Entry plus a few routine questions and general conversation. They will also scan your passport and fingerprints and take your picture.

It has saved me many hours over the last couple of years. Well worth it.

Don't waste your time and money on GE. With the advent and growth of Mobile Passport, the value of Global Entry is very small. It's often faster with Mobile Passport because there is no kiosk involved, and while Global Entry does sometimes gain you back a little time on the Customs side of things, the time waiting for/at the GE kiosk takes that perk mostly away.

But, if you don't have precheck, then definitely get that ASAP. And get the Mobile Passport app.

and you have to go through the whole lengthy process again: another in-person interview, a review of your travel history, and yo pay another fee. I had mine renewed last year, and because the program is now so popular, I had to book my appointment interview about four months in advance.

It's a lot more fuss than renewing a passport.

But since I travel so much internationally, I really appreciate the speed with which I can whip through immigration when I get home.