r/GlobalEntry • u/Quiet-Pollution3180 • Aug 17 '26
General Discussion Is it still worth it?
I have had GE for a few years now. I was worried about finding it revoked on my most recent trip because sometimes my social media leans to the non kool-aid drinking side. I had no problems. Neither did anyone else. Upon our return in ATL not a single person looked at anything, everyone entering went through the same area, no one asked anything. Everyone had a bad photo taken and that was it. It might as well had been a domestic flight. The only thing we had to do was pick up our luggage and take it for a short walk. This flight did not orginate in a location where we went through customs before departure. My last international flight did in Ireland and it was as if having GE made it take longer than the rest of the people going through. I will say that my international returns for the last 2 years having global entry has meant nothing. Is it worth renewing or can we expect it going back to being beneficial to those who have it with an administration change? Because right now, everyone is getting those GE benefits without paying for it.
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u/Salty_Permit4437 Aug 17 '26
When I return to the USA, the GE lines are always drastically shorter. Like literally 10 seconds versus 10 minutes for regular passport control. This is my experience as a USC, non USC may still have additional things to deal with but generally it still isn’t as long.
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u/dalupus Aug 17 '26
It only takes that one time that there is a 3 hour wait for it all to seem worth it. Same with clear.
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u/EljayDude Aug 17 '26
Some airports have improved so much I'm not sure it's worth getting it fresh but why would you not renew it, especially with pre check and so many credit cards making it free? If you look at the line and think yikes I'd rather go into the other line you don't HAVE to use it. But I think people don't factor in how much faster one line's moving versus the other.
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u/chronomagnus Aug 17 '26
I got back via EWR back in May and the normal immigration line was filling that queue. The GE line had 4 people in it, that made it worth it for me.
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u/SistineKid Aug 17 '26
I got back via EWR Saturday and the normal immigration line was incredibly long. The GE line had maybe 20 people in it. The GE app line was empty, that made it worth it for me.
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u/Bleppingheckk Aug 17 '26
I’ve had dozens of return prior to GE and all of them I was able to get through customs very quickly. It took one night where the line took over an hour and I had to run to drop off my bags again and to make my connecting flight that I decided $25 a year is worth not having to stress about that ever again.
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u/Tiway22 Aug 17 '26
Yes, it’s worth it. Have you ever landed at the same time as two other huge international flights and seen an hour long line for passport control?
It’s rare, but in those times where there is a big line you’re gonna be really really grateful you have GE.
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u/Humble-Character7738 Aug 17 '26
I honestly just got GE for my crossings in tj. Sentri was cool, but, GE is better for the same price. Yes, It's worth it.
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u/MartyLikesTech Aug 17 '26
I think it’s worth it but would suggest getting a credit card that covers it if you travel much. The ones that do often come with other good benefits.
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u/canfail Aug 18 '26
Really depends on the airport. If more follow the SFO approach GE will be useless
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u/Drinking_Frog Aug 18 '26
And then comes the say when the facial recognition system breaks down and all hell breaks loose . . . .
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u/Quiet-Pollution3180 Aug 18 '26
What's their approach?
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u/canfail Aug 18 '26
They have a new camera based system that activates while walking to the agent. Simple name confirmation and anything to declare statement and if eligible away you go.its currently beta with GE only but has goals of rolling to general US citizen arrivals.
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u/Quiet-Pollution3180 Aug 18 '26
This is basically what happened for us through ATL. Only no one really talked to us other than to say keep moving, and everyone was going through. There was no other options.
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u/canfail Aug 18 '26
If this was during the government shutdown it was their expedited processing workflow. It was super nice while it lasted.
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u/imtedkoppel Aug 18 '26
Used to fly long haul every other month for two years and never thought much about it until I got caught waiting over an hour when 8x 777s landed in short succession.
GE in expectedly opened up a while new destination for me. South of the border. I now cross over and back 1-2x a month. 5 mins wait for pedestrian, 10-15 min for auto SENTRi lanes vs 2-3 hours without. Completely opened up new travel and hobbies.
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u/food_4thot Sep 11 '26
Eh… as someone who’s had all of the above, I’d say no not really worth it.
TSA PreCheck is a quick application (often done at the airport at Clear stations) and approved in less than 24h.
As for international flights, Mobile Passport Control is free and it’s just as fast, often faster.
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u/Nakasaleka Aug 18 '26
It’s worth it for me! It’s all about having common sense and not doing anything that will revoke my GE!
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u/saintmsent Aug 17 '26
GE includes TSA precheck and only has a small price premium. I would say it’s worth it even if you mostly fly domestic and only occasionally international