My wife and I returned from Israel in early February…when we landed there were probably 500+ people ahead of us in line to go through customs…we walked right past them to the Global Entry station…went up to a kiosk and stared into the camera which scanned our faces. Then walked to the customs agent who simply waved us through. I’m going to guess that getting through customs took a total of 3 minutes. The $95 every five years (which includes TSA pre and is reimbursed with certain credit cards) is most definitely worth it.
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I use GE and the CBP app when landing internationally. So far, they’ve been absolutely flawless, and I’ve sailed through Customs so fast I had to wait longer for my bag the one time I checked stuff in. Considering the cost is reimbursed by my CC, it’s so worth it!
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GE technology seems to improve every time. Photo took a second, guard confirmed our last name, and we were through. If we didn’t have bags it would have been under 5 minutes from door opening to in a car at EWR.
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thnx all–no priors (haven’t even had a speeding ticket in a decade or so).
EWR has facial recognition cameras so they know who to wave through and who are people of concern which makes it super easy if not on any wanted list.
Which CBP app?
I’m guessing Michel is referring to MPC. It’s a pretty great time saver (at least until everyone else finds out about it).
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I think i tried to use that with GE and got a stern warning not to use both. GE expedites immigration but customs is separate.
Interesting. I don’t fly enough to pay for GE. @Michel_Abood do tell.
Yes, this. It’s free and works very well. I was basically waved through at JFK a few weeks ago with just a quick picture. He didn’t even look at the app on my phone, all the info was already uploaded into the system. All I had to do was hand over the passport and take a pic.
When I land, I just look to see who has the shortest lines (if any), and go there. I usually carry on, so there are times when I’ve landed and been in an Uber within 10 minutes of deplaning (assuming the terminal’s not too much of a walk).
I think what @Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w was asking was whether you combined Global Entry with MPC. Tom apparently got a stern warning for using GE with MPC.
I haven’t heard anything about not using both at the same time. I think I may have used MPC then gone GE once I deplaned once, but no one said anything.
Patrick,
Unless something has changed, GE is $100/every five years and it includes TSA Precheck. TSA precheck alone is $78/initial five years and $70/per subsequent five year period.
So to me, if you are going to travel to Europe (or somewhere else where GE will be helpful upon your return) once every five years, it’s well worth the extra $22-30.
Now if you barely fly and don’t care about precheck at all…then save the $
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Slight tangent here. I went through the TSA Pre-check lane at DFW yesterday. They had the new facial recognition software in place. All I had to do is slip my drivers license into the slot and let the camera capture my picture and I was immediately waived through. Didn’t even have to show my boarding pass. Way faster than before.
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I’ve been experiencing this in Newark and Columbus for a while now. Very cool.
Mike, thanks for reframing this. I fly out of IND, which is small enough that pre-check doesn’t matter. However, I am going to Europe in May and will reevaluate.
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Precheck always matters . Why be in a bigger crowd in these covid times.
Many premium credit cards cover global entry fees for a single person.
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Not just the lines, but with Precheck electronics stay in the bag, shoes stay on etc. Makes it so much faster.
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Same in Boston
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I added Clear, too. Just a different experience, and it gets me to the Centurion Lounge 20 mins earlier 
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