I got conditional approval last Feb but the first appt I could get was in Sept. I did go to Canada once, but came across the border by land, and although there is a little town just south of the Canadian/Washington border that had appointments available, it was a Sunday! I tried to change it a few times but couldn’t figure it out and was too afraid to do something wrong and lose my Sept appt. It worked out and I went in Sept and it took 10 minutes. The one benefit was that my birthday is in July and they gave me 5 years from Sept, so I really get 6 years.
Then my daughter’s TSA expired in Oct and she really wanted Global entry because they are going to Japan in Feb and they occasionally travel to Caribbean/Mexico, etc. She applied, thinking worst case was that she’d go thru upon re-entry from Japan (but she was mad about not having TSA anymore). There were tons of appointments available in Denver. She made one for the time she was returning from her Thanksgiving trip to Florida and while driving her to the airport, I asked her if she remembered her passport. Why would she need that, she asked? I asked about the Global appt but she had forgotten. So she got an appt for the next week, again no problem.
The hardest thing is finding the door you need to go to. I asked an airport employee and he said “Oh you are on the wrong side of the airport” and pointed me all the way across security. Really, it said on the 5th floor near the bridge…luckily someone was there to help because the door was about 10 feet away but it is not marked.
I did my TSA visit at DIA airport last year. We live about an hour away…. as retirees we just turned it into a Denver lunch date. We also had to poke around a bit to find the right place.
Just wanted to thank the folks on this thread again for the ‘calming travel anxiety’ tips!
I’m in the midst of preparing for 4 night trip to Mexico and am (as per usual!) spending a lot of mental real estate on “what clothes should I bring?” This is been such a stressor for me in the past (What if I forget something? What if the weather is different than expected?") .
I’m still planning out different scenarios/outfits but thanks to this thread:
I’m not guiltily shaming myself for being very planful
I’m repeating “This will be terrific!”
I’m also repeating “I will roll with whatever happens!”
I’m additionally reaffirming “It will be great or it will be a great story!”
We are going on a 4 week trip soon also. People made suggestions on what I should bring in the Travel / Vacation Clothing Thread if you’re interested. I usually way overpack, and they say the longer the trip, the LESS you want to pack.
Enjoy your journey…
The TSA office is different. I think that is the one the guard was trying to send me to ‘on the other side of the airport.’ The Global entry office is under the A concourse bridge, on the 5th floor, next to the British Airways office. It is a gray door that you have to use the phone connected to get in, then they open the door for you to wait inside, so it really is just a doorway. I mean the guy was working right outside the door and he didn’t know it was there. I think there is a plaque on the wall that says “US State Dept” on it.
My daughter who travels ALL the time took me to lunch and then I went with her. She said she never would have found it. She also didn’t know where to park as you have to park in the short term parking which is $7/hr but has no limit, so can be $168/day - so of course we never ever park there except to go to Global entry!
Last year W and I were sitting in a hotel in Rome waiting for our room to be ready and got to chatting with another American couple.
W and I were on a 3 week trip and each had one rollaboard (the smaller international size) and a small backpack. The other couple were on a 1 week trip and each had a full size checked bag plus a rollaboard plus a backpack (it was their first ever international trip).
They were going to be spending a night in Positano, which if you’ve never been is pretty much all steep hills. We had been there just a couple days prior and saw more than one couple pushing their full-size bags uphill with both hands and heads down like Sisyphus at the end of a long day. We wished that couple well and told them it’s a good thing they looked to be young and healthy!
When we went to Europe nearly 30 years ago, we each had a light wheeled carry on suitcase and a small daypack. We were able to tote our luggage up all the many stairs to the top rooms which we were invariably given. Fortunately we were healthy and could manage it.
With more luggage and no elevators, it’s pretty onerous. If I didn’t get cold, I could pack even lighter.
an FYI - anyone needing a Global Entry Interview that lives near Dulles, they have TONS of appointments now from the end of February through the beginning of April. It’s 5 hours away from me, but that’s probably the best we can get. Scheduled mine & H’s in March! We are planning to go to Europe in September, so hopefully we can make this happen.
I can’t believe they had slots. They are always full. Yesterday was the first non-holiday Monday though.
Now I have to just convince them that I really did make a mistake on my application and did not travel to Afghanistan!
Oh geez, D18 and I just finally went and got TSA Pre yesterday. I never bothered to get it b/c I was hoping to do Global Entry but never found any open appts at BWI (30 mins from me). Finally decided just to pay for TSA Pre to at least have that. However I’m only an hour from Dulles so I guess I could have done that instead had I checked into Global Entry again recently.
There is a Global Entry Office at the Reagan Building on Pennsylvania Ave. in DC. Usually has a lot of appointments - I was easily able to book one on a trip there over the summer. If BWI is close by, this might be an option for you as well.
Applied for Global Entry on Monday, got my conditional approval this morning.
I’ll have to ask the husband to check his email.
I looked at appointments at the border crossing in the Soo and it looked like it is wide open. The Port Huron office looked to be closed, might be a seasonal office, not sure. Michigan has a few border crossings.
One day when we are bored and the weather looks good, we can take a road trip.
Just bring your wallet with you. If you forget something (sun tan lotion, a shirt, flip flop), you can always buy it at a gift shop. The most important thing is to have your passport.
There was one trip that I forgot to pack D1’s underwear. She was 8 and we were in Italy. I ran into a local department store to get a pack. After that she told me that I wasn’t allowed to pack for her any more.
I would bring ONE light sweater because it may get cold morning/evening.
Anybody have a recommendation for a great travel neck pillow? We are taking a direct red-eye from Honolulu to Newark so I’m hoping to find something that really helps me sleep for a good stretch of time while sitting upright (haven’t had much luck with the ones I have used in the past…) Some day we’ll splurge on the first class beds but we’re not there yet - although we did book the premium economy seats, with extra room, a leg rest and only the 2 of us in our row.
We came back from Paris in October and planned to use Mobile Passport. We arrived in Chicago and found out that they no longer had it. We were disappointed but we are going to try to do Global entry when we return from a trip. That time we will be arriving in Miami. I hope we can find the office.
I know. I had seen the list but when we arrived at O’Hare, they had the passport control area under construction and no one working in the area knew where the Mobile Passport was located. We finally asked one woman and she said it had been removed. We had pretty much given up by then.
