Trusted Traveler program

I rescheduled our June 2017 appt in Boston to this past Tuesday and went to Derby Line VT, they took us in early and took about 10 minutes total time, and had our TT numbers in our email before we even left the building.

Are you referring to Pre-ckeck or Global Entry. Two different programs.

Pre check is only if you fly in the US, since this is a SXM Form page, this would be Global Entry.....I have had pre check for years without applying for it, and yes, on international flights I also had this....

That's a long ride, isn't it?

It is if you go straight up there and back, but we took a few days and went to Pittsburg NH, and then a little side trip to Derby Line, or we could wait until June to go to Boston.

We had our Global Entry interviews on Sep 30th in downtown DC at the Reagan Building and the interview and the fingerprints / photo capture for the two of us was done by the same CBP officer and it took a total of 15 minutes for both of us. Smooth as silk.

We will get to ops test the system in early November when we return to IAD from an overseas vacation in Europe...

Hopefully you get to test it soon! My wife and I love it!

Apparently you do get to test it soon! I just looked at your ticker!

Yes, we didn't want to wait until July, so we decided to take a few days and go up north and take care of this so we could use it when we return to the states next month.

It is well worth doing; we got our just after the program began.

We used our Global Entry for the first time in early November when we landed at Washington Dulles after 9 days in Italy. WOW what a difference! It took a total of 30 minutes from stepping off the airplane to starting our car in the parking garage...including riding the mobile lounge from the arrival gate to customs! It would have been even quicker but we had to wait ten minutes for our bags to arrive at the carousel.

Bill--would love to hear about your trip!

We've had GE for a few years now, and it definitely speeds up the immigration process. Unfortunately, unless you're traveling with only carry-on bags, the wait for your checked bags to either leave the airport or to take them through customs and re-check, is still as long as ever. We're always among the first people waiting at the carousels, and then the place gradually fills up with all the folks who don't have GE before the bags ever come off. It's still nice not to wait in that line, but the overall process isn't really any faster. And no, I'll never spend three weeks in SXM with only carry-on bags!

Me too, but was afraid to ask, since it's Italy and not SXM. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Hi Carol, thanks and you will! Ever since we got back seven weeks ago our life has been a whirlwind of conflicting priorities and pop-up problems including an injury that I will have corrected in early January. While I am recovering from that correction I will upload a subset of the several hundred photos we took to one if the sites you suggested and then put together a report following the excellent example Beerman provided with their Swiss-Italy series of reports.

"Soon it come, mon..."

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

Sorry to hear about the injury, but looking forward to seeing the pictures and reading the report!

Global Entry is nice but things do tend to even out when you collect your bags. But then you have a special line for Customs. It works really well if you travel First Class and you have the preferred baggage that comes out first.

From multiple personal experience, particularly in SXM, I think those lovely neon colored priority tags are used to indicate which bags should come out last. I can't tell you how many times we've gotten one bag(with the tag) and then had to wait for the last pieces of luggage on the carousel for the second one. Identical bags and sizes - go figger........!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Yep, the few times we've flown first class from SXM, our bags have never come out first.

And Tim, I did forget about the special customs line for Global Entry; that does speed things up there quite a bit. It's well worth the money, in my opinion, just not as quick as I had hoped it would be, with having to wait for checked bags.

The first couple of years we had it, CLT hadn't yet installed the kiosks for non-GE passengers, and not having to wait in that long, snaking, line was wonderful. Now that they have kiosks for all passengers, everyone gets through faster.

Our last trip our bags came out first and second. It was a great start to the trip.

Yes, the only time I flew First Class my bags came out first so GE worked like a charm!

Ours have always come out first flying first class both in Miami and CLT. They never come out first in SXM.

At least twice in SXM on AA flights have we had one of our two neon tagged bags appear on the carousel first and then we had to wait almost till the last of the luggage before we got our second bags. In Hawaii those neon tags worked just as they were supposed to and again on our return to JFK.

We just used ours for the 1st time to cross the Canadian/US border and the guard told. us that we didn't have to show a passport. Is that the same for
SXM?

No a passport is still needed for SXM.

New program-app on phone Mobile Pass You scan in your passport upon return to the US and presently, I hear there are no line or less lines than Global Entry. You go right through. Easy to set up and scan your passport. Haven't tried it yet but all set up.

Worked for us in November. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

Worked for us as well. Faster than the people at the GE kiosks.