Nexus

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Do any Disers have a Nexus card?

If I am understanding things correctly, its a $50 fee per person for a five-year card. I assume everyone in the car that's crossing the border via a Nexus lane must have their own card? (ie not just the driver?)

We have 3 trips planned for 2015 alone, have travelled regularly since 2012, and hope to continue to do so in the coming years. We usually fly from Syracuse but have used Buffalo and Toronto in the past (and wouldn't object to doing so again in the future for the right price and airline).

Just looking for feedback. Or a smack alongside the head for something I might be missing.

 

[bankr63]

One thing that others have said that has prevented me from considering. When driving across, you have to declare over limit on your return, and they WILL charge you GST on your declaration. Most non-Nexus get waved through for small amounts over limit. I am not 100% sure if this is true, but since we often same day shop (and rarely have to pay), I think it could end up costing me $$$.

I'll bet some Nexus users could set me straight on the above. Maybe I should be considering as well...

On the plus side, the lines always seem short at the airport for Nexus travellers, so clearing customs on the way home should be quick when flying.

 

[hcortesis]

We have had Nexus for over five years but our trips to Florida are always by air. You are right about car travel that everyone in the car must have Nexus for you to use the Nexus lane.

The time savings at the airport is substantial and I would imagine it would be the same by car.

You also have a dedicated lane at security although that is not quite the time saver as customs is. You can be through customs in as little as two minutes from walking into the customs hall.

To me, if you travel once or twice every five years, the 50 bucks is well worth it.

 

[canadiankim]

We have had Nexus for the last 2 years and wouldn't be without it. Yes, the whole car has to have a Nexus card to use the dedicated lanes or crossing. If you are using Niagara Falls, the Nexus bridge is between the Rainbow and Queenston bridges and it never has more than a car or two ahead of you.

A couple of things to note - you have to 'load' a card with money either with cash (US or Canadian) or a credit card to cover the cost of the bridge toll. There is a little office at the Nexus bridge where you can do this.

If you have kids under 17 the card is free

If you want to do a lot of air travel with a Nexus card there is a process that you can go through which works well.

If like me you have visitors for another country coming to visit Canada but want a day in the US using my Nexus at a regular lane seems to gets us through the lines in the office quicker.

As for declaring what I have purchased, its exactly the same as a normal lane, you tell them and if they want you to pay Duty, they will ask you to go inside a pay. Never a line up and not treated like a criminal so all good. I have gone 'just' over and been passed through.

On second thoughts, the more people who have Nexus the more people to get in my way!! LOL!!!!

 

[minnie56]

I've had Nexus for 7 years now...
I like it. I like it more at Pearson than crossing the border.
I find by the time the Nexus lane begins, at least entering the U.S. I've waited with the rest of em! Coming back its a little better....

At Pearson, I like how quickly I'm expedited and the Nexus line at security, saves lots of time!

I declare as I always would ..sometimes I'm sent in to pay HST and most times I'm not. Same as always! I've been sent in for $100 and waved through for $700. Go figure.

 

[stefanospops]

We have had Nexus for since October. Crossed over to Buffalo for day visits three times now. Every time we made purchases and. When we come back into Canada we do not use the Nexus card since we have to declare. At least, that is our understanding. If you you are within your limits you can use the Nexus lanes but it you exceed then you must use the regular lanes and everyone in the car must have Nexus. Of three times we were only sent in to pay HST once. Every time we came back having spent more than $500. We have had nothing but a positive experience so far.

 

[rjan67]

You can use the Nexus lane and be over your declaration amount. It's a verbal declaration and up to the discretion of the officer. Generally for a daily shopping trip you shouldn't have to go in to pay tax if you haven't bought alcohol or tobacco. If you know you are going to be well over the "allotted amount" you can print off a declaration card, fill it in and place it in the box before the booth and let them know you have placed in a card to save time from going in to the customs office. I just did this when I bought van rims. I have had Nexus, since before they called it Nexus - I don't even know how long now and use it daily to work in Michigan.

 

[minnie56]

I'm always over my allowance and use the Nexus lane without any Problem.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thanks for all the great input, everyone. This is sounding better and better with every post.

We very rarely cross the border just for the day. If we do, its generally to sightsee or dine and then back across (not to shop). Most of our crossings are for our trips to Florida, and then we never manage to go over our allotted amount. So that's not a large concern at all.

Thinking this might be something we want to put in place before May .

 

[stefanospops]

It is well worth it! And I just re-read the Nexus rules and was mistaken. It is Americans who must use the regular lanes if they are over the exemption limit coming back to Canada, not Canadians returning to Canada. From now on I will use the Nexus lanes both ways. Thanks for this thread!

 

[canadiankim]

Thanks for all the great input, everyone. This is sounding better and better with every post.

We very rarely cross the border just for the day. If we do, its generally to sightsee or dine and then back across (not to shop). Most of our crossings are for our trips to Florida, and then we never manage to go over our allotted amount. So that's not a large concern at all.

Thinking this might be something we want to put in place before May .

I would suggest you jump on it pretty quickly. Once you fill in the paperwork you have to go for an 'interview' at one of the border offices and depending on where you are and how busy it gets it might take a while. Good luck!

 

[lauracitawita]

I don't find it worth it for crossing the border by car. You can't get to the Nexus line until you get about 7 cars away...and even then it is sometimes difficult to get to if all or most lanes are open.

That's just my experience. Also...when it is that busy at the border the Nexus line often takes non-Nexus cars from the lane beside...so you might get ahead 4-5 cars or 5 minutes. It has never been worth it for us.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I would suggest you jump on it pretty quickly. Once you fill in the paperwork you have to go for an 'interview' at one of the border offices and depending on where you are and how busy it gets it might take a while. Good luck!

Crap, that I missed . I may not get this in place for May after all.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Once you have booked your interview, check back on their website on a daily basis for earlier appointments which may have opened up.

I submitted an application for my daughter and myself in early December (my wife already has Nexus), received the interim approval within 72 hours, but the first appointment at the Calgary airport was at the end of April. I checked back regularly, and lo and behold, they opened up a number of appointments in February, so I just went ahead and changed our dates to the earlier ones.

Took my wife to the airport for a flight on Boxing Day. The line-up for security snaked through the airport. She went in the Nexus line and made it thru security/customs in less than 5 minutes.

 

[dsneygirl]

We've only had a it a few months and a few trips but so far so good. We have crossed a few times at the Peace Bridge and it's definitely saved us time. The line moves so fast and the time at the booth itself is faster IMHO.

 

[hockeygirl14]

I love my Nexus ! I've had it for about 3 years now and it saves me so much time when I'm flying and driving. I actually worked in the Nexus/Canpass office at pearson 3 summers ago with the federal student work experience program so I gained a lot of insight. As long as you declare everything and follow the rules you will be fine. There is a different line for security - I never have to take off my shoes anymore. Also if they pull people from the regular line Nexus holders are given priority - there hasn't been one time when it's been faster to stand in the regular line.
There is also a dedicated Nexus bridge in Niagara called the Whirlpool bridge. The operating hours arent the same but if everyone in your vehicle has Nexus it's worth looking into if you are crossing between 7am and 11pm.

 

[C&B Young]

Crap, that I missed . I may not get this in place for May after all.

We just got our cards. Fairly quick process, just about a 2 month process from start to finish. Applied early November, got conditional approval 4 weeks later, scheduled interview at Peace Bridge 3 weeks later (because we needed a weekend appointment, we could have had a weekday slot within days, many were open at that time), cards arrived a week after interview. Super easy!

 

[encinc]

We've had Nexus since last March. We applied in early January, got approval in mid-February, and interviewed end of February. Got our cards in the mail exactly a week after our interview. We were a family of four applying. At the time that we got our approval, the first available interview slots weren't until July. I kept checking the site, and found 2 openings at Fort Erie for about one week later. We took those, and a couple of days before the interview, 2 more slots opened, so we were all set. I think we could have got spots at Pearson at the last minute, but I figured that the likelihood of four coming open on the same day was lower there.

We traveled to Orlando out of Buffalo over the Fourth of July weekend and saved ourselves hours by having Nexus. We heard of 2 plus hour delays at both Queenston and Peace Bridges, so we made the detour to Whirlpool, where we crossed with only one car ahead of us in line. We've used it several other times, including at Pearson this winter, and found it easy every single time. Well worth the $100 for us!

 

[mc2]

We got ours in roughly a 3 month window last summer. There was a bit of a backlog on the US side with processing the paperwork, but we were fortunate that interview appointments were fairly easy to get in our area once the application processing was complete.

Just a tip for air travel - make sure your airline has your Global Entry number when you book your ticket (it's included with the Nexus card). If you don't, you won't get the TSA Pre-check note on your boarding pass, and you then can't use the TSA Pre-check lines at MCO. We learned that lesson the hard way on our first trip to MCO after getting our cards. We thought we just needed to show the cards - we were wrong! haha! Without that note on the boarding pass, it removed most (if not all) of the travel benefits of having the card at MCO. Flash forward to the next trip when we made sure the info was in the system prior to travel (I triple checked leading up to the trip! haha!)...night and day experience!!

 

[stefanospops]

We got ours in roughly a 3 month window last summer. There was a bit of a backlog on the US side with processing the paperwork, but we were fortunate that interview appointments were fairly easy to get in our area once the application processing was complete.

Just a tip for air travel - make sure your airline has your Global Entry number when you book your ticket (it's included with the Nexus card). If you don't, you won't get the TSA Pre-check note on your boarding pass, and you then can't use the TSA Pre-check lines at MCO. We learned that lesson the hard way on our first trip to MCO after getting our cards. We thought we just needed to show the cards - we were wrong! haha! Without that note on the boarding pass, it removed most (if not all) of the travel benefits of having the card at MCO. Flash forward to the next trip when we made sure the info was in the system prior to travel (I triple checked leading up to the trip! haha!)...night and day experience!!

Thanks for that info! I already booked our flights with Jetblue there and Southwest back. Jetblue will let me add the Trusted Traveller after booking and to my profile, but Southwest does not. I was more concerned with the return flight. Ah well. One more horrendous line at MCO and then hopefully no more thanks to Nexus!