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Known traveler number: What it is, what it does and why you should have one

MULTIZ321

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BJRSanDiego

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I signed up for a KTN about a month before a trip to Hawaii. My wife got results in 2 days. I got my results in about 70 days - - about a month AFTER we returned.

But I think that having a KTN can help shorten your time waiting in lines. My advice is to sign up well in advance of planned travel.
 
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zentraveler

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For anyone who does any international travel, Global Entry includes a KTN and is indispensable IMHO. It is also a real bargain - $100 for 5 years and many credit cards will pay for it as a perk of the card.
 
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DaveNV

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We have NEXUS accounts that we used regularly when we lived in northwest Washington (pre-Covid.) They expire next Summer. We were thinking of trying to renew them, but honestly, we won't be traveling to Canada in the foreseeable future, so won't be using the express lane at the Border Crossing. We don't plan to need the Global Entry. All we'd really need from it at this point is TSA Pre-Check. For the trouble it would take to renew the NEXUS cards, it'll be easier just to go with paid TSA Pre-Check accounts instead. That's the current plan.

Dave
 

Luanne

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We have NEXUS accounts that we used regularly when we lived in northwest Washington (pre-Covid.) They expire next Summer. We were thinking of trying to renew them, but honestly, we won't be traveling to Canada in the foreseeable future, so won't be using the express lane at the Border Crossing. We don't plan to need the Global Entry. All we'd really need from it at this point is TSA Pre-Check. For the trouble it would take to renew the NEXUS cards, it'll be easier just to go with paid TSA Pre-Check accounts instead. That's the current plan.

Dave
Since Global Entry is only $15 more for 5 years than just TSS precheck it seemed worthwhile to us to get that. Dh's credit card pays for his.
 

Passepartout

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My credit card paid for KTN and it includes TSA-Pre, so that's what I went with. Easy then to put the KTN on the flight ressie and you know you'll be Pre.
 

PigsDad

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Since Global Entry is only $15 more for 5 years than just TSS precheck it seemed worthwhile to us to get that. Dh's credit card pays for his.
If you live near a major airport where they have adequate staff and do the Global Entry interviews, then it is simple to go with GE over TSA PreCheck. For us, it was a PITA. There were three of us, and Denver was the only airport within 500 miles for the interview (still an hour one-way drive, plus expensive parking). They were booking 10+ months out, and since you could only book an appointment from within your account, and there were so few openings, we could not get all three of our appointments on the same day. We got two on one day, but the best we could do was two hours apart. There is absolutely no way to talk to someone if you have questions or need help with scheduling -- they had a phone number that was disconnected, and an email link. Tried that, and after 3 weeks, just got back a canned message which was not helpful at all.

In Denver, they had two agents, each booking appointments at 15 min intervals. Even though my interview took all of 5 minutes tops, they only processed 4 interviews in an hour. Absolutely no walk-ins, and when you arrived for your appointment, you just had to wait outside a metal door off of a main hallway, no windows, no chairs, no receptionist -- an agent would come out at the 15 min mark and call the next person in. If that person was not there, they didn't take the next in line, they just did nothing until the next 15 minute mark. What a bunch of lazy, government "workers".

We did make it through the process, but it took over a year from the time I applied to when my GE account was approved. If I have to go through the re-interview process to renew my account, there is no way I will do that again. I'll just go to TSA PreCheck and be done with it. I can't believe my tax dollars are paying for this grossly inefficient process. A monkey could do a better job.

Kurt
 

Luanne

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If you live near a major airport where they have adequate staff and do the Global Entry interviews, then it is simple to go with GE over TSA PreCheck. For us, it was a PITA. There were three of us, and Denver was the only airport within 500 miles for the interview (still an hour one-way drive, plus expensive parking). They were booking 10+ months out, and since you could only book an appointment from within your account, and there were so few openings, we could not get all three of our appointments on the same day. We got two on one day, but the best we could do was two hours apart. There is absolutely no way to talk to someone if you have questions or need help with scheduling -- they had a phone number that was disconnected, and an email link. Tried that, and after 3 weeks, just got back a canned message which was not helpful at all.

In Denver, they had two agents, each booking appointments at 15 min intervals. Even though my interview took all of 5 minutes tops, they only processed 4 interviews in an hour. Absolutely no walk-ins, and when you arrived for your appointment, you just had to wait outside a metal door off of a main hallway, no windows, no chairs, no receptionist -- an agent would come out at the 15 min mark and call the next person in. If that person was not there, they didn't take the next in line, they just did nothing until the next 15 minute mark. What a bunch of lazy, government "workers".

We did make it through the process, but it took over a year from the time I applied to when my GE account was approved. If I have to go through the re-interview process to renew my account, there is no way I will do that again. I'll just go to TSA PreCheck and be done with it. I can't believe my tax dollars are paying for this grossly inefficient process. A monkey could do a better job.

Kurt
Our closest was Albuquerque airport, which is about an hour away. When dh and I got our Global Traveler we were able to schedule appointments at a time when he was taking me to that airport for a flight. Worked out perfectly. When dd applied for hers dh took her down and then did a trip to Costco as well. But you are right, the location needs to be somewhat convenient and appointments need to be available. We both both lucky when we renewed that we were able to do it online.
 

PigsDad

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We both both lucky when we renewed that we were able to do it online.
Good to hear. We haven't hit our first renewal yet, so I am hoping it can just be done online. I have heard that some people need to re-interview (random selection?), but I'm not doing that again.

It just really irked me at how little they cared about customer service (zero, actually). When we went to Denver for our first pair of interviews (mine and my wife's), our daughter came with us in hope that they could do her interview at the same time, since we could only get her interview scheduled for a later date. After my <5 min interview, I asked if they could do my daughter's now (had all the paperwork, etc.). Nope. No reason given, just a hard "No", even though it had been reported by many that people were successful at other GE interview locations doing the exact same thing. These a-holes in Denver were just there for the paycheck and that was it. I went down a few different avenues, but I never found a way I could give feedback on the horrible process or the lack of service I experienced -- they just absolutely don't care one bit.

Kurt
 

Blues

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We did make it through the process, but it took over a year from the time I applied to when my GE account was approved. If I have to go through the re-interview process to renew my account, there is no way I will do that again. I'll just go to TSA PreCheck and be done with it. I can't believe my tax dollars are paying for this grossly inefficient process. A monkey could do a better job.

I thought my story was bad, but yours tops it, Kurt. DW and I applied 6 or 7 months before a planned trip to Japan. As noted, we were not able to get it done in time. Appointments in northern California (SFO) were 10 months out. Luckily, we had a planned stop over in Chicago for our return trip, for my mother's birthday. So we made appointments at ORD. DW's pass came just a couple of weeks after that. For some reason, mine took another couple of months. But we made it.

Even for a government-run program, I never thought it could be as poorly run and inefficient as this was.
 

Luanne

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I thought my story was bad, but yours tops it, Kurt. DW and I applied 6 or 7 months before a planned trip to Japan. As noted, we were not able to get it done in time. Appointments in northern California (SFO) were 10 months out. Luckily, we had a planned stop over in Chicago for our return trip, for my mother's birthday. So we made appointments at ORD. DW's pass came just a couple of weeks after that. For some reason, mine took another couple of months. But we made it.

Even for a government-run program, I never thought it could be as poorly run and inefficient as this was.
When I had my appointment in Albuquerque I got notice bmy email (including my KTN) that I'd been approved. I was in the waiting area to board my flight. I was able to add my KTN for my return flight and got TSA PreCheck.
 

beejaybeeohio

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Just renewed our GE. Approved without another interview for both of us.

We were fortunate in 2016 because we had 2 relatively nearby locations to be interviewed. The closest was booked past our planned Europe trip but we easily got appointments in Port Clinton Ohio, were approved on the spot and our cards arrived in time for our travels.
 

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If you travel internationally, upon arrival, you can go for the interview before leaving the immigration side without appointments. I did just that last year at the end of Feb, right before the pandemic hits.
 

Krteczech

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My husband just zipped thru GE application process, but it took me good four months in 2017 to get approved. Fortunately we were able to use it multiple times and it really makes airport experience tolerable. Money well spent.
 

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If you travel internationally, upon arrival, you can go for the interview before leaving the immigration side without appointments. I did just that last year at the end of Feb, right before the pandemic hits.

IIRC, that was not available in 2016 when we applied -- it was added later, presumably after many complaints about the lengthy process.
 

Luanne

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My credit card paid for KTN and it includes TSA-Pre, so that's what I went with. Easy then to put the KTN on the flight ressie and you know you'll be Pre.
If you add your KTN into your profile for those airlines you have an online account with, it should always be on your reservation. But it's good to check.
 

PamMo

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We got free Global Entry through credit cards and did our interviews in Albuquerque. DH was able to schedule his on the way out to a timeshare stay in Sedona. I did my interview on the way home. We just extended our Global Entry cards online. Easy peasy.
 

artringwald

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We did Global Entry since the credit card paid for it. We only needed it once, and it did save time going through customs. The TSA-Pre that comes with GE has saved a great deal of time since the pandemic started. Some of the non TSA-Pre lines have really been long.
 

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Global entry is excellent as it includes TSApre for an additional 15 dollars. It takes a bit longer to be approved for but it’s worth it. If you opted for TSApre only, download mobile passport. In many cases it can be quicker than global entry when returning from certain international destinations.
 

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Global entry is excellent as it includes TSApre for an additional 15 dollars. It takes a bit longer to be approved for but it’s worth it. If you opted for TSApre only, download mobile passport. In many cases it can be quicker than global entry when returning from certain international destinations.
I used to have mobile passport and love it but after my iPhone undated the software, it stopped working unless I paid and upgraded to a new version. That’s why I got my Global Entry.
 

frank808

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Had TSA Precheck from 2014-2019 paid for with credit card rebates and back then did not get GE because we thought we would not need it.

In 2019 we applied for Global Entry as we could use the GE lines at Miami and Ft. Lauderdale cruise ports. Makes quiet a difference there when thousands are going through immigration to enter US.

The openings to make an appointment for the GE interview here in Hawaii were 8+ months out. Found out that Houston (IAH) has an interview location gateside. Checked online and it was wide open for interviews because you had to clear TSA to use this little office. Since we fly through Houston, just scheduled an interview for all 3 of us on our next trip. Just one person doing interviews and he was a very nice officer. Asked me some questions then approved mine. Wife was next and same procedure. My son was last and since he was just 12, just asked his name and birthdate and approved him. This took less than 10 minutes and we were done. Then we had 2.5 hours till for our connecting flight to MCO. Another credit card perk of free Priority Pass came in handy and had lunch at Landrys for the cost of gratuities.
 

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TSA PreCheck vs. Global Entry vs.CLEAR: Which is Best for You?




Richard
We decided to try the free 30-day trial of CLEAR when traveling to Hawaii last August. What a fiasco! When you first sign up they need to capture your biometrics. It's supposed to be self serve, but they couldn't get the machines to work. They kept getting errors trying to read our fingerprints and scan our eyes. After multiple attempts on several machines, they barely were able to capture everything they needed. It added a 30 minute delay. When they were finally done, they were able to take us to the front of the TSA line. We canceled our membership as soon as we got back home. The concept is good if they could only get reliable equipment.
 
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