Money Research Collective’s editorial team solely created this content. Opinions are their own, but compensation and in-depth research determine where and how companies may appear. Many featured companies advertise with us. How we make money.
Attention, Travelers: The Cost of Global Entry Is About to Increase
By Adam Hardy MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
But the new rule doesn’t directly affect the price of TSA PreCheck.
Want the coveted “trusted traveler” status that allows you to zip through airport and border security? Soon, it’ll cost you much more to apply.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, is hiking application fees for several of its trusted traveler programs for the first time in 15 years. Effective Oct. 1, applications for Global Entry, NEXUS and SENTRI will all require an upfront $120 fee.
“The original fees for each of the three programs are no longer sufficient to recover CBP’s costs to administer the programs,” wrote Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, in the final rule published to the Federal Register on Tuesday.
These three particular expedited-clearance programs are for qualifying U.S. citizens, residents and nationals who are re-entering the country by land, sea and/or air — as opposed to TSA PreCheck, which is solely for air travel originating from the U.S.
The new rule has been in the works since 2020. While it doesn’t directly affect the price of TSA PreCheck, the three CBP programs slated for the price hike include complimentary TSA PreCheck benefits for qualifying travelers, which may result in an indirect price hike for folks looking to bundle benefits.
On the other hand, the new price structure could reduce costs for some families, as it waives application fees for minors whose parents have already applied.
Why ‘trusted traveler’ fees are going up
Currently, all the trusted traveler initiatives charge different amounts, and the SENTRI (Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection) program actually has several fees throughout the entire approval process.
According to CBP, when the programs first started, each one was run individually — but as they expanded, the application process was largely streamlined. Now, the agency says it wants to “harmonize” the fee structure, too.
What that means for globetrotters is that the application fees are rising notably for Global Entry, NEXUS and SENTRI. Here’s a closer look at the programs and their fees.
- Global Entry: Currently costs $100 and includes TSA PreCheck. Allows expedited security clearance for land, sea and air entry into the U.S. Application processing time may take up to six months. Membership lasts five years.
- NEXUS: Currently costs $50 and may include TSA PreCheck for qualifying applicants. A Canadian-U.S. program, it allows expedited clearance via land, sea and air (including pedestrian entry) to or from Canada. Application processing time may take up to 14 months. Membership lasts five years.
- SENTRI: Currently costs $122.25 in total, with fees broken up into stages. The application fee is $25. An FBI fingerprinting fee and a service fee are charged separately to reach the grand total. Benefits largely mirror NEXUS but exclude sea travel and include Mexico. Application processing time may take up to 12 months. Membership lasts five years.
Given that the new $120 fee will be charged upfront, it will cost $20 more to apply to Global Entry once the rule takes effect in October. For Nexus, it means the application fee will increase by $70. To simply apply, the fee for the SENTRI program will increase $95 — but the cost of the entire approval process will decrease by $2.25.
Of course, simply applying does not guarantee approval. Applicants must pass a rigorous background check — being screened against terrorist and criminal databases — and then clear an in-person interview. (For renewing members, the CBP recently started allowing remote video interviews.)
During the rulemaking process, the CBP said the higher fees are not intended to result in faster application processing times.
Shakedown on credit card travel rewards
One major ancillary effect of the new fee structure is on high-end travel card rewards. Several of the best travel rewards credit cards include benefits that cover the costs of trusted traveler memberships.
For example, Capital One’s Venture Rewards Credit Card comes with a statement credit of up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Under the new fee structure, the statement wouldn’t cover the whole cost of Global Entry.
Other credit card providers like American Express, Chase and Bank of America offer similar reimbursement credits for Global Entry.
Money reached out to the four card providers to see if they expect to increase their benefits in tandem with the price hike. Bank of America said it does not have current plans to increase its rewards to cover the fee hike. Capital One and American Express declined to comment on their plans, and Chase did not respond by press time.
More from Money:
These Are the 4 Best Money Moves for April
Credit Score Trouble: 1.2 Million More Americans Just Became ‘Subprime Borrowers’
Adam Hardy is Money's lead data journalist. He writes news and feature stories aimed at helping everyday people manage their finances. He joined Money full-time in 2021 but has covered personal finance and economic topics since 2018. Previously, he worked for Forbes Advisor, The Penny Hoarder and Creative Loafing. In addition to those outlets, Adam’s work has been featured in a variety of local, national and international publications, including the Asia Times, Business Insider, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Yahoo! Finance, Nasdaq and several others. Adam graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida, where he studied magazine journalism and sociology. As a first-generation college graduate from a low-income, single-parent household, Adam understands firsthand the financial barriers that plague low-income Americans. His reporting aims to illuminate these issues. Since joining Money, Adam has already written over 300 articles, including a cover story on financial surveillance, a profile of Director Rohit Chopra of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and an investigation into flexible spending accounts, which found that workers forfeit billions of dollars annually through the workplace plans. He has also led data analysis on some of Money’s marquee rankings, including Best Places to Live, Best Places to Travel and Best Hospitals. He regularly contributes data reporting for Best Colleges, Best Banks and other lists as well. Adam also holds a multimedia storytelling certificate from Poynter’s News University and a data journalism certificate from the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) at the University of Missouri. In 2017, he received an English teaching certification from the University of Cambridge, which he utilized during his time in Seoul, South Korea. There, he taught students of all ages, from 5 to 65, and worked with North Korean refugees who were resettling in the area. Now, Adam lives in Saint Petersburg, Florida, with his pup Bambi. He is a card-carrying shuffleboard club member.