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Will TSA PreCheck and Global Entry be merged?

Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry kiosks speed up the arrivals process. (Image: CBP)

There’s already considerable overlap between membership in the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program and Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry. So does it make sense to keep operating the programs separately?

That’s what the federal government is starting to wonder.

According to recent press reports, TSA chief David Pekoske said in an appearance before airport executives that he and CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan are taking a “good hard look” at merging the two trusted traveler programs.

Pekoske said that the two agencies could make passenger processing much more efficient by combining their separate enrollment infrastructures, which currently represent ”a big duplication of efforts.”

Currently, members of CBP’s Global Entry program are afforded expedited security inspections for domestic trips as automatic participants in TSA PreCheck, but PreCheck members do not have reciprocal Global Entry privileges.

Together, the two programs have about 12 million current members. A combined trusted traveler program could also save money for participants: The five-year fee to join CBP’s Global Entry – which speeds up the arrivals process for international travelers – is $100, while PreCheck costs $85 for a five-year membership.

The TSA chief said that combining the two programs would also make sense in adopting new security-related biometric technologies like the facial recognition effort that CBP is testing for Global Entry.

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Comments

  1. I have Pre check and was going to sign up with GE but Mobile Passport came along. Great system and it is free. Took me 5 minutes to get through SFO last week during the morning rush from Asia.

  2. Likewise. The same news McNugget seems to be the only information available so far — I haven’t been able to find anything more about it, anyhow (like how they might be thinking about addressing the qualification differences between them). Has anyone else seen something about this?

  4. Well, here is another reason to get PRE. I wanted to get PRE for my companion for a recent domestic trip, signed up on a Thursday, went to the PRE enrollment center the next day and was assigned a KTN the the next Friday. GE would take a few months. With all the cards that have reimbursement for these fees, what you pay doesn’t matter anymore as I have multiples cards but only need it once every 5 years. Now I will apply for GE for her.

  5. Yeah, I learned the hard way if you have a couple of non-violent 10 year old misdemeanors that have nothing to do with travel or smuggling, mainly just some drunken 20 year old male stuff, you are unfit to have Global Entry. Live and Learn I guess.

    So I got to pay both the $100 fee and the $85 fee. And by I, I mean Citi and Chase.

  6. So, that’s why one would sign up for PreCheck instead of Global Entry. I was wondering why anyone would only sign up for Pre only.

  7. You’ve made a classic error with any government program. Common Sense. Broad Burch or scorched earth is the government policy.

  8. i imagine there’s a way to combine the infrastructure, but allow for tiered approval / trusted levels. Based on the level of approval, maybe you get to fast track every, or only expedited domestic TSA, but not border crossing.

    as an analogy, drivers license allows for Commercial, Bus, normal cars, etc, based on what you apply for and the tests that you have passed.

  9. I don’t know if it would be good or bad for me. I was denied global entry due to some past (minor) indiscretions. Then PreCheck was happy to have me. It’d be nice if I could get Global Entry but would really suck if I lost PreCheck.

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