1st international flight

[Tozzie]

Well...no more stressing about it....the local Customs & Border Patrol office called me back to tell they are booked through June.....so I will not have enough time to get the GE before this trip.
So I will trust United (eek!) and hope for the best.
Thank you for all you helpful information!!

Why won't you have enough time? I got global entry last year, I applied on line and got the interview I was approved at the time of the interview so if you can get a June appointment you are fine for a mid July trip.

 

[AZlady]

Oh, them maybe I will. They lead me to believe you still have "some time" after the interview before you are really approved.... Or to get a special GE card.
I find the website (CBP) not clear on the process.
A girl can only hope it's easy

 

[calypso726]

Oh, them maybe I will. They lead me to believe you still have "some time" after the interview before you are really approved.... Or to get a special GE card.
I find the website (CBP) not clear on the process.
A girl can only hope it's easy

We were handed the card right after the interview. You don't need the card for the kiosk at the airport just your passport and fingerprint. Once you get the card though you will want to go into your frequent flier account profile for United (and any other airlines) to update it with your GE#.

 

[2003Eeyore]

We were handed the card right after the interview. You don't need the card for the kiosk at the airport just your passport and fingerprint. Once you get the card though you will want to go into your frequent flier account profile for United (and any other airlines) to update it with your GE#.

We were approved at the time of the interview ( dfw airport office) as well and the number you are assigned with your interview is your GOES number so you could walk out of the office and use it. We got our cards mailed to us though I think it just took about 5 days to get the cards. Like Calypso said you don't need the card, the agent told me I only needed it if I was driving across from Canada.

 

[OhanaCuz]

The one from TSA (Universal) would get you TSA pre check (in the US). The one from CBP (Global Entry) is the custom "fast pass" you guys explained to me. http://www.dhs.gov/comparison-chart

FYI, global entry includes entry into the tsa precheck program.

 

[OhanaCuz]

Thanks for the suggestions~I did call the Phoenix branch and they told me all appoitments were filled till late June (our trip is mid-July)....but I thought I would try anyways. I will check the website and see if I can get lucky

You are allowed to go as a walk in. A friend of mine couldn't get an appointment until may. He did a walk in and waited ten minutes to be seen. Even if you have to wait its worth it if you need it now.

 

[AZlady]

I disboards!
I have planned many excellent Disneyland trips, and now planning this AbD from all the great advise everyone gives!!
Thank you!!

 

[AZlady]

I applied for GE 4/19....I got an acceptance letter 4/25. When I went to make an apt they were booked out 60 days (so I took it.... I needed 4 appts). But them I have been playing around and found someone canceled and now I get in tomorrow for my interview. (Yeah). I will keep playing around and seeing if I can get my family in earlier
We MAY just have our GE authorized before our trip.....THANK YOU AGAIN!!

 

[Bobo912]

Question for those of you who have Global Entry for your minor children. Were you required to be with your children during the interview? If not, were you allowed to be present if you wanted to be? I'm scheduling our interviews and was wondering if it was okay to schedule us both for the same time so we can finish more quickly or if I should stagger our appointments. My son is 13 so I'm pretty sure he can handle the interview on his own, as long as he doesn't try to be funny and say something crazy.

 

[carpenta]

...just a thought.....we just returned from Italy on Sunday and it pays to check-in on line 24 hours before your flight. We were able to upgrade to business class for the three of us for little money......It was a real nice treat so I hope some of you have the same luck.....Also I would like to report that we flew into Philly and it was not too long a wait in the non-GE line.

 

[twentyco]

...just a thought.....we just returned from Italy on Sunday and it pays to check-in on line 24 hours before your flight. We were able to upgrade to business class for the three of us for little money......It was a real nice treat so I hope some of you have the same luck.....Also I would like to report that we flew into Philly and it was not too long a wait in the non-GE line.

How was your trip? Hope you guys had a great time!

 

[carpenta]

How was your trip? Hope you guys had a great time!

We had a wonderful time in Rome, Florence and Venice. We went on a Tauck Bridges Tour which is similar to ABD. We had booked with ABD originally but they had cancelled the trip. The weather was amazing with 72-76 degrees and sunny everyday. We were quite lucky for they had called for rain a couple days. It was as good or in some aspects better than ABD but we are traveling with ABD to Germany in a couple of months so that will be a good "head to head" test to see which we prefer in the future. Thanks for asking.

 

[sayhello]

We had a wonderful time in Rome, Florence and Venice. We went on a Tauck Bridges Tour which is similar to ABD. We had booked with ABD originally but they had cancelled the trip. The weather was amazing with 72-76 degrees and sunny everyday. We were quite lucky for they had called for rain a couple days. It was as good or in some aspects better than ABD but we are traveling with ABD to Germany in a couple of months so that will be a good "head to head" test to see which we prefer in the future. Thanks for asking.

Would you care to elaborate on the aspects that were better than ABD? I know a lot of us would be very interested in hearing this!

Glad you had a great trip and great weather!

Sayhello

 

[2003Eeyore]

Question for those of you who have Global Entry for your minor children. Were you required to be with your children during the interview? If not, were you allowed to be present if you wanted to be? I'm scheduling our interviews and was wondering if it was okay to schedule us both for the same time so we can finish more quickly or if I should stagger our appointments. My son is 13 so I'm pretty sure he can handle the interview on his own, as long as he doesn't try to be funny and say something crazy.

Hi my daughter is 10. I originally scheduled our appts at the same time, they said you can go in together but everyone needs an appt. Now with that being said when I was able to get an earlier appt for me there wasn't one for her. I took her with me along with her passport on the off chance they would see her with me. I was super nice and they did good luck.

BTW all they asked her was her name and DOB.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Question for those of you who have Global Entry for your minor children. Were you required to be with your children during the interview? If not, were you allowed to be present if you wanted to be? I'm scheduling our interviews and was wondering if it was okay to schedule us both for the same time so we can finish more quickly or if I should stagger our appointments. My son is 13 so I'm pretty sure he can handle the interview on his own, as long as he doesn't try to be funny and say something crazy.

They didn't ask my young children anything. They just took their picture and prints. We were with them at all times. It was no big deal.

 

[Bobo912]

Thanks Kevin and Eeyore! I scheduled our interviews for the same time, which sounds like the right thing to do, based on your experience. I'm sure they will straighten it out when we get there if it's not.

 

[carpenta]

Would you care to elaborate on the aspects that were better than ABD? I know a lot of us would be very interested in hearing this!

Glad you had a great trip and great weather!

Sayhello

I would really like to compare after we return from our ABD Germany trip this July. Since we have only taken ABD trips in North America this up coming European trip will give me a good head to head comparison. We did a Bridges Danube tour last year and it was great but this will be a land tour to land tour. I do believe that for one Tauck stays in top tier hotels that rate in the top 50 in T+L magazine and I have to agree.

 

[AZlady]

Update-we all got our GE numbers!!
They were booked 8 weeks out, but kept looking online for cancelations... We all got in... and all approved!
Thanks again!!

 

[sayhello]

Update-we all got our GE numbers!!
They were booked 8 weeks out, but kept looking online for cancelations... We all got in... and all approved!
Thanks again!!

Congrats!

Sayhello

 

[twentyco]

We had a wonderful time in Rome, Florence and Venice. We went on a Tauck Bridges Tour which is similar to ABD. We had booked with ABD originally but they had cancelled the trip. The weather was amazing with 72-76 degrees and sunny everyday. We were quite lucky for they had called for rain a couple days. It was as good or in some aspects better than ABD but we are traveling with ABD to Germany in a couple of months so that will be a good "head to head" test to see which we prefer in the future. Thanks for asking.

Yes, we were also booked on that April Italy ABD with you that was cancelled. We ended up rebooking to a June ABD. I was mad about it at the time, but it turned out to be a good thing, because I ended up having to have neck surgery in March, and would not have been ready for an April ABD ... so I guess things all work out the way they are supposed to! I am glad that you had such a good time on the Tauck Bridges tour -- we have looked at those for other destinations, and I expect we'll end up on one of them at some point, so it's good to know that others have had good experiences with them.